By Craddick, Laney, Uher, Wolens, Oliveira H.R. No. 1249 74R14472 PAN-D R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, Steve Collins has long played an invaluable role in 1-2 the work of this chamber and his expert counsel, outstanding 1-3 professionalism, and unquestionable integrity over the course of 1-4 the 74th and many previous legislative sessions are almost enough 1-5 to give lawyers a good name; and 1-6 WHEREAS, A native of Amarillo, Steve was a cheerleader at his 1-7 community's Caprock High School but was forced to give up the short 1-8 skirts and pom poms when he enrolled in The University of Texas 1-9 School of Law, having been cautioned that while that stuff may fly 1-10 in the Panhandle, it won't wash in the Capitol City; and 1-11 WHEREAS, Steve was graduated from law school in May 1976 and 1-12 took a job the following September as an attorney with the Texas 1-13 Legislative Council, in which capacity he would go on to address 1-14 growing concerns about the state's Agriculture Code as the code's 1-15 chief revisor; and 1-16 WHEREAS, His ability to farm out tasks to others made him a 1-17 natural choice to land the job as director of the council's legal 1-18 division in 1986 and he happily accepted his shot at stardom, 1-19 little dreaming that in 1995 he would be placed in the unenviable 1-20 position of supporting, cajoling, and leading a snarling staff of 1-21 33 attorneys to produce and satisfy a record number of bill 1-22 drafting and amendment requests, which have in fact grown in 1-23 proportion with each passing session in a manner approaching that 1-24 of the national debt; and 2-1 WHEREAS, During his remarkable tenure with the council, Steve 2-2 also has started some important initiatives within the agency; he 2-3 spearheaded the popular "bring your daughter to work" day at the 2-4 council, but received a somewhat less than enthusiastic response 2-5 for his "do lunch with your wiener dogs" idea that he promoted 2-6 during the most recent interim; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Outside the workplace, Steve is a devoted family man 2-8 who enjoys a happy and rewarding marriage with his wife, Beth, and 2-9 a very close relationship with his two children, Drew and Shelly; 2-10 to say Steve is an involved parent is putting it mildly, for he 2-11 often attends concerts with his children, who are hoping to break 2-12 their dad of his overwhelming desire to spend quality time with 2-13 them before they marry and attempt to go on their honeymoons 2-14 unchaperoned; and 2-15 WHEREAS, An all-around good guy, Steve is a lay minister at 2-16 Berkeley United Methodist Church and a strong supporter of many 2-17 charitable causes in Austin; he broke his thumb while building a 2-18 home for Habitat for Humanity but has successfully nailed down many 2-19 other important projects through the years, benefitting such worthy 2-20 causes as pediatric AIDS and hunger relief; and 2-21 WHEREAS, At this time, it gives the members of this chamber 2-22 great pleasure to commend Steve for his extraordinary efforts on 2-23 behalf of the legislature and the greater community; now, 2-24 therefore, be it 2-25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas 2-26 Legislature hereby honor Steve Collins for his monumental 2-27 contributions to the citizens of Texas; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-2 prepared for Mr. Collins as an expression of admiration and 3-3 friendship by his colleagues in the Texas House of Representatives.