Seventy-ninth Texas Legislature

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seventy-ninth Texas Legislature met from 11 January to 30 May 2005 in regular session, and in consecutive called sessions from 21 June to 20 July (First called session) and 21 July to 19 August 2005 (Second called session). It met again in 2006 from 17 April to 16 May. Most of the members of the House of Representatives and 15 members of the Senate were elected in the 2004 general election; the other House members were elected in special elections held in 2006.

Contents 1 Sessions 2 Party summary 2.1 Senate 2.2 House of Representatives 3 Officers 3.1 Senate 3.2 House of Representatives 4 Members 4.1 Senate 5 Current Members of the Texas Senate 5.1 House of Representatives 6 Membership changes 6.1 Senate 6.2 House of Representatives 7 Current Members of the Texas House of Representatives 8 Notable Events 9 External links

[edit] Sessions

• 79th Regular session: 11 January 2005 – 30 May 2005
• 79th First called session: 21 June 2005 – 20 July 2005

To consider legislation that addresses educator compensation, benefits and certification.

To consider legislation that provides for public school financial accountability and that increases transparency in school district financial reporting.

To consider legislation that provides for performance-based incentives to educators and schools that attain higher levels of student achievement.

To consider legislation that funds textbooks and that creates the instructional materials allotment for public schools.

To consider legislation that provides for charter school funding and reform.

To consider legislation that provides for modifications to the recapture provisions of the public school finance system.

To consider legislation that provides for November elections for public school boards of trustees.

To consider legislation providing funding for the public school finance system and the continuation of the Texas Education Agency.

To consider legislation providing for end-of-course examinations to be used in public schools.

To consider legislation that provides for increased accountability and intervention for schools failing to meet state standards.

To consider legislation that provides for local property tax rate compression and voter approval of local property tax rates.

To consider legislation that establishes indicators of college readiness and higher levels of student achievement in the public school accountability system. [1]

Legislation relating to limiting the use of eminent domain to take private property for private parties or economic development purposes. [2]

• 79th Second called session: 21 July 2005 – 19 August 2005

To consider legislation to limit the ad valorem tax appraisals and rates of certain taxing units.

To consider legislation that provides ad valorem tax relief and protects taxpayers.

To consider legislation to increase the homestead ad valorem tax exemption. [3]

Legislation that addresses educator compensation, benefits, and certification.

Legislation that provides for public school financial accountability and that increases transparency in school district financial reporting.

Legislation that provides for performance-based incentives to educators and schools that attain higher levels of student achievement.

Legislation that funds textbooks and that creates the instructional materials allotment for public schools.

Legislation that provides for charter school funding and reform.

Legislation that provides for modifications to the recapture provisions of the public school finance system.

Legislation that provides for November elections for public school boards of trustees.

Legislation providing funding for the public school finance system and the continuation of the Texas Education Agency.

Legislation providing for end-of-course examinations to be used in public schools.

Legislation that provides for increased accountability and intervention for schools failing to meet state standards.

Legislation that provides for local property tax rate compression and voter approval of local property tax rates.

Legislation that establishes indicators of college readiness and higher levels of student achievement in the public school accountability system.

Legislation relating to the authorization, issuance, and funding of tuition revenue bonds. [4]

Legislation relating to an increase in the compensation of judges, including salary and retirement benefits. [5]

Legislation related to further competition in the telecommunications market.

Legislation related to the provision of broadband over powerlines.

Legislation related to the issuance of state-issued certificate of franchise authority for cable and video services. [6]

• 79th Third called session: 17 April 2006 [7]

[edit] Party summary

[edit] Senate

Affiliation		Members	Note
	Republican Party	19
	Democratic Party	12
Total		31

[edit] House of Representatives

Affiliation		Members	Note
	Republican Party	86
	Democratic Party	64
Total		150

[edit] Officers

[edit] Senate

• Lieutenant Governor: David Dewhurst, Republican
• President Pro Tempore:

Regular Session: Florence Shapiro, Republican

Ad Interim (30 May 2005-16 April 2006): Frank Madla, Democrat

Ad Interim (17 April 2006-8 January 2007): Royce West, Democrat

[edit] House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Tom Craddick, Republican

