Decision Material-This record appears to have first been created in 1982. [see revised record series review]

Self-evaluation Report-Agencies undergoing sunset review may consider their self-evaluation reports to be publications and submit them to the Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. That does not diminish the fact that the reports are records used by the Sunset Advisory Commission in its sunset review process. [see revised record series review]

Budget Request-The earliest one-page budget request is dated January 1993. [see revised record series review]

Commission Appointments-Letters of appointment to the Sunset Advisory Commission date from 1983. [see revised record series review]

Remove series from agency retention schedule:

Strategic plan-The records appraisal report dated February 19, 1997 stated that the agency had completed its first strategic plan in 1995. Since strategic plans are archival, the agency was asked to send the required copies to the Publications Depository Program. A letter received from the Sunset Advisory Commission in November 1999 states that the commission did not prepare a strategic plan in 1995. Since the law requiring state agencies to create strategic plans was amended effective September 1995 to exempt legislative agencies, this apparently means that strategic plans never have been created by the Sunset Advisory Commission. The agency should remove the series Strategic plan from the retention schedule. If other plans or planning records are created, then the agency should add the series Plans and planning records (series item number 1.1.024, minimum retention AC+3, requiring archival review) to the agency's retention schedule.

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Record Series Reviews

Revised Record Series Review
Series Title: Decision Material

Agency: Sunset Advisory Commission

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: Approximately 0.1 cubic ft.

Agency holdings:

These records are in the offices of the agency and are to be retained for ten years according to the agency's retention schedule. Actual holdings at the agency are an estimated 1 cubic ft., ca. 1990-[ongoing].

Description:

Types of records include proposed recommendations from Sunset Advisory Commission staff for agencies undergoing sunset review, compilations of testimony and written responses from public hearings regarding the staff recommendations, and memos and notes of staff and commissioners. Dates of records are from 1982-[ongoing]. During the sunset review of an agency, the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff gathers background information and prepares a detailed report with specific recommendations that is presented to the Sunset commissioners and to the public for consideration. Testimony and written responses are taken at public hearings regarding those recommendations and the staff compiles a synopsis of the comments for the commission. The commission then considers the staff recommendations along with the public comments and approves or disapproves of the recommendations they will present to the Legislature for adoption. These records are from that decision-making process of the commissioners. Only recommendations adopted by the commissioners are included in the Sunset Commission's final report on the agency and submitted to the Legislature. In 1982 and 1984 decision sheets prepared for agencies reviewed by the commission included questions, paragraphs of background information used by the commissioners' in making decisions, and columns for yes, no, or modify, with an x marked in one of the three columns for each question. From 1986 forward, the re-named decision materials contained recommendations, summaries of public testimony, issues, effects of possible changes on current statutes, with no columns for marking results of commission decisions.

Purpose:

These records document the Sunset Advisory commissioners approval or disapproval of proposed recommendations by the Sunset Commission staff for inclusion in the Final Report of an agency undergoing sunset review.

Agency Program:

The Sunset Advisory Commission is required by the Texas Sunset Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 325) to review state agencies scheduled for termination. The statute sets specific time frames for the review process and lists the criteria for determining whether a need exists. The commissioners' decision to approve or disapprove a staff recommendation is essential in fulfilling V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 325.008, which requires the Sunset Commission to conduct a performance evaluation and prepare a written report on agencies subject to sunset review. The commission's report on an agency must include a recommendation to abolish or continue the agency and may also contain recommendations to correct problems identified during the review.

Arrangement:

In 1982 and 1984, decision sheets were filed with the minutes chronologically by date discussed by the commission. From 1984 forward, decision sheets and materials were filed alphabetically by agency name with other agency review material.

Access constraints: None

Use constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? No

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: No

Previous destructions:

Destruction requests on file in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission were checked for the Sunset Advisory Commission and none were found for this series or for equivalent or related series.

