Texas Governor George W. Bush:
An Introduction to Records at the Texas State Archives, 1854-2000 (bulk 1995-2000)
Overview |
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| Creator: | Texas. Governor (1995-2000 : Bush) | |
| Title: | Records | |
| Dates: | 1854-2000 | |
| Dates: | (bulk 1995-2000) | |
| Abstract: | Records are correspondence, memoranda, legal records, legislative records, financial records, speeches, reports, meeting records, publications, printed material, lists, calendars and schedules, electronic records, audio and video tapes, and photographs, dating 1854-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), gathered, created, and maintained during George W. Bush's tenure as Governor of Texas from January 17, 1995 to December 21, 2000. | |
| Quantity: | approximately 2100 cubic ft. | |
| Language | English. | |
Agency History
The governor of Texas is the chief executive officer of the state, elected by the citizens every four years. The duties and responsibilities of the governor include serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces; convening special sessions of the legislature for specific purposes; delivering to the legislature at the beginning of each regular session a report on the condition of the state, an accounting of all public money under the governor's control, a recommended biennial budget, an estimate of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation, and any recommendations he deems necessary; signing or vetoing bills passed by the legislature; and executing the laws of the state. The governor can grant reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons, upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and revoke conditional pardons. He appoints numerous state officials (with the consent of the Senate), fills vacancies in state and district offices (except vacancies in the legislature), calls special elections to fill vacancies in the legislature, fills vacancies in the United States Senate until an election can be held, and serves as ex officio member of several state boards.
The office of governor was first established by the Constitution of 1845 and superseded the office of president of the Republic of Texas. The position now exists under authority of Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution of 1876 and Texas Government Code, Chapter 401. To be elected governor, a person must be at least thirty years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of Texas for at least five years preceding the election. In 1972, the term of office was extended from two to four years, effective in 1975. Since 1856 the governor has had the use of the Governor's Mansion.
In 1999 there were 198 full time equivalent employees in the Office of the Governor. Thirteen divisions outside of the Executive Office assist the governor in carrying out his functions: Administration, Appointments, Budget & Planning, Communications, General Counsel, Legislative, Policy, Scheduling, Criminal Justice Division, Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities, Office of Film, Music, Television and Multimedia Industries, Women's Commission, and Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness.
George W. Bush Biographical Sketch
George W. Bush served as governor of Texas from January 17, 1995 to December 21, 2000, resigning as governor in the middle of his second term to become president of the United States.
As a Republican, he challenged the incumbent governor, Democrat Ann Richards, running on promises to improve public education and to reform the juvenile justice system, welfare, and the state's tort laws -- the system under which an injured person may sue for damages. During the 74th Legislature in 1995, he worked with the Democrats who controlled both houses of the Texas legislature and managed to get bills passed that dealt with the four issues he had emphasized in his campaign. Bush was seen as pro-business and a consensus-builder.
Bush advocated and signed the two largest tax cuts to date in Texas history, totaling over $3 billion. To pay for the cuts, he sought (unsuccessfully) federal approval of a plan to privatize Texas' social services. Education reform was a priority throughout his terms, with legislation emphasizing local control of schools, higher standards, and a revised curriculum. Controversy has followed, with charter schools mired in financial scandals and protests against one test determining a child's promotion. After winning reelection in 1998, Bush began his bid for the presidency and was not as involved in the 76th Legislature in 1999.
George W. Bush was born July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He graduated from Andover Academy, and received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a master's from Harvard Business School. He served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. In 1978, Bush was defeated in a run for the U.S. Congress in West Texas. He was involved in energy exploration from the 1970s into the 1980s. From 1989 until his election as governor, Bush worked with the Texas Rangers baseball organization, leading a group of partners in purchasing the team, and then serving as managing general partner. He married Laura Welch in 1977; they have two daughters.
Scope and Contents of the Records
Records are correspondence, memoranda, legal records, legislative records, financial records, speeches, reports, meeting records, publications, printed material, lists, calendars and schedules, audio and video tapes, and photographs, dating 1854-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), created during George W. Bush's terms as Governor of Texas. Included are records of Bush's executive assistant, Joe Allbaugh, and Senior Advisor Margaret LaMontagne, as well as records of the following offices: General Counsel, Policy, Legislative, Budget and Planning, Grants Team, First Lady, Press, Executive, Scheduling, Correspondence/Constituent Services, and the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities. The Appointments office, Criminal Justice Division, and Film Commission are also represented by a small amount of materials. Major subjects represented in the records are criminal justice, economic development, education, emergency management, executions, legislation, and the state budget.
This finding aid is a work in progress. Some series have been processed, others are still undergoing processing. All series yet to be processed are included in the framework of the finding aid. As these series are processed, this finding aid will be updated and links will be provided for separate finding aids containing fuller descriptions and folder listings.
Organization of the Records |
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| These records are organized into 15 subgroups and 87 series: | ||
Executive Assistant's Office files, 1987-1989, 1992-2000 (bulk
1995-1999), approximately 28 cubic ft.
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Senior Advisor's Office records, 1948, 1964-1965, 1978,
1980-1983, 1986-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000), 88 cubic ft.
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General Counsel files, 1886, 1892, 1903, 1912-1921, 1925, 1932,
1939-2000 (bulk 1986-2000), approximately 173 cubic ft.
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Policy Office, 1982, 1989, 1993-2000, 60.25 cubic ft.
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Legislative Office, 1988, 1990, 1992-2000, undated (bulk
1995-2000), 119 cubic ft.
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Budget and Planning, 1967-2001, approximately 30 cubic ft.
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Press Office, 1946-2001 (bulk 1995-2000), 278.32 cubic ft.
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Executive Office, 1994-2000, approximately 22 cubic ft.
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Scheduling Office, 1994-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), approximately 92.5
cubic ft.
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| Appointments Office, Polly Sowell's correspondence, 1995-2000, 0.2 cubic ft. | ||
Correspondence/Constituent Services, 1948-2000 (bulk 1995-2000),
approximately 1100 cubic ft.
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Office of the First Lady, 1995-2000, 34 cubic ft.
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Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities, 1984-2000, less
than 5 cubic ft.
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| Criminal Justice Division, public information requests, 1995-1999, 5 cubic ft. [in process] | ||
Texas Film Commission, 1995-2000, 1 cubic ft.
