From the President

At this writing, the Texas Legislature is entering the final weeks of the 79th Session. What a session it has been! Counties have been in a fight for their lives as the legislators have tried to restrain or limit our ability to provide the basic services for our citizens. Rep. Fred Hill, Rep. Mike Villarreal, and Rep. Carter Casteel have worked hard on behalf of counties and are still fighting to preserve county government at a level at which basic services can be provided. We all owe these representatives our thanks, our help, and our gratitude for their efforts. There were many other representatives who have stayed the course for local government, and they also deserve our thanks. There are a few weeks – albeit very long weeks – left before the session ends, so we do not know the final outcome.
This legislative session has been disappointing in its efforts toward local government and local control. School finance has been the major issue faced this session, but somehow we, the counties, got pulled into the arena. This started a life-or-death struggle for the preservation of county government that has gone on for months.
Your Association officers, First Vice President Gilbert Pargmann, DeWitt County Commissioner; Second Vice President Mark Evans, Trinity County Judge; Immediate Past President Bobby Smith, Polk County Commissioner; and Legislative Chairman John Thompson, Polk County Judge, have worked tirelessly with Jim Allison in presenting the counties’ position to the legislators as legislations worked its way though the House and Senate chambers. Also working for our counties was the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas Legislative Committee, comprised of past presidents of your Association and the present officers. These committee members rotated weekly throughout the Session to present our positions on unfunded mandates, revenue caps, and appraisal caps to the members of the Legislature.
I would like to extend my appreciation to all of the county commissioners and judges that took time from their duties at home to contact their legislators either by phone, letter, fax, or travel to Austin in the past few months.
On another note, planning is in full swing for our State Conference Oct. 3-6 in Lubbock. We will offer a good education program along with a detailed analysis of the new legislation affecting county government. With the help of the Texas Association of Counties, V.G. Young Institute of County Government, Texas Cooperative Extension, the Lubbock County Commissioners Court, and your magazine, County Progress, this will be an enjoyable, informative conference. I hope you will make plans now to attend.
Van York, CJCAT President