Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-598 Page: 1 of 3
This text is part of the collection entitled: Texas Attorney General Opinions and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
AUSTIN, TEXAS
PRIcE DANIEL
ATrrOamY OENERAAL
June 4, 1948
Hon. Gene Maddin Opinion No. V-598
District Attorney
McLennan County Re: The authority of the
Waco, Texas county clerk to charge
a fee for birth certi-
ficates furnished the
Waco State Home.
Dear Sir:
Your request for an opinion is as follows:
"Can the County Registrar of births
charge the Waco State Home, which is a
State Institution, for birth certificates
which they must obtain on the children
who are committed to this home, and con-
sequently wards of the State of Texas?"
You state that it is the county clerk of Mc-
Lennan County who is furnishing the Waco State Home cer-
tified copies of birth certificates.
It was held in the case of Tobin v. Skaggs,
107 s.w.(2d) 677, that:
"The office of county clerk was not
created, nor is it maintained, for the
private gain of persons occupying it from
time to time, nor for the purpose of rais-
ing revenues, except as fees may be col-
lected as an incident toits operation for
public purposes." (Emphasis added)
Rule 51a of Article 4477, V. C. S., authorizes
the county clerk to issue certified copies of birth cer-
tificates and collect a fee of fifty cents for such ser-
vice. We quote the following from Rule 51a:
". . . Certified copies of said birth
or death certificate shall be issued by
either the County Clerk or the State Regis-
trar and fee for said certified copy shallL
c
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-598, text, June 4, 1948; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth265417/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.