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Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Records in process: Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions, an archivist must review these records before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 552). The researcher may request an interview with an archivist or submit a request by mail, fax, or email including enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information requested. If our review reveals information that may be excepted by the Public Information Act, we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision. Alternately, the Archives can inform you of the nature of the potentially excepted information and if you agree, that information can be redacted or removed and you can access the remainder of the records.
Records series described in this finding aid have access restrictions specific to each of them. The terms of access are found in the finding aids for series and office records.
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.).
Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.
To view the videotapes or listen to the audiocassettes please contact the Archives' Preservation Officer.
Technical Requirements
Records contain information on 3.5 inch computer disks and CD ROMs.
Indices to portions of Governor Bush's records are available on CD ROM in Microsoft Access, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel.
Index Terms |
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| The terms listed here were used to catalog the records. The terms can be used to find similar or related records. | ||
| Personal Names: | ||
| Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946- | ||
| Bush, Laura Welch, 1946- | ||
| Allbaugh, Joe Marvin, 1952- | ||
| LaMontagne, Margaret. | ||
| Gonzales, Alberto R. | ||
| McMahan, Vance. | ||
| Hawkins, Albert. | ||
| Corporate Names: | ||
| Texas. Office of the Governor. | ||
| Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities. | ||
| Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission. | ||
| Texas. Governor's Task Force on Faith-Based Programs. | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| Governors--Texas. | ||
| Capital punishment--Texas. | ||
| Education and state--Texas | ||
| Criminal justice, Administration of--Texas. | ||
| Places: | ||
| Texas--Politics and government--1951- | ||
| Texas--Officials and employees--Selection and appointment. | ||
| Functions: | ||
| Administering Texas. | ||
| Decision making. | ||
| Influencing Texas government policy. | ||
Related Material
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The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive. |
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| Texas State Archives | ||
| Texas Inaugural Committee, Bush-Perry inaugural records, 1934-1999 (bulk 1998-1999), 0.47 cubic ft. | ||
| Texas Inaugural Committee, Bush-Bullock records, 1994-1995, 0.47 cubic ft. | ||
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
(Identify the item and cite the series and office), Records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession Information
Accession numbers: 2002/151, 2003/026
In December 2000, Governor George W. Bush designated the George Bush Presidential Library as the repository for the records from his tenure as Governor of Texas, under authority of Texas Government Code, Section 441.201. Shortly after he left office, the records were shipped to the Bush Library in College Station, Texas. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn ruled the records are state records subject to the Texas Public Information Act and the management of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission even after transfer to a federal facility (Opinion No. JC-0498, May 3, 2002). In July 2002 the records were transferred from the Bush Library to the Texas State Archives in Austin for preparation for research use. In June 2003, a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and George W. Bush replaced a January 2002 interim memorandum of understanding. The records will be returned to the Bush Library after the project has been completed. An additional box of records was transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission from the Texas Office of the Governor on October 9, 2002.
Processing Information
Texas State Archives staff, February 2003 to June 2004
In order to present to the public as much information about the records as possible, the finding aid is mainly composed of descriptions created during a preliminary inventory of the records conducted by archivists at the Texas State Archives in September and October 2002. As series are prepared for research, this finding aid is updated, replacing basic information with links to separate finding aids containing fuller descriptions and folder lists.
A CD-ROM containing finding aids created by the Governor's Office and a folder listing begun by the Bush Library and completed at the Texas State Archives is available from the Texas State Archives.
Detailed Description of the Records
Senior Advisor's Office records,
1948,
1964-1965, 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-2000, undated (bulk
1995-2000),
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| These records include correspondence, e-mails, faxes, and memos; notes; newsletters, brochures and other publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; copies of bills and other legislative records; attorney general opinions/advice and litigation documents; press releases and speeches; reports (both narrative and statistical); drafts and other policy development files; agenda and minutes; resumes and applications for employment; executive orders; conference packets; mailing lists; travel documentation; purchase documentation; forms; procedure manuals; maps; videotapes; and audiotapes. Records date 1948, 1964-1965, 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000). They comprise records of the Office of Senior Advisor (Margaret LaMontagne) during the tenure of George W. Bush as Texas Governor (1995-2000). The vast majority of the records reflect the Bush administration's policies concerning education, with a small amount of records pertaining to appointments, thus reflecting the role of Margaret LaMontagne as (initially) deputy director of appointments, retaining some appointment functions after her promotion to education advisor. | |||||||||||||
| Education issues files I and II date 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000). They comprise subject files for the entire office of Senior Advisor relating to education (with many of the files created by the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel, Michelle Tobias, later Jennifer Piskun and Debbie Esterak). They were maintained in two groups (hence I and II), although there is no obvious distinction between the groups, except that the second (and larger) group extends chronologically to 2000, whereas the first group extends only to 1999. Most of the incoming correspondence is addressed to Margaret LaMontagne but then was assigned to her education policy staff to work on; some items are addressed to Governor George W. Bush. Correspondents include organizations dedicated to educational issues, state and federal agency officials and employees (especially the Texas Education Agency's Commissioner Mike Moses), professional educators, corporations, consultants (such as Darv Winick and Sandy Kress), and private citizens interested in education. E-mails tend to be between Margaret LaMontagne and the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel. Notes are in the handwriting of both the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel and Margaret LaMontagne. Many of the incoming letters are copies of logged correspondence, and some of the letters are the originals of logged correspondence. In either case, file numbers assigned by Bush staff have been included in the folder listing. Some letters do not appear to have been logged at all. Among the numerous topics covered by these files, the following are especially well-represented: accountability, advanced placement, bilingual education, character education, charter schools, early childhood development, Head Start, Hopwood, literacy (including adult literacy), military tuition, property tax, reading (including the Governor's Reading Initiative), school safety, school finance, School-to-Work, social promotion, special education, standards, teacher preparation, TAAS [Texas Assessment of Academic Skills], TEKS [Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills], and vouchers/school choice. Organizations and agencies well represented include the Association of Texas Professional Educators [ATPE], Education Commission of the States [ECS], Educational Testing Service [ETS], Fordham Foundation, Governor's Business Council [GBC], Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, National Education Goals Panel, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory [SEDL], Southern Regional Education Board [SREB], State Board of Education [SBOE], State Board for Educator Certification [SBEC], Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board [TIF], Texas Association of School Administrators [TASA], Texas Association of School Boards [TASB], Texas Business and Education Coalition [TBEC], Texas Education Agency [TEA], United States Department of Education, and University of Texas System. | |||||||||||||
