In the next few days, the Texas Legislature should be wrapping up its work for their 81st Regular Session. For counties across Texas, there’s a mixture of good and bad news coming out of Austin – that’s how it is most sessions. Among the different types of officeholders in county government, there has been significant cooperation and negotiation to seek compromises that ultimately serve Texans best. I’d like to thank everyone for setting aside differences and working together.

At this point, we don’t know if events will compel Gov. Perry to call a Special Session this summer. If so, please pay attention. I doubt the Governor will call lawmakers back to town just to focus on a county-specific issue, but even if the original purpose of a Special Session is not countyrelated, it is certainly feasible that horse-trading could result in his including measures that affect counties. And if he decides to veto the state budget and force lawmakers to re-draft it according to his preferences, there are dozens of state budget provisions that could affect your taxpayers’ bottom line. In the current economic environment, many counties will be faced with declining property values in the next year or so, and now is not the time for the Legislature to make matters worse.

But even without a Special Session, there is still critical business going on in Austin that must be paid attention to. The way this year’s calendar falls, June 1 is the last day of the Regular Session – then all the power is shifted over to Gov. Perry’s desk. Between that day and June 21, the Governor may sign, veto or let bills become law without his signature. You and your peers may have worked hard the past few months to secure passage of important bills that will improve the way your county provides services, but that doesn’t mean everyone understands the value of what you’ve convinced the Legislature to do. It’s still important to convince the Governor’s office that your pet bill is a good idea. Keep those emails and letters coming.

And on the other hand, it is not uncommon for harmful, last minute amendments to be discovered among the hundreds of bills awaiting the Governor’s consideration. Even though bills with a negative impact may have been debated and successfully defeated through effective, straight-up communications to lawmakers during committee hearings or floor actions, sometimes the “other side” finds a related bill and persuades legislators to tack on an amendment in the last few days when dozens of bills are flying by.

The point is, stay by your phones and check your email from TAC frequently over the next few weeks. The battle for better government is not over until they’ve all gone home and the Governor’s pen has gone dry.

Finally, one thing we can be assured of is that there will be quite a few bills that affect how counties perform their functions. A good way to learn about the new laws is by attending TAC’s Annual Conference Aug. 24-26 at the Austin Hilton. In addition to learning from your peers about changes in the law, you will be invited to help celebrate TAC’s 40th anniversary. And, there will be a special focus on ways that counties can improve the quality of customer service in their courthouses. I urge you to take a moment to register for this event at your earliest convenience.