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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2007 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Roger E. Christman
Collection is open to research.
Privacy protected information is considered closed for 75 years after date of record creation per Code of Virginia 42.1-78. Types of records restricted include, but are not limited to: state income tax returns. Restricted material has been sealed, but has not been removed from the collection.
Records of the Virginia Office of the Secretary of Finance, 1998-2005 (bulk 2002-2005), [cite specific accession number used]. State Records Collection, Library of Virginia
Office of the Secretary of Finance, Patrick Henry Building, 1111 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23219. Accession 42515 transferred 1 March 2006 and accessioned on 2 March 2006; Accession 43560 transferred 5 December 2007 and accessioned on 13 December 2007.
In 1970, the Governor's Management Commission Study recommended the creation of six "Deputy Governors" assist the Chief Executive in his managerial duties, compatible functions of government were grouped under these administrative heads, who would serve as the Governors top management team or "secretariats," as they are called now. The General Assembly in 1972 created six Secretariats positions initially. As government reorganized, that number fluctuated when government agencies expanded or consolidated.
Since the establishment of a secretarial system in 1972, there have been several reorganizations of that system. The financial management function of the state has shifted from under the direction of the Secretary of Finance to the Secretary of Administration; then to Secretary of Administration and Finance and currently back to the Secretary of Finance, through various reorganizations of state government from 1970's to the present. The function of the secretary is to provide sound fiscal management and recommend to the Governor a comprehensive budget for those agencies under his jurisdiction. The secretary's responsibilities are: to monitor programs, services and performance of subordinate state agencies to develop state policies programs for long-range planning and policy formulation; and approve solicitation or acceptance of any donations, gifts or grants; to hold agency heads accountable for their agency's administrative, fiscal and program performance. All secretaries are appointed by the governor and serve at his will.
During the Administration of Governor Mark R. Warner (2002-2006) the Secretary of Finance was responsible for the direction or jurisdiction over the following state agencies and boards: Dept. of Accounts, Dept. of Planning and Budget, Dept. of Taxation, Dept. of Treasury, Treasury Board, Debt Capacity Advisory Committee, Virginia College Building Authority, Virginia Public Building Authority and Virginia Public School Authority.
On 28 November 2001, Governor-elect Mark R. Warner named Senate Finance Committee Staff Director John M. Bennett as Secretary of Finance. Bennett served until the end of the Warner Administration in January 2006.
The Secretary of Finance, Records, are housed in fifty-one (51) boxes. The collection is arranged into seven (7) series. Series have been designated for: I. Car Tax, 2002; II. Correspondence and Supporting Documentation - Assigned State Agencies, 2002-2005; III. Correspondence and Supporting Documentation - Chronological File, 1998-2000, 2002-2005; IV. Joint Money Committee Meeting Files, 1998-2004; V. Revenue Reports and Supporting Documentation, 2000-2005; VI. Special Projects Files, 2003-2005; and VII. Records, 2002-2005. These records include agenda items, correspondence, memorandums, presentations, reports, speeches, and files by subject. These records document the work of the Secretary of Finance under Governor Mark R. Warner. The bulk of the records can be found in the Records series which includes documents related to the development of Governor Warner's Tax and Budget Reform Plan, revenue forecasting, budget cuts and development, transportation initiatives and economic development.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
I. Car Tax, 2002 II. Correspondence and Supporting Documentation, Assigned State Agencies, 2002-2005 III. Correspondence and Supporting Documentation, Chronological Files, 1998-2000, 2002-2005 IV. Joint Money Committee Meeting Files, 1998-2004 V. Revenue Reports and Supporting Documentation, 2000-2005 VI. Special Project Files, 2003-2005 VII. Records, 2002-2005The Car Tax series is housed in one folder and contains a copy of the Department of Taxation's report, Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 1998: Estimates of Reimbursements to Localities, Fiscal Years, 2003-2006. Also included is transmittal letter from Secretary of Finance John M. Bennett dated 12 November 2002 to John H. Chichester, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee and Vincent F. Callahan, Jr., Chairman, House Appropriations Committee.
The Correspondence and Supporting Documentation: Assigned State Agencies series is housed in seven folders and consists of documents and supporting documentation from the Departments of: Accounts, Planning and Budget, Taxation and Treasury. The files are arranged alphabetically by topic. The majority of the correspondence consist of service award letters written by Secretary Bennett and sent to state employees who work for agencies within the secretariat. Notable documents include: Information Technology Plans for the Departments of: Accounts, Planning and Budget, Taxation and Treasury, all written in 2003.
