Geanie Williams Morrison (born October 6, 1950)[1] is a Texas state representative from Victoria. A Republican, she has represented District 30 since January 12, 1999.[2][3]
Personal life
Morrison attended Victoria College.[1] She has two children and two grandchildren with her husband Jack.[4]
Career
Before serving in the House of Representatives, Morrison served as the executive director of the Governor's Commission for Women.[3] She was appointed by then-Governor George W. Bush to the Texas Commission for Volunteerism and Community Service and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission.[3]
Legislative career
In 1999, Morrison introduced legislation creating the Safe-haven law. This law decriminalizes the leaving of unharmed infants with statutorily designated private persons so that the child becomes a ward of the state in order to eliminate child abandonment. Morrison's legislation became a blueprint and by 2008 similar laws were adopted across the country.[5]
Morrison was the first chairperson of the Environmental Regulation Committee when it was created in 2015.[6] As part of her work on the committee, she championed a bill that weakened environmental protections in an effort to encourage employers to move to Texas or to stay in the state.[7]
In 2018, she was elected to the 86th legislature with 74.7% of the vote, beating Robin Hayter.[8] Morrison served on the Culture, Recreation & Tourism Committee, the Environmental Regulation Committee, the Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety Committee, and chaired the Local & Consent Calendars Committee.[3] She represented parts of Aransas, Calhoun, De Witt, Goliad, Refugio, and Victoria counties.[3]
Morrison had a primary challenger[9] but was unopposed in the 2020 general election.[2] She briefly was in the running to become Speaker of the House for the 87th legislature, but withdrew after only a week, throwing her support to Dade Phelan.[2] Later, she put her name back into contention for the speakership.[10] Her office was involved in removing a statue of a Confederate soldier in 2020.[11]
On May 27, 2023, Morrison voted against impeaching Ken Paxton.[12]
References
- ^ a b "Rep. Geanie W. Morrison (R)". Texas State Director. January 4, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c "State Rep. Geanie Morrison withdraws from race for speaker of the Texas House". Victoria, Texas: Voctoria Advocate. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Biography". Texas House of Representatives. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Jack R. Morrison Jr". Bumgardner Morrison Wealth Management. 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "State Rep. Geanie W. Morrison District 30 (R-Victoria)". The Texas Tribune.
- ^ Malewitz, Jim (November 5, 2015). "New Texas House Committee to Examine Range of EPA Rules". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Malewitz, Jim (May 24, 2015). "Abbott Signs Bill to Speed Permits, Limit Protests". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "Texas Representative Geanie W. Morrison". The Texas Tribune.
- ^ Svitek, Patrick (February 13, 2020). "Greg Abbott plans pre-primary tour supporting GOP state House incumbents, candidates". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Barragán, James (November 4, 2020). "State Rep. Dade Phelan says he has the votes to be next speaker of Texas House; GOP rivals say race not over". The Dallas News. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ "UHV creates task force to promote diversity, inclusion". University of Houston-Victoria. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Astudillo, Carla and Chris Essig. Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House. See how each representative voted., Texas Tribune, May 27, 2023.
