OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF . TEXAS _--- 

AUSTIN 

he Oowity aufUl44tiQE With 

4. desired rsaora 

rob to attaal the 

,at ia your JuQn4nt ia t&4 

fifth itfan unller i.rti.c?le 3944: 

cgaive twenty-five CQrlCS for 4aoh ex6aiin6tlQn 

of each p4per or re4or&, or that he faay f&tr&g~ 

tvimty-fLvfb rlenta to t&e pertion 6x6~16~ the 

pttperw anA reCorda? could me AOXC suc444&* 

.iag fee of trsntr ccents for eeah I.00 word6 for 

meking o~,pl4s of al.& Pt4ld notes awhosia4 

523 
gonorabls A. L. Waehburn, Page 2 

e charge under the pbotoetatia moaeee under 

the oiraumetenaee abort maed?* 

Artiale 3944 of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Btatutee 

(Aate 1676, Ch. 164, pp 264-292, # 16) provides aerteln fees 

for county eurveyore and reade in part as fallows: 

“County surveyors shall raceIre the following 

fees: 

.* c l 

%xeeinetIon 

his off Ioe et the 

“Coplee 

or any other 

Sor eaah 100 

Art Icle 

oi paperr and reaamle in 

request of eny person..... .2b 

of all field-notes and plate, 

papers or reaorde in hle offiae, 

wmde, lnaluding aertitiaats.. . .20.” 

aeag, Vernon’ e Annotated CIrIl St@>re 

(Aote 1919, Seaond Gelled Seeelon, Ch. 67, Q. 173, I 10) 

pravl4ee t 

*Surveyors qualified under this law et&d 

aounty surveyors may make a aertlfiante of an7 

faot shown by the books, doeumente and reaorde 

of any oountt l wvey o r of?Iae ~6 and may make 

a oertiiled oopy of any doousient a? reaord or 

entry shown by reaord of l uah oounty surveyor!, 

end l rld oertlfloate shall be aQe~Zeeille in 

evlbenas as to what l aId reoorde aey dIealoee. 

For eaoh euoh oertlfiaate the eurveyor may 

oharge a fee of one doller, and for eeoh one 

hundred words aontalnea In any certified copy 

thirty-fire oente. When e aounty her a aounty 

rurveyor euah surveyor alone 8ha.11 be authorlmd to m6kO osrtlfiastae and aertlfIed 

ooples and reoelve the face therefor.* 

A aeeual ownarieon of Artialee 3944 and 6260 indioetee a poeeible oonflIat as to the amount of tree a 

aounty surveyor nay reoelve for aertified aaplee of the 

papers and reaorde in hle offiae. It would seem by the 

former he Is entltleb to 20# and by the latter, 364 for 

eaah 100 words In the Instrument aertlfled. 
gonerable H. L. Washburn, Page 3 

While orlor to Its 0odltIoatIon as Art1010 5280 

In lQS5, there nay have been some doubt as to the validity of 

thgt portion of ‘the hat of 1919 pror%dlng tees tar oounty 

l urreyore (beoauee of an ineufflolent title or oaptloa), thers 

484 be no doubt as to Its valMlty now. LegIelatIve revlelone 

4f our laws aure prior def4ate In their oeptlone. kerloan 

g&l*mnIty Co. v. Olty of Austin, 118 Tex. E39, l34d 0. W. 1019; 

go part0 Fergueon, llS? Tex. Cr. R. aS, 18 S. W. Ed 660. 8ino4 

x$Q8 Artlale W80 must be held to have SUQSTSSd4d that portion 

of ArtIole 3944 providing a tee of twenty aente (f!Oj) foci 

oertIfI4d ooplee of dooumente and reaorda In the ooantf l umr~- 

or@* ottioe. The aounty surveyor Is ROW entitled to r*seIre 

thirty-five oente (SSf) for raoh one hundred (100) word4 

oeitlfled of any of the beaks, dooumente end reoorbe In his 

off 108. 

Your first quertlan Is whether or not this fee Is 

; p;l;;b:: to photographlo or photostatlo ooplee. 

L . 

We hold 

Of oouree, Until 04mparatI**l~ resent tIm48 it 

has been the praatlae of those upon whom the duty falls ta 

reoord and make oertltled oopiee of inetrcmente to make 

l uoh reoordatlon 4~ faoeImllee either by hand or on the 

tfPI*TIter. 

