- Frank Buck (politician)
Frank Forrest Buck (born
September 26 ,1943 in Trousdale County) is aTennessee politician and a member of theTennessee House of Representatives for the 40th district, which is composed of DeKalb, Smith, and Macon counties.He has served as a member of the House since 1973, as a member of the 88th General Assembly and was most recently re-elected as a member of the Democratic Party. Buck is Vice-Chair of the House Transportation Committee and the Chair of the House Public Transportation & Highways Subcommittee. He serves as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Judicial Administration Subcommittee, and the House Criminal Practice and Procedure Subcommittee.
Buck graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree inbusiness administration fromTennessee Technological University and graduated with aJ.D. fromUniversity of Tennessee Law School. He works as afarmer and as anattorney , owning a law practice with his wife called Buck & Buck near Smithville. In 1990, Frank Buck narrowly lost toBill Purcell in a bid for the position of House majority leader.Buck is known for efforts on
ethics reform, though critics accuse him of showboating while other legislators seek reform more quietly, and of only recently finding ethics in order to use the issue against political enemies. He exposed awhiskey -for-votes racket operating in DeKalb County and helped to bring reform as a member of the DeKalb County Ethics Commission. In 1994, he took issue with the expense of different execution methods reported by Department of Correction officials that placed a firing-squad execution at $7,000.In 1993 and 1994, Buck introduced legislation that would have restrained
lobbyist s from giving gifts and paying travel expenses of members of the General Assembly, and forced more disclosure of such acts. In 1994, he sponsored a bill introduced by former Sen.Carol Rice that became known as the "cup-of-coffee" bill, which would have prevented legislators from taking so much as a cup of coffee from lobbyists. A version of it was passed in 1995 -- without Buck as a sponsor -- with a loophole that allowed legislators to receive free meals and drinks if another legislator is invited.In February 2007, Buck announced he would not run for re-election and would retire when his current term expires. [ [ [http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/12/long-time-house-member/ Long-time House member Buck will not run again : State and Regional News : Knoxville News Sentinel ] ] ]
References
External links
* [http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/house/members/h40.htm Buck's profile at the Tennessee General Assembly]
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=CS027879 Buck's profile at Project Vote Smart]
* [http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/results/2004-11/tnhousecounty.pdf Election results for the 2004 state House elections]
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