The Correspondence and Supporting Documentation: Chronological Files series is housed in 18 archival boxes and is arranged in four subseries. Subseries have been designated for Constituent Correspondence, Budget, General Assembly and Presentations. This series documents correspondence received by the Office of the Secretary of Finance during Governor Mark Warner's administration.
This subseries is housed in 17 archival boxes and is further subdivided by constituent mail and write-in campaigns. The constituent mail is arranged in roughly chronological order by last action taken. The write-in campaign material is arranged by topic. The subseries contains correspondence from various constituents to Governor Mark W. Warner, along with a copy of John M. Bennett's letter in response, and a page from the people summary database which includes the name, address, and phone number of the correspondent. Each letter in this series contains a unique tracking number assigned by the Governor's Office Constituent Services. Records are arranged by outgoing tracking number. The correspondence in this series relates to the following topics: budget reductions, reduction in state aid for libraries, taxation, capital improvements for higher education, sales tax on food, funding for K-12 public education, Rainy Day Fund, state budget, vehicle inspection fees, personal property tax, concerns with Budget amendments for Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, cigarette taxes, state aid to public libraries, suggestions for solving the budget crisis of 2002, and Internet taxation.
Write-in campaign topics include: Ask Why? Campaign, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Cigarette Tax, Age Deduction, Find It Virginia and Ask It Virginia, and Budget Issues.
Subseries consists of correspondence to Governor Warner, Secretary John M. Bennett and Deputy Secretary of Finance Stephen Harms concerning requests from various groups requesting funding for the 2002-2004 and 2006-2008 budgets.
Subseries consists of correspondence to members of the Virginia General Assembly from Secretary of Finance John Bennett. Topics include: state budget, Virginia economy, tax and budget reform plan, delinquent taxes, funding for projects, and personal property tax relief.
Subseries consists of presentations made from 2002 to 2005 by Secretary of Finance John M. Bennett and Deputy Secretary of Finance Pamela A. Currey concerning the state budget, tax and budget reform and Virginia's finances.
Series contains correspondence, presentations and supporting documentation presented by the Secretary of Finance (Ronald L. Tillett, 1998-2002 and John M. Bennett, 2002-2006) to the Joint Money Committee Meetings (House Appropriations, House Finance and Senate Finance Committees). Each August and December, the Secretary of Finance presents the fiscal year revenues and economic assumptions to the General Assembly joint money committees; these presentations cover the Governor's proposed biennial budget and proposed budget amendments. Also included is the text of remarks given to the Committee by Governor James S. Gilmore (1998-2002) and Mark R. Warner (2002-2006).
Series documents the financial status of the Commonwealth. It contains the monthly revenue reports, correspondence and other supporting documents created by the Secretary of Finance from 2000 to 2005.
Series documents correspondence and supporting documentation on various special projects completed by the Office of the Secretary of Finance and its assigned agencies. Some of the special projects include: BRAC/Oceana, Healthy Virginians and Stem Cell Research.
Notable documents include: correspondence, meeting notes and reports compiled by Deputy Secretary of Finance Steve Harms relating to the economic impacts of closing the Naval Air Station Oceana, located in Virginia Beach. Included is a draft report prepared by RKG Associates, Inc. for Virginia Beach titled "The Economic Impacts of the NAS OCEANA BRAC Decision" dated 18 November 2005.
This is an artificial series containing records that were transferred to the Library of Virginia after the initial collection had already been processed. No attempt was made to interfile these records and the original order was retained. This series primarily documents budget and financial decisions of the Warner Administration. Some of the topics include: the development of Governor Warner's Tax and Budget Reform Plan, revenue forecasting, budget cuts and development, transportation initiatives and economic development.
Notable documents concerning Governor Warner's Tax and Budget Reform Plan include: the records of the Governor's Tax Restructuring Working group containing meeting agendas, background and reference material and briefing books, July-November 2003 (B31, F6; B48-B50); Dept. of Planning and Budget, Economic Analysis of Governor Warner's Budget and Tax Reform Plan, 7 January 2004 (B35, F11); and a memo from Paul Reagan, Communication Director, to Governor Mark Warner (and copied to Bill Leighty, Sec. Bennett, Bob Blue, Nicholas Perrins and Ellen Qualls), dated 11 October 2003 outlining the communication plan for Tax Reform Roll-out and Advocacy; includes drafts of survey questions for the VA Education Survey for the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (B30, F8).
