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Texas Office of State-Federal Relations:An Inventory of Administrative Correspondence at the Texas State Archives, 1995-1999
Agency HistoryThe Texas Office of State-Federal Relations (OSFR) was established in 1965, by House Bill 1004, 59th Regular Session, as a division of the Governor's Office and became a separate agency in 1971 (House Bill 1684, 62nd 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. OSFR's mission is to promote communication and build relationships between the state and federal governments, to advance the interests of the people of the State of Texas. The agency has two offices, one in Washington, D.C. and one in Austin, Texas. The Office 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, maintaining 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 and consist of a policy director, a legislative analyst, and state agency representatives working on federal policy and funding issues critical to their respective agencies.
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, can supply copies of legislation, and 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. The information above was derived from the agency's web site, on July 15, 2002, and the Guide to Texas State Agencies. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the RecordsRecords comprise the administrative correspondence of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations from 1995 to 1999. The correspondence passes between Laurie Rich, the executive director, and 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. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsRestrictions on AccessBecause of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, Section 552.137 re: the privacy of e-mail addresses, 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, fax, or email including enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information requested. 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 UseNone. Return to the Table of Contents
Return to the Table of Contents Related Material
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationPreferred Citation(Identify the item), Administrative correspondence, Texas Office of State-Federal Relations. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Accession InformationAccession 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. Processing InformationNancy Enneking, July 2002 Return to the Table of Contents Detailed Description of the Records
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