| Education reference materials date 1988, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-1997). They comprise reference files for the office of Senior Advisor relating to education. The difference is unclear between these files and the Education issues files (I and II), except that these reference files are less organized; they often were not originally in file folders. At any rate, they supplement, and may often duplicate, the education issues files. Correspondents include organizations dedicated to educational issues, state and federal agency officials and employees, professional educators, corporations, consultants, and private citizens interested in education. Topics include Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Home Rule school districts, the Education Commission of the States, Chapter 37 (school discipline), charter schools, Senate Bill 1, accountability, Goals 2000, the Governor's Business Council, higher education, school finance, school reform, School-to-Work, the State Board of Education, the State Board for Educator Certification, technology, the Telecommunications Infrastructure Board (TIF), and textbooks. | |||||||||||||
| Debbie Esterak's issues files, dating 1986-1987, 1995-2000 (bulk 1999-2000), comprise education issues files from the office of Senior Advisor Margaret LaMontagne in the Texas Governor's Office, created during Debbie Esterak's tenure as Public Education Counsel. Many of the documents have "Debbie" written in LaMontagne's handwriting. Subjects of these files include assessment (including testing), accountability (including teacher report cards), character education, charter schools, home schools, school safety, special education, master reading teachers, teacher shortages, teacher quality, dropouts, pay for performance, etc. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous education files date 1964, 1982, 1987, 1995-2000 (bulk 1995-2000). The exact provenance of these files is uncertain. They appear to have been separated from the other series in the records of the Senior Advisor's Office and transferred at a later date. They may fit into one or more of the existing series (Education issues files I and II, or Education reference materials), but this is uncertain. Therefore they have been kept distinct. | |||||||||||||
| Education bill files date 1998-1999 (bulk 1999), and comprise Senate bill files relating to education for the 76th Texas Legislature, Regular Session (1999). The occasional piece of correspondence is addressed to Margaret LaMontagne. The bills are sometimes annotated, although not heavily; often the only annotation indicates the corresponding House Bill number. | |||||||||||||
| Margaret LaMontagne's correspondence, dating 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1998-2000) comprise letters and memoranda to and from Margaret LaMontagne, with occasional items addressed to others (including Governor George W. Bush, and members of Margaret LaMontagne's staff) and forwarded to Margaret LaMontagne. Correspondents include state and local officials, educators, prospective job applicants, prospective appointees, and private citizens. The subject of most (but not all) of the files in the first group in this series is education. The subject of most (but not all) of the files in the second group is future employment of job applicants. Resumes, recommendations, and inquiries about potential employment are especially numerous in this second group. Also numerous throughout are thank-you letters for gifts, meetings, and information. | |||||||||||||
| Appointments files, dating 1948, 1965, 1987, 1990-2000 (bulk 1995-2000) comprise appointment files of the Office of the Senior Advisor, including general files as well as files specific to agencies, boards, and commissions. Many, but not all, of the appointments are to educational-related boards and commissions. The correspondence is usually to and from Governor Bush regarding appointments, although some of it is to and from Senior Advisor Margaret LaMontagne. Most of the memoranda and e-mails are to and from Margaret LaMontagne, her assistant Shannon Smith, or Appointments Director Clay Johnson. These records deal with all issues regarding appointments, both generally (including policies and procedure, and legal aspects) and specifically (individuals seeking and receiving particular appointments). | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid . If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records ). | |||||||||||||
| Senior Advisor's Office History | |||||||||||||
| Margaret La Montagne began working in the Governor's Office in January 1995 as Deputy Director of Appointments. After the 74th legislative session (1995), her title was changed to Senior Advisor reporting directly to the governor and her office was moved to the Capitol. Her focus was on education-related issues, which went through her rather than the Policy Division, especially after the 74th legislative session when the Education Policy person left and the position was not filled. She retained some of her appointment duties after becoming Senior Advisor, including selecting appointees for education related boards and commissions. Her staff included Public Education/Special Projects Counsel [title changed from Public Education to Special Projects and back] (first Michelle Tobias from 1995 to 1998, then Jennifer Piskun, followed by Debra Esterak); Administrative Assistant (Judy Okimura, then Shannon Smith); and Special Projects Assistant (Sheryl Labar for a while, spring 1996-February 1997). | |||||||||||||
| Organization | |||||||||||||
| These records are organized into eight series: | |||||||||||||
| Education issues files I, 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-1999, undated (bulk 1995-1998), 13.5 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Education issues files II, 1986, 1988-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000), 36 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Education reference materials, 1988, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-1997), 24.67 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Debbie Esterak's issues files, 1986-1987, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1999-2000), 6 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous education files, 1964, 1982, 1987, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000), 3.67 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Education bill files, 1998-1999 (bulk 1999), 0.5 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Margaret LaMontagne's correspondence, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1998-2000), 0.67 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Appointments files, 1948, 1965, 1987, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000), 2.5 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Preferred Citation | |||||||||||||
| (Identify the item and cite the series), Senior Advisor's Office records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. | |||||||||||||
| Preliminary survey by | |||||||||||||
| Tonia J. Wood, September 2002 | |||||||||||||
| Processed by | |||||||||||||
| Tony Black, May 2004 | |||||||||||||
| Education issues files I, 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-1999, undated (bulk 1995-1998),
13.5 cubic ft. |