[edit] Members

Members of the Seventy-ninth Texas Legislature at the beginning of the regular session, 11 January 2005:

[edit] Senate

Senator	District	Party	Took office
1	Kevin Eltife	Republican	2004
2	Bob Deuell	Republican	2003
3	Todd Staples	Republican	2000
4	Tommy Williams	Republican	2003
5	Steve Ogden	Republican	1997
6	Mario Gallegos, Jr.	Democrat	1995
7	Jon Lindsay	Republican	1997
8	Florence Shapiro	Republican	1993
9	Chris Harris	Republican	1991
10	Kim Brimer	Republican	2003
11	Mike Jackson	Republican	1999
12	Jane Nelson	Republican	1993
13	Rodney Ellis	Democrat	1990
14	Gonzalo Barrientos	Democrat	1985
15	John Whitmire	Democrat	1983
16	John J. Carona	Republican	1996
17	Kyle Janek	Republican	2002
18	Kenneth L. Armbrister	Democrat	1987
19	Frank L. Madla	Democrat	1993
20	Chuy Hinojosa	Democrat	2003
21	Judith Zaffirini	Democrat	1987
22	Kip Averitt	Republican	2002
23	Royce West	Democrat	1993
24	Troy Fraser	Republican	1997
25	Jeff Wentworth	Republican	1993
26	Leticia R. Van de Putte	Democrat	1999
27	Eddie Lucio, Jr.	Democrat	1991
28	Robert L. Duncan	Republican	1996
29	Eliot Shapleigh	Democrat	1997
30	Craig Estes	Republican	2001
31	Kel Seliger	Republican	2004

[edit] Current Members of the Texas Senate

District	Representative	Party	Term Up
1	Kevin Eltife	Republican	2006
2	Bob Deuell	Republican	2006
3	Todd Staples RUNNING FOR AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER	Republican	2006
4	Tommy Williams	Republican	2008
5	Steve Ogden	Republican	2006
6	Mario Gallegos, Jr.	Democrat	2008
7	Jon Lindsay RETIRING	Republican	2006
8	Florence Shapiro, President Pro Tempore	Republican	2006
9	Chris Harris	Republican	2008
10	Kim Brimer	Republican	2008
11	Mike Jackson	Republican	2008
12	Jane Nelson	Republican	2006
13	Rodney Ellis	Democrat	2006
14	Gonzalo Barrientos RETIRING	Democrat	2006
15	John Whitmire	Democrat	2006
16	John Carona	Republican	2008
17	Kyle Janek	Republican	2006
18	Ken Armbrister RETIRING	Democrat	2006
19	Carlos I. Uresti	Democrat	2006
20	Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa	Democrat	2008
21	Judith Zaffirini	Democrat	2008
22	Kip Averitt	Republican	2006
23	Royce West	Democrat	2008
24	Troy Fraser	Republican	2008
25	Jeff Wentworth	Republican	2006
26	Leticia Van de Putte	Democrat	2008
27	Eddie Lucio	Democrat	2008
28	Robert Duncan	Republican	2008
29	Eliot Shapleigh	Democrat	2006
30	Craig Estes	Republican	2008
31	Kel Seliger	Republican	2008

