Page 4 - 630578_IBAT-Jan-Feb2018

Persistence Pays

CHRISTOPHER L. WILLISTON, CAE

T WAS PERHAPS THE BIGGEST “ASS CHEWING” I HAD EVER RECEIVED. Having been summoned to then
Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock’s office, IBAT lobbyist Don Adams knew the outcome before we
I even entered the lawmaker’s lavish apartment in the state capitol. As a former state senator from east
Texas, Bullock’s reputation for being a junkyard dog was well known. He knew it, too.

“Chris, this won’t be pretty, but it’s necessary What a tremendous lesson that was for a
if we are to achieve our desired outcome,” Don young association executive. Although I under-
warned. At issue was the unfair tax treatment of stood the legislative process and procedures, pri-
the banking industry under the state appropria- or to this hurdle, I knew little about what it takes
tions bill. Bullock, the former comptroller of pub- to prevail on a policy issue of importance to the
lic accounts, knew the budget coming and going. industry. It’s a lesson in perseverance and hard
He also knew where additional monies could be work and winning against long odds.
extracted from certain industries—and Hardly a day has gone by since the passage
The regulatory relief commercial banking was one of them. of Dodd-Frank that I haven’t thought of that les -
obtained in this measure, I thought I had heard almost every son. For the past seven years, we have pleaded
while significant, bad word in the book, but over the next the case that community banking was being
excludes many other 30 minutes in Bullock’s office, I got a unjustly punished for the sins of the too-big-
whole other education. He made it clear
to-fail banks. At this writing, a vote in the U.S.
provisions we believe to us that we were about to take a major Senate to pass a comprehensive regulatory relief
should not be applicable tax hit and that we had better prepare our bill for community banks, S. 2155, is imminent.
to community banks. In membership for it. The vote will represent the culmination of a lot
Over the next several weeks, as Don
other words, there is and I worked outside the Senate floor of hard work by many.
I am already being asked what’s next after we
more work to be done. in Austin, we picked off senators one by finally get the bill through both chambers and
one. Our argument was a good one: we onto the president’s desk. The fact is that nothing
are happy to pay our fair share of state taxes, but will stop with the passage of this legislation, but
should not be singled out to pay more than any the regulatory relief obtained in it, while signifi-
other small business doing business in Texas. Don cant, excludes many provisions we believe should
was persistent with the lieutenant governor, too. not be applicable to community banks. In other
Every time he passed us in the halls, Don would words, there’s more work to be done.
ask him if he had our concern fixed yet, only to get Remember, too, that the mid-term elections
a snarl and that patented Bullock “go to hell” look. are just a few months away. We could see a possi-
The Senate Finance Committee hearing and ble shift in power in both the House and Senate
subsequent vote recommendation would take that could stymie our hopes for further relief
place on the Senate floor, as no hearing room and necessitate grassroots involvement to defeat
was large enough to hold the throngs of inter- potentially new harmful legislation.
ested industry taxpayers. Even Bullock himself All of us need to stay focused and resolved
stood just feet behind the committee chairman to deliver the community bank message. The
to ensure that the amendments and subsequent oppressive regulatory environment of the past
vote were to his liking. Don continued to work several years can be likened to a good old-fash-
the committee members as they entered and ioned ass chewing, and a vivid reminder that we
took their seats. That’s when Bullock motioned can never let our guard down. Like a junkyard
for me to come to him. Expecting another repri- dog ready to pounce on anyone who invades its
mand, he put his arm around my shoulder. “You territory, our persistent messaging has paid—
can tell Don to lay off, we have you fixed,” he said. and will continue to pay—great dividends. H
Sure enough, he had us fixed. The banking
industry would be taxed in a fair and equitable Chris Williston is IBAT’s president and CEO. He can
way, just as we had worked so hard to achieve. be reached at 512/474-6889 or [email protected].

4 | THE TEXAS INDEPENDENT BANKER