Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas
120px
Incumbent
Susan Combs

since January 1, 2007
Style The Honorable
Term length Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder James B. Shaw
1846
Formation Texas Constitution
Website [1]

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is an executive branch position created by the Texas Constitution. As with nearly every other executive branch head, the Comptroller is popularly elected every four years concurrently with the Governor and the other elected executive branch positions (elections take place in even number years not divisible by four; e.g., 2006, 2010, and so on). The current Comptroller is Susan Combs, having been elected to her first term in 2006 after the incumbent, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, chose not to run for re-election in a failed attempt to become Governor.[1] The longest-serving Comptrollers in Texas history were George H. Sheppard, who served for 18 years for nine two-year terms, Robert S. Calvert, who held the post for 26 consecutive years for an unprecedented twelve terms, and Bob Bullock, who served for 16 years for four four-year terms.

The Comptroller's office is responsible for collecting substantially all tax revenue owed to the State of Texas; this involves more than 60 different types of taxes from the sales tax (the largest source of the state's tax revenue, since Texas does not have a personal income tax) to minor items such as the "battery sales fee" (a $2-$3 fee on sales of lead-acid batteries). As Texas uses a unified collection system for those taxes assessed by both state and local governments (such as sales and hotel taxes), the Comptroller's office is thus responsible for collecting and remitting the local portion of such tax revenue to the various cities, counties, and special districts throughout the state.[2] Many of these duties were previously performed by the Texas State Treasurer; however, over time most of the functions were transferred to the Comptroller's office; Texas voters voted to formally abolish the Treasurer's office in a 1995 Constitutional amendment and by 1996 the Comptroller had taken over the Treasurer's few remaining duties.

The Comptroller's office also operates the various pre-paid college tuition funds operated by the state, provides reports on fiscal management and economic forecasts, and manages the unclaimed property fund.[3]

As part of its fiscal management responsibilities, Article III, Section 49a of the Texas Constitution requires the Comptroller to certify to the Texas Legislature the amount of available cash on hand and anticipated revenues for the next biennium (the two year period beginning on August 1 of odd-numbered years). The Legislature is not permitted to appropriate any funds in excess of the Comptroller's certified amounts (except in cases of emergency and then only with a 4/5ths vote of both chambers), and absent the latter the Comptroller is permitted to reject and return to the Legislature any appropriation in violation of this requirement.

List of Texas Comptrollers

  • James B. Shaw (D): 1846-1857
  • Clement R. Johns (D): 1859-1864
  • Willis L. Robards (D): 1865
  • Albert H. Latimer (R): 1866
  • Morgan Hamilton (R): 1867-1869
  • Albert A. Bledsoe (R): 1870-1873
  • Stephen Heard Darden (D): 1874-1879
  • William M. Brown (D): 1880-1882
  • William Jesse Swain (D): 1883-1886
  • John D. McCall (D): 1887-1894
  • Richard W. Finley (D): 1895-1900
  • Robert M. Love (D): 1901-1903
  • J. W. Stephen (D): 1903-1910
  • W. P. Lane (D): 1911-1914
  • Henry B. Terrell (D): 1915-1919
  • M. L. Wiginton (D): 1920
  • Lon A. Smith (D): 1921-1924
  • Sam Houston Terrell (D): 1925-1930
  • George H. Sheppard (D): 1930-1949
  • Robert S. Calvert (D): 1949-1975
  • Bob Bullock (D): 1975-1991
  • John Sharp (D): 1991-1999
  • Carole Keeton Strayhorn (R): 1999-2007
  • Susan Combs (R): 2007-Present

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Texas Department of Public Safety — Abbreviation TX DPS Patch of the Texas Department of Public Safety …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Lottery — Commission headquarters in downtown Austin The Texas Lottery is the government operated lottery available throughout Texas. It is operated by the Texas Lottery Commission, headquartered in downtown …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Department of Family and Protective Services — John H. Winters Human Services Center includes the headquarters for Texas Department of Family and Protective Services The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for investigating charges of abuse, neglect or… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Constitution — The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Texas. Texas has had seven constitutions: the constitution of Coahuila y Tejas, the 1836 Constitution of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Residential Construction Commission — 311 East 14th Street, the former headquarters of the commission Texas Residential Construction Commission was a Texas state agency that oversaw single family residential house construction. The agency was headquartered at 311 East 14th Street in… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas — 31° N 100° W / 31, 100 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Texas gubernatorial election, 2006 — The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006 to select the next governor of the state of Texas, who is serving a four year term that began on January 20, 2007. The Republican and Democratic Parties chose their candidates by… …   Wikipedia

  • Comptroller — A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries… …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Department of Criminal Justice — Logo of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Agency overview …   Wikipedia

  • Texas Department of Transportation — (TxDOT) Agency overview Formed 1991 Preceding agencies Texas Highway Department Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation Jurisdiction …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”