As the Texas Senate is mired in the voter ID debate, there’s been a constant meme: Aren’t there better things that the state legislature can be doing with its time?
With only one 140-day session every two years, the legislature’s priorities sometimes seem a tad off-kilter. This morning, the House Sub-Committee on White Collar Crime met for half an hour to discuss one bill: House Bill 671 by Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, which deals with fraud and embezzlement from non-profits. The bill would place these crimes on the same elevated punishment track as defrauding the elderly, public servants and government contracts. So far, it’s the only white collar crime bill filed.
It’s great that there’s a subcommittee on white collar crime. Charity fraud is a serious issue (Darby presented evidence that 13% of the $300 billion gathered by non-profits may have been embezzled in 2006) and there is a lot of merit in adding protections to non-profits (especially active charities that truly engage in genuine good works.) But, seriously, as the US economy lies in tatters because of some of the most egregious corporate behavior this country has ever seen, it just seems like there are bigger issues for the white-collar crime committee to tackle.
This article appears in March 6 • 2009.
