Former Texas Rep. Garnet Coleman dies at 65 after decades of public service – Click2Houston

Former Texas Rep. Garnet Coleman dies at 65 after decades of public service  Click2Houston

Former Texas Rep. Garnet F. Coleman, who represented Houston’s House District 147 from 1991 to 2022, died of natural causes at 65 on Sept. 23. HOUSTON – Former state Rep. Garnet F. Coleman, who represented Houston’s House District 147 for more than 30 years, died of natural causes Sept. 23, his family announced Thursday. He was 65. Coleman served in the Texas House from 1991 until his retirement in 2022. During his tenure, he worked on legislation involving health care, mental health services, criminal justice and economic development. He was involved in creating Texas’ Children’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1999 and later worked to expand enrollment by addressing administrative barriers. Coleman also served as the House’s lead writer on the health and human services section of the state budget during four legislative sessions, helping direct additional funding to health coverage, mental health care and HIV/AIDS services.

His legislative work included support for the state’s Medicaid 1115 Transformation Waiver, which brought federal funding to Texas health care providers. He also participated in a group of state lawmakers selected by the Obama administration to work on national health reform. Coleman’s criminal justice work included legislation requiring crisis intervention training for peace officers and the 2017 Sandra Bland Act. The law addressed officer de-escalation training, traffic-stop data, jail safety, investigations