Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
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.).
None.
The Texas Office of State-Federal Relations (OSFR) was established in 1965 to promote communication and build relationships between the state and federal governments, and to advance the interests of the people of the State of Texas. The office was created by House Bill 1004, 59th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, as a division of the Governor's Office and became a separate agency in 1971 (House Bill 1684, 62nd Legislature, Regular Session). The Executive Director of the agency is appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House serve as the agency's Advisory Board. The agency has two offices, one in Washington, D.C. and one in Austin, Texas.
OSFR is the state's advocate in Washington, D.C., representing state government with the administration, Congress, and federal agencies. The goal of OSFR is to increase the influence of the governor and the legislature over federal action that has a direct or indirect economic, fiscal, or regulatory impact on the state and its citizens, to maintain an active role for Texas in the national decision-making process. This is done by: working with the Governor's Office, the legislature, and state agencies to coordinate a federal agenda for the State of Texas; working with Congress, the administration, and federal agencies to pass and implement legislation and rules favorable to Texas; and providing information to Texas officials about federal initiatives, and helping them influence those initiatives.
Three OSFR policy teams are housed in the state's Washington office, each consisting of a policy director, a legislative analyst, and state agency representatives working on federal policy and funding issues critical to their respective agencies. The health and human services policy team handles issues including: the Title XXI State Children's Health Insurance, welfare reform, Medicaid reform, Medicare, the Social Services Block Grant, the Child Care Development Block Grant, maternal and child health, childhood immunization, nutrition programs, aging services, prescription drugs, bioterrorism, homeland security, immigration, drug interdiction, education, and criminal and juvenile justice programs. The economic development team manages concerns regarding: labor issues and workforce development, housing and community development, defense issues, transportation, trade and border issues, science and technology, telecommunications, bankruptcy, taxation, and tort reform. The natural resources team addresses issues including: environment; the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act Reauthorization; federal disaster assistance; the Endangered Species Act; superfund reauthorization; border environment; revenue sharing; energy, including utility restructuring, oil, gas and alternative energy; agriculture; and other issues.
The Austin office of OSFR seeks to be of service to members of the state legislature and state officials. It serves as a conduit for information, supplying copies of legislation, bill status and summary information; and can assist in answering questions on any federal issues of interest to the state. Additionally, OSFR publishes a weekly newsletter when Congress is in session. It is released on Mondays and reports on the previous week's major congressional activities of interest to Texas. The newsletter's mailing list includes all Texas state legislators and members of the Texas congressional delegation, as well as many state agency staff.
(Sources include:
The Texas Office of State-Federal Relations (OSFR) was established in 1965 to promote communication and build relationships between the state and federal governments, and to advance the interests of the people of the State of Texas. Office of State-Federal Relations administrative correspondence, 1995-1999, is from the office of executive director Laurie Rich, communicating with various state officials and agencies. Materials include copies of the agency's 1995 and 1997 Information Resources Strategic Plan, a report on Texas employment and unemployment figures from 1997, an organization chart, and some general correspondence on routine administrative matters. Few, if any, of the records document the agency's activities to increase the influence of the governor and the legislature over federal action or to provide service to members of the state legislature and state officials.
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.
These records are in chronological order within a single file, as received from the agency.
(Identify the item), Texas Office of State-Federal Relations administrative correspondence. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Nancy Enneking, July 2002
Converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by TARO conversion stylesheet v1to02.xsl, July 22, 2003.
Encoded to EAD 2002 and DACS standards, and restriction statements revised by Rebecca Romanchuk, September 2008.
Accession number: 2002/112
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations on March 27, 2002.