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| These records include correspondence, e-mails, faxes, and memos; notes; newsletters, brochures and other publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; copies of bills and other legislative records; attorney general opinions/advice and litigation documents; press releases and speeches; reports (both narrative and statistical); policy development files; agenda and minutes; resumes; executive orders; conference packets; videotapes; and audiotapes. Records date 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-1999, undated (bulk 1995-1998). They comprise subject files for the office of Senior Advisor to Texas Governor George W. Bush relating to education (with many of the files created by the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel, Michelle Tobias, later Jennifer Piskun and Debbie Esterak). Most of the incoming correspondence is addressed to Margaret LaMontagne but then was assigned to her education policy staff to work on; some items are addressed to Governor George W. Bush. Correspondents include organizations dedicated to educational issues, state and federal agency officials and employees (especially the Texas Education Agency's Commissioner Mike Moses), professional educators, corporations, consultants (such as Darv Winick and Sandy Kress), and private citizens interested in education. E-mails tend to be between Margaret LaMontagne and the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel. Notes are in the handwriting of both the counsel and Margaret LaMontagne. Many of the incoming letters are copies of logged correspondence, and some of the letters are the originals of logged correspondence. In either case, file numbers assigned by Bush staff have been included in the folder listing. Some letters do not appear to have been logged at all. The first file in the series contains copies of item-level inventories of some of these records, prepared by staff of the Governor's Office. | |||||||||||||
| Among the numerous topics covered by these files, the following are especially well-represented: advanced placement, character education, charter schools, ECS [Education Commission of the States], Hopwood, literacy (including adult literacy), military tuition, property tax, reading (including the Governor's Reading Initiative), school finance, School-to-Work, special education, standards, SBEC [State Board for Educator Certification], teacher preparation, and TAAS [Texas Assessment of Academic Skills]. | |||||||||||||
| These records are the first of two groups of similar files. Except for correcting some obvious misfiles, the State Archives has maintained the original order of these records. The second group is the larger of the two (more than twice the size), and there is some overlap in dates. The difference (if any) between the two groups of records is not readily apparent. The researcher should be cautioned to search both groups, as well as any related records. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid . If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records, Education issues files I). | |||||||||||||
| Education issues files II, 1986, 1988-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000),
36 cubic ft. |
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| These records include correspondence, e-mails, faxes, and memos; notes; newsletters, brochures and other publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; copies of bills and other legislative records; attorney general opinions/advice and litigation documents; press releases and speeches; reports (both narrative and statistical); policy development files; agenda and minutes; resumes; executive orders; conference packets; videotapes; and audiotapes. Records date 1986, 1988-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000). They comprise subject files for the office of Senior Advisor to Texas Governor George W. Bush relating to education, covering the first half of the alphabet (Academics 2000 - Lyceum). Many of the files were created by the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel, Michelle Tobias, later Jennifer Piskun and Debbie Esterak. Most of the incoming correspondence is addressed to Margaret LaMontagne but then was assigned to her education policy staff to work on; some items are addressed to Governor George W. Bush. Correspondents include organizations dedicated to educational issues, state and federal agency officials and employees (especially the Texas Education Agency's Commissioner Mike Moses), professional educators, corporations, consultants (such as Darv Winick and Sandy Kress), and private citizens interested in education. E-mails tend to be between Margaret LaMontagne and the counsel. Notes are in the handwriting of both the counsel and Margaret LaMontagne. Many of the incoming letters are copies of logged correspondence, and some of the letters are the originals of logged correspondence. In either case, file numbers assigned by Bush staff have been included in the folder listing. Some letters do not appear to have been logged at all. | |||||||||||||
| Among the numerous topics covered by these files, the following are especially well-represented: accountability, advanced placement, bilingual education, character education, charter schools, early childhood development, Head Start, reading (including Reading Initiative), school safety, school finance, School-to-Work, social promotion, special education, TAAS [Texas Assessment of Academic Skills], TEKS [Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills], and vouchers/school choice. Organizations and agencies well represented include the Association of Texas Professional Educators [ATPE], Education Commission of the States [ECS], Educational Testing Service [ETS], Fordham Foundation, the Governor's Business Council [GBC], Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, National Education Goals Panel, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory [SEDL], Southern Regional Education Board [SREB], State Board of Education [SBOE], State Board for Educator Certification [SBEC], Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board [TIF], Texas Association of School Administrators [TASA], Texas Association of School Boards [TASB], Texas Business and Education Coalition [TBEC], Texas Education Agency [TEA], United States Department of Education, and the University of Texas System. | |||||||||||||
| This finding aid has been split into two parts due to electronic file size limitations imposed by TARO. If you are reading this electronically, click on the links to go to the full finding aids. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aids are found at separate dividers within the binder. (Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records, Education issues files II (Academics 2000 - Lyceum) and (M.A.D.D. - Zero Tolerance)) | |||||||||||||
| Education reference materials,
1988, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-1997),
24.67 cubic ft. |
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| These records include correspondence, e-mails, faxes, and memos; notes; newsletters, brochures and other publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; copies of bills and other legislative records; attorney general opinions/advice and litigation documents; press releases and speeches; reports (both narrative and statistical); policy development files; agenda and minutes; resumes; conference packets; videocassettes; and audiocassettes. Records date 1988, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-1997). They comprise reference files for the office of Senior Advisor to Texas Governor George W. Bush relating to education. The difference is unclear between these files and the Education issues files (I and II) previously described in this finding aid, except that these reference files are less organized; they often were not originally in file folders. At any rate, they supplement, and may often duplicate, the Education issues files. Correspondents include organizations dedicated to educational issues, state and federal agency officials and employees, professional educators, corporations, consultants, and private citizens interested in education. Topics include Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Home Rule school districts, the Education Commission of the States, Chapter 37 (school discipline), charter schools, Senate Bill 1, accountability, Goals 2000, the Governor's Business Council, higher education, school finance, school reform, School-to-Work, the State Board of Education, the State Board for Educator Certification, technology, the Telecommunications Infrastructure Board (TIF), and textbooks. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at a separate divider within the binder. (Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records, Education reference materials) | |||||||||||||
| Debbie Esterak's issues files,
1986-1987, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1999-2000),
6 cubic ft. |
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| These records include correspondence, e-mails to and from the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel, memos, notes (in the counsel's and Margaret LaMontagne's handwriting), printed materials, publications, clippings, legislative records, press releases, minutes, agenda, and policy development files, dating 1986-1987, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1999-2000). They comprise education issues files from the office of Senior Advisor Margaret LaMontagne in the Texas Governor's Office, created during Debbie Esterak's tenure as Public Education Counsel. Many of the documents have "Debbie" written in LaMontagne's handwriting. Subjects of these files include assessment (including testing), accountability (including teacher report cards), character education, charter schools, home schools, school safety, special education, master reading teachers, teacher shortages, teacher quality, dropouts, pay for performance, etc. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records). | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous education files,
