Texas Governor George W. Bush:

An Inventory of Governor George W. Bush Policy Office Records at the Texas State Archives, 1970, 1982-2000, bulk 1995-2000

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The office of governor was first established by the Constitution of 1845 and superseded the office of president of the Republic of Texas.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.

The Policy Office helps ensure that the governor's policies are implemented by state agencies and commissions. The office is organized around specialized issues such as education, criminal justice, health and human services, natural resources, and economic development. It advises the governor on emerging problems and opportunities and develops policy options for the governor's consideration. Directors of the policy office are the governor's liaisons to state agencies and board members, and they direct special committee projects authorized by the governor. The office also recommends candidates for appointments to agency positions and assists in evaluating potential appointments. The head of the Policy Office under Governor Bush was Vance McMahan.

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.

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.

Return to the Table of Contents

Scope and Contents of the Records

The Policy Office under Texas Governor George W. Bush advised the governor on emerging problems and opportunities and developed policy options for the governor's consideration; it also helped ensure that the governor's policies were implemented by state agencies and commissions. The office was organized around specialized issues such as education, criminal justice, health and human services, natural resources, economic development, and transportation. Records of the Policy Office during the tenure of Texas Governor George W. Bush (1995-2000) include correspondence; policy memoranda; records of the Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission; records of the Governor's Faith-Based Task Force and Charitable Choice; bill files; questionnaire replies; reports on, or related to, technology education and the need for a high-tech workforce; records regarding the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs' sunset process and low-income housing; and assorted pamphlets, publications, press releases, photographs, and a calendar. The materials date from 1970, 1982 to 2000, with the bulk of the records dating 1995 to 2000.

The series Memoranda is predominantly composed of staff member and office memoranda, 1995-2000, some of which are annotated by the governor and some of which have been stamped "Governor Has Seen." The documents were created to serve as briefing memos and policy recommendations in response to issues raised by forthcoming legislation, letters from the general public, letters from state and federal officials and agencies, and issues raised by corporations. The memoranda cover a wide variety of federal, state, and local issues.

The Correspondence series, 1970, 1983-2000, bulk 1997-2000, mainly consists of incoming letters addressed to or forwarded to Policy Office staff handling specific issues. Also included are drafts of documents describing Governor Bush's initiatives across a variety of issues, apparently coordinated by Policy Office staff member Allan Rutter.

Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission records dating 1982, 1989, and 1996-1998, were maintained by the Policy Office. The materials provide evidence of the actions taken by the Commission to fulfill its mandate to develop an economic development strategic plan for Texas and provide a fresh vision for the Texas Department of Economic Development. The Governor's liaison to the Commission was Policy staff member Jimmy Glotfelty. Files contain general information on the formation and background of the Commission, information on the request for proposal process used to select a vendor consultant, materials from a number of the Commission meetings, older reports proposing strategic economic plans for Texas, and a copy of the Commission's final strategic economic development report, submitted on October 30, 1998.

Records documenting the Governor's Advisory Task Force on Faith-Based Community Service Groups and the implementation of charitable choice, dating 1993, 1996-1998 and undated bulk 1996-1997, were also maintained by the Policy Office. Staff member Don Willett served as the Governor's liaison to the Task Force. Records concern improving the ability of faith-based groups to provide needed social services. Specifically, they provide evidence of the establishment, composition, and activities of the Governor's Task Force; provide information regarding the concept and origination of charitable choice and evidence of the efforts in Texas state agencies to implement the theory; and indicate the development of a state legislative agenda to create changes recommended by the Task Force. A number of files record the attendance of Don Willett at two workshops concerning faith based providers of social services and government cooperation with religious social ministries held at the Center for Public Justice in Washington D.C.

Questionnaires seem to have been submitted by a variety of Texas and national organizations and businesses to George W. Bush during his first gubernatorial campaign in 1994. The replies were frequently printed on Bush campaign stationery and appear to have been considered the functional equivalent of press releases. The questions and responses include promises and position statements on a wide variety of subjects, including crime, education, health and human services issues, taxes, environment, African-American issues, abortion, immigration, agriculture, gambling, insurance, energy issues, tort reform, term limits, and economic development.

The bill files contain copies of bills, amendments, bill analyses, the legislation delivery sheet, daily reports, fiscal notes, photocopied clippings, correspondence, notes, minutes, printed materials, reports, publications, agenda, legal documents and opinions, excerpts of bills, and photocopies of executive orders and proclamations, dating 1994-1999. The files cover the 74th through 76th Legislative sessions and include documentation of virtually every bill introduced during each legislative session. Numerous bills are represented only by a single House Research Organization bill analysis or a single copy of the bill. In many other cases, however, bills are presented in a number of versions, reflecting the changes and amendments made as they passed through the legislative process. In addition to the bill copies, it is not uncommon to find a variety of supporting documentation. Some of the records are annotated. With a few exceptions, subjects of the bills are too numerous and varied to list, therefore access to the majority of the records can only be provided by bill number. The following link provides a variety of information for each legislative session represented in the files and may aid researchers in searching for individual bills http://www.legis.state.tx.us/.

A variety of materials, dating 1996, 1998-2000, regard the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and problems within the agency identified by a highly critical 1999 State Auditor's report and the 2000 agency sunset review. The criticisms of the agency garnered national media attention during Governor Bush's presidential campaign. Legislation to change the operating structure of the agency was proposed and the Governor's Office became involved in the process. The materials provide considerable discussion of TDHCA areas concerned with possible corruption in the governing board and mismanagement of funds, low-income housing, community block grants, colonias, and manufactured housing. One other subject of discussion was the development of talking points, detailing TDHCA successes, intended for public release.

Technology education reports and publications, dating 1998-2000, concern technology education, the need for a larger high-tech workforce in Texas, and recommendations to address the high-tech skills gap. The materials were created by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Strategic Economic Development Planning Commission, the Texas Governor's Council on Science and Technology, the American Electronics Association, and the Computing Research Association. Policy Office staff member Stuart Holliday appears to have worked with these materials, as his name appears in the only two extant memoranda.

Finally, the records include some assorted materials concerning the Governor's interest in promoting adoption and First Lady Laura Bush's interest in promoting early childhood development and reading initiatives. Specifically, the materials include the 1996 Report of the Governor's Committee to Promote Adoption, conference proceedings from the 1998 Governor and First Lady's Policy Conference on Early Childhood Development and Brain Research, and four Take Time for Kids booklets published by the Texas Department of Health. In addition, five photographs depict Governor Bush at, at least, two events. One calendar notes appointments of Policy Office staff covering health and human services issues.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

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 following the series' descriptions.

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

Researchers wishing to access audiotapes and videocassettes must contact the Archives' Preservation Officer to obtain the necessary equipment.

Cotton gloves will be provided and must be worn to view photographs.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas Governor George W. Bush Policy Office records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 2002/151, 2005/144, 2006/390

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. Additional records were transferred by the Governor's Office to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on May 18, 2005 and August 1, 2006.

Processing Information

Nancy Enneking, January 2003 to February 2004

Tonia J. Wood, October 2006

Return to the Table of Contents

Detailed Description of the Records

Return to the Table of Contents