John Smithee, Texas House District 86
John Smithee represents Texas House District 86 and is a Republican. This page is the record: of the 67 votes this site publishes, John Smithee cast 57, and on the 43 of those where the two parties took opposite sides, they voted against their own party 12 times.
Where they broke with their own party
- HB 5616 — Creates a state program and fund to promote the presidential libraries in Texas as historical and tourist attractions. history
- HB 2284 — Requires music therapists to hold a state licence before they can practise, and allows the state to charge fees for it. history
- HB 3335 — Lets a county donate surplus property to a civic or charitable group without first showing that an auction would fail, but requires it instead to find that the county can keep enough control to ensure the donation serves its public purpose. history
- HB 2341 — Makes time credit automatic, rather than up to the judge, for state jail inmates who take part in an education, treatment or work programme. history
- HB 3326 — Makes it easier for adjunct professors to qualify for federal student loan forgiveness, by requiring public colleges to count 3.35 hours of work for each credit hour taught and to treat 30 hours a week as full time. history
- HB 2234 — Raises the age at which someone is tried as an adult from 17 to 18, so 17-year-olds go through the juvenile system instead. It applies only to conduct on or after 1 September 2027. history
- HB 5525 — Requires the parole board to write separate guidelines for people convicted of crimes they committed before turning 18, weighing rehabilitation and education. history
- HB 510 — Requires the state to give a homeless person a free certified copy of their birth certificate when they ask for one. history
- HB 1784 — Extends the help colleges must give students who were in foster care — including a named staff liaison — to students who are homeless. history
- HB 23 — Lets an applicant have a licensed engineer review or inspect development documents, instead of waiting for the local government to do it. history
- HB 3179 — Lets the county where the Llano and James rivers meet charge its own hotel tax, except at hotels a city already taxes. history
- HB 3947 — Requires regional transport planners to take account of the travel needs of people who use state health, welfare and workforce services. history
How they voted on the bills people have heard of
These seven drew the most attention of the 67 this site publishes. Every member has a position on record for each one, whichever way they went.
- SB 2 Education savings accounts Voted for
Creates state-funded accounts that families can spend on private school tuition and other approved school costs. The money comes from the state budget. history - SB 8 Immigration enforcement Voted for
Requires the sheriff of every county that runs a jail, or contracts one out, to request an agreement letting their deputies enforce federal immigration law, and to ask again each year if no agreement is reached. Creates state grants, sized by the county’s population, to pay for it. history - SB 10 Ten Commandments in classrooms Voted for
Requires every public school classroom in Texas to display a copy of the Ten Commandments. history - SB 3 THC ban No recorded vote
Bans hemp products containing THC — the ones sold in smoke shops and convenience stores — and adds licences, fees and criminal penalties for selling them. history - SB 14 Regulatory review Voted for
Creates a state office that reviews agency rules and recommends repealing ones it finds unnecessary. It also tells judges to decide for themselves what a law means, rather than accepting the agency’s reading. history - SB 6 Electric grid and large power users Voted for
Sets terms for power users above 75 megawatts at one site, such as data centres. They must help pay to connect, and can be ordered to cut usage during an energy emergency alert. history - SB 5 Dementia research institute Voted for
Creates a state institute that awards grants for dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research and prevention. It takes effect only if voters approve a constitutional amendment setting up the institute and its fund. history
ZIP codes in District 86
79109 · 79118 · 79045 · 79121 · 79103 · 79106 · 79325 · 79042 · 79098 · 79018 · 79347 · 79010 · 79124 · 79226 · 79084 · 79039 · 79029 · 79001 · 79009 · 79012 · 79015 · 79016 · 79019 · 79022 · 79025 · 79035 · 79044 · 79051 · 79053 · 79087 · 79091 · 79092 · 79094 · 79110 · 79119 · 88430
Most people first. Nearly half of Texas ZIP codes sit in more than one House district, so a ZIP on this list may also be in another one, and your street decides which.
See how your own answers compare
The site asks you about these same votes with the party labels hidden, then shows you where you landed next to the members who actually voted.
There is also a one-page fact sheet, to print or to hand to someone.
Who made this. Marco Arras, a Texas resident. I donate to the Democratic Party, and I say so before anything else rather than in a footnote. The rule that picks which votes appear is published and runs identically on both caucuses, and every vote and count is in a file you can download and check.
Sources. Roll calls from the Texas House Journal and LegiScan. Districts and ZIP codes derived from 2020 Census blocks; the method and its known error are documented in ZIP_TO_DISTRICT.md.