1964, 1982, 1987, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000),
3.67 cubic ft. |
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| These records include correspondence, e-mails, faxes, and memos; notes; newsletters, brochures and other publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; online articles; copies of bills and other legislative records; press releases and speeches; reports (both narrative and statistical); drafts and other policy development files; resumes; agenda; mailing lists; conference packets; travel documentation; purchase documentation; and forms. The records date 1964, 1982, 1987, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000). They comprise files for staff of the office of Senior Advisor relating to education. | |||||||||||||
| The exact provenance of these miscellaneous education files is uncertain. They appear to have been separated from the other series in the records of the Senior Advisor's Office and transferred at a later date. They may fit into one or more of the existing series ( Education issues files I, Education issues files II (Academics 2000 - Lyceum) and (M.A.D.D. - Zero Tolerance), or Education reference materials), but this is uncertain. Therefore they have been kept distinct. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records ). | |||||||||||||
| Education bill files, 1998-1999 (bulk 1999),
0.5 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| These records include copies of proposed legislation, some floor amendments, a few copies of engrossed bills, plus a small amount of related records (memoranda, correspondence, a Legislative Budget Board working paper, a press release), dating 1998-1999, mostly 1999. They comprise Senate bill files relating to education for the 76th Texas Legislature, Regular Session (1999). The occasional piece of correspondence is addressed to Margaret LaMontagne. The bills (most marked "filed") are sometimes annotated, although not heavily; often the only annotation indicates the corresponding House Bill number. Twenty-five of the original file folders were labeled with Jennifer Piskun's name, and a couple more were labeled with Susan Jones'. The rest were simply coded "EDU/" (for education). Quite a few folders are empty and have been removed, but the bill number, sponsor, and caption of all bills are listed below in the container listing; notations indicate which were empty. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records). | |||||||||||||
| Margaret LaMontagne's
correspondence, 1995-2000, undated (bulk 1998-2000),
0.67 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| These records include correspondence, drafts of correspondence, resumes, applications for employment, memoranda, faxes, newsclippings, publications, etc., dating 1995-2000 and undated (bulk 1998-2000). They comprise correspondence to and from Margaret LaMontagne, with occasional items addressed to others (including Governor George W. Bush, and members of Margaret LaMontagne's staff) and forwarded to Margaret LaMontagne. Correspondents include state and local officials, educators, prospective job applicants, prospective appointees, and private citizens. The subject of most (but not all) of the files in the first group in this series is education. The subject of most (but not all) of the files in the second group is future employment of job applicants. Resumes, recommendations, and inquiries about potential employment are especially numerous in this second group. Also numerous throughout are thank-you letters for gifts, meetings, and information. | |||||||||||||
| Researchers should be aware that additional correspondence to and from Margaret LaMontagne is located in most of the other series in the Senior Advisor's Office records, described in this finding aid. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records). | |||||||||||||
| Appointments files, 1948, 1965, 1987, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000),
2.5 cubic ft. |
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| These records include lists of appointees, resumes, correspondence (especially letters of recommendation), memoranda, e-mails, mailing lists, legislation, press releases, newspaper clippings, copies from the Guide to Texas State Agencies, reports, executive orders, Attorney General opinions, maps, forms, procedure manuals, notes, etc. The records date 1948, 1965, 1987, 1990-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000). They comprise appointment files of the Office of the Senior Advisor, including general files as well as files specific to agencies, boards, and commissions. Many, but not all, of the appointments are to educational-related boards and commissions. The correspondence is usually to and from Governor Bush regarding appointments, although some of it is to and from Senior Advisor Margaret LaMontagne. Most of the memoranda and e-mails are to and from Margaret LaMontagne, her assistant Shannon Smith, or Appointments Director Clay Johnson. These records deal with all issues regarding appointments, both generally (including policies and procedure, and legal aspects) and specifically (individuals seeking and receiving particular appointments). | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, Senior Advisor's Office records). | |||||||||||||
General Counsel files,
1886, 1892, 1903,
1912-1921, 1925, 1932, 1939-2000 (bulk 1986-2000),
|
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| Records are correspondence, memoranda, legal opinions and advice, execution case files, offers for claims settlements, death penalty protest letters, litigation files, policies and procedures, clippings, and desk calendars of the staff. These are files of the Office of the General Counsel of the Texas Governor's Office during the terms of George W. Bush. Dates covered are 1886, 1892, 1903, 1912-1921, 1925, 1932, 1939-2000 , the bulk dating 1986-2000. Functions of the office documented in these files include tracking and analyzing the cases of prisoners on death row; handling and advising the governor on pardon and executive clemency requests; providing legal opinions and analyses to the Governor's staff on a variety of questions, including statute interpretations, claims filed against the state, contracts, deeds, appointment questions, and other issues; answering public information requests; and litigating for the governor's office. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents include the General Counsel, Alberto Gonzales and his successor, Margaret Wilson; deputy and assistant general counsels Pete Wassdorf, Stuart Bowden, Donna Davidson and others; executive staff of the Governor's Office, including Joe Allbaugh; state agencies; federal and local government agencies; and the general public. | |||||||||||||
| This finding aid is a work in progress. Some series have been processed, others are still undergoing processing. All series yet to be processed are included in the framework of the finding aid. As these series are processed, this finding aid will be updated and links will be provided to separate finding aids containing detailed descriptions and folder listings. | |||||||||||||
| Division History | |||||||||||||
| The General Counsel position within the Texas Office of the Governor was created in October 1973 when the Executive Director of the Governor's Criminal Justice Division appointed an individual as General Counsel, to assist him in providing statute interpretations and in other matters relating to policies and procedures. Today the Office of the General Counsel is a separate division in the Governor's Office. During the Bush Administration, Alberto Gonzales served as General Counsel, succeeded in 1998 by Margaret Wilson. | |||||||||||||
| Duties of the General Counsel include providing statute interpretations; tracking inmates on death row as their cases move through the judicial process including all appeals to the governor for commutations or stays of execution; handling pardon requests sent to the governor; reviewing proposed settlements, land patents, grant requests, contracts, easements, and deeds for the governor; analyzing proposed legislation and regulations for validity and legal effect; assisting appointments staff in determining eligibility and other legal issues related to proposed appointments; handling extradition and requisition matters; coordinating ethics guidelines and training for the governor's office; advising the governor on federal programs administered by the state; coordinating the governor's criminal justice policy with the governor's Policy Director; and providing legal advice and handling litigation filed against the governor or the Governor's Office, in conjunction with actions of the Attorney General on the governor's behalf. | |||||||||||||