Publications based on records: None

Series data from draft agency schedule:

Title: Decision Material

Series item number: 1.1

Agency item number: 1c

Archival code: A (draft 1999 schedule)

Retention: 10

Archival holdings:

Decision material, 1982, 1984, 1986-1989, 1991, 1 cubic ft.
Types of records include proposed recommendations from Sunset Commission staff for agencies undergoing sunset review, compilations of testimony and written responses from public hearings regarding the staff recommendations, proposed legislation and amendments, and memos and notes of staff and commissioners. Dates of records are from 1982, 1984, 1986-1989, 1991. During the sunset review of an agency, the Sunset Advisory Commission staff gathers background information and prepares a detailed report with specific recommendations that is presented to the Sunset commissioners and to the public for consideration. Testimony and written responses are taken at public hearings regarding those recommendations and the staff compiles a synopsis of the comments for the commission. The commission then considers the staff recommendations along with the public comments and approves or disapproves of the recommendations they will present to the Legislature for adoption. These records are from that decision-making process of the commissioners. Only recommendations adopted by the commissioners are included in the Sunset Commission's final report on the agency and submitted to the Legislature. Decision material is organized in two groups: the first is arranged chronologically by date heard by the commission and is inter-filed with the minutes; the second group is arranged alphabetically by agency name and is inter-filed with the second group of self-evaluation reports.

Gaps? Decision material was not created prior to ca. 1982.

Appraisal Decision:

Decision material provides the only documentation of staff recommendations that are not approved by the commissioners. In addition, recommendations approved by the commissioners are cited in the minutes and in the Sunset Commission's final report on the agency but are condensed and so only in a "streamlined" fashion. For a full record of the commissioners' actions regarding sunset recommendations, both negative and positive, these decision materials are necessary. Thus, decision materials are archival and the agency's 1999 retention schedule is correct for this series. All records that have met the ten-year retention period, ca. 1982-1989, by now should be transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division, and should continue to be transferred, preferably on a biennial basis.

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Revised Record Series Review
Series Title: Self-evaluation Report

Agency: Sunset Advisory Commission

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Biennial accumulation: Approximately 1 cubic ft.

Agency holdings:

Retained by the agency in its offices for ten years. Agency holdings date from ca. 1990-[ongoing], approximately 3 cubic ft.

Description:

Self-evaluation reports, 1977-[ongoing], are narrative reports prepared by agencies undergoing sunset review and submitted to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. The self-evaluation report contains four major sections: background, policy issues, additional data, and comments (optional). The background section provides a brief overview of the agency's history, creation and powers, policy-making body, funding and organization, and programs. Creation and powers includes key events in the development of the agency such as major changes in responsibilities or statutory authority, agency name changes, impact of state or federal legislation and funding, and impact of any litigation specifically affecting the agency's operations. Policy-making body includes number of board or commission members and length of terms; method by which board members are appointed and the chair is selected; current board composition and any statutory qualifications for appointment; and primary role and responsibilities of the board. Funding and organization includes total budget for the fiscal year; expenditure by program, five-year history of expenditure, and sources of revenue; an organizational chart; an exhibit showing the percentage of minorities in the work force; location of headquarters and any regional offices; and a description of any local government entities that the agency may work with. Programs and functions includes the name and purpose of the program, its annual budget, and number of employees involved; how this purpose is accomplished; whether any fees are collected by the agency and a list of activities funded by these fees or charges; a description and listing of the performance measures, if available, used to track the program's effectiveness; a listing of any similar programs performed by other state agencies. Additional data can include a list of advisory committees, statutory citations for all state statutes that grant authority or significantly impact the agency, other agency liaisons, interest groups, national associations, and complaint resolution.

Purpose:

The self-evaluation report is intended to give the Sunset Commission members and staff a general understanding of the agency and its purpose. It is used by the Sunset staff in drafting the background section of the staff evaluation report on the agency. The report is also intended to give the Sunset Commission a basic overview of the major policy issues, including both the pros and the cons, appropriate for resolution through a change of law.

