Daughters of the Republic of Texas to back public access to records involving Alamo

 The volunteer organization running the Alamo plans to back legislative efforts to increase public access to its financial records, a San Antonio state senator said Monday.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, whose district includes the historic mission, says she will push a bill in the next Legislature that establishes a state agency as custodian of the reports from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

The Daughters, caretakers of the state-owned Alamo, have for years submitted independent audits to the governor's office. But because state law doesn't require that office to keep or examine the records, they mostly have been thrown away.

"I want to make sure that there's some sort of record keeping" and that the documents are "readily available to the public," said Van de Putte, a Democrat who met last week with group leaders on the issue.

The spokeswoman for the Daughters could not be reached Monday. But Van de Putte said group members assured her they would endorse the change.

Among the options: giving Texas Historical Commission, the state land commissioner or the comptroller responsibility for maintaining the information, she said.

In the past, some legislators have wanted to give the state more authority over how the Alamo is run. More recently, the former director and a few group members have complained that the Daughters have poorly managed the site.

Van de Putte said she would oppose putting the state in charge of the Alamo's operations. Because the Daughters don't use taxpayer money, she said, the state shouldn't "meddle" in their financial affairs, she said.

The revered site where Texas loyalists fell to the Mexican army in 1836 has been overseen by the Daughters for the past century.

The group's leaders have said the Alamo is financially secure and new business plans are being prepared. Its $5 million budget comes almost entirely from sales at its gift store.