Texas Governor George W. Bush:

An Inventory of First Lady Laura Bush's Files (Part II) at the Texas State Archives, 1994-2000, bulk 1995-1999

Agency History

The Texas Office of the First Lady encompasses the official governmental activities of the spouse of the governor. The Office of the First Lady is not an actual state agency and functions as a subdivision of the Office of the Governor. To date, there is scant legislation regarding this office. As such, it is defined more by tradition and individual preference than legislation. Although not legally mandated, "at the request of the Governor, and to represent the State of Texas" is the guiding phrase for all the First Lady's official activities. To facilitate this end, the Travel Regulations Act (Texas Government Code, Section 660.203(b)) states that the governor's spouse is entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred while performing duties at the direction of the governor. These duties have traditionally included acting as hostess during receptions at the Governor's Mansion, presiding over selected welfare organizations and initiatives, accompanying the Governor in official travels, and participating in selected ceremonial duties. Texas Government Code, Section 442.0071(d) outlines the First Lady's role in the decoration of the Governor's Mansion. It states that the Texas Historical Commission must solicit the advice and approval of the First Lady before making changes to the decoration of the Governor's Mansion.

Moreover, the First Lady is often appointed as a member of the Inaugural Endowment Fund Committee. According to Texas Government Code, Section 401.011(b), the inaugural endowment fund may be expended for "decorating, furnishing, preserving, or improving the Capitol, the Governor's Mansion, or other state property of historical significance or for grants in support of public schools, public libraries, or other charitable causes at the discretion of the inaugural endowment fund committee." All of these areas have historically fallen under the influence of the First Lady.

The Texas Office of the First Lady includes one assistant, and the First Lady often relies on the support staff of the Governor for assistance in communications and scheduling in her official capacity.

(Sources include: Information in the records of First Lady Laura Bush's files and the following Texas Government Code Statutes: Section 660.203(b), Section 442.0071(d), and Section 401.011 (b).)

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Laura Bush Biographical Sketch

Laura Bush acted as First Lady of Texas from January 17, 1995 when her husband George W. Bush was sworn in as Texas Governor to December 21, 2000 when Bush resigned as Texas Governor. She became First Lady of the United States when her husband, George W. Bush, was inaugurated as president of the United States in January 2001.

During her tenure as Texas First Lady, Mrs. Bush supported many causes related to women's and children's health, education, and literacy. Her four major initiatives were Take Time for Kids (a public awareness and educational campaign that gives caregivers information about parenting topics), Family Literacy (urging Texas communities to establish family literacy programs through local collaboration with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy), Reach Out and Read (a pediatric-based literacy program), and Ready to Read (focusing on early childhood education programs).

In addition, Mrs. Bush established the Texas Book Festival, which raises grant money for public libraries, and opened Rainbow Rooms in several locations throughout the state to provide emergency resources for abused and neglected children. In conjunction with these Rainbow Rooms, she promoted the Adopt-a-Caseworker program to provide a support system for Child Protective Services caseworkers through private sponsorship. Finally, Mrs. Bush was a advocate of breast cancer and Alzheimer's awareness and research throughout her tenure.

Laura Bush (neé Welch), only daughter of Harold Bruce Welch and Jenna Louise Hawkins, was born on November 4, 1946 in Midland, Texas. In 1968, Mrs. Bush earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southern Methodist University. Upon graduating, she worked as a schoolteacher first at Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District before moving on to John F. Kennedy Elementary School in the Houston Independent School District in 1969, where she remained until 1972. Mrs. Bush then received a Master of Science degree in Library Science in 1973 from the University of Texas at Austin. Thereafter, she worked at the Kashmere Gardens Branch of the Houston Public Library until 1974, when she returned to Austin to work at Dawson Elementary School in the Austin Independent School District until 1977.

George W. Bush and Laura Bush were married on November 5, 1977. They have two daughters, Jenna and Barbara (both born in 1981). Since that time, she has volunteered for several charitable organizations, including the Dallas County Community Partners, which launched the first Rainbow Room. She has also served on the national board of Reading is Fundamental, Southern Methodist University's 21st Century Council, and the advisory boards of the University of Texas Graduate School of Library and Information Science and the American Library Association's office of intellectual freedom.