| Organization of the Records | |||||||||||||
| Series listed below as [in process] have not yet been prepared for research and are not fully described in this finding aid. | |||||||||||||
| These records are organized into 11 series: | |||||||||||||
| Legal opinions and advice, 1892, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1932, 1942-1944, 1948, 1954, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1968-1969, 1972-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), 14 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Execution files, 1992-2000, 68.24 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Executive clemency files, 1961, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1983-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), 1.5 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Litigation, 1995-2000, 25 cubic ft. [in process] | |||||||||||||
| Claims against the state, 1990-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), 3.6 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Settlements, 1995-1996, 7 cubic ft. [in process] | |||||||||||||
| Legislation, 1999, 1 cubic ft. [in process] | |||||||||||||
| Public information requests, 1995-2000 (bulk 1998-2000), 46 cubic ft. [in process] | |||||||||||||
| General correspondence, 1963-1964, 1975, 1985-2000 (bulk 1995-2000), 6.4 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Agency rules, policies, and procedures, 1995-2000, less than 0.5 cubic ft. [in process] | |||||||||||||
| Calendars, 1998-[2000?], fractional [in process] | |||||||||||||
| Related Materials | |||||||||||||
| The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive. | |||||||||||||
| Texas State Archives | |||||||||||||
| Texas Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, Records, 1969-1980, 37 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Texas Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, Records, 1973-1990 (bulk 1987-1990), 28 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Texas Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, Records, [1977?], 1983, 1986-1995 (bulk 1991-1995), 97 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Texas A&M University, Sterling C. Evans Library | |||||||||||||
| Official State Papers of Texas Governor William P. Clements, Jr., General Counsel's Office Records, 1987-1991, 57.5 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Preferred Citation | |||||||||||||
| (Identify the item and cite the series), General Counsel files, Records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. | |||||||||||||
| Legal opinions and advice, 1892, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1932, 1942-1944, 1948, 1954, 1956,
1963, 1965, 1968-1969, 1972-2000 (bulk 1995-2000),
14 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| This series consists of correspondence and memoranda of the Office of the General Counsel in the Texas Office of the Governor during the terms of George W. Bush, dating 1892, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1932, 1942-1944, 1948, 1954, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1968-1969, 1972-2000, the bulk dating 1995-2000. The majority of the items are memoranda from the General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel to the Governor, his executive assistants, including Joe Allbaugh, or staff in other divisions of the office, such as Grants, Office of the First Lady, etc. There are also memos between Deputy General Counsels and/or Assistant General Counsels and the General Counsel. The General Counsel during this period was Alberto (Al) Gonzales, succeeded by Margaret Wilson. Other staff names appearing frequently in these records include Deputy General Counsels Pete Wassdorf and Stuart Bowden, and Assistant General Counsel Donna G. Davidson. The memos contain analysis, opinions or advice on a variety of issues handled by the governor's office, including executions, appointments, policy matters, settlements, contracts, grants, deeds, easements, litigation, bond issuance, ethics, legislation, child support, gambling, intern research, cession of state land to the federal government and retrocession of such land back to the state, certification of local workforce development boards, functions attended by the first lady, and education, including school education vouchers and an investigation of the state's higher education system by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights. | |||||||||||||
| Some memos have attachments, including correspondence (usually with state or other governmental bodies), copies of laws and statutes, printouts of the results of on-line legal research, legal documents (largely deeds, easements, land patents, and some contracts), bonds, certifications, and resolutions. | |||||||||||||
| Some memos to the governor require his approval or denial and his signature, such as those concerning settlements, deeds, grants, and the certification of local workforce development boards. The vast majority of the grants memos concern grants handled by the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor's Office. See also the series of Grants Team files in the records of the Governor's Budget and Planning office. Memos with more detail on settlement offers as well as supporting documentation can be found in the series Settlements, in the General Counsel files. | |||||||||||||
| Of special note are the execution summaries prepared by the general counsel for the governor to review. The summaries are found in two series. The ones in the Legal opinions and advice (LOA) files are mostly the originals, with a space for the governor to note his executive clemency decision - deny or grant - and with his signature. Some originals are present in the Execution case files, though most are copies. | |||||||||||||
| The Legal opinions and advice files were housed generally in large wallets that were broken into smaller files during processing. The titles of the wallets are retained as group headers. Folder titles and dates in the inventory listed under each header were added by processing archivists. Notes are present in the folder inventory for most groups of files in this series that provide additional information about the subjects, records types, and other highlights of files in the groups. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's legal opinions and advice ). | |||||||||||||
| Execution files, 1886, 1892, 1903, 1912-1921, 1925, 1932, 1939-2000 (bulk
1986-2000) 68.24 cubic ft. |
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| Records are execution case files, death penalty protest letters, and death penalty notebooks, 1886, 1892, 1903, 1912-1921, 1925, 1932, 1939-2000 (bulk 1986-2000), of the General Counsel to the Governor of Texas. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Execution Files ). | |||||||||||||
| Organization | |||||||||||||
| These records are organized into three subseries: | |||||||||||||
| Execution case files, 1995-2000, 39.24 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Death penalty notebooks, 1995-2000, 5.76 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Death penalty protest letters, 1991-1995, 23.24 cubic ft. | |||||||||||||
| Execution case files, 1995-2000,
46 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| The files consist of execution case summaries; memos and correspondence; court documents (judgments, opinions, appeals, petitions, motions, orders, etc.); notes; police reports; medical or psychological summaries or reports; crime lab reports; investigative reports of detectives; Texas Department of Criminal Justice disciplinary reports and other internal reports about specific inmates; criminal history reports; clippings; and occasionally, crime scene and/or autopsy photos. Dates covered are 1995-2000. These are the files of the General Counsel to the Texas Governor that were created to track the cases of death row inmates and document intervention by the courts and the governor through appeals, requests for stays of execution, or clemency. Correspondents include staff of the General Counsel's Office, the Governor, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Criminal Justice, appeals courts, district attorneys, and inmates or their attorneys. The majority of the letters are directed either to the General Counsel or to the Governor. While many of the letters are directed to the Governor, they are stamped General Counsel's office and there is no indication that the Governor reviewed them. What the Governor did review are the execution summaries prepared by the General Counsel for the Governor. Most of these have a place for the governor to check deny or grant and for him to sign. Some of these are originals, most are copies. | |||||||||||||
