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78S41584 MMS-D

By:  Ritter                                                       H.R. No. 319



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Sheila Beckett, executive director of the Employees 
Retirement System of Texas (ERS), is retiring June 30, 2004, after 
30 years of outstanding service to the State of Texas; and
	WHEREAS, Appointed to her present position in 1996, Ms. 
Beckett oversees programs that provide retirement, health 
insurance, deferred compensation, and flexible benefits for more 
than 200,000 current state employees and retirees; under her 
direction, ERS manages the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program, 
which provides health care coverage to more than 500,000 state 
employees and retirees, together with their families; the agency is 
further entrusted with an investment portfolio whose market value 
stands at approximately $20 billion; and
	WHEREAS, In recognition of the exceptional leadership that 
Ms. Beckett has provided at the helm of ERS, she has been named 
Agency Administrator of the Year by the Texas Public Employees 
Association and Professional Administrator of the Year by the 
Central Texas Chapter of the American Society for Public 
Administration; for her commitment to ensuring that ERS 
accomplishes its mission of efficiently delivering high-quality 
benefits, the American Society for Public Administration and the 
National Academy of Public Administration have conferred on her the 
prestigious National Public Service Award; and
	WHEREAS, A highly regarded state government and budget 
expert, Ms. Beckett served Governor Bill Clements as the director 
of the Office of Budget and Planning and Lieutenant Governor Bob 
Bullock as budget director; she also served the lieutenant governor 
as senior advisor on issues concerning employee benefits; and
	WHEREAS, This distinguished Texan began her career in state 
government in the 1970s as a research assistant to a special state 
committee formed by Governor Dolph Briscoe to study public employee 
benefits; she later worked in the Texas House of Representatives 
and served as a budget examiner for the Legislative Budget Board; 
she has managed the spending analysis section in the office of the 
comptroller of public accounts and served as a special assistant to 
the director of the Texas Legislative Council; and
	WHEREAS, A graduate of Texas A&M University, where she 
received a bachelor's degree in political science, Ms. Beckett went 
on to earn a master of public affairs degree from the Lyndon B. 
Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at 
Austin; and
	WHEREAS, After stepping down from her post at ERS, Ms. 
Beckett will be moving to Belgrade, Serbia, where she will join the 
staff of the U.S. Treasury Department and serve as resident budget 
advisor to the Serbian minister of finance and economy; and
	WHEREAS, For three decades, Sheila Beckett has given 
unstintingly of her talents and expertise in behalf of the people of 
Texas, and her unwavering commitment to this state and its citizens 
represents the very best in government service; now, therefore, be 
it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby honor Sheila Beckett on the 
occasion of her retirement as executive director of the Employees 
Retirement System of Texas and extend to her profound gratitude for 
her immeasurable contributions to ERS and the people of the Lone 
Star State; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for Ms. Beckett as an expression of high regard by the 
Texas House of Representatives.