An 18-month investigation by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's Office concluded that the Daughters of the Republic of Texas failed to properly preserve and maintain the Alamo, misused state funds for its own benefit, failed to address conflicts of interest, and let its own organizational interests get in the way of acting in the best interest of the Alamo and the State of Texas.
The investigation began after a February 2010 complaint from an informant listed extensive mismanagement and internal dispute allegations. The same complainant notified the governor’s office two months later that the DRT was seeking a federal trademark for The Alamo, which it did not have permission to do.
The report stated that the DRT used state funds for its own legal expenses, and that it had improperly used $350,000 of state funds to operate its own library, to which it denied public access; other management problems were listed, including abolishing the position of Executive Director of the Alamo,
The report made little concessions in its criticism of the DRT, other than to note that the misconduct was mainly attributable to the organization’s leadership, and that conduct should not distract from the generations of individual DRT members who have volunteered innumerable hours in care of the shrine.
In 2011, the state legislature passed a bill transferring custody of the Alamo complex to the Texas General Land Office. The Attorney General stated that because the legislation had addressed the management problems, no further legal action would be pursued against the Daughters.
The Land Office is working on an audit to inventory all the historic artifacts stored at the Alamo Complex and to determine which belong to the DRT and which belong to the Alamo.
