Will Ford Hartnett

Will Ford Hartnett (born June 3, 1956) is an attorney in Dallas, Texas, who was from 1993 to 2013 a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 114 in Dallas County. In an earlier term from 1991 to 1993, he represented District 102, also in Dallas County, but he was switched to District 114 through redistricting after the 1990 U.S. census.

Background

Hartnett was born in 1956 in Austin, Texas, where his father, James J. Hartnett Sr., was attending the University of Texas School of Law. The family settled in Dallas, where Hartnett in 1974 graduated as the valedictorian of the Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving in Dallas County. In 1978, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1981, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the UT Law School. Admitted that same year to the state bar of Texas, Hartnett entered into the practice of law with his father, a native of Nebraska who came to Texas for law school in the early 1950s. In 1986, Hartnett gained certification in Probate Law and Estate Planning. Since 1988, he has been a partner in the family-owned Hartnett Law Firm in Dallas.

He is a member of the Texas State and Dallas bar associations. In 1986 he co-authored "Annual Survey of Wills and Trusts," published in Southwestern Law Journal. Texas Monthly magazine in October 2012, just weeks before Hartnett left the legislature, voted him a "Super-Lawyer". He is listed in the 2013 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Who's Who in American Law. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and in other federal courts as well. In 2001, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum rated Hartnett 93 percent, among the higher evaluations of Texas lawmakers. By 2012, Eagle Forum rated Hartnett only 33 percent conservative. The same kind of decline, from 93 percent conservative in 2001 to 33 percent in 2012, also happened to Hartnett's colleague from Denton County, Burt Solomons.

Representative Hartnett voted in 2006 to establish the Property Tax Relief Fund, a measure designed to reduce school district property taxes for maintenance and operation. He supported legislation to establish a minimum value for registration and tax purposes when an individual sells his own used vehicle to another. He supported legislation to allow an individual to use deadly force in self-defense. In 2007, he supported a pay increase for public school employees which excluded retirees. Hartnett voted to require photo identification for voting or the presentation of two non-photo ID cards to verify a person's identity. He voted with the House majority to reduce the fee for a marriage license from $60 to $30. Hartnett voted against casino gambling on Indian reservations; the measure died in the House on a 66-66 vote.

In 2011, Hartnett voted to tax sales via the Internet if the company has a physical presence in Texas. Though the measure passed the House, 125-20, it was vetoed by Governor Perry. Hartnett voted to reduce funding for state agencies. He voted against a bill to ban texting while driving, another measure which Perry vetoed. He voted against a law signed by Perry which permits corporal punishment in public schools but only with parental consent. Hartnett voted with a House majority to ban smoking in most public places; cities may also limit smoking by local measures. He voted for an amendment offered in 2011 by conservative Representative Wayne Christian, who was defeated for re-nomination in 2012, to require public colleges and universities to fund student centers that promote family and traditional values. The amendment was approved by the House.

Hartnett and his wife, the former Tammy Cotton, reside in Dallas. They have three sons.