Greg Bonnen

Background and personal life

A native of Angleton, the county seat of Brazoria County in southeastern Texas, Bonnen is a son of David and Matina Bonnen. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University in College Station. He subsequently received his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he is an assistant professoralso . He is a founder of Houston Physician's Hospital in Webster, Texas; since 2006, he has been the chairman of the hospital board. He is the founder of the Texas Brain and Spine Center. He also practices at Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center.

Bonnen is a director of Heritage Bank in Pearland, Texas; his brother Dennis is the bank's chief executive officer. Bonnen is a member of the Friendswood Community Church, a non-denominational Christian congregation.

He is involved in missionary activities around the world, including the establishment of thirteen missions with Builders Without Borders of Texas, Inc. He is active ithe faith-based organization, the Medical Strategic Network. He is a counselor for handicapped children at the Texas Camp of Lions Clubs International; in that capacity he met his wife, the former Kimberly Ann Durst. The Bonnens have two children.

Political life

When the Republican Representative Larry Taylor vacated the District 24 House seat to run successfully for the Texas State Senate, Dr. Bonnen and two other Republicans entered the primary contest to succeed Taylor. Bonnen led the field with 6,951 votes (45.1 percent) and was placed into a runoff election with Ryan Sitton of Friendswood, who trailed with 5,035 votes (32.6 percent). In 2014, Sitton rebounded to become the successful Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission. Heidi Thiess held the remaining but critical 3,440 votes (22.3 percent). In the second round of balloting on July 31, 2012, Dr. Bonnen prevailed with 8,608 votes (57.7 percent) to Sitton's 6,305 (42.3 percent).

In the general election on November 6, 2012, coinciding with the U.S. presidential election, Bonnen defeated the Democrat H. C. "Rusty" Cates of Galveston, 48,177 votes (73.3 percent) to 17,565 (26.7 percent). Defeated runoff candidate Ryan Sitton ran in 2014 for the Republican nomination for the Railroad Commission seat vacated by Barry Smitherman, who instead sought, unsuccessfully, the position of state attorney general.

Bonnen is a member of the House committees on (1) Appropriations and (2) Insurance.

In the 2013 legislative session, Bonnen supported a ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the bill passed the House, 96-49. He sponsored companion legislation to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers. Texas Right to Life rated him 84 percent.

Bonnen voted against a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure passed the House, 73-58. He co-sponsored legislation to provide marshals for school security. He opposed the bill requiring the immunization of minors without parental consent, a measure which the House nevertheless approved, 71-61. He co-sponsored the law to extend the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses. Bonnen supported the measure to prohibit texting while driving. He voted to require testing for narcotics of those receiving unemployment compensation. He voted against an "equal pay for women" measure, which passed the House, 78-61. He voted to forbid the state from enforcing federal regulations of firearms and co-sponsored another law allowing college and university officials to carry concealed weapons in the name of campus security. He co-sponsored legislation to reduce the time required for an individual to procure training to obtain a concealed handgun license; the measure cleared the House 116-30. He voted for the redistricting bills for the state House, the Texas Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. He opposed term limits for certain state officials, and the resolution failed on the House floor.

In 2013, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Bonnen 98 percent favorable. The Young Conservatives of Texas rated him a cumulative career score of 82 percent. He ranked 50 percent from the Texas League of Conservation Voters. Another interest group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, founded by Michael Quinn Sullivan, rated him 82 percent. The Texas Association of Business and the National Rifle Association rated him 93 percent and 92 percent, respectively.

Bonnen was unopposed for House re-nomination in the Republican primary election on March 4, 2014.