[edit] House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party	Took office
1	Stephen J. Frost	Democrat	2005
2	Dan Flynn	Republican	2003
3	Mark Homer	Democrat	1999
4	Betty Brown	Republican	1999
5	Bryan Hughes	Republican	2003
6	Leo Berman	Republican	1999
7	Tommy Merritt	Republican	1997
8	Byron Cook	Republican	2003
9	Roy Blake, Jr.	Republican	2005
10	Jim Pitts	Republican	1993
11	Chuck Hopson	Democrat	2001
12	Jim McReynolds	Democrat	1997
13	Lois W. Kolkhorst	Republican	2001
14	Fred Brown	Republican	1999
15	Rob Eissler	Republican	2003
16	Ruben Hope, Jr.	Republican	1999
17	Robby Cook	Democrat	1997
18	John Otto	Democrat	2005
19	Tuffy Hamilton	Republican	2003
20	Dan Gattis	Republican	2003
21	Allan B. Ritter	Democrat	1999
22	Joe Deshotel	Democrat	1999
23	Craig Eiland	Democrat	1995
24	Larry Taylor	Republican	2003
25	Dennis Bonnen	Republican	1997
26	Charles F. “Charlie” Howard	Republican	1995
27	Dora Olivo	Democrat	1997
28	Glenn Hegar	Republican	2003
29	Glenda Dawson	Republican	2003
30	Geanie W. Morrison	Republican	1999
31	Ryan Guillen	Democrat	2003
32	Gene Seaman	Republican	1997
33	Vilma Luna	Democrat	1993
34	Abel Herrero	Democrat	2005
35	Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles	Democrat	2005
36	Kino Flores	Democrat	1997
37	Rene O. Oliveira	Democrat	1991 (first time: 1981–1987)
38	Jim Solis	Democrat	1993
39	Mando Martinez	Democrat	2005
40	Aaron Pena	Democrat	2003
41	Veronica Gonzales	Democrat	2005
42	Richard Raymond	Democrat	2001 (first time: 1993–1999)
43	Juan Manuel Escobar	Democrat	2003
44	Edmund Kuempel	Republican	1983
45	Patrick Rose	Democrat	2003
46	Dawnna Dukes	Democrat	1995
47	Terry Keel	Republican	1997
48	Todd Baxter	Republican	2003
49	Elliott Naishtat	Democrat	1991
50	Mark Strama	Democrat	2005
51	Eddie Rodriguez	Democrat	2003
52	Mike Krusee	Republican	1993
53	Harvey Hilderbran	Republican	1989
54	Suzanna Gratia Hupp	Republican	1996
55	Dianne White Delisi	Republican	1991
56	Doc Anderson	Republican	2005
57	Jim Dunnam	Democrat	1997
58	Rob Orr	Republican	2005
59	Sid Miller	Republican	2001
60	Jim Keffer	Republican	1997
61	Phil King	Republican	1999
62	Larry Phillips	Republican	2003
63	Mary Denny	Republican	1993
64	Myra Crownover	Republican	2000
65	Burt Solomons	Republican	1995
66	Brian McCall	Republican	1991
67	Jerry Madden	Republican	1993
68	Rick Hardcastle	Republican	1999
69	David Farabee	Democrat	1999
70	Ken Paxton	Republican	2003
71	Bob Hunter	Republican	1986
72	Scott Campbell	Republican	2004
73	Carter Casteel	Republican	2003
74	Pete P. Gallego	Democrat	1991
75	Chente Quintanilla	Democrat	2003
76	Norma Chavez	Democrat	1997
77	Paul C. Moreno	Democrat	1975 (first time: 1967–1973)
78	Pat Haggerty	Republican	1989
79	Joe C. Pickett	Democrat	1995
80	Tracy O. King	Democrat	2005
81	Buddy West	Republican	1993
82	Tom Craddick	Republican	1969
83	Delwin L. Jones	Republican	1989 (first time: 1965–1981)
84	Carl H. Isett	Republican	1997
85	Pete Laney	Democrat	1973
86	John T. Smithee	Republican	1985
87	David Swinford	Republican	1991
88	Warren Chisum	Republican	1989
89	Jodie Laubenberg	Republican	2003
90	Lon Burnam	Democrat	1997
91	Bob E. Griggs	Republican	2003
92	Todd Smith	Republican	1997
93	Toby Goodman	Republican	1991
94	Kent Grusendorf	Republican	1987
95	Mark Veasey	Democrat	2005
96	Bill Zedler	Republican	2003
97	Anna Mowery	Republican	1988
98	Vicki Truitt	Republican	1999
99	Charlie Geren	Republican	2001
100	Terri Hodge	Democrat	1997
101	Elvira Reyna	Republican	1993
102	Tony Goolsby	Republican	1989
103	Rafael Anchia	Democrat	2005
104	Roberto R. Alonzo	Democrat	2003 (first time: 1993–1997)
105	Linda Harper-Brown	Republican	2003
106	Ray Allen	Republican	1993
107	Bill Keffer	Republican	2002
108	Dan Branch	Republican	2003
109	Helen Giddings	Democrat	1993
110	Jesse W. Jones	Democrat	1993
111	Yvonne Davis	Democrat	1993
112	Fred Hill	Republican	1989
113	Joe Driver	Republican	1993
114	Will Hartnett	Republican	1991
115	Jim Jackson	Republican	2005
116	Trey Martinez Fischer	Democrat	2001
117	David McQuade Leibowitz	Democrat	2005
118	Charlie Uresti	Democrat	1997
119	Robert R. Puente	Democrat	1991
120	Ruth Jones McClendon	Democrat	1996
121	Vacant[8]
122	Frank J. Corte, Jr.	Republican	1993
123	Mike Villarreal	Democrat	2000
124	Jose Menendez	Democrat	2001
125	Joaquin Castro	Democrat	2003
126	Peggy Hamric	Republican	1991
127	Joe Crabb	Republican	1993
128	Wayne Smith	Republican	2003
129	John E. Davis	Republican	1999
130	Corbin Van Arsdale	Republican	2003
131	Alma A. Allen	Democrat	2005
132	Bill Callegari	Republican	2001
133	Joe Nixon	Republican	1995
134	Martha Wong	Republican	2003
135	Gary Elkins	Republican	1995
136	Beverly Woolley	Republican	1995
137	Scott Hochberg	Democrat	1993
138	Dwayne Bohac	Republican	2003
139	Sylvester Turner	Democrat	1989
140	Kevin Bailey	Democrat	1991
141	Senfronia Thompson	Democrat	1973
142	Harold V. Dutton, Jr.	Democrat	1985
143	Joe E. Moreno	Democrat	1998
144	Robert E. Talton	Republican	1993
145	Rick Noriega	Democrat	1999
146	Al Edwards	Democrat	1979
147	Garnet Coleman	Democrat	1991
148	Jessica Farrar	Democrat	1995
149	Hubert Vo	Democrat	2005
150	Debbie Riddle	Republican	2002

