Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Office of the Speaker

The House of Representatives, when it first assembles, organizes temporarily and elects a Speaker from its own members. The Speaker presides over the House of Representatives, makes committee appointments, and signs all bills and joint resolutions passed by the House of Representatives. The Speaker is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board of Texas. At the Legislature's first regular session after the publication of each United States Census, it is the duty of this board to apportion the state into senatorial and representative districts. Election returns of executive officers are given to the Speaker by the Secretary of State. During the first week of the session of the Legislature, the Speaker opens and publishes election results in the presence of both Houses of the Legislature.

Gibson (Gib) D. Lewis served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives for ten years, from 1983-1992. Gib Lewis was born on August 22, 1936 and is a native of Oletha in Limestone County, Texas. Lewis attended Texas Christian University and received a BA from Sam Houston State Teachers College. Lewis joined the Air Force after graduation. After his time in the service, Lewis settled in Fort Worth and started his company, Lewis Label Products Inc. In the 1960s, Lewis joined the Junior Chamber of Commerce and in 1969 he won election to the River Oaks City Council.

Gib Lewis served in the Texas House of Representatives from the 62nd through the 72nd Legislatures. He began his career in the Legislature in 1971 when he won election as a Democrat to the House of Representatives. In 1973, during his second term, he was appointed chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and in 1977, he was appointed chairman of the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. He rose quickly through the ranks and was elected Speaker of the House in 1983. During his tenure, Lewis made the Speaker's position much more powerful by pushing for a grant of authority from his colleagues that allowed him as Speaker to ignore seniority in selecting members of committees. Accomplishments highlighting his career as Speaker include school funding increases, public school reform mandating small classes and instituting a no pass/no play requirement, an indigent health care system, new insurance regulation, an overhaul of workers' compensation, changes in the criminal justice system, a state lottery, pari-mutuel racing, and a state-wide water plan. He served a total of twenty years as a legislator including five terms as Speaker of the House. In January of 1991, Lewis was re-elected Speaker for a record fifth term, but immediately announced that he would not seek re-election to another term in the House. After leaving office, Lewis continued his package-labeling business in Fort Worth and also became a lobbyist for the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.