New York State Counsel to the Governor Committees and Commissions Subject Files
Statement on Language
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Overview of the Records
Repository
- New York State Archives
222 Madison Avenue
Albany, NY 12230
Summary
- The subject files of the Counsel to the Governor's office relate to the creation, activities, and meetings of legislative or administrative committees and commissions. The Counsel's duties included making recommendations on proposed legislation; acting as a liaison between the Governor's Office and the State Legislature and between the Governor and all investigative bodies; and advising the Governor on policy and program matters. Correspondence and reports in these subjects files document include criminal insanity and home rule.
Title
- Committees and Commissions subject files
Quantity
- 3 cubic feet
Inclusive Dates
Series Number
- B2336
Creator
Arrangement
Alphabetical.
Administrative History
Governor W. Averell Harriman chose Judge Daniel Gutman, President Justice of the Municipal Court of New York, as his counsel. Mr. Gutman, a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and an Assistant District Attorney of Kings County, served in the New York State Assembly from 1938 to 1939 and the New York State Senate from 1939 to 1943. In 1943, he was elected as a Justice of the Municipal Court and in February 1954, he was appointed President Justice.
The duties of the Counsel to the Governor included clearing and making recommendations on proposed legislation; acting as a liaison between the Governor's Office and the State Legislature; negotiating interstate or international agreements; clearing all contracts, as to content and form, which required the Governor's signature (Power Authority contracts, etc.); making recommendations on all appointments to the judiciary; acting as a liaison between the Governor and all investigative bodies; making recommendations on applications for pardons and clemency; and advising the Governor on many policy and program matters.
Scope and Content Note
This series consists of the subject files of the Counsel to the Governor's office which relate to the creation, activities, and meetings of legislative or administrative committees and commissions. The subjects of criminal insanity and home rule are well documented by the records, which include both correspondence and reports.
Related Material
13682-07Accretion 13682-07, Governor Harriman central subject and correspondence files, contains related records.
Other Finding Aids
Folder list.
Custodial History
This series was transferred to Syracuse University from Governor Harriman in 1959, and was transferred to the New York State Archives in 2006. It was accessioned in October 2011.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.