The Commissioners Court is the general governing body of the county.  It functions as both the legislative and executive branch of county government.  The Commissioners Court consists of the County Judge and four Commissioners.

As a member of the Commissioners Court, a Commissioner conducts the general business of the county, including overseeing the budgetary and policy making functions of county government. This includes budgetary control over all county offices, including the offices of other elected officials; supervision of the expenditures of all county money; levying and collecting taxes for county purposes; approval of the county’s annual tax rate and tax roll; and the issuance of bonds for the construction of buildings, roads, and the like. 

The Commissioners Court also has ultimate responsibility for managing county operations. The Court has the authority enact county-wide policies, and to the extent provided by law, enact legislation in the form of court orders. Additional personnel and operating responsibilities include financial and law enforcement/jail needs planning, establishing Commissioners and Justice of the Peace precinct boundaries, and setting employment and benefit policies for the county. The Commissioners Court may also call, conduct and certify elections, including bond elections; appoint non-elected department heads; fill vacancies in elected and appointed positions in the county; and finally, supervise and control the county courthouse, county buildings and other county facilities.

Finally, Commissioners have the responsibility of providing oversight of the county’s infrastructure. They are responsible for overseeing the construction, maintenance and improvement of county roads and bridges, establishing long-range thoroughfare, open space, and land use plans, and acquiring property for rights-of-way or other uses determined to be in the public’s best interest.

Records of the Travis County Commissioners Court, many of which are available online, date from the county’s establishment in 1840 to present day. Early minute indexes have been recently transcribed so that they are text searchable, and they are valuable resource in locating content within the Commissioners Court minutes. Indexes are arranged alphabetically by name of interested party or subject matter, and include the volume and page number where recorded in the minutes.

Find the records of the Travis County Commissioners Court online! 

Commissioners Court Minute Indexes and Searchable Transcriptions (1840-1966)

Commissioners Court Minutes (1840-1973)

Commissioners Court Agendas and Minutes (1997-2014)

Commissioners Court Agendas, Minutes and Video (2010-present)

Road Books (c. 1850-1957)

Searchable Transcript of Index to Road Books (1898-1902)

Selected Photos of the Commissioners Court

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