Texas Comptroller's Office:

An Inventory of Comptroller's Office Unprocessed Records at the Texas State Archives, 1835-1944, 1956-1963, undated

Agency History

The Office of Comptroller of Public Accounts was initially created by the General Council of the Provisional Government of Texas on December 29, 1835, elected by the General Council and commissioned by the Governor, for the purpose of examining and approving or rejecting any claims presented to him by the Auditor (also created by this ordinance).

The Comptroller first appeared as a constitutional officer in the first state Constitution of Texas (1845), elected for a two-year term by a joint ballot of the House and Senate. A constitutional amendment in 1850 abandoned this method of selection in favor of election by the voters of the state. The term of office was increased to four years by the Constitution of 1866, returned to two years by the present Constitution of 1876, and finally increased once again to four years by a constitutional amendment adopted in 1972. (Article IV, section 1)

On April 11, 1846, the First Legislature of the State of Texas approved an act defining the duties of the Comptroller. These included the following:

• to superintend the fiscal concerns of the state;
• to perform such official acts as were required of the Secretary of the Treasury under the Republic of Texas, when not otherwise provided for by law;
• to report to the Governor annually, giving an exact and complete statement of the funds of the State, of its revenues, and of the public expenditures during the preceding year, with a detailed estimate of the expenditures to be defrayed from the Treasury for the ensuing year, distinguishing between special and general appropriations;
• to keep all accounts between Texas and the United States, and all other accounts in which the State has an interest, and to suggest plans for the improvement and management of the public revenue;
• to examine and settle the accounts of all persons indebted to the State, to certify the amount or balance to the Treasurer, and to direct the collection of all monies due the State;
• to audit the claims of all persons against the State in cases where provisions for the payment thereof have been made by law;
• to draw warrants on the Treasurer for the payment of all monies directed by law to be paid out of the treasury;
• to number each warrant and to take a receipt for each warrant from the person receiving the same;
• to furnish the Treasurer with a monthly report of all warrants drawn;
• to prescribe and furnish the forms to be used by all persons in the collection of the public revenue;
• to receive and file all liens, mortgages, bonds and other sureties for money given to the State or to any officer thereof for the use of the State;
• to close all Comptroller accounts annually, and to allow these accounts to be examined by either house of the legislature, or by any legislative committee;
• to examine all disbursements of the Treasurer quarterly, and to cancel those warrants which have been paid;
• to preserve the books, records, papers, and other things belonging to his office, and to deliver the same to his successor. ( Gammel's Laws, vol. 2, pp. 1374-1378)

In other words, in the mid-19th century as in the late 20th century, the Comptroller was and is the central accounting officer or chief fiscal officer of the state, and as such is responsible for maintaining effective methods for accounting for the state's funds. He or she is the state's principal tax administrator and collector of tax revenue. The Comptroller must also provide the research and statistics necessary for revenue estimating and certification.

Other duties were added from time to time through specific legislation. These duties will be explained as required in the appropriate series descriptions in this finding aid.

In addition, the Comptroller was made an ex officio member of various other state boards and commissions, as for example the following: the Insurance Department (superintendent, 1875), the Board of Education (1876), the Capitol Building Commission (1879), the East Texas Penitentiary Board (1879), the Board to sell useless State property (1879), the Board of Claims (1883), the Land Board and the Land Fraud Board (1883), the State Tax Board (1905), the Automatic Tax Board (1907), the Texas Bond Commission (1933), etc.

