The Texas Ethics Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a new rule aimed at restricting when lobbyists can pay for state lawmakers and officials to go on so-called fact-finding trips that critics say sometimes amount to little more than lavish junkets to exotic destinations. The rule says lobbyists can only pay for trips that are necessary for the official to obtain information relevant to state business; a trip must be the only way the official can obtain the information; and the outing must not be for a “merely ceremonial event or pleasure trip.”
Source: Texas Ethics Commission tightens rules on trips paid by lobbyists THE STATESMAN