Fritz Lanham Lyne Jr. Lyne was born and reared in Dallas , Texas. He was the vice-president of Lyne Energy Partners, a company in the oil industry, from to , when he was elevated to company president.
From to , he volunteered as the head basketball coach and a part-time history teacher at the private Notre Dame Catholic School in Wichita Falls. He has taught Sunday school in the churches of which he has been a member since he was in high school. In , Lyne won a special election for mayor of Wichita Falls with an outright majority against eight opponents. He was reelected in with more than 90 percent of the votes cast and ran unopposed in In , he ran not for mayor but in the Republican primary election for state representative.
In the general election on November 2, he defeated the Democrat Michael L. Smith, percent. In the one legislative session in which Lanham served, he was assigned to the Ways and Means and Environmental Regulation committees. On the other hand, the Young Conservatives of Texas rated him 63 percent conservative. The Texas Association of Business gave him an 85 percent rating. The Sierra Club rated him 42 percent.
Lyne voted to tax sales via the Internet if the company has a physical presence in Texas. Though the measure passed the House, , it was vetoed by Governor Rick Perry. He voted to reduce funding for state agencies.
He voted against a bill to ban texting while driving, another measure which Perry vetoed. He voted against the law signed by Perry which permits corporal punishment in public schools but only with parental consent.
