The 70th Texas Legislature met from January 13, 1987, to June 1, 1987. All members present during this session were elected in the 1986 general elections.
This session was, to date, the most prolific in history; exceeding previous records set in 1983 and 1985. The legislature filed 4,179 bills of which 1,185 were passed by the governor.
Senate bills responding to news-making events on various state university campuses were passed. These included a bill in response to a fraternity hazing death at the University of Texas and various bills directly addressing booster involvement in campus athletics. The latter bills were implemented to prevent events that had resulted in the so-called "death penalty" being assessed against Southern Methodist University by the NCAA. This issue was a particularly sore spot for governor Bill Clements since he had been the head of the university's board of trustees during the scandal and had purportedly authorized payments to student athletes in direct violation of NCAA policy.
Key legislation regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages was passed in this session. These included regulating the sale of alcohol and passage of an open container bill to prevent drinking of alcoholic beverages while driving an automobile. Other legislations related to intoxicants address "designer drugs" and placed legal liabilities on those establishments serving alcoholic beverages.
The Senate approved observing the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Senate Bill 485, 70th Legislature Regular Session. Chapter 159. Approved May 25, 1987, and Effective August 31, 1987, as an optional holiday.[1]
Two special sessions were held. The first, called by Clements, commenced June 2, 1987, and ended the following day. It was specifically designed to address issue related to insurance and civil liability, otherwise known as tort reform. The second special session addressed 72 various topics from passing the state budget to wastewater treatment, between June 22 and July 21, 1987.
70th, texas, legislature, from, january, 1987, june, 1987, members, present, during, this, session, were, elected, 1986, general, elections, contents, sessions, party, summary, senate, house, representatives, officers, senate, house, members, senate, legislati. The 70th Texas Legislature met from January 13 1987 to June 1 1987 All members present during this session were elected in the 1986 general elections Contents 1 Sessions 2 Party summary 2 1 Senate 2 2 House of Representatives 3 Officers 3 1 Senate 3 2 House 4 Members 4 1 Senate 4 2 Key legislation 5 Sources 6 References 7 External linksSessions editRegular Session January 13 1987 June 1 1987 1st Called Session June 2 1987 June 3 1987 2nd Called Session June 22 1987 July 21 1987Party summary editSenate edit Affiliation Members Note Democratic Party 25 Republican Party 6 Total 31 House of Representatives edit Affiliation Members Note Democratic Party 90 Republican Party 60 Total 150Officers editSenate edit Lieutenant Governor William P Hobby Jr D President Pro Tempore regular session Carl A Parker D President Pro Tempore called sessions Roy M Blake D House edit Speaker of the House Gibson D Gib Lewis D Members editSenate edit Dist 1 Richard M Anderson D Marshall Dist 2 Ted Lyon D Mesquite Dist 3 Roy Blake Sr D Nacogdoches Dist 4 Carl A Parker D Port Arthur Dist 5 Kent A Caperton D Bryan Dist 6 Gene Green D Houston Dist 7 Don Henderson R Houston Dist 8 O H Ike Harris R Dallas Dist 9 Chet Edwards D Duncanville Dist 10 Bob McFarland R Arlington Dist 11 Chet Brooks D Houston Dist 12 Hugh Q Parmer D Fort Worth Dist 13 Craig Anthony Washington D Houston Dist 14 Gonzalo Barrientos D Austin Dist 15 John Whitmire D Houston Dist 16 John N Leedom R Dallas Dist 17 J E Buster Brown R Lake Jackson Dist 18 Ken Armbrister D Victoria Dist 19 Frank Tejeda D San Antonio Dist 20 Carlos F Truan D Corpus Christi Dist 21 Judith Zaffirini D Laredo Dist 22 Bob Glasgow D Stephenville Dist 23 Eddie Bernice Johnson D Dallas Dist 24 Grant Jones D Abilene Dist 25 Bill Sims D San Angelo Dist 26 Cyndi Taylor Krier R San Antonio Dist 27 Hector Uribe D Brownsville Dist 28 John T Montford D Lubbock Dist 29 Tati Santiesteban D El Paso Dist 30 Ray Farabee D Wichita Falls Dist 31 Bill Sarpalius D Amarillo Key legislation edit This session was to date the most prolific in history exceeding previous records set in 1983 and 1985 The legislature filed 4 179 bills of which 1 185 were passed by the governor Senate bills responding to news making events on various state university campuses were passed These included a bill in response to a fraternity hazing death at the University of Texas and various bills directly addressing booster involvement in campus athletics The latter bills were implemented to prevent events that had resulted in the so called death penalty being assessed against Southern Methodist University by the NCAA This issue was a particularly sore spot for governor Bill Clements since he had been the head of the university s board of trustees during the scandal and had purportedly authorized payments to student athletes in direct violation of NCAA policy Key legislation regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages was passed in this session These included regulating the sale of alcohol and passage of an open container bill to prevent drinking of alcoholic beverages while driving an automobile Other legislations related to intoxicants address designer drugs and placed legal liabilities on those establishments serving alcoholic beverages The Senate approved observing the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr Day Senate Bill 485 70th Legislature Regular Session Chapter 159 Approved May 25 1987 and Effective August 31 1987 as an optional holiday 1 Two special sessions were held The first called by Clements commenced June 2 1987 and ended the following day It was specifically designed to address issue related to insurance and civil liability otherwise known as tort reform The second special session addressed 72 various topics from passing the state budget to wastewater treatment between June 22 and July 21 1987 Sources editTexas holidays 1 Senior Trustees Quit as S M U Revamps Board by Peter Applebome New York Times May 9 1987 Accessed March 1 2008 References edit State holidays Texas State LibraryExternal links editTexas Legislature Online Texas Senate Texas House of Representatives Election Results from the Office of the Secretary of State Legislative Reference Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 70th Texas Legislature amp oldid 1170872941, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