Notable documents related to revenue forecasting consist of: A Comparison of Economic Outlooks and the Preliminary Mid-Session Revenue Forecast, 7 February 2002 and A Comparison of Economic Outlooks and the Mid-Session Revenue Forecast, 11 February 2002 (B33, F6); Interim Revenue Forecasts, July and August 2002 (B33, F7); Governor's Advisory Board of Economists (GABE), meeting materials, notes, and forecast recommendations, changes and forecast risks, 2002-2005 (B45-B46); Governor's Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates (GACRE), meeting materials, notes and some forecast recommendations, changes and forecast risks, 2002-2005 (B46-B47); and Revenue Forecasts, Fall 2004 (B33, F8).
Budget related records include: Dept. of Planning and Budget (DPB) Concerns with Money Committee Actions, 22 February 2002 (B39); Joint Conference Report on House Bill 29, 2002 Session (Budget Bill), 8 March 2002 (B39); DPB, 2003 Budget Development, December 2002 (B34); DPB, 2003 Session of the General Assembly, Enrolled Budget Bill Review, February 2003 (B34); Conference Report on House Bill 1400 (Budget Bill), March 2003 (B38); Budget Development, 2005 Session, November-December 2004 (B45); Summary of Capital Outlay Requests, October 2005 (B28); Budget Development, 2006-2008, Sec. Bennett, November 2005 (B28); and Budget Meetings with Governor (Sec. Bennett), November-December 2005 containing notes, agenda/materials related to budget development, including meetings with Governor on 2-3 December 2005 (B28-B29). Also included are materials concerning Governor Warner's 2002 budget cuts. Notable documents: Cabinet Workgroup on Budget Development and Governmental Restructuring; memo from Paul Reagan to Governor Warner, dated 9 October 2002, discussing the Governor's post October 15 communications (i.e. budget cuts) (all Box 37, F9); Agency Reduction Strategies, 15 October 2002, documenting the breakdown of cuts by agency, number of position and type of position (B37, F15); and General Fund Budget Shortfall reports for "Core" Strategies for Achieving Secretarial Savings Targets, "Other" Strategies for Closing the Revenue Gap, and Secretaries' Recommendations "Not in the Track", 20 November 2002 (B38, F1-2).
Documents describing transportation initiatives include: memo to Whitt Clement, Jane Kusiak, David Hallock and Ray Pethtel, dated 24 February 2002 discussing transportation authority/referendum issues (B37, F2); Potential Plan of Action [for transportation], 27 August 2004 (B41, F6); Transportation One-Time Funding Options, 6 October 2004 (B41, F6); and Drafts of - 2005 Transportation Initiatives: Solving Old Problems Investing in New Partnerships, ca. November 2004 (B41, F6).
Economic development material includes records related to the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority (VBSA) and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. VBSA records consist of Virginia Dept. of Taxation, Estimate of Income Tax Revenue from Players, 30 August 2004 (B35); and Various scenarios for VBSA ballpark financing, 2 September 2004 (B35). NASCAR Hall of Fame material includes: Copy of Greater Richmond Proposal to NASCAR for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, confidential progress report, 13 May 2005 (B32, F15); E-mail from Michael Schewel to Joshua N. Lief, Executive Director, Virginians Racing for the Hall of Fame, 8 July 2005, describing the Administration's willingness to provide state support for the Hall of Fame project; and a copy of "Economic Impact of NASCAR Hall of Fame on Henrico County, Richmond Metro Area and the State of Virginia prepared for Lief by Chumra Economics & Analytics, 21 June 2005 (B32, F11); and Memo to Frederick T. Agostino, President, Virginians Racing for the Hall of Fame from James E. Sanderson, Jr., dated 18 July 2005 concerning the financial feasibility of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Memo contains handwritten comments by Sec. Bennett (?) (B35, F10).
One other notable document is a communication document, ca. June 2003, Thematic Message Around Administration, 2003, describing the administration's philosophy, policy priorities, 2003 Work Plan and Communication Plan (B41, F9).