S • • 718 WEST 5th ST AUSTIN. TEXAS 78701 47;76;5 Tribune-Herald Waco, Texas SEP 111982 EDITORIALS Official cockiness a costly luxury One nagging question about the just completed special session of the Legislature just won't go away. Would legislators have had to meet in a third special session if Gov. Clements had paid at- tention to warnings he received that the state's unemployment fund was going broke? The governor's staff has, predictably, given lit- tle weight to a letter sent to the governor's office by the Texas Employment Commission last November. The letter said the TEC wanted to "alert you (Clements) to a potential problem" with the fund, which was becoming "dangerously small" compared to outgoing benefits. While Gov. Clements' staff members assign lit- tle importance to the letter, they cannot deny the fact that the governor, when he first called the special session, said he had received no letter from the TEC. When his staff admitted receiving the mysterious letter, their defense was that the TEC neither made recommendations on bailing out the fund nor intended to make any before the next regular legislative session in January. Clem- ents' staffers also point out that the drain on the fund didn't take place until June, July and August. That's all very true. But we still believe the head of state government, properly warned, should anticipate problems of this magnitude. Clements could have saved the taxpayers some money by allowing legislators to address the unemployment fund problem during their last spe- cial session in May. The governor is a strong leader with ample self-confidence. But a thin line separates self-con- fidence from damaging cockiness and stubborn- ness. The difference can become expensive when a special legislative session is called to correct it.