Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

Profile

As Texas' chief fiscal officer, the Comptroller has a constitutional responsibility to estimate available revenue for the state and is required to manage the state's fiscal matters. The Comptroller also collects taxes and fees owed to the state and pays the state?s bills. The duties of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts include:



  • State fiscal watchdog and accountant
  • Revenue estimating
  • Investing state dollars
  • Economic forecasting
  • Economic development assistance
  • Local government assistance
  • Tuition assistance
  • Taxpayer assistance

Comptroller of Public Accounts Biography

Viewing public office as a solemn bond with the people she serves, Susan Combs was sworn in as Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts on Jan. 1, 2007. Texans elected her to the office by an overwhelming majority on Nov. 7, 2006.

As Agriculture Commissioner, Susan Combs built a strong record of fiscal conservatism and is an innovator in public policy. Combs is focused on providing better access to government services, minimizing costs and justly applying tax and fiscal laws as Comptroller of Public Accounts. She is known for her limitless energy and unparalleled commitment to excellence, which she has applied throughout her career working for Texas.

Combs previously won back-to-back elections in 1998 and 2002 to serve as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, blazing a trail as the first woman elected to the office, re-engineering the Texas Department of Agriculture?s electronic information systems for greater efficiency and launching the unparalleled GO TEXAN marketing campaign for Texas-made products. Her initiatives and programs boosted economic development and ignited revitalization across the state. With a special emphasis on rural Texas, her efforts helped to create and retain jobs for thousands of Texans, in turn building a stronger economy for the state. Her work to ensure Texas schoolchildren had access to healthy food at school served as a national model for other states to follow.

In recognition of her work for the agriculture community, The Progressive Farmer magazine named her Leader of the Year in Texas Agriculture for 2002. For her dedication and commitment she was inducted into the Governor?s Commission for Women inducted Combs into the Texas Women?s Hall of Fame in 2004 for her dedication and commitment to providing healthy food for Texas schoolchildren and for her high-profile efforts to enhance rural economic development. That same year, Combs was invited to participate in the Time-ABC News Summit on Obesity, where she was recognized for her work on childhood nutrition and named as one of six national heroes in the fight against obesity. In March 2006, the American Medical Association presented Combs with the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service, the highest award the AMA can bestow on a public official, for her leadership in tackling the state?s obesity crisis and championing a groundbreaking public school nutrition policy to address it.

Prior to her election as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Combs served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives, where she successfully sponsored and passed landmark private property rights legislation. Working side by side with then Governor George W. Bush, Combs worked to rewrite the Juvenile Justice Code in 1995. She also wrote and passed legislation establishing an accountability system for our state?s public schools, as well as legislation to make state agencies more fiscally responsible. She authored additional legislation on tort reform, vital to the state?s business community.

Susan Combs graduated from Vassar College and worked in international advertising in New York, in the financial markets on Wall Street and for the federal government. She returned to Texas and received her law degree from The University of Texas School of Law. Upon graduation, Combs served as an Assistant District Attorney in Dallas handling child abuse cases, where her performance as a tough prosecutor earner her widespread respect. Throughout her career, Combs has had a deep interest in children and their welfare and education. She has served as president and board member of a private parochial school and she has also served on the board of an agricultural lending institution.

Combs was born in San Antonio and has a cow-calf operation in Brewster County on the same ranch established by her great-grandfather more than a century ago. She lives in Austin with her husband, Joe, and is the proud mother of three sons.


Contacts

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Susan Combs
PO Box 13528, Capitol Station
Austin, TX 78711-3528
Physical address:
Lyndon B. Johnson State Office Building
111 East 17th Street
Austin, TX 78774
Email: susan.combs@cpa.state.tx.us
http://www.window.state.tx.us/

Customer Service Tax-Related or Business Matters
Work: 877-662-8375

Customer Service Non Tax-Related Matters
Work: 888-334-4112

Sales and Use Taxes
Work: 1-800-252-5555

Franchise Tax
Work: 1-800-252-1381

Certificates of Account Status/Good Standing
Work: 1-800-252-1386

WebFile Help
Work: 1-800-531-5441 Ext: 3627

Comptroller Field Office - Corpus Christi

Taxpayer Services and Collections
400 Mann Street, Suite 600
Corpus Christi, TX 78401-2047
Work: 361-882-1234

Audit Office
400 Mann Street, Suite 608
Corpus Christi, TX 78401-2047
Work: 361-882-1234

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