Susan Combs was elected Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the state’s chief financial officer, in November 2006. She manages the state’s treasury operations to monitor Texas’ fiscal health, guides legislative decision makers by estimating state revenues and ensures state taxes are collected fairly and efficiently to fund vital programs and services for the people of Texas.

Under her leadership, the Comptroller’s office has assessed and implemented a sweeping range of business process improvements projected to save nearly $8 million by the end of 2009. Combs is also directing a comprehensive study of ways to integrate data across Texas state government to make processes and systems more cohesive, standardized and efficient.

Combs won back-to-back elections in 1998 and 2002 to serve as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, taking the reins as the first woman elected to the office. She also served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives, where she successfully sponsored and passed the state’s landmark private property rights legislation and authored legislation on tort reform vital to the state’s business community.