Robert Gammage

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Robert Alton "Bob" Gammage (born March 13, 1938) is a politician from the U.S. state of Texas, having served as a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives.

Born in Houston and attended Milby High School there. He holds degrees from Del Mar College and the University of Corpus Christi. He holds a masters degree from Sam Houston State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas at Austin. He also am LLM from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Before Gammage entered politics, he served in the United States Army and the United States Navy. He retired as a Captain in the United States Navy Reserve. Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, he served as a professor of law at several different colleges. Gammage worked at the University of Corpus Christi, San Jacinto College, and later the University of Houston.

Gammage served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973. Gammage was a member of the so-called "Dirty 30," a bipartisan group of legislators that pushed for reform in the wake of the Sharpstown scandal in the 1970s. Gammage was a member of the Texas State Senate from 1973 to 1976. He was elected to the 95th Congress and served from 1977 until 1979. He also served as assistant attorney general of Texas from 1979-1980, as a special consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy in 1980.

In 1982, Gammage was elected as a justice to the Texas Court of Appeals in Austin and served in that position until 1991. He was then elected to the Texas Supreme Court where he served from 1991 until 1995. Gammage was defeated in the 2006 primary for Texas governor by former U.S. Representative Chris Bell.

Gammage currently lectures at Texas State University in San Marcos.

On May 27, 2008, Gammage delivered the funeral eulogy for his former "Dirty Thirty" colleague Joseph Hugh Allen, a former representative from Baytown.

[edit] Texas House Bills and House Joint Resolutions written by Gammage

1971

  • HB 249, Relating to the regulation of practice used in the collection of debts,
  • HB 250, Relating to the awarding of attorney's fees in any civil action in which the court finds that equity would be served by the award,
  • HB 251, Removing insurance companies from coverage exemption,
  • HB 307, Relating to the definition of deceptive trade practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce,
  • HB 592 Providing for the compensation to the county attorneys in certain counties,
  • HB 711, Creating two family district courts for Harris County,
  • HB 921, Relating to an accused's right to an examining trial before an indictment,
  • HB 1356, Relating to the casting of contempt upon flags of the United States,
  • HB 1357, Relating to the jurisdiction of the municipal courts of Texas and to the punishment for certain misdemeanor offenses,
  • HB 1359, Relating to the abolition of the Parks and Wildlife Department and the transfer of the powers, duties, and functions to tow newly established agencies,
  • HB 1660, Relating to the creation and jurisdiction of municipal courts in certain cities and the election of municipal judges,
  • HB 1661, Creating the La Porte Utility District,
  • HB 1743, Creating Sagemeadow Utility District,
  • HB 1801, Relating to the registration and filing of financial statements by persons engaged in representations before the Legislature and state agencies,
  • HB 1843, Relating to the pay of election judges and clerks,
  • HB 1857, Relating to the assignment of certain retired district judges to sit in certain courts,
  • HJR 76, Reducing the minimum service requirement for eligibility under the teacher retirement system from ten years to five years.

[edit] External links


Political offices
Preceded by
Arthur Vance		 Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 24-3 (Houston)
1971–1973		 Succeeded by
Obsolete district
Preceded by
Chet Brooks		 Texas Senate, District 7
1973–1976		 Succeeded by
Gene Jones
Preceded by
Ron Paul		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd congressional district
1977-1979		 Succeeded by
Ron Paul
Preceded by
C.L. Ray, Jr.		 Texas Supreme Court Justice,
Place 8
1991-1995		 Succeeded by
James A. Baker