General Counsel – General Correspondence, 1995-2014
Texas Governor Rick Perry:
An Inventory of Governor Rick Perry General Counsel General Correspondence at the Texas State Archives, 1995, 1999-2014
| Arrangement | History | Scope and Contents | Restrictions | Related Materials | Inventory |
Overview
Creator: Texas. Governor (2000-2015 : Perry)
Title: Governor Rick Perry General Counsel general correspondence
Dates: 1995, 1999-2014
Abstract: The Office of the General Counsel in the Texas Governor’s Office was responsible for providing legal advice to Governor Rick Perry. The general correspondence of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s General Counsel consists of incoming and outgoing letters and attachments such as court records, legislation, and one audiocassette tape, dating 1995, 1999-2014. Topics covered in this correspondence concern executive clemency requests, inmate and parole matters, nursing homes and state health services, child protective services, legislative matters, and emergency management and disaster response services after Hurricanes Alex, Katrina, Rita, and Ike, along with fires, droughts, floods, and the West, Texas, explosion.
Quantity: 6 cubic ft. and 958 MB (2,779 files)
Language: These materials are written predominately in English with scattered Spanish throughout.
Repository: Texas State Archives
Other Finding Aids
A description of non-electronic records referenced in this finding aid are available at https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/50124.xml
Arrangement of the Records
These records are arranged roughly alphabetically in several groups as received from the Governor’s Office.
Agency History
The General Counsel position within the Texas Office of the Governor was created in October 1973 when the Executive Director of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division appointed an individual as General Counsel, to assist him in providing statute interpretations and in other matters relating to policies and procedures. Today the Office of the General Counsel is a separate division in the Governor’s Office.
Duties of the General Counsel include providing statute interpretations; tracking inmates on death row as their cases move through the judicial process including all appeals to the governor for commutations or stays of execution; handling pardon requests sent to the governor; reviewing proposed settlements, land patents, grant requests, contracts, easements, and deeds for the governor; analyzing proposed legislation and regulations for validity and legal effect; assisting appointments staff in determining eligibility and other legal issues related to proposed appointments; handling extradition and requisition matters; coordinating ethics guidelines and training for the governor’s office; advising the governor on federal programs administered by the state; coordinating the governor’s criminal justice policy with the governor’s Policy Director; and providing legal advice and handling litigation filed against the governor or the Governor’s Office, in conjunction with actions of the Attorney General on the governor’s behalf.
Scope and Content of the Records
The Office of the General Counsel in the Texas Governor’s Office was responsible for providing legal advice to Governor Rick Perry. The general correspondence of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s General Counsel consists of incoming and outgoing letters and attachments such as court records, legislation, and one audiocassette tape, dating 1995, 1999-2014. Topics covered in this correspondence concern executive clemency requests, inmate and parole matters, nursing homes and state health services, child protective services, and legislative matters. A portion of the records include special project files related to emergency management and disaster response services after Hurricanes Alex, Katrina, Rita, and Ike, along with fires, droughts, floods, and the West, Texas, explosion.
Correspondents include state and federal officials, legislators, local officials, law firms, inmates, companies, board and commission members, and general counsel staff members. Correspondence with state agencies and commissions include Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General’s office, Texas Department of Human Services, Texas Supreme Court, Texas Department of Transportation, and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, among others. Most of the letters are addressed to Bill Jones or Brian Newby, each of whom served as general counsel to Governor Perry. A portion of the letters are addressed to Mary Ann Wiley, who served as deputy general counsel.
For constituent correspondence, please review the separate finding aid Governor Rick Perry Constituent Communication Office correspondence files.
Formats of the original electronic files include word processing or plain text files (.doc, .txt, .pdf), spreadsheets (.xls), and emails (.msg). Digital files presented for public use will generally be PDF for text documents or spreadsheets. Files in their original format are available on request; restrictions may apply.
Restrictions and Requirements
Restrictions on Access
Records described in this finding aid may contain information that is confidential under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552) or other statutes. Restricted information, as outlined in the statutes, applies to both physical and electronic records. As laws change, statutory restrictions may be added to or removed from these records. See our Texas Public Information Act and Researching in the State Archives web page for the more common types of restrictions found in state government records.
Requests for materials held within the State Archives, whether a Research Request or Public Information Act Request, must be submitted via this form: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/sites/default/files/public/tslac/ref/Texas_State_Archive_Material_Request_Form.pdf. A Research Request is sufficient for requesting most State Archives materials. While a PIA Request is always an option, a PIA Request for State Archives materials is required only if a researcher does not agree to the redaction or removal of restricted government information (see: Texas Gov’t Code Chapter 552).
For further assistance with accessing materials within the State Archives, contact the Reference Desk: archinfo@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455.
Restrictions on Use
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted. 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.).
Related Material
The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
(Identify the item), Texas Governor Rick Perry General Counsel general correspondence. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession Information
Accession numbers: 2015/067, 2015/117, 2016/170
Paper 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 through March 2015 and on June 9, 2016. Electronic 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 January 29, 2015.
Processing Information
Processed by Halley Grogan, May 2016
Inventory of the General Counsel general correspondence
For an inventory of the paper records please see the finding aid listed in the Other Finding Aids section.
| Texas-Digital-Archive | |||||||||||
| E2015/117 | Adjutant General, Texas Military Forces, June-August 2014 | ||||||||||
| [National Guard request for permission to enter Texas to conduct training requirements to assist U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.] | |||||||||||
| Crime Stoppers, November 2013 | |||||||||||
| Criminal Justice Division, June 2010 | |||||||||||
| Economic Development: | |||||||||||
| Bank folder, May 2009 | |||||||||||
| Capital Stakeholder Program, 2008-2009 | |||||||||||
| Emergency Management: | |||||||||||
| Hurricane Alex, June-July 2010 | |||||||||||
| Hurricane Ike, September 2008-June 2010 | |||||||||||
| Hurricane Katrina, September 2005-January 2006 | |||||||||||
| Hurricane Rita, 2005-2008 | |||||||||||
| Drought, 2009, 2011 | |||||||||||
| Fires, 2008-2009, 2011 | |||||||||||
| Fireworks, 2008-2009, 2011-2012 | |||||||||||
| Floods, 2008, 2012-2014 | |||||||||||
| LP (liquefied petroleum) Gas, January 22, 2014 | |||||||||||
| Memos, July 2008 | |||||||||||
| West explosion, April-July 2013 | |||||||||||
| West Nile virus, August 2012 | |||||||||||
| Winter ice storm, January 2013 | |||||||||||
| Research and Memos: | |||||||||||
| Abu Dhabi, August 2006 | |||||||||||
| Colorado Street Mansion security, February 2011 | |||||||||||
| Interns’ research, 2003-2014 | |||||||||||
| SSA’s (Social Security Administration) Computer Data Agreement, April 2012 | |||||||||||
| Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), 1995 | |||||||||||
| Texas Film Commission, March 2014 | |||||||||||
