From the President

It does not seem possible, but when this article is published our State Conference will be over, and my year as president of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas will have come to an end. The year has passed in a flash. It has been a great honor for me to serve as your State Association president. It was truly a privilege.
The legislative season resulted in a year of great challenge for county government. I am very pleased to say that county judges and commissioners rose to the occasion and were very active during the last session. If we were not so diligent, who knows what the Legislature would have done to us, intentionally and unintentionally.
Unfortunately, we are still discovering some of the Legislature’s actions and the impact on counties. How about House Bill 3693? This thoughtful piece of legislation requires governmental entities responsible for payments of electric, water or natural gas utility services to record in an electronic repository the entity’s metered amount of electricity, water, or natural gas consumed for which it is responsible to pay and the aggregate costs for those utility services and to report the recorded information on a publicly accessible Internet Web site with an interface designed for ease of navigation if available, or at another publicly accessible location. What can you say about that one?
Last, but certainly not least, I want to express my thanks to the State Association officers I have served with and who provided support and encouragement: J.D. Johnson, Gilbert Pargmann, Evan Gonzales, Van York, and my good friend, the late Bobby Smith. I also want to thank some very special people for their assistance throughout the year and during the State Association conference: Rick Avery and his staff, Karen Norris and TAC, Julie, Becky and Amy at County Progress, and the regional association officers. And lastly, I want to especially thank our general counsel, Jim Allison, for all of his advice, counsel and wisdom during the year and especially during the legislative session. You have made my year as president so much easier.
While I have reached that senior status of past president of the State Association, I have not quit the fight yet. If I can help you or be of any assistance, please call me. Thanks again for the opportunity to serve as your Association president.
Mark Evans, Association President