Phillip Pettus
| Phillip James Pettus | |
Alabama State Representative
for District 1 (Lauderdale County) | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 5, 2014 | |
| Born | 1962 |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Pettus |
| Children | Three children |
| Residence | Killen Lauderdale County Alabama |
| Alma mater | Rogers High School Shelby State Community College |
| Occupation | Retired state police captain |
| Religion | Church of Christ |
Phillip James Pettus (born 1962) is a retired state police captain from Killen, Alabama, who has since 2014 represented District 1 in the Alabama House of Representatives for Lauderdale County in the far northwestern portion of his state, just south of the Tennessee state line..
Pettus graduated from Rogers High School in Florence, Alabama and attended the former Shelby State Community College, now Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, Tennessee, and the University of North Alabama, also in Florence. From 1988 until his retirement in 2015, he was an Alabama state police trooper and attained the rank of captain. He is a member of the Alabama Cattleman's Association and the National Rifle Association. He is a former volunteer firefighter for the Greenhill Fire Department. He and his wife, Mary, have three children. They attend the Loretto Church of Christ in Loretto, Tennessee, located eighteen miles north of Killen.[1][2]
In 2014, Pettus won the Republican House primary in District 1, a low turnout election, over intra-party rival Sterling Statom, 1,172 votes (56.3 percent) to 909 (43.7 percent). He then narrowly unseated the Democratic incumbent representative, Greg Burdine, 4,933 (51.4 percent) to 4,652 (48.5 percent).[3]
Pettus is a member of these House committees: (1) Judiciary, (2) Military and Veterans' Affairs, and (3) Transportation, Utilities, and Infrastructure.[2]
In 2015, Representative Pettus voted for the use of electrocution in executions. He voted to exempt local officials that they be required to perform marriage ceremonies, a measure which passed the House, 69-25. He did not vote on the proposal that animal shelters be compelled to prepare monthly reports; the bill failed, 28-67. He supported the establishment of public charter schools in Alabama, a measure which passed the House, 58-41. He supported the bill to permit the home schooled to participate in public school athletic events, a measure approved by the full House, 52-43. He voted to increase the cigarette tax, which passed the House, 52-46. In 2016, Pettus co-sponsored legislation to forbid the sale of fetal tissue or to permit its use in research, and he opposed dilation abortions in Alabama. He supported additional funding for new prison facilities, a measure which passed the House, 52-33. In 2017, Pettus voted to permit midwives to practice in his state, a measure which won House approval, 84-11. He voted to reduce the time for appeals from inmates on death row. He voted to prohibit alteration or removal of historic monuments, a measure which passed 72-29. He voted against the prohibition of judicial override of sentencing guidelines, which nevertheless passed the House, 78-19.[4]
References
- ↑ Representative Pettus, Phillip. Retrieved on October 26, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Phillip Pettus. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 26, 2017.
- ↑ Phillip Pettus. Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved on October 26, 2017.
- ↑ Phillip Pettus' Voting Records. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 26, 2017.
