Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-1013 Page: 2 of 7
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Mr. William D. Gooch - Page 2 (JM-1013)
action(s) can the Texas State Library, as the
agency responsible for the management and
preservation of public records, initiate to
obtain custody of any such public records
that have been removed from the custody of
the state?
Chapter 441 of the Texas Government Code governs, among
other things, the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission (the commission) and the preservation of the
state's public records. Sections 441.001 through 441.016
set out the structure and general powers and duties of the
commission. Sections 441.031 through 441.039 govern the
retention of public records. Your first question is whether
records created or received by the governor's office in
carrying out its statutory duties are subject to chapter
441, specifically to section 441.031(5).
Section 441.031(5) of the Texas Government Code
provides:
'Public record' means a document, book,
paper, photograph, sound recording, or other
material, regardless of physical form or
characteristic, made or received according to
law or ordinnce or in connection with the
transaction of official business. The term
does not include library or museum material
made or acquired and preserved solely for
reference or exhibition purposes, an extra
copy of a document preserved only for
convenience of reference, or a stock of
publications or of processed documents.
(Emphasis added.)
Records received or created by the governor's office in
carrying out its statutory duties clearly fall within this
definition.
You also ask whether the records of the governor's
office constitute public records subject to the Texas Open
Records Act, article 6252-17a, V.T.C.S. Section 2(2) of the
Open Records Act provides:
'Public records' means the portion of all
documents, writings, letters, memoranda, or
other written, printed, typed, copied, or
developed materials which contains public
information. (Emphasis added.)p. 5227
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-1013, text, February 2, 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273451/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.