Collection ID: FA358

Collection context

Background

Scope and Content:

The primary responsibility of Counsel to the Governor was to translate the Governor's programs into law. The counsel's staff ensured that bills were correctly drafted, and helped to stop bills that were antithetical to the Governor's programs from being enacted. Bills in the Governor's annual legislative program were drafted by the Counsel's Office to ensure that they reflected the Governor's views. Drafting work was divided among assistant counsels, roughly according to subject matter. The Counsel's staff also reviewed bills drafted by other agencies. Governor Rockefeller was not directly involved in this work, concentrating instead on broad policy matters. During Governor Rockefeller's administrations, the Counsel was one of three people, along with the Secretary to the Governor and the Budget Director, on whom he relied most heavily for administration and program development.

From Robert H. Connery and Gerald Benjamin, "Rockefeller of New York: Executive Power in the Statehouse," (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979), pp. 121-122.

Arrangement:

This series is divided into four subseries:

Subseries 1 - Robert MacCrate Subseries 2 - Sol Neil Corbin Subseries 3 - Robert R. Douglass Subseries 4 - Michael Whiteman

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Open for research with select materials restricted as noted. Brittle or damaged items are available at the discretion of RAC. Researchers interested in accessing digital media (floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, etc.) or audiovisual material (audio cassettes, VHS, etc.) in this collection must use an access surrogate. The original items may not be accessed because of preservation concerns. To request an access surrogate be made, or if you are unsure if there is an access surrogate, please contact an archivist.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

The Rockefeller Archive Center has title, copyright, and literary rights in the collection, in so far as it holds them, and has authority to grant permission to cite and publish archival material from the collection.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
15 Dayton Avenue
Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591, United States
CONTACT: