Correspondence, legislative records, notes, photocopies, reports, publications, memoranda, proposals, printed materials, clippings, and legal documents dating 1984-1991 (bulk 1989-1991) document the activities of Texas State Senator Temple Dickson. Correspondence and memoranda passed between Dickson and his staff, constituents, other members of the Texas Legislature, and various federal, state, and local employees and officials. Numerous files are titled by legislative bill number and contain records, such as bills, bill analyses, correspondence, and fiscal notes, pertaining to the legislation discussed during the multiple sessions of the 71st and 72nd Legislatures, 1989 and 1991. Some of these files contain only correspondence, some contain no correspondence, and some do not identify the specific session in which the bill was introduced. A number of files appear to contain research materials and some seem to be records of Dickson's work on Senate Committees. One wallet file contains legal records regarding a case in which Dickson, as a private citizen, represented the plaintiff. Major subjects discussed in Dickson's records include workers' compensation, the Texas Department of Information Resources, deceptive trade practices, and a host of issues of local concern, particularly the possible establishment of private prisons and/or correctional facilities within the district, water development, wastewater, health care and hospital districts, education and education financing, and agriculture and agricultural economic development.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.