Texas Governor George W. Bush:

An Inventory of Governor George W. Bush Correspondence/Constituent Services Office Robos Research and Background Files Located at the George W. Bush Presidential Library, 1993-2000, 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The office of governor was first established by the Constitution of 1845 and superseded the office of president of the Republic of Texas.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.

Correspondence/Constituent Services is listed as a division within the Communications Office (also known as the Press Office). Shirley Green served as director of Correspondence/Constituent Services through most of Governor Bush's tenure. The division was responsible for the mail log, the central correspondence file, honorary certificates, greetings, and proclamations. The Ombudsman/Citizens' Assistance program was also housed within this division. During the latter part of Governor Bush's second term, the division also handled some of the governor's scheduling functions.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 9th and 10th eds., (1996 and 1999); the contents of the records; and versions of the Governor's Office web site during Governor Bush's term available on the Internet Archive at http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.governor.state.tx.us, accessed on March 3, 2009.)

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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.

(Sources include: Versions of the Governor's Office web site during Governor Bush's term available on the Internet Archive at http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.governor.state.tx.us, accessed on March 3, 2009.)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Correspondence/Constituent Services Office was responsible for preparing replies to many of the letters written to Texas Governor George W. Bush's Office. Robos (robotype correspondence) research and background files were created while developing and revising computer-generated form response letters for topics that produced large volumes of mail in the Governor's Office. Records are final versions and drafts of response letters and FAQs (frequently asked questions), originals and copies of incoming letters (logged, some unlogged) used as samples when crafting the response, news clippings, press releases, speeches, printouts from Internet sites, emails, legislation, bill analyses, yellow routing slips, green Robos forms (listing author of letter, what division it belongs to in the Robos table of contents, main and second subjects, etc.), notes, and memos, dating 1993-2000, bulk 1995-2000. Subjects include border issues, child issues, economic development, education, employees, environment, energy, federal issues, government issues, greetings, health, insurance, military, social issues, state agency issues, student letters, taxes, transportation, utilities, welfare, crime, legal issues, budget, and legislative issues. There are also miscellaneous Robos and mini-Robos files, which relate to issues of concern to a narrower constituency. Shirley Green, head of the Correspondence/Constituent Services for most of Governor Bush's tenure, made numerous comments regarding grammar and procedures. Karen Hughes, Communications Director; Vance McMahan, Policy Director; Margaret LaMontagne, Senior Advisor; and other Governor's Office staff provided input on the content and revision of a number of the letters to ensure they reflected the Governor's policies. A very few letters include comments from Governor Bush (including topics such as capital punishment, litigation, and Medicaid reform). Post-it notes have been photocopied onto acid-free paper and then discarded. Folder titles were added by the archivist based on alpha-numeric designations and topics assigned by Correspondence staff, which had been noted on the top right-hand corner of materials.

This finding aid describes one series of Texas Governor George W. Bush's records. See Texas Governor George W. Bush: An Introduction to Governor George W. Bush Records for more record series. If you are reading this electronically, click on the link to go to the finding aid. If you are reading this in paper, the overall finding aid is found at a separate divider within the binder.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, privacy (§552.101), certain legislative documents (§552.106), attorney-client privilege (§552.107), agency memoranda (§552.111), email addresses (§552.137), social security number (§552.147), 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 (Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P. O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711), fax (512-463-5436), email (Dir_Lib@tsl.state.tx.us), or see our web page (https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/requestgovernorbushrecords.html). Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information requested. (Note: The Governor's Office has requested that the State Archives contact the Public Information Coordinator for the Governor's Office when we receive a Public Information Act request for these records.) 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.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

None.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Texas Governor George W. Bush Correspondence/Constituent Services Office Robos research and background files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 2002/151

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 were moved to the George W. Bush Presidential Library in February 2013.

Processing Information

Processed by Tonia J. Wood, November 2008

Finding aid updated by Tonia J. Wood, April 2013

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Detailed Description of the Records

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