Acting Comptroller Hancock participated in a meet and greet with agency employees.
This month marks a significant milestone here at the Texas Comptroller’s office: 50 years since the first edition of Fiscal Notes was published. It’s an honor to contribute a few words and introduce myself in the context of this meaningful achievement for the publication.
Over the years, Fiscal Notes has provided valuable insights into the state’s finances, becoming an essential resource for Texans who care deeply about how their tax dollars are used. And that mission hits close to home. What drew my wife, Robin, and me to public service was a shared commitment to preserving the strong foundations that make Texas exceptional: faith, family and fiscal responsibility. From my early days as a local school board member, ensuring Texans’ tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively has remained a top priority.
After several sessions working on the state budget in the Texas House and Senate, stepping into this new role has given us the opportunity to view the revenue process from a new angle — and it comes at a very active time for the agency.
This summer, we’ve issued a special session revenue estimate confirming that the Biennial Revenue Estimate remains on track, spoken with credit rating agencies to maintain Texas' AAA rating, supported Texans impacted by flooding with state tax filing extensions and information regarding potential property tax savings, highlighted the sales tax holiday to help families save on back-to-school essentials, and visited the Texas Bullion Depository to showcase new functions, including the storage of precious metals IRA assets and upcoming work on implementing transactional currency legislation. We’re also working at warp speed to get education savings accounts up and running for Texas families.
All of these efforts require close coordination across our entire team. It’s been great to visit several of our field offices and stop in communities throughout the state to see firsthand the impact of programs like rural law enforcement grants and broadband expansion initiatives. These programs are designed with one goal in mind: that every Texan, no matter where they live, has the resources needed to thrive in today’s economy.
As we look to the fall, we’re focused on building on this momentum and rolling out new tools, like our regional data dashboard, to give Texans even more access to timely, localized economic insights.
As the eighth-largest economy in the world, Texas continues to stand as a global leader in economic growth, opportunity and resilience. That success isn’t by accident. It’s the result of our state’s long-standing commitment to fiscal responsibility, a business-friendly climate and the hard work of Texans in every corner of the state.
We’re committed to keeping that progress going, full steam ahead.
A REVIEW OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY