Larry Phillips (Texas politician)

Phillips received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University in Waco. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center.[4]

Phillips initially won his seat in the state House in 2003 in a special runoff election with nearly 66 percent of the vote; his defeated opponent was the Democrat Donnie Jarvis.[5] The vacancy appeared when U.S. President George W. Bush appointed Republican State Representative Ronald H. Clark of Sherman as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, based in the branch court at Beaumont in southeastern Texas. Clark had held the state House seat since 1997.[6]

Phillips served as the chairman of the House Transportation Committee and was a member of the committees on Ethics, Redistricting, and Border and Intergovernmental Affairs.[3] Phillips secured his latest full term in 2010 with nearly 88 percent of the ballots cast over the Libertarian Kenneth Myers. No Democrat sought the seat.[4] Phillips was also a member of numerous committees:

82nd Legislature

• Border & Intergovernmental Affairs
• General Investigating & Ethics
• Oversight of Criminal Justice
• Redistricting
• Transportation (Chair)

81st Legislature

• Culture, Recreation & Tourism
• General Investigating & Ethics (Vice Chair)
• Oversight of Criminal Justice
• Transportation (Vice Chair)
• Transportation Funding, Select (Chair)

80th Legislature

• Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
• General Investigating & Ethics (Chair)
• Intermediate Care Facility Services, Select (Chair)
• Operation & Management of the Texas Youth Commission
• Private Participation in Toll Projects
• Transportation (Vice Chair)

79th Legislature

• Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
• Election Contests, Select
• Transportation (Vice Chair)

78th Legislature

• Construction-Related Workers' Comp, Select
• Election Contests, Select
• State Cultural and Recreational Resources
• Transportation (Vice Chair)

In November 2010, State Representative Bryan Hughes withdrew his support for a second term for moderate Republican Joe Straus of San Antonio as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Hughes charged that Straus was punishing intraparty conservative opponents with unfair redistricting. Hughes based his claim on a conversation with one of Straus' staffers.

Hughes said that he was told two East Texas members were being especially earmarked through redistricting, then Representative-elect Erwin Cain of Sulphur Springs and Dan Flynn of Van. Representative Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville, a Democrat-turned-Republican and chairman of the House Ethics Committee, called upon Hughes to reveal the name of the informant.[7]

Under oath at his own request, Hughes identified the informant as Representative Phillips. Before the Ethics Committee, Phillips removed himself as a member for the duration of the hearing and denied Hughes's accusation. The phone conversation between Hughes and Phillips was not recorded. The committee did not reach a judgment because of the lack of corroborating witnesses.[8][9]

While in the legislature, he was the only Republican state lawmakers to support the Texas Sunset Commission, and he argued for the enhancement of toll roads.[10]