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This November, Texas voters will elect someone new to most of the state-wide offices: the Office of the Governor; Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller, Agriculture Commissioner, Land Commissioner, and Railroad Commissioner. Over the next several weeks, I will talk about the duties and powers of each office, and how the office effects the lives of Texans.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller) serves as the state's chief accounting officer and tax collector. Each biennium, the Comptroller estimates the amount of revenue the state is expected to have over the next two years. Revenue for the state comes from a number of sources, including taxes, licensing fees, federal monies, and land leases. Legislators use this estimate when crafting the state's budget.
The Texas Constitution requires the Comptroller to certify the state budget and to ensure that the budget is balanced. In order to certify the state budget, the Comptroller reviews all appropriation bills passed by the legislature to verify that state spending is kept within the limits of anticipated state revenue. This process of checks and balances helps to keep state government from over-spending.
The Comptroller also performs a number of other duties, including handling franchise taxes, tax abatements, sales tax and other business tax issues; issuing a release each year of the names of people with unclaimed property; auditing school districts, colleges, and universities and issuing school performance reviews; and overseeing the Texas Tuition Promise Plan and other college-savings plans. The Comptroller plays a critical role in the state's government, and decisions made by the Comptroller effect the lives of every Texan.
For more information about the Comptroller of Public Accounts or any other matter of state government, please contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us. My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.
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