Wikipedia

Bill Ratliff

For the political scientist, see William Ratliff.

William Roark Ratliff (August 16, 1936 – December 8, 2025) was an American politician and engineer who served as a member of the Texas Senate from 1989 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003, he served as the 40th lieutenant governor of Texas, after the previous Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry replaced George W. Bush, who resigned to become president of the United States.[1]

Bill Ratliff
University yearbook portrait, 1958
40th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office
December 28, 2000 – January 21, 2003
GovernorRick Perry
Preceded byRick Perry
Succeeded byDavid Dewhurst
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 1st district
In office
January 10, 1989 – January 10, 2004
Preceded byRichard Anderson
Succeeded byKevin Eltife
Personal details
BornWilliam Roark Ratliff
(1936-08-16)August 16, 1936
DiedDecember 8, 2025(2025-12-08) (aged 89)
Mount Pleasant, Texas, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseSally Sandlin
Children3, including Bennett
RelativesPlasma (granddaughter)
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (BS)

Early life and education

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William Roark Ratliff was born on August 16, 1936.[2] He was educated at Sonora High School in Sonora in Sutton County in West Texas and then at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied civil engineering.[3] Ratliff was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.[2]

Career

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Ratliff worked as a civil engineer for thirty years.[3]

Texas Senate

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Ratliff was first elected in 1988 as a Republican to the Texas Senate.[4] In 1992, he was appointed chairman of the Senate Education Committee by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock. From 1997 to 1998, he served as President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate.[3]

He and his wife, the former Sally Sandlin, had three children and eight grandchildren.[3] Son Bennett Ratliff of Coppell, a civil engineer, served nine years as a Coppell ISD School Board Trustee and was elected in 2012 to represent District 115 in the Texas House of Representatives.[5] Another son, Robert Thomas Ratliff (born 1967) of Mt. Pleasant, is a member of the Texas State Board of Education.[6]

Ratliff announced in 2003 that he would not run for reelection to the State Senate in 2004.[7] Instead, he soon resigned the Senate seat[8] and was succeeded in a special election by Republican Kevin Eltife of Tyler. In 2005, Ratliff was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for "the example he has set of courage and principle in American public life".[9]

Lieutenant governor

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In 2000, for the first time in Texas history,[3] the Texas Senate was called upon to choose a new lieutenant governor after the election of George W. Bush as President of the United States and the resultant succession of lieutenant governor Rick Perry to become governor. In accordance with a 1984 amendment to the Texas Constitution of 1876, the Texas Senate chooses one of its own members to fill a vacancy in the position of lieutenant governor.[1]

In the election for lieutenant governor, Ratliff defeated rival David Sibley of Waco. In 2001, Ratliff first announced that he would be a candidate for election to a full four-year term to the office of lieutenant governor in the 2002 state elections, and he received the endorsement of several prominent Republican legislators.[10] However, he later withdrew from the race, and the position went to David Dewhurst, the Texas land commissioner.[3]

Political views

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Ratliff was regarded as a moderate.[7] He stated in an interview, "I am a Republican because I agree with the Republicans at least 51 percent of the time."[1] He has taken bipartisan stands on a number of issues. While in the Texas Senate, he supported controversial reforms that transferred funds from richer to poorer school districts for more equitable funding.[9] He also argued in favor of "patients' rights" in medical malpractice cases during a debate on tort reform, and in 2003 criticized other members of the State Senate for failing to raise taxes in order to prevent large budget cuts.[9]

In early 2003, Ratliff was the only dissenting member of his party who joined with Democratic state senators in opposing a redistricting proposal of Texas's then thirty-two seats in the United States House of Representatives that he felt would lead to the under-representation of rural voters.[9] In cooperation with ten Democrats, he signed a letter refusing to bring the matter to the Senate floor, which, by virtue of Texas Senate traditions that require a two-thirds vote of those present and voting to allow a bill to be debated, prevented the proposal from being passed.[7]

Eventually a plan suitable to Republicans was enacted in the third of three special legislative sessions called in 2003 by Governor Perry.[11] Under that plan, by 2011, Republicans held twenty-three U.S. House seats from Texas compared to nine for Democrats.[12]

Personal life and death

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Following his political career, Ratliff became an education lobbyist.[13] He was married to Sally Sandlin Ratliff. The couple had three children and eight grandchildren.[3] One of his children, Bennett Ratliff, served in the Texas House of Representatives.[13] He died at his home in Mount Pleasant, Texas, on December 8, 2025, at the age of 89.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "April 2001 State Legislatures magazine: Bill Ratliff, A New Texas Star?". May 31, 2004. Archived from the original on May 31, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "William Roark "Bill" Ratliff". Bates-Cooper-Sloan Funeral Home LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "30. Bill Ratliff". The Texas Politics Project. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  4. ^ "Our Campaigns - TX State Senate 01 Race - Nov 08, 1988".
  5. ^ "Biographical Profile for Bennett Ratliff". vote-tx.org. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  6. ^ "November 2016 Resolution in Honor of Thomas Ratliff". SBOE Texas. March 20, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c King, Michael (November 28, 2003). "Naked City". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  8. ^ "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Member profile".
  9. ^ a b c d Bill Ratliff, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
  10. ^ Prominent Texas Republican Senators and House Members Support Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff as He Announces Plans to Run, Business Wire, May 26, 2001
  11. ^ "Texas District Fight Over - Maybe". CBS News. October 15, 2003. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  12. ^ "Political Party Breakdown of the 112th Congress of the United States, 2011-2013". The Green Papers. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Knecht, Lyndsay (February 8, 2013). "Texas Lobbyists and Lawmakers, All in the Family". KERA News. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  14. ^ "Former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff Passed Away". Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  15. ^ Barker, Aaron (December 8, 2025). "Former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff Dies at 89". FOX 7 Austin. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
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