TEXAS SUSAN COMBS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

P.O. Box 13528 Austin, TX 78711-1440 Tel: 512-463-4444 Fax: 512-463-4965 Email: [email protected] Website: www.window.state.tx.us Selection Method: Constitutional— Elected by the People Term Length: Four Years Term Limit: None Served: Since January 2007 Next Election Year: 2014 Salary: $150,000

KEY STAFF

Martin Hubert, Deputy Comptroller 512-463-4002 [email protected] Stephanie Alvarez, Assistant to the Comptroller BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 512-463-7749 [email protected] Born in , TX. Currently resides in Austin. Husband’s name: Joe; three children. B.A., Religion Amy Comeaux, Manager of Scheduling and French, Vassar College; J.D., University of 512-463-4271 School of Law. Republican. Lauren Willis, Communications Director Before being elected Comptroller, Combs served 512-936-2057 as the Texas Agriculture Commissioner. Elected in 1998 and again in 2002, Combs was the !rst woman TEXAS COMPTROLLER to ever hold the o"ce. From 1993 to 1997, Combs OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS served in the Texas House of Representatives. There she introduced and passed government account- Total Number of Employees: 2,859 ability reforms and protected Texas landowners by Total CPA Budget: $220,241,789 authoring and passing the state’s landmark private property rights legislation. Prior to her tenure in Comptroller Susan Combs is a strong !scal conservative the , Comptroller Combs was a committed to making state government work better assistant district attorney. for all Texans. As the state’s treasurer, check writer, tax collector and revenue estimator, Combs insists that taxpayer money be spent wisely and that the state’s spending is transparent to citizens. In addition, the Texas Comptroller’s O"ce awards and manages hundreds of statewide contracts on behalf of more than 200 state agencies and 1,900 local government CO-OP members.

86 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE TREASURERS ABOUT THE OFFICE Treasury Operations: Receives, funds disbursements, raises and remits money for investment. Our experi- Administration: Oversees the expedited processing enced team processes incoming receipts, outgoing of revenues into the treasury to ensure the security disbursements and allocates money for investments and availability of state monies. across thousands of transactions every day. The agency manages a portfolio of approximately $40,000,000,000. Banking: Serves as the primary bank operations area for Texas government. Unclaimed Property: Administers the Texas Unclaimed Property Program, which seeks to return abandoned Budget: Provides timely and accurate !nancial ser- property to its rightful owner. vices to the Legislature and state agencies, including forecasting, accounting and payroll processing. Cash Management: Serves as the custodian of the state’s cash and securities through cash #ow forecast- ing for investment and Tax Revenue Anticipation Note issuance purposes. College Savings: O%ers Texas families programs to assist with !nancing the future costs of higher education such as tuition, room and board and other quali!ed expenses. Fiscal Management: Balances the state’s books and ensures Texas payments. Local Government Services: Assists local governments in economic development, streamlining operations, managing public funds and complying with state laws. Procurement: Works to lower the price of goods and services for Texas government entities by leveraging state’s massive buying power when negotiating con- tracts, which has saved the state $100 million. State agency and local government purchasers can buy goods/ services through the online TxSmartBuy system. The procurement o"ce also facilitates the use of Historically Underutilized Businesses in state procurement and provides information on the state’s procurement process to minority- and woman-owned businesses. Property Tax Assistance: Conducts the annual Property Value Study and Methods and Assistance Program reviews. Revenue: Processes all tax payments for the state, returns tax allocations to local jurisdictions and gener- ates taxpayer refunds. Revenue Estimating: Estimates revenue available for appropriation by the Texas Legislature. Tax Administration: Administers the state’s tax laws through audit and collection activities.

STATE TREASURY PROFILES 87