Former state Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat who served in the Texas House for more than 30 years, died Wednesday, his family said. He was 65. 

Coleman first joined the Texas House in 1991 and represented parts of central and southeast Houston throughout his tenure until 2022.  

During that time, Coleman — who was open about living with diabetes and bipolar disorder — worked on major legislation related to healthcare and mental health including helping to establish Children’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in Texas. He authored the sweeping Sandra Bland Act, which requires county jails to divert people with mental health issues toward treatment and mandates that jail deaths be investigated by independent law enforcement agencies. He also advocated for Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University and the University of Houston.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said he remembers Coleman as a passionate advocate for Houston, a champion of the underserved and a great man. 

“Garnet’s service in the Texas House began long before I entered the chamber, but I had the privilege of serving alongside him from my freshman year until his retirement,” Burrows added in a Thursday post on X. “As a new member of the House, I looked to longtime public servants like Garnet to understand how to get things done for the people who sent us to Austin. It didn’t take long to see his compassion, courage and deep commitment to the community he served.” 

Former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, similarly highlighted Coleman’s “unmatched tenacity” in fighting for his Houston district, the city’s Third Ward where he grew up, as well as mental health and healthcare. 

“We did not always agree on every issue but I never doubted his heart or his love for Texas,” Phelan said on X. “Thank you, Garnet.” 

In addition, Coleman chaired the Texas Legislative Black Caucus and the Texas Legislative Study Group House Caucus.

He announced his retirement from the Texas Legislature in late 2021 primarily because of health reasons, after nearly collapsing on the House floor months earlier and having to amputate his lower right leg due to a severe illness. 

That surgery and recovery also kept Coleman in the state while dozens of House Democrats broke quorum and left Texas in the summer of 2021 in protest of a Republican voting restriction bill. At the time, he worried about missing the historical moment more than being arrested. He had led the charge when House Democrats fled the state in 2003 to fight a mid-decade congressional redistricting effort.

“A legend and true leader for our caucus, he showed what it meant to live by the famous Frederick Douglass quote: ‘power concedes nothing without a demand,’” the Texas House Democrats said in a statement. “His legacy lives on among the many, many lives he touched, and we will all miss him dearly.”

On Thursday, Coleman’s family said he died of natural causes. 

“The family asks for privacy at this time and that he be remembered for his service, dedication to his family, and never-ending passion for uplifting all Texans,” the statement said.

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