| Execution case summaries are also present in the Legal Opinions and Advice series of the General Counsel's Office. The majority of the summaries in the LOA records have the original signature of the governor. Although the inmates were executed, some materials are still confidential - medical/psychological reports; any reports or documents produced by TDCJ, such a disciplinary reports on the inmates; files gathered by the Board of Pardons and Paroles for its review; crime scene reports if the crime is a rape and the victim is alive, etc. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Execution Files: Execution Case Files (Adanandus through Kitchens) and Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Execution Files: Execution Case Files (Lackey through Woods) ). | |||||||||||||
| Death penalty notebooks, 1995-2000,
8 cubic ft. |
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| This series consists of 16 binders of death penalty information, dating roughly 1995-2000. Two of the notebooks contain clippings and reports about the death penalty and related topics. The remaining fourteen notebooks are divided into death penalty cases, each case having a separate section. Files for each case include a memo from the General Counsel to the Governor about the scheduled execution in this format: I. Brief summary of the facts. II. Background information and personal history. III. Previous criminal history. IV. Summary of proceedings. V. Brief discussion of applicable law. VI. Legal claims. VII. Clemency request. VIII. Conclusion. Other items present may include clippings about the scheduled execution, and a copy of the petition for a reprieve before the Board of Pardons and Paroles. A petition may contain numerous attachments, including correspondence, medical and mental health treatment plans, parole placements, parole summaries, letters in support of clemency, and competency evaluations by a doctor. | |||||||||||||
| Although the inmates were executed, some materials are still confidential - medical/psychological reports; any reports or documents produced by TDCJ and files gathered by the Board of Pardons and Paroles for their review. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Execution Files ). | |||||||||||||
| Death penalty protest letters,
1992-1994, 1998-1999,
27 cubic ft. |
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| These are letters written to the governor to protest the execution of inmates on death row. These letters are dated 1992-1994 and are directed to Governor Ann Richards, except for a couple of folders of letters in the files of Joseph S. Faulder dated 1998-1999 directed to Governor Bush. The letters were written by members of Amnesty International and similar groups and by citizens throughout the country and the world. Protest letters that were sent to Governor Bush are largely in the series Correspondence/Constituent Services, Bulk mail not logged in the central correspondence database, Capital punishment correspondence. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Execution Files). | |||||||||||||
| Executive clemency files, 1961, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1983-2000 (bulk 1995-2000),
1.5 cubic ft. |
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| These are clemency applications presented to Texas Governor George W. Bush by his General Counsel's office for prisoners or convicted felons out on parole wishing a pardon, asking to have their sentence commuted, asking for an emergency medical reprieve, or asking for a pardon/commutation under Senate Concurrent Resolution 26 (passed by the 72nd Legislature in 1991), which requires the Governor to focus special consideration upon pardon applicants whose crime arguably was a response to severe spousal abuse. The files contain a pardon application tracking form; an executive summary from the General Counsel (GC) to Bush stating a summary of the facts, evidence, proceedings, the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommendation, the GC recommendation, and the Governor's decision - deny or grant (these are initialed by the Governor); or memos with facts about the applicant, not including voting information. Dates covered are 1961, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1983-2000, the bulk dating 1995-2000. There are voting memos present for most cases, some that list multiple cases. These memos were sent to the governor and contain a minimum of facts about the case with the GC's recommendation (deny/grant). Also present may be notes about the case, pardon proclamations, correspondence of trial officials and attorneys with the governor and/or the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP), court records, BPP voting summaries, BPP case file materials, Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) inmate records, criminal histories, law enforcement records, press releases, clippings, and petitions for pardons based on innocence, such as DNA testing in old rape cases that exonerates the inmate. The petitions often include medical reports, crime summaries (which may include the name of a rape victim), victim impact statements, etc.; most of those materials are confidential, as well as TDCJ inmate files, letters to the BPP, BPP case file material, law enforcement records, and criminal histories. See the Restrictions statement for further information about confidential records. | |||||||||||||
| Files of prisoners denied pardons usually just have the pardon application tracking form, a voting memo, notes, and/or the executive summary from the GC to the governor. Usually multiple cases are filed together under the date the pardon was denied with all such cases being listed on the governor's voting memo. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Executive Clemency Files ). | |||||||||||||
| Litigation, 1995-2000,
25 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| [in process] | |||||||||||||
| Types of records include correspondence, court filings (briefs, orders, etc.), proposed/final settlement agreements, press releases, news clippings, attorney's notes, affidavits, deposition transcripts, research materials, exhibits, videocassettes and audiocassettes, 1995-2000. These are litigation files maintained by the General Counsel for the Texas Office of the Governor. The largest number of records involves the tobacco lawsuit. There are also 12-15 other cases covered in these files. Topics of cases include redistricting, creation of new federal judgeship districts, school prayer, equality of financing between black state universities and other state universities, firing of employees, a whistleblower case, and a case involving the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the return of funds to the federal government after the addition of several thousand education employees to the Uniform Group Insurance Program (UGIP). | |||||||||||||
| Two of the cases are mislabeled on the boxes and in the box and folder inventory. Curbo vs. Fundderburger is actually Curbo and Fundderburger vs. the State of Texas. A related case, listed as McDaniel vs. Curbo, is actually McDaniel vs. the State of Texas. Two employees in the Criminal Justice Division were fired (Curbo and Fundderburger), they felt unfairly. They asked the head of the Texas Crime Stoppers Program, Ms. McDaniel to look into the case. She did and filed a complaint about the way they were fired and the reasons for the firing. A few months later she was fired. She filed a suit claiming she was fired because she was a whistle blower. Because these were personnel cases, there is much documentation from the personnel files of all three employees present, most of it containing their Social Security numbers. | |||||||||||||
| Tobacco litigation spans 11 cubic ft. It includes information about the tobacco litigation case that the State of Texas filed against several tobacco companies and about the national lawsuit the federal government was attempting to file. The federal government wanted some of the money gained by various successful state's lawsuits to pay for Medicaid costs. But, the records largely pertain to the intervention of Governor Bush and several legislators in the state's tobacco lawsuit to reduce the attorney fees the state was to pay to private legal counsel used during the lawsuit. It contains court filings (briefs, orders, etc.), separating out in some cases filings by the Attorney General's office (documents filed by Morales, the former Attorney General), documents filed by Bush, documents filed by Legislators; outside legal counsel agreements/contracts; items used in arbitration of the case; and the proposed settlement. | |||||||||||||
| This finding aid is a work in progress. Some series have been processed, others are still undergoing processing. All series yet to be processed are included in the framework of the finding aid. As these series are processed, this finding aid will be updated. | |||||||||||||