As the business of the office grew in volume and in complexity, the staff of the office increased as well. In 1852 the legislature created the office of Chief Clerk of the Office of Comptroller. Other specialized clerks were added as needed, and as the state budget permitted: tax clerk(s) (about 1859); corresponding clerk(s) (about 1874); an examining clerk (about 1881); delinquent tax clerks, auditing clerks, and warrant clerks (about 1882); a redemption clerk (about 1888); a deposit warrant clerk, a sheriff and witness accountant, a stenographic clerk, and a receiving clerk (all about 1891); a direct tax clerk (about 1893); a special warrant clerk, a bond clerk, mailing and filing clerks, and pension clerks (about 1901); etc. By the turn of the 19th/20th century, the total clerical staff of the office was approximately 44. This had increased to over 400 by 1950. In 1994, the total staff exceeded 2,800.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is the central accounting officer or chief fiscal officer of the state, and as such is responsible for maintaining effective methods for accounting for the state's funds; he or she is the state's principal tax administrator and collector of tax revenue. These unprocessed records documents many aspects of those duties and funtions. They include unprocessed loose records, and also unprocessed volumes. Types of records include letters, telegrams, tax records, various forms detailing lists and reports, receipts, bonds and oaths, vouchers, warrants, tax deeds, powers of attorney, circulars, bids, drafts, pay records, inventories, claims, annual reports, and opinions. They date 1835-1944, 1956-1963, and undated. All together these records document the major as well as the minor functions of the office of the Comptroller, including the receipt of revenues and the expenditure and disbursement of funds by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, with emphasis on the 19th and the early 20th centuries.

The loose records have been arbitrarily divided into two groups. One group of these records largely concerns county tax assessor/collectors' accounts with the Comptroller. Assessor/collectors (usually one person serving in both capacities) submitted monthly, quarterly, and annual reports of their tax-collecting activities. They also wrote to the Comptroller seeking information and instructions, requesting various blanks and forms, explaining delays and difficulties, and sometimes requesting extensions of time for settling accounts. The majority of records here relate to land or occupation taxes, but also to poll tax, school land tax, the taxing of railroads, and to the granting of liquor licenses and taxation of the sale of liquor. Correspondents also include, to a lesser extent, other local, county, district and state officials as well as non-officials such as private attorneys, bankers and citizens. Letters from other officials can be in reference to the activities and duties of Assessor/Collectors, or could refer to claims against the State for services rendered. Letters from individuals or taxpayers generally seek information from the Comptroller concerning land ownership or the status of tax payment on or redemption of various tracts or lots of land. Other topics include questions about the payment of occupation taxes and inquiries regarding pensions for military service.

The other group consists of incoming letters and reports to the Comptroller from city, county, district, state and federal officials. To a lesser extent, letters are from nonofficials such as private attorneys, bankers, land agents, businessmen and other private citizens. Some correspondence is generated by the Comptroller's office with outgoing letters sometimes attached to the corresponding incoming letters. Letters from officials largely pertain to the assessment and collection of taxes, seek specific interpretation of tax laws or information and instructions, contain requests for various blanks and forms, and explain delays and difficulties in the collection of taxes and the settlement of accounts with the Comptroller. Records include a significant number of monthly, quarterly, and annual reports submitted to the Comptroller from officials charged with the assessment and collection of taxes. Letters from taxpayers and other nonofficials generally contain inquiries concerning land ownership or the status of tax payment on or redemption of various tracts or lots of land. Letters also pertain to pending lawsuits, amounts of commissions or allowances paid to tax assessor/collectors, bonds posted by officials, as well as complaints against local tax collectors, protestations against perceived inequities of tax laws, and inquiries regarding pensions for military service. Records include some claims against the Republic of Texas and the State of Texas.

The unprocessed volumes have been placed in three groups: one documenting correspondence, one documenting revenues and receipts, and the third documenting expenditures and disbursements.

Records reflect the duties of the Comptroller's office, but should be considered in conjunction with Comptroller letterpress books and ledgers as well as all other processed and unprocessed Comptroller records.

(Note: Researchers are strongly cautioned that these records are completely unprocessed, and in a state of almost total disarray. The Detailed Description of the Records contains a list of box numbers with approximate date spans of the material in each box. Processing notes are available (on request) for a more detailed description of the contents of each box. However, processing notes represent only a sampling of material in these boxes. In most cases, it should be assumed that the date spans listed are not inclusive.)

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.

This finding aid describes two series of records from the Texas Comptroller's Office. If you are reading this electronically, click here for an introduction to the Texas Comptroller's Office records . If you are reading this in paper, the introduction is at the beginning of the first binder labeled Comptroller.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

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.).

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas Comptroller's Office unprocessed records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1987/125, unknown

The Robert S. Calvert scrapbooks were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Comptroller's office on June 1, 1987. Accession records are too incomplete to determine when the rest of these records were transferred.

Processing Information

Lisa Hendricks, October 1995

Tony Black, October 1995, July 1996

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Detailed Description of the Records

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