Audit Of Enterprise Fund, Texas Energy Center Contract Sought By Dunnam

State Rep. Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) sent a letter to State Auditor John Keel yesterday charging that Rick Perry’s office has mismanaged the Enterprise Fund, the multi-million dollar economic development slush fund managed by the office of the governor.

Dunnam urged Keel to audit the Enterprise fund, Texas Energy Center and related lobbying contracts.

In February of 2004, Perry used the fund to funnle $3.6 million to the Texas Energy Center. The same day, TEC hired D.C. lobbyist Drew Maloney (who also lobbies for the state of Texas) for twenty thousand bucks, according to Dunnam’s letter.

Via the enterprise fund, Maloney, who operates the GOP-aligned K-Street lobby house Federalist Group, benefitted taxpayer-funded lobby contracts worth more than a million dollars, courtesy of the Enterprise Fund.

The Energy Center, which was supposed to be the energy industry’s answer to the Texas Medical Center in Houston, started in 2003 and received Enterprise Fund cash to create jobs. But, according to Dunnam:

“There is absolutely no credible evidence that TEC met its contractual obligation to create 100 jobs by Aug. 31, 2005…After lingering in clear violation of this contract for three months, on Dec. 1, 2005, the governor conveniently covered for TEC’s failures by amending the initial contract with TEC.”

In short, Perry changed the contract with the enterprise fund to reflect that the TEC had, in reality, not created any new jobs.

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