James R. Pitts (born January 1, 1947), known as Jim Pitts, is an American state politician and lawyer who served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1993 to 2015. He was the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee for four legislative sessions. He is a Republican from Waxahachie in Ellis County, south of his native Dallas, Texas.
Education and career before politics
He attended Southern Methodist University where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor. He has practiced law for the past thirty-four years in Waxahachie, with a specialty in general and real estate law. He also owns the Ellis County Abstract and Title Company.
Community involvement
Pitts serves as a director of Citizens National Bank, based in Waxahachie. He has also serves as a director of Waxahachie's Sims Library, and has served as a past president of the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce and past president and treasurer of the board of trustees of Presbyterian Children's Services. He also currently serves on the Community Advisory Council for the Scottish Rite Learning Center; was chosen as Waxahachie's "Outstanding Citizen of the Year" in 1999; and was named one of Texas' "Ten Best Legislators" in 2005 by the magazine Texas Monthly.
Pitts served for fourteen years as a member of the board of trustees for the Waxahachie Independent School District. He was serving as president of the school board when he was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1992.
Family
Pitts was born January 1, 1947, in Dallas, Texas. He is the twin son (with John R. Pitts) of Roy Eugene Pitts and Agnes Theresa Maloney, who currently live in Henderson County. His sister, Rosemary Burns, also lives in Henderson County.
In 1971, he married the former Frances Evelyn Eastham; she died in an automobile accident in June 2004. They had three children: daughters Duffy and Ashley and son Ryan. All three of his children are graduates of Southern Methodist University. Duffy is married to Dr. Scott Bloemendal and the mother of three children (Jackson, Will and Owen). Ashley is the Director of Development for the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and is the mother of one child (Margaret). Ryan is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Ellis County Title Company. Ryan is married to Faith Anne Pustmueller and they have two children (Evelyn and Reagan).
Legislative career
Pitts was elected on November 3, 1992, as the state representative for District 10, which comprises Hill and Ellis counties. The district was created from the 1991 redistricting of the state.
During the 1993 session of the Texas Legislature, Pitts served on the House Committees on Economic Development and Transportation. He was appointed to the committees on Criminal Jurisprudence and Corrections for the 74th Legislative Session in 1995. During the 75th Legislative Session, Pitts served as a member of the Appropriations Committee and the State, Federal and International Relations Committee.
Introduction of juvenile death penalty legislation
In April 1998, Pitts introduced legislation which would have permitted capital punishment for offenders as young as eleven years old, though he stated that the legislation was not crafted with the intent of such sentences becoming commonplace. The legislation did not pass, and was rejected by then-Governor George W. Bush, who stated that he favored the then-present minimum age of seventeen (the minimum age, per the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Stanford v. Kentucky (1988) was then sixteen years of age, though Roper v. Simmons (2005) raised this to eighteen).
1999–present
In 1999, during the 76th Legislative Session, Pitts was appointed to serve on the House Committees for Appropriations, Financial Institutions, and Redistricting; he retained these positions in the 77th Session. Pitts also chaired the Appropriations subcommittees for Regulatory Agencies and Major Information Systems.
He also retained his posts as chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Agencies and as a member of the Select Committee on Teacher Health Insurance.
During 78th Legislative Session in 2003, Pitts served his third term on the House Appropriations Committee, and was appointed to the Ways and Means Committee, and the Redistricting Committee. Pitts was also appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Public School Finance and as chairman of the Subcommittee on High Schools.