Agency Program:

The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission was created by the Texas Sunset Act, Senate Bill 54, 65th Legislature, Regular Session, in 1977. The commission is required by the Sunset Act to review state agencies that have a date for review or abolishment set in statute. The commission conducts performance evaluation of those agencies and prepares written reports for the Legislature (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 325.008). Self-evaluation reports assist the Sunset Advisory Commission in its critical role of reviewing state agencies. These reports address the thirteen specific criteria required by V.T.C.A., Government Code, Sec. 325.011, which are analyzed by the Sunset Commission staff and detailed in the staff reports and in the recommendations given in the final report (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Sec. 325.012).

Arrangement: Filed alphabetically by agency name within the agency review files.

Access constraints: None

Use constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? No

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Destruction requests on file in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission were checked for the Sunset Advisory Commission and none were found for this series or for equivalent or related series.

Publications based on records:

Staff Reports by the Sunset Advisory Commission on individual agencies under review are partially based on each agency's self-evaluation review. Copies of these Staff Reports are filed in the Texas State Publications Depository Program of the Library and Archives Commission.

Series data from draft agency schedule:

Title: Self-evaluation report

Series item number: 1.1

Agency item number: 1n

Archival code: A

Retention: 10

 

Archival holdings:

Self-evaluation reports, 1977-1989, 8.65 cubic ft.
Records consist of self-evaluation reports prepared and written by state agencies undergoing sunset review, 1977-1989. The reports are submitted to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission to provide a general understanding of the agency and its purpose. A self-evaluation report is comprised of four major sections: background, policy issues, additional data, and comments (optional). The background section provides a brief overview of the agency's history, creation and powers, policy-making body, funding and organization, and programs. Policy issues provide a narrative assessment of individual issues of importance as identified by the agency. Additional data can include a list of advisory committees, statutory citations for all state statutes that grant authority or significantly impact the agency, other agency liaisons, interest groups, national associations, and complaint resolution. Self-evaluation reports are organized in two groups covering roughly the same time period, each arranged alphabetically by agency name. In the second alphabetical group, decision materials (described in a separate series) are physically inter-filed with the self-evaluation reports in one alphabetical run. Researchers should check both self-evaluation report groups for an agency name.

Texas Documents Collection holdings:

Additional self-evaluation reports (submitted by creating agencies to the Publications Depository Program) are available in the Texas Documents Collection, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (located in Room 300 of the State Archives and Library Building). There are self-evaluation reports in the Texas Documents Collection that are not duplicated in the Archives holdings and vice versa.

Gaps? None known

Appraisal Decision:

The agency self-evaluation reports provide fundamental knowledge of a state agency in a concise, standardized format. The information in these reports has a vitality when initially filed which will continue and provide a historical perspective when consulted in the future. Agencies undergoing sunset review may consider their self-evaluation reports to be publications and submit them to the Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. That does not diminish the fact that the reports are records used by the Sunset Advisory Commission in its sunset review process. If each agency keeps a copy of its own report, should the Sunset Advisory Commission's copy or the agency's copy be the record copy? As long as the Sunset Advisory Commission can act as the central gathering point for reports then I recommend that the Archives take advantage of that function and designate the Sunset Advisory Commission's copy as the record copy. Self-evaluation reports might be lost if the Archives relies on receiving reports from each agency (especially from over a twenty year period). Therefore, the self-evaluation reports submitted to the Sunset Advisory Commission are archival. The agency's 1999 retention schedule is correct for this series.

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Revised Record Series Review
Series Title: Budget Request

Agency: Sunset Advisory Commission

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Biennial accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

These records are in the offices of the Sunset Advisory Commission, a fractional amount in volume, and dating from 1994-[ongoing]. They are retained by the agency for six years after passage of the Appropriations Act.

Description:

Budget requests from the Sunset Advisory Commission consist of a one-page statement submitted biennially to the Legislative Budget Board. These requests date from 1993-[ongoing]. Previously, appropriations for the Sunset Advisory Commission had been included in the overall appropriations for the Legislature. The one-page budget request consists of types of expenses and then columns of figures for the funds expended during the past two or three years, budgeted funds for the current year, and requested funds for the next two years. Expenses include salary requirements, professional fees, travel, operating expenses, master lease purchase, and capital outlay. There is no narrative description of agency programs or justification given for the amounts requested.

