The 81st Legislative Session is now in full swing, and I would like to encourage everyone to become involved. If you are unfamiliar with what occurs at the Capitol, please take a few moments to visit the following Web site: www.house.state.tx.us. This site will allow you to review past and upcoming topics as well as familiarize yourself with who represents your county in the House and Senate. One of the topics that counties need to monitor closely is House Bill 78 that was filed by Rep. Dan Flynn on Nov. 10, 2008. This bill relates to the amount of a county expenditure for which competitive bidding is required and could change the amount from $25,000 to $50,000.
A good example of how your involvement can impact the decision-making process was demonstrated by the counties to the east of IH 35. These counties called their representatives and senators, openly voiced their opinions, and got the public involved. The end result? The Trans-Texas Corridor project is no longer a threat to our communities.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, Republican Joe Straus from San Antonio was unanimously elected Speaker of the House. He is the first Jewish speaker since Texas became a state and replaces Tom Craddick, who in 2003 became the first Republican speaker since the Civil War era. This is quite a remarkable feat for Speaker Straus, and I think we will see a lot of good things from his tenure. Representatives from across the state showed excitement and eagerness to work with Speaker Straus. Tuesday was a very busy day at the Capitol, and I saw a few constituents who were visiting with their representatives and senators. I would like to remind everyone that every Tuesday morning, the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) will host a breakfast before heading to the Capitol; we had a great turnout for the first breakfast.
Being that this is a legislative year, conferences such as the ones listed below will have great speakers and topics for each of us, facilitating a better understanding of the legislative process.
51st Annual County Judges and Commissioners Continuing Education Conference and Educational Exposition in Austin – March 9-11
Spring and Fall Panhandle County Judges and Commissioners Association Conferences in Amarillo – March 12 & Sept. 10
West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association Conference in Abilene – April 21-24
North & East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Annual Education Conference & Business Meeting in Lewisville/Dallas – June 1-4
South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association Annual Conference on South Padre Island – June 8-11
TAC Annual Conference & Trade Show in Austin – Aug. 24-26
Far West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association Conference in Terlingua – Sept. 23-25
87th Annual County Judges and Commissioners Association Conference in Corpus Christi – Oct. 5-8
* For additional details on these conferences, please see the County Calendar on page ? of this issue.
The Seminar for Newly Elected County Judges and Commissioners was held Jan. 13-16 at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and had approximately 128 new officials in attendance. After visiting with the new officials on opening day, it reminded me of when I was first elected and had questions about my office and the many county responsibilities I would face. The TAC-sponsored judges’ e-mail listserve was one outlet for my questions. For information about TAC-sponsored listserves for county judges and commissioners, please contact Gayle Latham at TAC, 800-456-5974.
If you are a county judge or commissioner who knows of new officials in neighboring counties, please be available to answer any questions they may have.
Evan Gonzales