^ : In the 2004 General Election, Elizabeth Ames Jones won the District 121 seat but declined it, having received an appointment as a member of the Texas Railroad Commission.

[edit] Membership changes

[edit] Senate

None

[edit] House of Representatives

District	Outgoing Representative	Reason for Vacancy	Successor	Date of Successor's Installation
District 48	Todd Baxter	Representative Baxter resigned on 1 November 2005 for personal reasons.	Donna Howard[9]	To be determined
District 106	Ray Allen	Representative Allen resigned on 20 January 2006 for personal reasons.	Kirk England[10]	To be determined
District 121	Vacant	Representative Elizabeth Ames Jones was re-elected but declined her seat after being appointed to the Railroad Commission of Texas.	Joe Straus[11]	10 February 2005
District 143	Joe Moreno	Representative Moreno was killed in a one-car rollover accident 6 May 2005.	Ana E. Hernandez[12]	20 December 2005

• ^  District 48: A special election was held on 17 January 2006. No candidate received a majority of the votes on that date, so the top two candidates will face each other in a runoff. [13] Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, as acting governor, set the date of the runoff for 14 February 2006. [14]. Donna Howard won the runoff and was later sworn in.
• ^  District 106: A special election was held on 28 February 2006 [15]. Kirk England won, but, as of 6 March 2006, has not yet been sworn in.
• ^  District 121: A special election was held on 5 February 2005. [16] Joe Straus received a majority of the votes. He was sworn in five days later, on 10 February 2005.
• ^  District 143: A special election was held on 8 November 2005. No candidate received a majority of the votes on that date, so the top two candidates faced each other in a runoff on 10 December 2005. Ana E. Hernandez won the runoff and was sworn in 10 days later, on 20 December 2005.

