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General Counsel – Plans and Planning Records and other material

Texas Governor Rick Perry:

An Inventory of Governor Rick Perry General Counsel Plans and Planning Records and Other Material at the Texas State Archives, 1990-1993, 1995-2005, 2008

Note that some of these records are restricted. See the restrictions statement below for information on accessing the records.

Organization History Scope and Contents Restrictions Related Materials

Overview

govPerrylogoCreator: Texas. Governor (2000-2015 : Perry)
Title: Governor Rick Perry General Counsel plans and planning records and other material
Dates: 1990-1993, 1995-2005, 2008
Abstract: The Office of the General Counsel in the Texas Governor’s Office was responsible for providing legal advice to Governor Rick Perry. Records include plans and planning records related to issues of Indian affairs within the state of Texas, along with agency rules, policies and records of internal General Counsel staff procedures. Materials date 1990-1993, 1995-2005, 2008. Types of records include legal records and legal research, correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuals, handbooks and reports regarding Indian gaming law and compacts, and one compact disc, along with correspondence, ethics policies and disclosures, legislative and agency issue assignments, photographs, staff procedures, speeches, spreadsheets, databases, and templates related to general counsel staff procedures and policies.
Quantity: 6 cubic ft. and 1.53 GB (2,865 files)
Language: These materials are written predominately in English with scattered Spanish throughout.
Repository: Texas State Archives
Click here to enter the records


Other Finding Aids

A description of non-electronic records referenced in this finding aid are available at https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/50127.xml.


Organization of the Records

The records are organized into two series:


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. Records include plans and planning records related to issues of Indian affairs within the state of Texas, along with agency rules, policies and records of internal General Counsel staff procedures. Materials date 1990-1993, 1995-2005, 2008.

Plans and planning records relate to the process of planning new or redefined programs, services or projects of the Governor’s Office during Governor Rick Perry’s term in office. The Indian Affairs program focused on the state’s relationship with Indian tribes in Texas. Types of records include legal records and legal research, correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuals, handbooks and reports regarding Indian gaming law and compacts, and one compact disc. These records represent communications between general counsel staff and representatives from the Kickapoo, Alabama-Coushatta, and Tigua tribes, along with various other tribes mentioned for their historical and legal relevance on a federal level with the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Materials date 1990-1993, 1995, 1997-2005, 2008, bulk 1991-1993, 1995.

Agency rules, policies and records of internal general counsel staff procedures include correspondence, ethics policies and disclosures, legislative and agency issue assignments, photographs, staff procedures, speeches, spreadsheets, databases and templates, dating 1997-2015. These records are in electronic format.

Formats of the original electronic files include word processing or plain text files (.doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf), spreadsheets (.xls., xlsx), photographs and graphic images (.jpg, .tif), databases (.mdb), slide presentations (.ppt), and web pages (.htm).


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.).


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.

Texas State Archives
Subject guide to Native American holdings at the Texas State Archives, about 1700-2004
Texas Governor George W. Bush General Counsel legal opinions and advice, 1892, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1932, 1942-1944, 1948, 1954, 1956, 1963, 1965, 1968-1969, 1972-2000, bulk 1995-2000, 14 cubic ft.
Texas Governor Rick Perry General Counsel legal opinions and advice, 2000-2014, bulk 2001-2003, 2.5 cubic ft. and 34.42 MB (42 files)
Texas Governor Rick Perry General Counsel litigation files, 1973, 1987, 1990-2014, 33 cubic ft. and 4.58 MB (5 files)
Texas Indian Commission records, 1954-1989, 49 cubic ft.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation
(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas Governor Rick Perry General Counsel plans and planning records and other records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information
Accession numbers: 2015/067, 2015/117

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. 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, June 2016

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Texas State Library and Archives Commission | 1201 Brazos St., Austin TX 78701 | 512-463-5455 | ref@tsl.texas.gov | P.O. Box 12927, Austin TX 78711-2927