We polnted out in Oplaloa Ro. O-H41 that the 

tr~~earlptloa may be by photographlo pcoaeee, l a y lttg t 

'Of o o ur a e, where a #t&ate ruthorlree tha 

.reoordatIaa of an tnetrument the tra?ieorI~tIon 

may be by the phOtegr~phi0 praaeer as well as 

by oallIgraph%o proaeee. We so heid In opinion Uo. O-637. 80, also, where aertltled aoplee 

of reoorde are permitted, the ooz4ee so aortItied may be ~~hatoetatie as well as type-written 

or handwritten. @ 

Therefore, in answer to your flret question, It 

is our aplnlon &nd you are cQvleed that the oounlq surveyor 

ma? In fulflllIng his duty to furnish aertlfled copies of 

the reoorde In his office to Interested parties, if he so 
gonorrbla H. L. Waahbur8, Pago 4 

d~a lr ea , o ma e l uoh r eoor da to be phatoatcted ad ha will 

m antltlad to charge a fee of thirty-fltr (SS$) oeata 

ror aeoh 100 wo r d8 in the paper or dooumrnt oartlflad. 

Your reoond quaatlon La whether or not the county 

agitator my be oom~allad to produoo hla raoords at a point 

vhare they may be photoatatrd. 

Aa ve prerloual~ pointed sot tha oounty rurva~or 

88~ parfOr hlo duty O? iurniahtng o8rtlflod ooplsa of hla 

raoorda l lther by the photographlo oalligraphlo or typowriting prooaar. The option olaa& liar within him. 

UuQar the l tatutaa oreatlng hla ofiioe, Artlelea be83, 

5S98, inoluairr, the oounty aurvoyor la glvtm tha ouatodf 

of tha oountjr aurvr~lag raoorila, la ohar a4 with their 

rafa-keeping and Is raqulrad to glro bon % .uhilo under 

Art1018 SBM, Vernon*r Annotated Clrll Statutea, aor 

intaraatad paraon haa thr right to aurlna tha rroorda 

In him offloe, tha oounty l urvr~or omnot ba oompellrb 

to praduoo thorn (without order of oourt) at a polnt outal&a of h%a oiiloe, nor oan ho be ooepellatl to wlopt upf 

putioular prooeaa for making oooiea. Wo 80 ha16 wLth 

reapeot to the oounty olark ia Opinion ;;.,9;“7, oiting 

‘r.11. 

. . ., 156, ana 

164, 146 1.g. 

YQU ara rooorblngly atlrlaae that the oounty aurtryor may not be eoaarllad (without order of oourt) to pi@- 

doer hia oitlaial reoorda at a point rsaotrd fro8 hla 

offloe In or&or that they aar bs phot6atatad bt an lntor- 

*ate& party. 

Your final guamtlon la an to tha awning of the 

phrase oontrlned In the fifth Item of Artiola 8944, suprai 

auwly, ‘Examination of paper8 and raamla la hla o?fioe at 

the raqueat of any person.;..... .85$.” You dealra to knov 

whether thlr phrrra oontmplataa a ire oi .E?bg for eaoh 

oxulnatloa, or, a fee of .26d tar the rumination of asoh 

oaper and arah robor&. 
~o~rablo H. L. Washburn? Page 5 

;,rticle SZQE, Bernon*a ,wrotated Civil Statutea, 

read8 as Sbll0~8: 

*,$a~ p4r4on intometed, for hlnrself, or 

as agant or attorney of anothor,ahrll at all 

times have the right to eranina the bcokrr, 

papers, plats, naps Or othar arohiws balonging to the orrioe Of any surveyor, OLI the 

payment of tha fee fixed hy 1aw.m 

of couxsa, the *fee fixed bg la* :s set forth in 

ArtlOla 3944, namalyt 

*~ga?pinatfon of papars and reeorda fn 

his off100 at the request of any person . . . . &2b#.* 

we have oonoludad that this ~mvlaion of ~rtlol0 

8044 authorizes tb0 aountg surv6yor to ohargo .S5$ tb each 

ii 

areon for aaoh examination ha may mrrk0 of the roaorda ia 

it3 orfica. It does not authorlra a oharge or -.lW lor 

oaoh paper eraminab. This is Olearlr apparent when referanoa Is 1~66 to the aouroe of 

r . 

;;014 3944; nSulJ, tha AOt 

of 1875, Chapter 164, p. EPS, There it was provided 

that the oountg eurvoeyor -ahall rsoelre the rouowiag hear 

qor @aOh axaalcatlon Of pzpara aud r0oora8 in his 

offioe, at the request OS any parson viahing to 0xmalttO thu, 

twenty-five oanta~ a * ** 

you ar0 sooor6lt@y 0dviaacI that &in&w Art1010 

9044, supr4, the county surveyor Is 0ntltled to a tea of 

.E5# for sach axamlnation of th4 papsra and r0Oorda irr. hir 

ofi foe. 

Very truly yours 

APPRCSZSFEB 21, 1941 ATTORNEY G-L 

ATTORNEY GENXRAL Gp ~~~ 

Jm:emf