He then attended from 1946 to 1949 the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, from which he received his Juris Doctor degree.

[4] In 1973, Representative Nugent was the author of the 215-page House Bill 1, designed to establish procedures for transparency in state government.

[5] In 1978, Nugent was first elected to an unexpired four-year term on the Railroad Commission to succeed fellow Democrat Jon Newton.

[6] However, on November 8, 1994, Nugent was narrowly unseated by the Republican Charles R. Matthews, a former mayor of Garland, Texas.

[8] Bille Nan Nugent's former husband, Joe Cotten (born c. 1951) of Frisco ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the Railroad Commission in the 2012 primary election.