William S. Heatly

He also made several enemies because of his reluctance to spend state funds on what he considered "superfluous" programs and his generosity to favored institutions and agencies.

Many colleagues complained about his ruthless, domineering behavior, which included calling up influential people in their districts to put political pressure on them.

Frustrated by the Legislative Redistricting Board's 1980 plan for West Texas counties, Heatly retired from politics in 1982 and returned to Paducah to "take some time to spoil his nine grandchildren."

In 2013, Heatly founded a domestic violence non-profit, the Texoma Alliance to Stop Abuse (TASA), where he continues to serve as chairman of the board.

His efforts to fight domestic violence in his rural jurisdiction were documented in the film Beyond Conviction by Thorne Anderson, which aired on PBS in October 2021.

The Brown-Heatly Building in Austin, which houses the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, is partly named for Heatly.