[3] Simmons served on the House committees of (1) Appropriations, (2) Transportation, and (3) Local and Consent Calendars.
[4] In 2017, Simmons obtained House passage, 88–57, of his bill to abolish straight-ticket voting in Texas, a procedure still allowed in eight other states.
With a straight ticket, a voter pulls one lever or touches one computer square to vote for all nominees of the same party.
Simmons said that his intent is to encourage voters to make selections down ballot, including proposition and tax measures, instead of concentrating on a few offices at the top of the ticket.
He ran in the 2018 primary against Kevin Simmons (no relation), but was then defeated by Democratic candidate Michelle Beckley in the 2018 midterms general election in November.