Purpose:

The purpose of these records is to request appropriations from the legislature.

Agency Program:

Biennial budget requests are a mandatory requirement of the state budgetary process but from the beginning of the Sunset Advisory Commission until 1992 its budget had been included with the Legislature's and no separate request was made.

Arrangement: Chronological

Access constraints: None

Use constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? No

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Destruction requests on file in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission were checked for the Sunset Advisory Commission and none were found for this series or for equivalent or related series.

Publications based on records: None

Series data from draft agency schedule:

Title: Budget Request

Series item number: 1.1.004

Agency item number: 6

Archival code: A

Retention: AC + 6

Archival holdings:

Budget request, 1993, fractional
The record is a budget request, dated January 1993, from the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, and consists of a one-page statement which is submitted biennially to the Legislative Budget Board. Previously, appropriations for the Sunset Advisory Commission had been included in the overall appropriations for the Legislature. The one-page budget request consists of types of expenses and then columns of figures for the funds expended during the past three years, budgeted funds for the current year, and requested funds for the next two years. Expenses include salary requirements, professional fees, travel, operating expenses, master lease purchase, and capital outlay. There is no narrative description of agency programs or justification given for the amounts requested.

Texas Documents Collection holdings: None

Gaps?

Agency has been in existence since 1977 but separate budget requests were first filed with the Legislative Budget Board beginning in January 1993.

Appraisal Decision:

The retention schedule for this series is correct and sufficient. These one-page requests are not considered a publication so copies are not sent to the Publications Depository Program. Instead, the budget requests should be sent directly to the Archives and Information Services Division after the six-year retention period has been reached. The Archives has received the budget request dated January 1993.

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Revised Record Series Review
Series Title: Commission Appointments

Agency: Sunset Advisory Commission

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

These records are in the offices of the Sunset Advisory Commission. The retention period for commission appointments is after completion of term plus two years. Actual holdings date from 1995-[ongoing]; size is fractional.

Description:

Records consist of letters of appointment to the Sunset Advisory Commission, press releases, and a list of all appointees. Records date from 1983-[ongoing] and include the appointment letters for all appointments ever made to the commission. The appointment letters are sent out from the Offices of the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House to the appointees and to the commission. Press releases are prepared by the offices of the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House. A list of the appointed commissioners is compiled and updated by the staff of the commission as an in-house reference tool.

Purpose:

These records document the appointment of commissioners to the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Agency Program:

The policy-making body of the Sunset Advisory Commission is a ten-member commission. Membership of the commission consists of four state senators and one public member appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and four members of the House and one public member appointed by the Speaker of the House. Public members serve two-year terms, and legislative members serve four-year terms staggered so that half the membership from each house expires every two years
(V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 32.003).

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order

Access constraints: None

Use constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? No

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Destruction requests on file in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission were checked for the Sunset Advisory Commission and none were found for this series or for equivalent or related series.

Publications based on records: None

Series data from draft agency schedule:

Title: Commission Appointments

Series item number: 1.1.007

Agency item number: 7

Archival code: A

Retention: AC+2

Archival holdings:

Commission appointments, 1983-1996, fractional
Records are letters and press releases, 1983-1996, concerning appointments to the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission. The commission is composed of four state senators and one public member appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and four state representatives and one public member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Letters from the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker notify the appointees and director of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission of new commission members. Press releases from the offices of the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker provide the information to the media and the public.

Gaps? No commission appointments prior to 1983 were located.

Appraisal Decision:

The Secretary of State's Statutory Documents Section reported in a telephone conversation on March 14, 1996 that their office does receive the appointment letters to the Sunset Advisory Commission from the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker but retains them only for a couple of years as a courtesy filing before destroying them since, unlike the filing of gubernatorial appointments, the Secretary of State is under no obligation to retain appointments made by the Lieutenant Governor or the Speaker. If the Secretary of State's copy is not retained, that makes the appointment letter at the Sunset Commission the record copy. The archival code for this series has been changed from an "R" to an "A" on the agency's retention schedule, and appointment letters from 1983 to 1996 have been transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission.

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