Bill W. Clayton - Later Years

Later Years

Although Clayton chose not to pursue elective office again in 1982, he maintained his active interest in legislative affairs. In 1985, Clayton switched to the Republican Party and, four years later, was appointed by Governor William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr., to serve as a regent of the Texas A&M University System. Texas A&M recognized Clayton in 1979 for outstanding service and named him a distinguished alumnus. In 1988, Clayton was named as president of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students.

Clayton is also remembered for his indictment and later acquittal on federal bribery charges filed as part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation known as BriLab. After his own legal troubles, he sponsored legislation to establish new ethics laws. In later years, he served on the board of the interest group "Campaigns for People", a group which lobbied for stricter campaign finance disclosure laws.

In 1990, Clayton returned to school and obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

In May 2000, the Amarillo Globe News named Clayton to its 20th century "History Makers of the High Plains" listing.

Clayton died after a lengthy illness in Lubbock on 6 January 2007. Funeral services were held on January 10, 2007, at the First Baptist Church of Springlake, followed by his interment at Springlake Cemetery. Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered flags on state buildings flown at half-staff on the day of Clayton's funeral.

State Representative Delwin Jones, a longtime friend, called Clayton a "tremendous guy." Jones told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that he recalled many airplane trips from Austin to Lubbock that the two took together, with Clayton being the pilot. Their friendship dated back nearly four decades. Jones said that Clayton's interest in water was his greatest accomplishment: He was "really dedicated to water for the state, water for agriculture - Bill Clayton was one of the original water experts for the state of Texas."

Former State Representative Hugo Berlanga said that one could not "help but like Billy Clayton - he loved Texas and he took a keen interest in South Texas. He was a great friend and one of the finest Speakers we ever had."

Hector Uribe, who served three years in the House under Clayton and later worked with him as a lobbyist said that he was the first speaker to reach out to ethnic minorities. "Although he came from a very conservative area, he understood that Texas was a very diverse state and tried to be inclusive," Uribe said. One result was that Craig Washington of Houston became the first African American Speaker pro Tempore. Also under Clayton, the House Mexican American Caucus was created.

Gib Lewis, who succeeded Clayton as Speaker said that his colleague had "the talent and the ability to make everybody the best legislator could be. He let people represent their districts."

The Bill Clayton Detention Center, a 310-bed medium-security prison in Littlefield, is named in his honor.