Texas Comptroller's Office:

An Inventory of Comptroller's Office Correspondence at the Texas State Archives, 1846-1921, bulk 1860-1921

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. Correspondence records document the major as well as the minor functions of the office of the Comptroller in the later 19th century and the early 20th century, including the receipt of revenues (including property, business, and other taxes) and the expenditure and disbursement of funds (including payment of claims, pensions, and public debts). These records include registers of incoming correspondence, letter books and letterpress copybooks of outgoing correspondence, annual/biennial reports addressed to the Governor, and Attorney General letter opinions addressed to the Comptroller. They comprise 746 volumes containing (or related to) correspondence of the Texas Comptroller's Office, dating 1846-1921, bulk 1860-1921. This includes the following: ten registers of letters and other documents received by the Comptroller's office, 1846-1876, 1882-1886, and 1893-1899; six letter books containing the full texts of outgoing correspondence signed by the Comptroller between March 1846 and May 1867; 692 letterpress books containing copies of outgoing letters sent by the Comptroller's office, 1860-1921; 33 letter books containing copies of outgoing letters signed by the Comptroller, 1876-1880; three volumes containing manuscript copies of annual and biennial reports of the Comptroller to the Governor, 1846-1850, 1861-1863, and 1865-1866; and two volumes containing copies of Attorney General letter opinions addressed to the Comptroller, 1879-1910, with index and register, 1879-1902.

Series of correspondence that are specifically limited to general revenues, taxation, appropriations and warrants, claims, the Executive Administrative Division, the Economic Analysis Center, or the Office of Revenue Estimating and Research, are described under the records of those subgroups, in separate finding aids. Unprocessed correspondence is also described in a separate finding aid.

This finding aid describes seven 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

Letterpress books are extremely fragile; pages are tissue-thin and bindings are either broken already or ready to break. Therefore they may not be photocopied, and must be treated with great care.

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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 correspondence. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession numbers: 1987/125, and unknown others

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. Dates of the other accessions are uncertain.

Processing Information

Lisa Hendricks, September 1995

Tony Black, January 1995, September 1995, October 1995, July 1996

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Detailed Description of the Records

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