State Rep. Vance Smith fired from job as Harris County Chamber of Commerce CEO

State Rep. Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain) was fired Friday as CEO of the Harris County Chamber of Commerce in a sudden Zoom meeting after casting his vote against Gov. Brian Kemp’s tort reform bill, the legislator confirmed Monday to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Hours after casting his opposing vote Friday against the highly controversial Senate Bill 68, which provides stricter protections for businesses against civil lawsuits, Smith got a text asking him to join a Zoom meeting with the executive committee of the Harris County Chamber of Commerce. During the call, they expressed their disappointment with his opposition to the tort reform, Smith said.

“The gist of it was my vote on the tort reform was not representative of what the chamber stood for,” he said. “Therefore, they wanted to part ways.”

Smith said he had no prior knowledge that his vote on this bill would affect his position at the Chamber of Commerce.

“It would have been three years at the Chamber in June,” Smith said. “I was a little shocked. I worked pretty hard for [the position] too.”

Smith said his opposing vote came after many concerns he had with the bill. He stated that he believes this bill would diminish the power of judges and juries in the courtroom, providing blanket protections that “needed a second look.”

“I think a judge is supposed to run a courtroom,” Smith said. “You don’t limit what plaintiffs and defendants can say and when they can say it.”

Executives from the Harris County Chamber of Commerce did not respond to the Ledger-Enquirer’s requests for comment before publication.

Smith said he is not pursuing any legal action against the firing.

“I’m trying to look out the windshield and not the rearview,” Smith said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM.