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Texas Government Rick Perry – Economic Development and Tourism Division – Business Development files – Corporate Expansion and Recruitment project files, 1989-2005, 45 cubic ft., (paper)

Corporate Expansion and Recruitment Project files, 1989-2004, 45 cubic ft. (paper)

Restrictions on Access
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 and personal family information (Texas Government Code, Sections 552.117 and 552.1175); agency memorandums and working papers (Texas Government Code, Section 552.111); e-mail addresses (Texas Government Code, Section 552.137); proprietary and trade secret information (Texas Government Code Section 552.110); and other information protected under common law privacy (Texas Government Code, Section 552.101), 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 (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552). Refer to the overall restriction statement for instructions on requesting access through the Texas Attorney General.


Scope and Content
The Economic Development and Tourism Division (EDT) of the Texas Governor’s Office under Governor Rick Perry specialized in encouraging in-state business expansion and relocation, as well as promoting domestic and international tourism via partnership with local convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, and private travel-related organizations. The records consist of files generated by Corporate Expansion and Recruitment (CER), a subsidiary office of Business Development, in the process of negotiating with a series of companies, dating 1989 to 2005. Types of records include incoming and outgoing correspondence, memorandums, reports, presentations, press releases, and promotional materials. Organizations represented in the records include the Boeing Aerospace Company, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, the Ret-Ser Engineering Agency, Wal-Mart, and the Toyota Group.

The negotiations fall broadly into two categories: negotiating the establishment of new headquarters or facilities in Texas and the expansion of facilities already set up in the state. In many instances, the identity of the company was kept from CER, presumably in order to prevent the negotiations from becoming public knowledge. CER representatives were then provided with a broad set of characteristics about the company, as well as the facility it was interested in establishing. The files generally contain a company profile, some information on prospective facilities, a timeline of CER contact with the company or their representative, and copies of pertinent correspondence between CER, the company, or a local government interested in hosting the facility. There is also a box of index-sized prospect cards, which contain basic company information, contacts, and dates as well as if and where the company chose to locate its facilities in Texas.


Arrangement
Exact organization and file naming conventions varied throughout the file-keeping period. However, all records are arranged chronologically by fiscal year then alphabetically by company name. In those cases where the name of the subject company is not known, the file is included under the name of the consultant which represented the company in negotiations with EDT, with a explanatory note. File entries also include the EDT-assigned project name and number when available. Where the company name is unknown, a short description of the type of facility being considered is included in the entry. Also present are smaller sections of records concerning non-company subjects and materials in large binders, which are also arranged alphabetically by company or file name.

Please see the finding aid on TARO (https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/60014.xml) for details on how to access paper-based materials.

Preferred Citation
(Identify the item), Corporate Expansion and Recruitment project files, Business Development files, Texas Governor Rick Perry Economic Development and Tourism Division records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information
Accession numbers: 2015/067

These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Office of the Governor on December 19, 2014 thru March 2015.

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