Texas Comptroller's Office, Revenue Accounting Division:

An Inventory of Policy and Procedure Manuals at the Texas State Archives, 1998-1999, undated

Agency History

The Texas State Comptroller's Office was created in 1835 by Texas' provisional government and renewed by each constitution. The present office of the Comptroller was created by the Texas Constitution of 1876 (Article IV, Sections 1 and 23) and is responsible for collecting state revenue, tracking state expenditures, and monitoring the financial condition of the state. The Comptroller was popularly elected for a two-year term until a constitutional amendment in 1974 lengthened the term to four years. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is the state's chief fiscal officer, bookkeeper and economic forecaster. The agency issues approximately 8 million checks a year to meet state agency payrolls and to pay the state's bills. The primary duty of the Comptroller's Office is to collect 26 state taxes, including sales, corporate franchise, motor fuels, motor vehicle sales, oil and natural gas production and inheritance taxes. The Office has field offices in 25 cities equipped to take applications for tax permits and licenses and to make sure delinquent taxpayers bring their accounts up to date. Comptroller auditors regularly check taxpayers' books to ensure compliance with the laws, visiting businesses ranging from small Texas grocers to Fortune 500 corporations in Texas and other states.

The Comptroller is required by law to provide the Legislature with a sworn statement showing the financial condition of the state at the end of each fiscal year and an estimate of probable revenue for the coming fiscal year. The Texas Constitution limits the amount that the Legislature may spend to the amount of revenue the Comptroller certifies as available for each biennium. The agency also evaluates spending bills in the Legislature to determine if enough money will be available to meet the budget. In addition, the Comptroller's Office ensures that state agencies stay within their budgets, and is developing uniform state accounting and payroll systems to improve the efficiency of all state financial operations. Finally, the Comptroller's Office helps taxpayers comply with state tax laws and stay abreast of changes in the law.

On September 1, 1996 the Office of the Comptroller assumed the function of the abolished State Treasury Department and the Treasury Department's Unclaimed Property Program, thus making the Comptroller responsible for depositing and investing state funds, paying state warrants, administering and enforcing the state's cigarette and tobacco tax laws, and attempting to return abandoned property to its owners.

Bob Bullock was Comptroller from 1975 to 1990, John Sharp served from 1991 through 1998, and Carole Keeton Rylander has served as Comptroller since 1999. By 1999, the Comptroller's Office had a full-time staff of over 2,800 individuals and an annual budget in excess of $170 million dollars.

Among the numerous divisions of the Comptroller's Office, the Revenue Accounting Division is one of three that make up the area of Revenue Administration. With Account Maintenance and Revenue Processing, Revenue Accounting collects and processes state revenues and distributes local sales tax collections to cities and counties. They also maintain taxpayer accounts, process tax payment exceptions and adjustments, and administer the state's unclaimed property program. The related Electronic Tax Administration (ETA) researches, recommends and implements advanced computer technology to improve services through the use of electronic avenues, including the Internet. Other divisions include the Local Government Division, which helps Texas cities and counties in handling state funds and in budgeting, bookkeeping, cash management and purchasing procedures, while the Economic Development Division provides information about federal and state grant opportunities, distributes data about local economies and helps businesses find purchasing and training opportunities. The Research Division studies and reports on all sectors and geographic regions of the Texas economy.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

Records comprise manuals, computer floppy discs, and a memorandum that document the policies and procedures of the Texas Comptroller's Revenue Accounting Division in 1998, 1999, and undated. The materials are revised versions of the policies for refund claims verification, voucher processing and warrant hold, sales tax refunds verification, disaster recovery, inheritance tax, miscellaneous taxes, and for the audit, balancing, tax allocation, securities, and bankruptcy procedures followed by the division. The materials include copies of the manuals on 17 computer floppy discs.

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. The contents and readability of the floppy discs have not been verified.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

The contents and readability of the floppy discs have not been verified.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Policy and procedure manuals, Revenue Accounting Division, Texas Comptroller's Office. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 2002/092

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by The Texas Comptroller's Office on January 8, 2002.

Processing Information

Nancy Enneking, July 2002

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Detailed Description of the Records

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