The Honorable Bob Bullock Opinion No. H-804 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

State of Texas Re: Whether the Comptroller 

Austin, Texas 78774 may eliminate the requirement that county clerks 

furnish him with a certified copy of the inventory 

and appraisement and list 

of claims and a certified 

copy of the last will and 

testament or proof of heirship under article 14.14(B), 

Tax.-Gen. 

Dear Mr. Bullock: 

You have requested our opinion regarding whether the 

Comptroller is authorized to enforce a regulation altering 

the form and filing date of certain reports. Article 14.14(B), 

Taxation-General, V.T.C.S., requires the Clerk of a County 

or Probate Court, 

[wlithin twenty (20) days after an inventory 

and appraisement and a list of claims shal‘3. 

have been filed and approved by the County 

or Probate Court, in the estate of a decedent . . . to furnish the Comptroller a 

certified copy of the inventory and 

appraisement and list of claims and a 

certified copy of the last will and testament, or, in the absence of a will, proof 

of heirship. . . . 

p. 3393 
The Honorable Bob Bullock - page 2 (H-804) 

The Comptroller's Ruling, No. 30-0.26, modifies this statutory 

provision by requiring the Clerk, in lieu of compliance with 

article 14.14(B), to furnish 

a completed County Clerk Report, form 

2B30-6.01, for each estate within fortyfive (45) days of receipt of the information requested on the form. 

You advise that this "County Clerk Report" requests certain 

information otherwise contained in the inventory and appraisement, the will, or the affidavit of heirship, but that much 

of the detailed information of those documents is eliminated. 

Article 1.033, Title 122A, Taxation-General, V.T.C.S., 

provides that 

[nlotwithstanding the provisions of any 

Article of this Title, the Comptroller 

may revise any report required by any 

Article of this Title so as to eliminate 

any specific information required by the 

provisions of any Article of this Title. 

In our opinion, the Comptroller's requirement that a "County 

Clerk Report" be filed in lieu of more detailed information 

is encompassed within the meaning of this statute. Thus, 

the Comptroller may require County or Probate Clerks to 

furnish that information by filing such a report rather than 

by filing certified copies of the documents specified in 

article 14,14(B). 

As to the Ruling's extension of the time within which 

the Clerk is directed to furnish the information, however, 

we do not believe that such a modification of the statute 

may fairly be said to "eliminate any specific information 

required by the provisions of any Article of this Title." 

p. 3394 
The Honorable Bob Bullock - page 3 (H-804) 

Since it does not therefore appear that such an extension is 

authorized by statute, it is our opinion that the Comptroller 

may not extend from 20 to 45 days the time within which the 

County or Probate Clerk is required to file the "County 

Clerk Report." 

SUMMARY 

The Comptroller may require County or 

Probate Clerks to file a "County 

Clerk Report" in lieu of filing 

certified copies of the documents 

specified in article 14.14(B), 

Taxation-General, V.T.C.S., but he 

may not extend from 20 to 45 days the 

time within which the Clerk is required 

to file the report. 

,Very truly yours, 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General of Texas 

DAVIDM. EENDALk, First Assistant 

Opinion Committee 

jwb 

p. 3395