Some villains threaten children; others target damsels in distress, but in Texas, legal reform villain Robert Duncan tried to hold an entire state's economy hostage!

The longtime Senate State Affairs chairman has sponsored major trial lawyer proposals in the upper chamber. His villainy included attempting to abolish asbestos-related mesothelioma evidence standards that provide a rational set of medical standards to bring fairness and predictability to the determination and settlement process.

But that was just the beginning of Duncan's plan of destruction. Another piece of his handiwork was HB 1657, which weakened the workers' compensation system and undermined job site safety by allowing lawsuits against property owners, even when the injured party had already received workers' compensation benefits. So in Duncan's world, if you're a business you ought to pay for insurance that doesn't actually provide any coverage! Good for trial lawyers no doubt, but how exactly does that suggest fairness or encourage employers to come to Texas?

Even that wasn't enough. Duncan made a play for the legal reform villain triple crown by casting the deciding committee vote to approve legislation expanding medical damages against employers.

If you've got a job in Texas and want to keep it, you might want to think about removing Duncan from his, because if his anti-employer ideas ever become law, it could mean big trouble for hardworking Texans.