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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

, AUSTIN 

GROVERSELLERS 

AlrORNEY GENER.4‘ 

BOnOlbhle ~Ohh B. wiilters, Executive Director 

State Department of Public Welfare 

Austin 3, Texas 

Dear Mr. Winters: Opinion No. O'-6694 

*We shall 'appreciate eration and 

7 of t!ouse' 

Government in 

tribution of 

blio Welfare 

the Federal 

on and aisd and available for 

tment of Public Vele State Agency to 

ferrals and certifioa8 Administretlon, the 

ion, and the Civilian 

0 these provisions, the Department 

are accepted responsibi3ity fop the 

genera3 supervision of the direct distribution of 

Federal surplus comod$tiee. Under the Ink& end 

Certification program, the eligible applicants 

were certified for surplus commodities. The oopies of the orders to individuals, reports of distribution, and al3 other necessary records were 

kept in the possession of the EepartEert of Public Welfzro. Although the ccployees working @n 

the distribution pro.qam were under a F.P.A. 

project Andy were Federal empl@goes, the Pepartment had general supervision over the program. 
%. 

! 

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Scnorbble John k. Wii,ters-@age 2 

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> 

.’ 

The oommodifies, whioh were distributed, were 

Federal; and the records were considered by the 

Depar++metit as being Federal records. There are 

at the present time more than 600 files containing.these records stored in the County Department of Public Welfare offices and warehouses. 

l we have received a l~etter from the W. 6. Dfipartment of Agriculture, Food Distribution Administration, informing us that the Washington office 

of thk Department of Agriculture has given permission for the welfare agencies to dispose of 

any records in 00nneotion with the direct distribution program relating to operations prior to 1940. 

%%e Depa~rtment of Agriculture further,&ivised that 

the records maintained~oommencing with IQ40 cannot 

be.disposea of without special permission but that 

oon&deration would be given to an+ request for the 

aestruotion of the records subsequent to 1940. 

*Senate Bill 260, Acts of the 40th Legislaturer 

Regular Session, gives the Department of Public Wetfare permission to dispose of certain obsolete ret-, 

~oraa. Reference is also made to your Opinion Numb@* 

O-3464 and O-5467 wherein you have interpreted Sen-" 

ate Bill 250. 

~*,l. Sinoe~ these records are of.no benefit to,the 

Department of Fublic Welfare and since the Federal' 

Government has authorized the destruction of them, 

map the Department of Pub110 Welfare destroy..these 

obsolete records? 

s2. If y& answer the first question in the, affirmative~ then is the Department of Pub110 Welfare 

.obligated to folloy the procedure outlined in SentiteI~~ill 260 oltea above in destroying the records? 

.?' #3i It'&&ate Bill'250 is c&sidered inapplicable 

in this instance, then what yocedure should be PoJ- 

.lowed. by the Department of Public jVelfare in destroying thit reoords? 

856 

"4. If tde Department Oannot dispose of the 

iecords, may the Department transfer the recoraks 

to the C. S. T?erartment of A&culture, F00a MStrib.uticn~ and Administration, for difiposal?' 

, 

1 
I 857 

Honorhble Jbhn’lI. dnters - page 3 

Vi construe your inquiries as embracing all obso3ete 

and usel~ess record8 in your Department , and shall answer them 

aooordingly. 

1. Pour only authority for destroying obsolete records 

is found in Setiate Bill 250 of the Begular Session of the 48th 

Legislature (page 363). That Aot ~embraces only @Certain records, 

for the yea.rs 1932 to September 1, 1939*, and "all duplicate oldage assistanoe records accumulated for the yea.r 1936 through October, 1938.' 

So that, under the faots stated by you, all obsolete 

and useless records coming wfthin Senate B11'1 No. 250 may be de- 

.stropea. While such records as you may deem to be obnolote'ana 

usele.ss but not coming within that dot of authority to destroy 

~mar not be destroyed, but should be preserved. intaot. 

2: .Sinoe Senate Bill z's0 preacri.bes the prooedure for 

destroying the obsolete reoords embraoed therein, it is your duty 

to follow that procedure in making suah~disposition. 

3. What we have said in answer to questions 1 ana 2 

,s+ficiently ~knswers Noted. 

. . 

4. four question Nyo~.' 4 should be answered in the negative - that 1s to say, obsolete and useless records authoriGa 

by Senate Bill 260 to be destroyed should be destroyed in v.oaordante. with that Bill,- as above stated, and as to those records 

rhioh'are thought to be obsolete and useless, but which do not 

fall within the compass of Senate Bil,l 250, may not be transferred'to the 0. 6. Department of Agriculture, Food Produotion and 

Administration, for that would be doing by indirection what we 

have said may not be done at all. 

We trust that what we-h&e said sufficiently answers 

pour"inquiries. 

Very truly pours 

Assisiant