Texas Governor George W. Bush:

An Inventory of Governor George W. Bush Press Office News Releases and Staff Files Located at the George W. Bush Presidential Library, 1990-2000, undated, 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The office of governor was first established by the Constitution of 1845 and superseded the office of president of the Republic of Texas.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 Press Office, part of the Communications Office, developed the Governor's Office website and managed media relations for the governor, the First Lady, and the administration by disseminating information to print and broadcast media, state and federal agencies, and the public. During the majority of Governor Bush's tenure, the Director of Communications was Karen P. Hughes. (The Director of Communications was sometimes referred to--mostly by those outside the office--as the Press Secretary.) When Hughes left that position in June 1999 to become Governor Bush's presidential campaign spokesperson, the Deputy Director of the Communications/Press Office, Linda Edwards, became Director, and Mike Jones became Deputy Director. Staff prepared news releases and speeches for the governor, handled media calls and requests for interviews, and collected and distributed newspaper clippings about the governor and issues of concern to Texans.

(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.)

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.

(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.)

Scope and Contents of the Records

The Press Office was responsible for managing media relations for the governor, the governor's spouse, and the administration, including preparing news releases to disseminate information about Texas Governor George W. Bush's actions. General, appointment, legislative, and chronological news releases document information that was released to the media. Staff files document interactions of Karen Hughes and other Press Office staff with members of the media. Records are news releases, clippings, correspondence, memoranda, speeches and talking points, transcripts, executive orders and proclamations, enabling legislation, reports, publications and printed material, appointment application forms, biographies, resumes, and vitae of appointees, board or commission summary information, maps, charts and graphs, or lists. Materials date 1990-2000, undated, bulk 1995-2000. General news releases cover a wide variety of topics including criminal justice, education, environment, transportation, and welfare. Appointment news releases provide biographical and statistical information on Governor Bush's appointees to agencies, boards, commissions, task forces, the judiciary, district attorneys, and universities. Legislative news releases focus on legislation signed or vetoed by Governor Bush during the 74th, 75th, and 76th Texas Legislatures. Chronological news releases provide date access to gubernatorial and gubernatorial campaign releases. Staff files concern requests for interviews, quotes, and appearances by Governor Bush.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, common law privacy (Texas Government Code, Section 552.101), confidential by law (§552.101 in conjunction with Texas Government Code Section 508.313 and Texas Occupations Code Section 159.002(d)), tax returns confidential by law (§552.101 in conjunction with 26 U.S.C. 6103(a)), birthdates of government employees (§552.102(a)), attorney client privilege (§552.107), agency memoranda (§552.111), home address, home phone number, social security number, and personal family information of a government employee (§552.117), drivers license numbers (§552.130), account information (§552.136), email addresses (§552.137), and social security numbers (§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. (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.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas Governor George W. Bush Press Office news releases and staff 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 and Museum in College Station, Texas 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 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

News releases processed by Tonia J. Wood, July 2010, December 2011

Staff files processed by Tony Black, October 2002

Additions to staff files processed by Jessica Tucker, October 2011

Finding aid updated by Tonia J. Wood, April 2013

Other Finding Aids

Detailed Description of the Records