MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Chaney, Brown, Browning, Clarke, Dearing, Frazier, Gollott, Gordon, Harvey, Huggins, Jackson (15th), Jackson (11th), Jordan, King, Kirby, Little, Michel, Moffatt, Posey, Ross, Thames, White
A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LEGACY OF PUBLIC SERVICE OF COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE AND FORMER MISSISSIPPI REPRESENTATIVE EDWARD HELLER BUELOW, JR., UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM PUBLIC OFFICE.
WHEREAS, Edward Heller (Ed) Buelow, Jr., has faithfully served in various capacities of public service in the State of Mississippi for over 30 years, and it is with appreciation that we recognize his dedication and devotion upon his retirement; and
WHEREAS, a native of Vicksburg, Mr. Buelow graduated in 1962 from the University of Illinois and served as a Captain in the United States Army from 1963 to 1969 before returning to Vicksburg where he was elected to his first public office as a member of the Warren County School Board, serving from 1972 until 1976; and
WHEREAS, elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1976, where he remained until 1992, Mr. Buelow served as a member of various committees, including the Appropriations Committee, the Apportionment and Elections Committee, the Education Committee, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Joint Legislative Reapportionment Committee, the Joint Congressional Redistricting Committee and as Chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Committee; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure with the Legislature he received numerous honors, including the TLC award from the Coalition for Mothers and Babies in 1985, the Labor Award from the Mississippi Perinatal Association in 1987, named as one of 10 Legislators of the Year in 1989 by the National Republican Legislators Association and recognized by President George H.W. Bush for having received that honor and presented with the Hugh White Free Enterprise Award in 1991; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, Mr. Buelow received an appointment to serve as Chairman of the Mississippi State Tax Commission and was reappointed for a second term in 1998; and
WHEREAS, using his knowledge earned as a legislator in the complex field of tax law and regulation and knowledge earned concerning agency appropriation and budgeting methodology, Mr. Buelow, as Chairman of the State Tax Commission and Commissioner of Revenue, directed the majority of revenue-generating activities in the state for the past 12 years; and
WHEREAS, from June 1992 to October 1993 he served as Chairman of the State Gaming Commission, where he laid the groundwork for a successful gaming industry in our state, licensed the first dockside casinos opened in Mississippi, developed the Gaming Rules and Regulations, issued the first Charitable Bingo Licenses and developed the Charitable Bingo Rules and Regulations; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Buelow, during his career, has served on numerous professional associations and committees, including having served as Mississippi’s only President of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association in 1998 and currently serves on its Board of Directors, served as President of the Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators in 1996 and was on its executive board for many years, served on a number of committees with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and Federation of Tax Administrators, served on the state’s Revenue Estimating Committee and served as a member of the License Tag Commission overseeing three new tag series during his administration; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Buelow led the Tax Commission through the aftermath of a devastating fire in May 2003 that caused multi-million dollars of damage to its physical plant, leaving over two-thirds of the building uninhabitable for a six-month period of time while continuing the critical work of the agency without missing a single deposit of state tax revenue and without detriment to state government; and
WHEREAS, he has taken an active role in dealing with the State Personnel Board to ensure that agency job classifications match the level of the tasks performed, as well as providing significant amounts of training for Tax Commission staff at all levels of authority emphasizing quality performance and taxpayer service; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Buelow brought about technology and efficiency improvements to the Tax Commission during his tenure, increasing from only two personal computers to a comprehensive network of over 600 personal computers, developed the Tax Commission website, installed image scanning and optical character recognition of tax return data, instituted electronic filing of tax returns and initiated a project to modernize and integrate all tax systems into an integrated tax system; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Buelow headed the efforts to update tax forms, leading to Outstanding Achievement Awards for Forms Releases and Honorable Mention Awards for Forms Design as awarded by the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, succeeded in reaching the lowest levels of outstanding tax delinquencies in known history of the agency, redefined the audit program to audit a larger percentage of tax dollars annually, performed statewide reappraisal of property, modernized motor vehicle assessments, implemented electronically filed property tax rolls and homestead rolls, created a new program for homestead reimbursements and performed the valuation and assessment of approximately $5.5 Billion of public service and transportation properties for ad valorem taxation; and
WHEREAS, he has been supported in all his endeavors by his wife, Mrs. Carol Cox Buelow, and his children, Laura Buelow Jones, Lisa Buelow Ireland and Edward H. (Bo) Buelow III, and his grandchildren, Anna Katherine Ireland and Selby Allen Ireland, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, it is with pride that we honor former Representative Buelow, whose career serves as an example to all citizens of the State of Mississippi and whose legacy of service is exemplified by fairness, perseverance and prudent judgment:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend the remarkable career of former Mississippi Representative Edward Heller Buelow, Jr., upon his retirement and express acknowledgment to him for the hard work and many sacrifices he made to serve the people of our state and wish him all success in his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be presented to Ed Buelow and made available to the State Tax Commission and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.