[edit] Current Members of the Texas House of Representatives

District	Representative	Party
1	Stephen Frost	Democrat
2	Dan Flynn	Republican
3	Mark Homer	Democrat
4	Betty Brown	Republican
5	Bryan Hughes	Republican
6	Leo Berman	Republican
7	Tommy Merritt	Republican
8	Byron Cook	Republican
9	Roy Blake, Jr. DEFEATED IN PRIMARY	Republican
10	Jim Pitts	Republican
11	Chuck Hopson	Democrat
12	Jim McReynolds	Democrat
13	Lois Kolkhorst	Republican
14	Fred Brown	Republican
15	Rob Eissler	Republican
16	Ruben W. Hope, Jr. RETIRING	Republican
17	Robert "Robby" Cook	Democrat
18	John Otto	Republican
19	Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton	Republican
20	Dan Gattis	Republican
21	Allan Ritter	Democrat
22	Joe D. Deshotel	Democrat
23	Craig Eiland	Democrat
24	Larry Taylor	Republican
25	Dennis Bonnen	Republican
26	Charlie F. Howard	Republican
27	Dora Olivo	Democrat
28	Glenn Hegar RUNNING FOR STATE SENATE-18TH SD	Republican
29	Glenda Dawson	Republican
30	Geanie Morrison	Republican
31	Ryan Guillen	Democrat
32	Gene Seaman	Republican
33	Vilma Luna RESIGNED EFFECTIVE JULY 31, 2006	Democrat
34	Abel Herrero	Democrat
35	Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles	Democrat
36	Ismael "Kino" Flores	Democrat
37	Rene O. Oliveira	Democrat
38	Jim Solis RETIRING	Democrat
39	Armando "Mando" Martinez	Democrat
40	Aaron Pena	Democrat
41	Veronica Gonzales	Democrat
42	Richard Raymond	Democrat
43	Juan Manuel Escobar	Democrat
44	Edmund Kuempel	Republican
45	Patrick M. Rose	Democrat
46	Dawnna Dukes	Democrat
47	Terry Keel RETIRING	Republican
48	Donna Howard	Democrat
49	Elliott Naishtat	Democrat
50	Mark Strama	Democrat
51	Eddie Rodriguez	Democrat
52	Mike Krusee	Republican
53	Harvey Hilderbran	Republican
54	Suzanna Gratia Hupp RETIRING	Republican
55	Dianne White Delisi	Republican
56	Charles "Doc" Anderson	Republican
57	Jim Dunnam	Democrat
58	Rob Orr	Republican
59	Sid Miller	Republican
60	Jim Keffer	Republican
61	Phil King	Republican
62	Larry Phillips	Republican
63	Mary Denny RETIRING	Republican
64	Myra Crownover	Republican
65	Burt R. Solomons	Republican
66	Brian McCall	Republican
67	Jerry Madden	Republican
68	Rick Hardcastle	Republican
69	David Farabee	Democrat
70	Ken Paxton	Republican
71	Bob Hunter RETIRING	Republican
72	Scott Campbell DEFEATED IN RUNOFF	Republican
73	Carter Casteel DEFEATED IN PRIMARY	Republican
74	Paul Gallego	Democrat
75	Chente Quintanilla	Democrat
76	Norma Chavez	Democrat
77	Paul Moreno	Democrat
78	Pat Haggerty	Republican
79	Joe Pickett	Democrat
80	Tracy O. King	Democrat
81	G.E. "Buddy" West	Republican
82	Tom Craddick, Speaker	Republican
83	Delwin Jones	Republican
84	Cheri Isett	Republican
85	Pete Laney RETIRING	Democrat
86	John T. Smithee	Republican
87	David Swinford	Republican
88	Warren Chisum	Republican
89	Jodie Anne Laubenberg	Republican
90	Lon Burnam	Democrat
91	Bob E. Griggs RETIRING	Republican
92	Todd Smith	Republican
93	Toby Goodman	Republican
94	Kent Grusendorf DEFEATED IN PRIMARY	Republican
95	Marc Veasey	Democrat
96	Bill Zedler	Republican
97	Anna Mowery	Republican
98	Vicki Truitt	Republican
99	Charlie Geren	Republican
100	Terri Hodge	Democrat
101	Elvira Reyna DEFEATED IN PRIMARY	Republican
102	Tony Goolsby	Republican
103	Rafael Anchia	Democrat
104	Roberto Alonzo	Democrat
105	Linda Harper-Brown	Republican
106	Kirk England	Republican
107	Bill Keffer	Republican
108	Dan Branch	Republican
109	Helen Giddings	Democrat
110	Jesse Jones DEFEATED IN PRIMARY	Democrat
111	Yvonne Davis	Democrat
112	Fred Hill	Republican
113	Joe Driver	Republican
114	Will Hartnett	Republican
115	Jim Jackson	Republican
116	Trey Martinez Fischer	Democrat
117	David McQuade Leibowitz	Democrat
118	Carlos Uresti RUNNING FOR STATE SENATE-19TH SD	Democrat
119	Robert Puente	Democrat
120	Ruth McClendon	Democrat
121	Joe Straus	Republican
122	Valerie Ryder Corte	Republican
123	Mike Villarreal	Democrat
124	Jose Menendez	Democrat
125	Joaquin Castro	Democrat
126	Peggy Hamric RETIRING	Republican
127	Joe Crabb	Republican
128	Wayne Smith	Republican
129	John E. Davis	Republican
130	Corbin Van Arsdale	Republican
131	Alma A. Allen	Democrat
132	William "Bill" Callegari	Republican
133	Joe M. Nixon RETIRING	Republican
134	Martha Wong	Republican
135	Gary Elkins	Republican
136	Beverly Woolley	Republican
137	Scott Hochberg	Democrat
138	Dwayne Bohac	Republican
139	Sylvester Turner	Democrat
140	Kevin Bailey	Democrat
141	Senfronia Thompson	Democrat
142	Harold V. Dutton, Jr.	Democrat
143	Ana E. Hernandez	Democrat
144	Robert Talton	Republican
145	Rick Noriega	Democrat
146	Al Edwards DEFEATED IN RUNOFF	Democrat
147	Garnet F. Coleman	Democrat
148	Jessica Cristina Farrar	Democrat
149	Hubert Vo	Democrat
150	Debbie Riddle	Republican

