Robert Gammage

For the Chartist and historian, see Robert George Gammage.

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.

Gammage was 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 earned an 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 at several different colleges, including the University of Corpus Christi, San Jacinto College and South Texas College of Law. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he taught at Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas State University, and Saint Edwards University.

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. In 1976, he was elected to the 95th Congress, defeating Republican incumbent Ron Paul and served from 1977 until 1979, losing to Paul in the 1978 election. He then served as assistant attorney general of Texas from 1979 to 1980, and 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, Texas and served in that position until 1991. He was then elected to the Texas Supreme Court where he served from 1991 until 1995. In 2006, Gammage lost the Texas gubernatorial Democratic primary election to former U.S. Representative Chris Bell.

Gammage currently practices law and serves as an arbitrator, mediator and consultant.

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

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.

External links

• Texas State Political Science Faculty
• Robert Gammage at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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