Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton is a consultant in tax, fiscal policy and related issues. In this capacity, he works with a wide range of public and private clients. He also writes a regular column on state tax issues for the national publication State Tax Notes. He currently serves an Interim Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration for the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Prior to January 2007, Hamilton was Chief Deputy Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas. He was appointed to that position in January 1999 by Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn. Hamilton previously served as Deputy Comptroller for seven years from 1991 to February 1998. In the interim, he was in private practice. As Deputy Comptroller, Hamilton was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Comptroller’s office. The Comptroller is the state’s chief fiscal officer and is responsible for state tax administration, statewide financial management, and state treasury operations. The Comptroller employs a staff of 2,800 in Austin and more than 40 field offices around the state and in three other states. Hamilton retired from state service in late 2006.Hamilton has also served on special assignment as Co-Executive Director of the California Performance Review for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The CPR’s 2,500 page assessment of California government, A Government for the People for a Change, was released in July 2004. Prior to joining the Comptroller in 1991, Hamilton was director of state and local services for the Policy Economics Group of KPMG Peat Marwick in Washington, D.C. He served in that position from 1987 through 1990. In 1986-87 Hamilton was executive director of the Select Committee on Tax Equity, a panel created by the Texas Legislature to study the state’s tax structure. Prior to his work with the Select Committee, Hamilton worked for the Texas Association of Taxpayers, a business group interested in tax policy and fiscal responsibility in Texas government. From 1982-86, Hamilton was Associate Deputy Comptroller for Fiscal Management and Chief Revenue Estimator with the Comptroller of Public Accounts. He was also research director for the Comptroller. Hamilton is past president of the national Federation of Tax Administrators and the National Tax Association. He has served on the board of directors of the Federation of Tax Administrators, the Multistate Tax Commission, and the National Tax Association. He has served as a member of the board of directors of Quality Texas and also served as a board member of the national Electronic Benefits Council. He was the first recipient (1998) of the Bullock Bullock Award for Public Stewardship. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.Hamilton is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He was recognized as the first recipient of the LBJ School’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1987.