Created in 1979 while Billy Clayton was Speaker of the House, the State
Aircraft Pooling Board (SAPB) controls the state’s airplanes. Now chaired by
Clayton, one of the highest-paid lobbyists at the Capitol, the agency, which
has an annual budget of $2.6 million, employs 39 people who fly and maintain 56
aircraft. Of those planes, 16 small Cessnas are used for pilot training at the
Texas State Technical College in Waco. The rest are spread among nine other
cities. The Pooling Board’s Austin location on Old Manor Road has three hangars
which usually hold 13 airplanes owned by the agency as well as eight aircraft
and one helicopter owned by other state agencies.
The Pooling Board is controlled by a three-member board, headed by Clayton,
who was appointed by House Speaker Pete Laney. But he isn’t the only lobbyist
on the board. The other is former state senator Don Adams, who counts the City
of Austin among his 23 lobby clients, and was appointed to the board by Lt.
Governor Bob Bullock. Adams’ lobby firm, Adams and Zottarelli, won a lucrative
contract from the City of Austin in 1995 to represent the city’s interests at
the Lege; it will pay the firm $445,000 over a three-year period. According to
filings with the Texas Ethics Commission, Adams’ clients paid him a minimum of
$695,000 last year. The third member of the board is Joe D. McShane of Midland,
who was appointed by Gov. George W. Bush. — R.B.
This article appears in January 17 • 1997 and January 17 • 1997 (Cover).