What do lobbyists in Austin and District 9 candidate Lynlie Wallace have in common?

It’s a timely question. At the moment, during the ongoing legislative session, lobbyists are prohibited by state law from contributing to the coffers of state lawmakers.

Instead, they’re giving to Wallace: About a quarter of the most recent contributions to Wallace’s council campaign came from that rarefied breed of influence peddler.

Of nearly $60,000 raised by Wallace in the first three months of this year — money raised to represent a slice of the North Side — about $12,500 came from lobbyists at the Capitol, according to campaign finance reports and the Texas Ethics Commission. (That’s not counting contributions from the spouses of Austin lobbyists.)

The most obvious connection is state Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, Wallace’s boss.

Wallace is chief of staff for Larson, who is supporting her in the council race.

Larson is a powerful figure this legislative session. He’s an ally of House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who assigned him in February to chair the House’s Natural Resources Committee.

At the Capitol, committee chairs control the flow of legislation, making them magnets for cash from lobbyists — just not during the legislative session. That’s illegal. The last day to accept contributions before the current session was Dec. 10, and the first day to accept contributions after the session ends is June 19.

Members of the Legislature are subject to this moratorium on contributions.

“If you take a look at this period, if you look at the month before (the moratorium) and you look at the month after, there’s like 10 million fundraisers,” longtime lobbyist Bill Miller told me with a hearty laugh. “They’re dragging the sack big time.”

Miller is co-founder of the lobbying firm HillCo Partners, whose political action committee gave Wallace $250 in February.

That month, Wallace held a campaign fundraiser at The Austin Club in Austin.

“I guess we do get on board,” Miller said with another laugh when I mentioned the contribution.

Speaking generally, he added, “If I don’t know somebody, and this person is a colleague and ally of someone I do know, that’s a huge advantage, and I’m predisposed to support them.”

Larson, naturally, is Wallace’s advantage. In turn, Wallace is a boon to the lobbyists, who can appease a powerful lawmaker even during a freeze on contributions.

As Wallace benefits from her boss, her own benefactors profit from her.

Larson did not return a call for comment Monday.

Beyond reaping from the clout of her boss, Wallace has something else in common with the typical Austin lobbyist: She also lives in Austin.

The candidate has been leasing her District 9 home to a tenant for years, a tenant she falsely told San Antonio Express-News reporter Josh Baugh was her “roommate.” Meanwhile, she claimed a homestead exemption on a second home in Austin.

Wallace has argued that the exemption has no bearing on where someone can run for office.

“If I had no homestead exemption, would I not be allowed to run for office anywhere?” she asked last month. “I did that to save money because taxes are higher there. City of San Antonio voters should be glad because now they have more of my tax dollars to spend right here.”

Council candidates are required to reside in-district for six months prior to applying for a place on the ballot.

What’s a rule, though — a residency requirement, a moratorium — without a way around it?

bchasnoff@express-news.net