[edit] Notable Events

• Sushree Prabhakari Devi, Vice-President of Barsana Dham Hindu Temple, delivered the first ever Hindu prayer in the Texas Senate.

[edit] External links

• Texas Legislature Online
• Texas Senate
• Texas House of Representatives
• Election Results from the Office of the Secretary of State
• Legislative Reference Library
• Billhop - Texas Legislative Wiki
• Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Texas
• Project Vote Smart - State House of Texas

v • d • e Texas Legislatures 1 (1846) 2 (1847) 3 (1849) 4 (1851) 5 (1853) 6 (1855) 7 (1857) 8 (1859) 9 (1861) 10 (1863) 11 (1866) 12 (1870) 13 (1873) 14 (1874) 15 (1876) 16 (1879) 17 (1881) 18 (1883) 19 (1885) 20 (1887) 21 (1889) 22 (1891) 23 (1893) 24 (1895) 25 (1897) 26 (1899) 27 (1901) 28 (1903) 29 (1905) 30 (1907) 31 (1909) 32 (1911) 33 (1913) 34 (1915) 35 (1917) 36 (1919) 37 (1921) 38 (1923) 39 (1925) 40 (1927) 41 (1929) 42 (1931) 43 (1933) 44 (1935) 45 (1937) 46 (1939) 47 (1941) 48 (1943) 49 (1945) 50 (1947) 51 (1949) 52 (1951) 53 (1953) 54 (1955) 55 (1957) 56 (1959) 57 (1961) 58 (1963) 59 (1965) 60 (1967) 61 (1969) 62 (1971) 63 (1973) 64 (1975) 65 (1977) 66 (1979) 67 (1981) 68 (1983) 69 (1985) 70 (1987) 71 (1989) 72 (1991) 73 (1993) 74 (1995) 75 (1997) 76 (1999) 77 (2001) 78 (2003) 79 (2005) 80 (2007) 81 (2009)