Phil King (Texas politician)

Phillip Stephen "Phil" King (born February 29, 1956) is a Weatherford, Texas, attorney who has been a conservative Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1999. He represents District 61, which encompasses Parker and Wise counties to the west of Fort Worth.

Conservative legislator

King is a leading figure in the pro-family cause. He was named "Outstanding Legislator of the Year" by the Texas Alliance for Life. He has been cited by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a national bipartisan interest group of more than 2,400 state legislators committed to Jeffersonian principles of limited government, free enterprise, federalism, and individual liberty. Though revered by conservatives, King is anathema to Texas liberals who sometimes derisively call him the "Vicar of Weatherford".

King is chairman of the Regulated Industries Committee, on which he has attempted to promote competition in the electricity and telecommunications markets. He cochairs the Electric Utility Restructuring Legislative Oversight Committee, a joint committee of the Texas House and Senate. King also serves on the Civil Practices Committee and the Redistricting Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the joint House and Senate Committee on the Power of Eminent Domain.

Five easy elections

King was nominated without opposition in the 1998 Republican primary, when the incumbent, Ric Williamson, a former Democrat, did not seek another term. In the general election, King defeated the Democrat Brenda Brown Rotramble, 21,200 (64.6 percent) to 11,626 (35.4 percent) in a district turnout of only 32.6 percent. At the time, the district included a portion of Cooke County. He was unopposed in 2000 and 2004. In 2002, he defeated the Democrat Mack Dobbs, 25,525 (69 percent) to 11,475 (31 percent). In 2006, he defeated the Libertarian Richard Forsythe, Jr., 27,470 (80.4 percent to 6,696 (19.6 percent), when no Democrat filed for the post.

Legislator of the Year

In 1999, King's colleagues named him "Freshman Legislator of the Year", and "Texas Monthly" magazine designated him "Rookie Legislator of the Year". He received the designation "Crime Fighter of the Year" from the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas.

In his second term, King was named a "Fighter for Free Enterprise" by the Texas Association of Business for his work on pro-business issues. He was cited by the Texas State Rifle Association for legislation implementing a firearms safety program in public schools.

King was recognized as "Legislator of the Year" by the Texas Association of Builders for his work on HB 730, which was designed to reduce litigation costs for homebuilders and buyers, and has been utilized as model legislation in other states.

Staunchly anti-abortion, King has supported such key pro-life legislation as parental notification and parental consent. He was named "Outstanding Legislator of the Year" by the Texas Alliance for Life and in 2006 received the "Defender of Life" award from The Justice Foundation. He has also been awarded the "Freedom and Family Award" by Texas Eagle Forum, an interest group founded by Phyllis Schlafly of Missouri. He has also been recognized by the Free Market Foundation for his support of pro-family legislation.

Other legislative initiatives

In 2005, King was the House sponsor of Senate Bill 5, which modernized Texas telecommunications laws. SB 5 has been hailed nationally for its groundbreaking provisions in opening the cable television market to greater competition and increasing opportunities for technological investment in Texas. It was for leadership on SB 5, in particular, that ALEC named King a "Legislator of the Year".

In the 2005 special session on school finance, King proposed a one-cent increase in the state sales tax (6.25 cents) in order to lower the property tax cap for school district funding. The "tax switch" failed and was opposed by many conservatives with whom King had been allied. Had the legislation cleared both houses of the legislature, it would have still required voter approval. King has been involved in many other legislative matters, including tests for steroid use by high school athletes, ways to prevent abortion clinics from circumventing the parental notification law, and the proposal that voters at the time of registration be able to furnish proof of U.S. citizenship. His opponents referred to the latter measure as King's "Voter Suppression Law" on the theory that it would discourage registration by the poor and downtrodden.

King was mentioned as a potential candidate for Speaker of the House at the start of the 2007 legislative session, but he quickly deferred to Tom Craddick of Midland, who was elected to his third term as the presiding officer. Opposition broke out against Craddick during the 2007 session from a group of Democrats and disaffected Republicans.

Congressional redistricting

In the regular and then the three special legislative sessions of 2003, King authored the congressional redistricting legislation favored by the Republican Party, which won more than 55 percent of the total votes cast in thirty-two separate congressional races in the 2002 midterm elections even though the Republican Party obtained just fifteen of the U.S. House seats. King's bill was heavily influenced by then United States House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas. The changes led to a temporary 21-11 Republican majority within the Texas delegation to the U.S. House. After the 2006 elections, however, that margin was reduced to 19-13 Republican.

Personal life

Prior to his legislative service, King was a captain in the Fort Worth Police Department, an instructor at his "alma mater", Dallas Baptist University, and a Parker County justice of the peace.

King obtained his bachelor of arts and MBA degrees from Dallas Baptist University in Dallas. He procured the Juris Doctor degree from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.King and his wife, Terry, are active members of Trinity Bible Church in Weatherford. The couple has six children and three grandchildren. Terry is a direct descendant of Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford.

References

http://www.philking.com/

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/pdf/biodata.pdf

http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe

http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist61/bio/king.htm

http://www.texasisd.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/26/30568

http://www.etopiamedia.net/bplw/pages/bplw5-5551212.html

http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20050810/NYW13110082005-1.html

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=17069

http://capitolannex.com/category/texas-legislature/

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-9121038

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Archive/search?searchType=archives&Search=GI%20Forum