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Bob Bullock (1929-1999) grew up in Hillsboro. He served in the Korean War and was a 33rd degree Mason. He was first elected to public office as a State Representative in 1956, representing his hometown. That set in motion a public service career that ended when he stepped down as lieutenant governor in 1999. While in the Legislature, Bullock enrolled in law school. He earned a law degree from Baylor University as well as a bachelor's degree from Texas Tech University. He was also a graduate of Hill College in his hometown. While serving as Assistant Attorney General, Bullock headed up the first anti-trust and consumer protection division in that office. He won several historic cases including a multi-million-dollar recovery from five large drug companies who conspired to fix prices. He then served on the Texas Historical Commission before joining the staff of former Governor Preston Smith. He was then appointed Texas Secretary of State where he pushed for voting rights for 18-year-olds and campaign finance and election law reforms. After leaving the Secretary of State's office Bullock was elected State Comptroller serving in that office for 16 years. His tenure as Comptroller was marked by a series of innovations. He became the first elected state official to adopt an equal employment opportunity program. He was among the first elected officials to use computer technology in state government to cut costs and improve productivity. He took his hands-on management style to the lieutenant governor's office to which he was elected in 1990. As lieutenant governor he overhauled ethics laws, created the Texas Performance Review, helped consolidate environmental agencies into one department, led efforts to modernize the Texas tax system, and worked on state problems in tort reform, health and juvenile justice. He retired in 1999 and died soon afterward. The Legislature that year voted to name the state museum in the Capitol Complex which he had long promoted after him. BIBLIOGRAPHY: link: Texas State cemetery (Taken from a biography provided by Secretary of the Senate, Betty King).
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