(Sources include: First Lady Laura Bush's official White House biography: http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/flbio.html)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas Office of the First Lady encompasses the official governmental activities of the spouse of the governor and functions as a subdivision of the Office of the Governor in practice. The records in this finding aid are correspondence, press releases and news clippings, invitations and regrets, Texas Book Festival notebooks, foundation files, and office files, 1994 to 2000, bulk 1995 to 1999, concerning Texas First Lady Laura Bush. The series Correspondence consists of correspondence (incoming and outgoing) between the general public and Texas First Lady Laura Bush, ranging in date from 1994-1999. The largest subseries is general correspondence; other prominent subseries include recipe requests, Texas writers (which includes correspondence with Janice Woods Windle, Ruthe Winegarten, Sandra Cisneros, and other Texas authors), and auction items and requests.

Press releases and news clippings relate to Texas First Lady Laura Bush or areas of interest to her professionally, such as interviews with authors featured at the Texas Book Festival or projects at local public libraries. The materials range in date from May 1994 to July 1999.

The Invitations and regrets series, 1994-1999, bulk 1995-1999, is composed of declined invitations to Texas First Lady Laura Bush and response letters of regret sent by the Office of the First Lady. The records themselves include letters, cards, faxes, programs, brochures, and other documentation concerning these invitations. Also contained are invitations forwarded to the Office of the First Lady by the Scheduling Office of Governor George W. Bush.

Texas Book Festival notebooks, 1996-2000, document the First Lady's participation and interest in the Texas Book Festival. The records include meeting packets handed out, press releases, speeches, correspondence, financial records, and news clippings concerning the Texas Book Festival.

The Foundation files, 1996-2000, contain meeting materials, attendee lists, agendas, correspondence and e-mails, all concerning charitable foundations Texas First Lady Laura Bush was interested in, such as the El Paso Del Norte Health Foundation, Meadows Foundation, Inc., Sid Richardson Foundation, and the Tocker Foundation, and other resources for philanthropic work to be carried out by the Texas Office of the First Lady.

The last series, Office files, is made up of telephone logs, listing location and telephone number called, for the Office of the First Lady from January 1995 to December 1998, and a visitors register spanning January 29, 1999 to December 28, 1999. The call logs are grouped together by month and headed by a form memorandum from Vickers Meadows, director of administration in the Governor's Office. There is a gap in telephone records from December 1996 to October 1997. The visitors register book contains individual visitors' names, home addresses, time and date of visit, and a brief note written by the visitor. Two of the entries postdate Laura Bush's tenure as Texas First Lady.

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Restrictions

Restrictions of Access

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room (Room 100). Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, home address and phone numbers of government employees or officials (V.T.C.A., Government Code Sections 552.117 and 552.1175); e-mail addresses (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.137); financial information (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.136); records relating to allegations of child abuse (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.101, Family Code Section 261.201 (a)); psychiatric evaluations (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.101, Health and Safety Code Section 611.002); driver's license numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.130); social security numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.147); agency memoranda (V.T.C.A., Government Code Section 552.111); and student records (V.T.C.A., Government Code Sections 552.114 and 552.026), 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 ( http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/agency/customer/pia.html). Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information. 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.

Records series in this finding aid have access restrictions specific to each of them. The terms of access are found following the series description.

Restrictions on Use

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.).

Technical Requirements

Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.

To view the slide please contact the Archives' Preservation Officer.

Records contain information on a 3.5 inch computer disk. The researcher wishing to view any of the information on the disk should consult with the Archives' Preservation Officer and be aware that the archives does not currently own the equipment needed to access some disk information.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), First Lady Laura Bush's files (part II), Texas Governor George W. Bush records. 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 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. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn ruled that 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 will be returned to the Bush Library after the project has been completed.

Processing Information

Jessica Tucker, October 2006, November 2006, February 2007, March 2007, April 2007

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Detailed Description of the Records

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