None.
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
To listen to the audiocassettes please contact the Archives' Preservation Officer.
The present Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts was created by the Texas Constitution of 1876 (Article IV, Sections 1 and 230), continuing the position which had been originally created by the Provisional Government in 1835 and renewed by each constitution. The Office is responsible for collecting state revenue, tracking state expenditures, and monitoring the financial condition of the state. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is the state's chief fiscal officer, bookkeeper and economic forecaster and the primary duty of the Comptroller's Office is to collect 26 state taxes, including sales, corporate franchise, motor fuels, motor vehicle sales, oil and natural gas production, and inheritance taxes. The Office has field offices in 25 cities equipped to take applications for tax permits and licenses and to make sure delinquent taxpayers bring their accounts up to date. Comptroller auditors regularly check taxpayers' books to ensure compliance with the laws, visiting businesses ranging from small Texas grocers to Fortune 500 corporations in Texas and other states.
The Comptroller is required by law to provide the Legislature with a sworn statement showing the financial condition of the state at the end of each fiscal year and an estimate of probable revenue for the coming fiscal year. The Texas Constitution limits the amount that the Legislature may spend to the amount of revenue the Comptroller certifies as available for each biennium. The agency also evaluates spending bills in the Legislature to determine if enough money will be available to meet the budget. In addition, the Comptroller's Office ensures that state agencies stay within their budgets, and is developing uniform state accounting and payroll systems to improve the efficiency of all state financial operations. Among its 18 major divisions/areas, the Local Government Division helps Texas cities and counties in handling state funds and in budgeting, bookkeeping, cash management and purchasing procedures, while the Economic Development Division provides information about federal and state grant opportunities, distributes data about local economies and helps businesses find purchasing and training opportunities. The Research Division studies and reports on all sectors and geographic regions of the Texas economy. Finally, the Comptroller's Office helps taxpayers comply with state tax laws and stay abreast of changes in the law.
On September 1, 1996 (Senate Bill 20, 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995) the Office of the Comptroller assumed the function of the abolished State Treasury Department and the Treasury Department's Unclaimed Property Program, thus making the Comptroller responsible for depositing and investing state funds, paying state warrants, administering and enforcing the state's cigarette and tobacco tax laws, and attempting to return abandoned property to its owners. Soon after, the 75th Legislature (House Bill 2380, Regular Session, 1997) abolished the State Depository Board and transferred its duties to the Comptroller.
The Office's Tax Policy Division coordinates all issues related to tax policy, tax services, and the enforcement of tax laws.
These records include audiocassette tapes and transcripts of meetings, dated 1987. They comprise records of public hearings between Texas Comptroller's Tax Policy Division personnel and industry representatives. The meetings were held to confer with members of the public regarding implementation of new service taxes on such activities as data processing, real property services, janitorial services, and security services. No hearing appears to be documented by both a transcript and an audio cassette, with the possible exception of the session with the Texas Apartment Association and Building Owners and Managers Association. Most, if not all, hearings occurred from September through November of 1987.
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.
These records are listed in the order in which they arrived, with audiocassettes first, followed by transcripts.
(Identify the item), Public hearings files, Tax Policy Division, Texas Comptroller's Office. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Nancy Enneking, January 2000
Accession number: 2000/090
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Tax Policy Division of the Texas Comptroller's Office on January 3, 2000.