| Arrangement | |||||||||||||
| These records are arranged by case. | |||||||||||||
| Preferred Citation | |||||||||||||
| (Identify the item), Litigation, General Counsel files, Records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. | |||||||||||||
| Preliminary survey by | |||||||||||||
| Laura K. Saegert, September 2002 | |||||||||||||
| Claims against the state, 1990-2000 (bulk 1995-2000),
3.6 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| These records are court filings (motions, briefs, requests for writ of mandamus, affidavits, bills of review, complaints, petitions, interrogatories, depositions, orders, and judgements), press releases, notes, reports (to/from court generally), memos from General Counsel's Office (GC) to Governor or between GC staff about the case, memos or letters from the Attorney General to the GC or the Governor about the case, and correspondence between the GC or Attorney General and plaintiff's attorney's or parties in the claim, dating 1990-2000, the bulk dating 1995-2000. Many of the letters are a notification to the governor's office that a claim has been filed against the state, often with no further documentation about the claim. The files comprise records of claims filed against the state of Texas handled by the General Counsel's office of Texas Governor George W. Bush. Claims were filed in district, state or federal court against the state, state agencies, state agency heads or other state personnel by individuals, businesses, organizations, local or federal government agencies, and in some cases the state petitioned the court for intervenor status. In a few instances files concern claims filed by the state against the federal government. | |||||||||||||
| Claim topics include tort claims, injuries, medical treatment for prisoners, wrongful termination, care of patients in state hospitals, local jail conditions, backlog of state prisoners in county jails, abortion, treatment of prisoners, gambling on Texas Indian reservations, removal of the executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission, and the school finance system. Correspondents include the Attorney General's office, other state agencies, federal or local government agencies, and plaintiffs and/or their attorneys. | |||||||||||||
| Settlement offers are generally not present in the files. Some settlement offers for 1995-1996 can be found in the series General Counsel's settlements. Settlement offers also present in the series General Counsel's legal opinions and advice for the years 1995-2000. | |||||||||||||
| The settlement offers may concern some of the claims in this series. An item level index to portions of the General Counsel's records, created by the Governor's Office, is available on CD ROM. Contact Texas State Archives staff for assistance. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's Claims against the state ). | |||||||||||||
| Settlements, 1995-1996,
7 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| [in process] | |||||||||||||
| This series consists of memos detailing settlement offers prepared by the General Counsel of the Texas Governor's office for the Governor's review, including a summary of the case with the General Counsel's recommendation to accept or decline. Other items include correspondence from the Attorney General and the General Counsel or Governor (usually the General Counsel) regarding claims, judgements from court, and letters from the General Counsel to the Attorney General listing settlements approved by the governor. Dates of the records are 1995-1996. Claims were submitted by either individuals or companies. Types of claims include property damage, physical impairment, violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, denial of unemployment benefits, wrongful arrest, alleged sexual assault by coworker, and wrongful termination. The governor's decision to approve or not approve the settlement is not noted in these records. In the Legal opinions and advice, Settlement files are the memos where the governor checks "accept" or "deny" and signs the offer. | |||||||||||||
| Arrangement | |||||||||||||
| These records are arranged roughly in two runs, 1995-1996, 1996, alphabetically by claimant; with one box in reverse chronological order by the date of the memo to the Governor from the General Counsel. | |||||||||||||
| Preferred Citation | |||||||||||||
| (Identify the item), Settlements, General Counsel files, Records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. | |||||||||||||
| Preliminary survey by | |||||||||||||
| Laura K. Saegert, September 2002 | |||||||||||||
| Legislation, 1999,
1 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| [in process] | |||||||||||||
| This series contains the bill files, dating 1999, of James Hines, the Public Information Officer, in the Texas Governor's General Counsel office. The folder labels contain the bill number, the sponsor, and topic of the bill. The files contain a copy of the bill. Most also contain a bill analysis, a fiscal note, and perhaps a committee report. | |||||||||||||
| Arrangement | |||||||||||||
| The files are separated into Senate and House bills, filed by bill number within each group, though not in numerical order consistently. . | |||||||||||||
| Preferred Citation | |||||||||||||
| (Identify the item), Legislation, General Counsel files, Records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. | |||||||||||||
| Preliminary survey by | |||||||||||||
| Laura K. Saegert, September 2002 | |||||||||||||
| General correspondence, 1963-1964, 1975, 1985-2000 (bulk 1995-2000),
6.4 cubic ft. |
|||||||||||||
| This series consists of general correspondence of the Texas Governor's General Counsel's office, dating 1963-1964, 1975, 1985-2000 (bulk 1995-2000). There is correspondence with constituents and topical files - consular matters, inmate correspondence, executive clemency requests, Texas Department of Criminal Justice correspondence, ethics, Attorney General correspondence (includes files on claims and child support), and personnel correspondence (generally letters of resignation of appointees from committees and boards). Most of the files consist of incoming letters, there is not much outgoing except for constituent correspondence, which is incoming and outgoing. Correspondents include state and federal officials, legislators, local officials, law firms, citizens, inmates, companies, board and commission members, and the General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel or other General Counsel staff. Also present are cover letters for executive orders that were issued and some correspondence between the Attorney General and the General Counsel or Governor Bush. The orders are not present. Most of the outgoing letters are signed by the Deputy or Assistant General Counsel - a few are signed by Al Gonzalez. The constituent correspondence covers a wide variety of issues, usually involving legal issues or a request handled by the General Counsel's office, like requests for pardons or paroles. Topics covered in other types of requests include disciplinary proceedings, Internet privacy, complaints against the textbook adoption process, medical malpractice claims, interstate child custody court jurisdiction, gambling indictments, and development of the Texas Legal Service Plan Special Committee. | |||||||||||||
| If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the full finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at at separate divider within the binder ( Texas Governor George W. Bush, General Counsel's general correspondence ). | |||||||||||||
| Public information requests,
1995-2000 (bulk 1998-2000),
46 cubic ft. |
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| [in process] | |||||||||||||
| This series consists of public information requests from individuals or companies and the responses of the Public Information Officer in the Texas Governor's General Counsel's Office, James Hines (at least for most of the period covered). Dates covered are 1995-2000, with the bulk dating 1998-2000. The vast majority of the records are filed by the name of the requestor. Most files contain the initial request, the response of the public information officer or other general counsel staff, and copies of the documents requested. Not all documents sent out to the requestor are present in the files. In a few cases there are memos from the General Counsel to Bush as to whether requested items should be released. Also included are internal, summary memos of requests, listing the date received, type of request, and who it was assigned to and a copy of the ethics advisory log, 1995-1998, containing the date of the question, date of response, what the question was, what the response was, and initial of the staff member handling the request. | |||||||||||||