Allen Craig Eiland (born April 4, 1962) is a Democratic former member and Speaker pro Tempore of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

. From 2003 until 2015, Eiland represented Texas House District 23, which includes

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, Jamaica Beach, Texas City, and the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County and all of Chambers County. Prior to redistricting in 2003, Eiland was the member for House District 24, which roughly covered all of Galveston County west of

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...

. Eiland was first elected to the House in 1994. For eight years he served on the Insurance and Appropriations committees, including four years as Vice Chair of the Insurance Committee and two years as chair of the House Pensions and Investments Committee. In 2009, Speaker

Joe Straus Joseph Richard Straus III (born September 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A Republican, he represented District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar Count ...

named Eiland the House Speaker Pro-tempore, a job which entails leading the house in Speaker Straus' absence. Eiland was also named to the powerful House Appropriations committee and the Insurance committee. In 2011 Beverly Woolley of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

was chosen to replace Eiland after Republicans captured a

super majority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fund ...

of seats (101 out of 150) in the 2010 elections. He is viewed by his colleagues as an expert on insurance matters and the state budget in general and the

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

and CHIP program budgets specifically. ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' magazine has also named Eiland one of Texas' 10 Best Lawmakers. In the November 4, 2014,

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, Eiland did not seek reelection. Eiland served on the House Appropriations Committee and was the vice chairman of the Insurance Committee. A native of Stanton in Martin County, Eiland resides on

Galveston Island Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston, Texas, Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, Texas, Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City ...

. He and his wife, the former Melissa Orebaugh, have four children (William Gray Eiland, Delaney Eiland, Blake Eiland, and Robert Tucker Eiland). They are members of Moody Memorial First

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

in Galveston.

References

External links

Representative Craig Eiland
official Texas House of Representatives site * 1962 births Living people People from Stanton, Texas Lawyers from Galveston, Texas Politicians from Galveston, Texas Baylor Bears football players Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Texas lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature {{TX-politician-stub