TITLE: Congratulating former state representative L. DeWitt Hale on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

SUMMARY: Congratulating former state representative L. DeWitt Hale on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Honorable L. DeWitt Hale, a distinguished former member of the Texas House of Representatives, is celebrating his 100th birthday on June 10, 2017, and this momentous milestone is indeed deserving of special recognition; and WHEREAS, Born in Caddo Mills in 1917, DeWitt Hale grew up in Farmersville; while still a student at The University of Texas at Austin, he was elected to represent Collin County in the Texas House, and at the age of 21, he was the youngest member of the 46th Legislature; he served one term, from 1939 to 1940, and having completed his law degree, he joined the Office for Emergency Management in Washington, D.C., in 1941; during World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Forces, rising to the rank of first lieutenant; and WHEREAS, Following his return to civilian life, Mr. Hale settled in Corpus Christi to practice law, and in 1952, he was elected to the Texas House from Nueces County; serving in that office until 1963 and again from 1965 until 1978, he proved himself a master parliamentarian and persuasive advocate with an extensive knowledge of the issues of the day; he held many leadership roles, among them speaker pro tempore, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, co-chair of the Constitutional Convention Planning Committee, delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1974, and chair of the Convention Judiciary Committee; he led the House Select Committee on Impeachment that engineered the state's first impeachment since 1923, and he chaired the Committee of the Whole House, which handled the Articles of Address against a justice of the Texas Supreme Court; in addition, as chair of the House General Investigating Committee, he led a probe into the East Texas slant-hole scandal, a history of illicit drilling that involved the theft of some $100 million worth of oil; and WHEREAS, During his legislative tenure, Mr. Hale played a vital role in the passage of a wide range of significant legislation; in 1953, he authored a proposition, subsequently approved by the voters, amending the Texas Constitution to permit women to sit on juries; he was also instrumental in the adoption of the Hale-Aiken Committee program for the improvement of public education, as well as the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1961, the Texas Education Code of 1969, and the liquor by the drink law of 1971; and WHEREAS, This highly effective legislator also succeeded in securing a number of large projects that improved the quality of life for his constituents, among them the Wesley Seale Dam, the Harbor Bridge, the Port Aransas Ferry, and the Corpus Christi State School; a tireless champion of higher education in Nueces County, he handled the legislation that transformed the University of Corpus Christi, now Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi, from a small private college to a comprehensive four-year institution in the A&M system; and WHEREAS, Mr. Hale gave generously of his time and expertise to a host of legal and civic organizations; his contributions earned him myriad accolades from educators, the State Bar of Texas, and other groups, and he was awarded life membership in the League of United Latin American Citizens; in 1979, he donated his voluminous papers to TAMU--CC, where they are archived at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library; and WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Hale shared a rewarding marriage of more than six decades with his wife, Carol Hale, before her passing in 2008; he is the father of Janet Hale Wilde and the late Mary Carol Hale, and he takes great pride in his three grandchildren, Brandon DeWitt Wilde, Jennifer Wilde, and Thomas Joseph Wilde; and WHEREAS, DeWitt Hale's legislative accomplishments continue to benefit his fellow Texans in numerous ways today, and it is truly a pleasure to join his loved ones in honoring him as he celebrates 100 years of life well lived; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate the Honorable L. DeWitt Hale on the occasion of his 100th birthday and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued happiness; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Mr. Hale as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Hunter King of Uvalde Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1597 was adopted by the House on May 4, 2017, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House