THE ArroRNEy GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Ronorablw Y. L. Eoberson 

county @Ammy 

arinklwr county 

Keridt, ~wxns 

and r&ain fess 

ES registrar8 ror 

of Vital Statlstios, 

on to their annual 

, 

ine to plaos the justices 

on a salary basis the 

he pea08 shall receive in 

areto a11 roes, comllisslolis, 

tar performing ;Parria+3 

OS and ror aotlng an Registrar 

s Botlrd of vital Statlstios and 

-haa aotfw as ieofrioi0 Iiotarjr iablio. 

“Gginion go. O-419, Attorney General of 

Texas, we rind the rollowing: 

Vhere justices of thwmaoe aot as local 

registrars oi vital ststistlos, and are 
Honorable H. L. Roberson, Page g 

oou&nsated for the tiaoal year 

on &IO be818 or lpes same&~ by than 

in the performa or their orrioial 

duties, ruoh fee8 oolleoted as cogistrais of vital statirtiss u5der 

Rul0 %a, ~rtlOle 44777, as m~~d06 

by Aoto or 1929, Qlst LOS., 1st 

C. 3;. Chapter 4, are to bo reported 

and inoladed in the maximum oompensatfon allowed suoh otiiorrs. .’ 

.Vn your opinion 0419, you ara referring 

to Justioes that am compensated on a fee 

basis. In our oaso the Suetioes of the Pwaoe 

are oompwnsated on the ntaximua salary basis 

or ~s,400;00 per yam. 

mRerer&g baok to &tioLe 39124, aaotioa 

(o), Vernon's, It is the opinion of this otrics 

that the Juatlos can retain his fees oollwoted as registrars of vital rtatistfoa, over aM . 

,above his &‘400.00 per year ~1s~. %hst is 

the opinion of ‘your deppart?neattr” 

Pli5klei County bar a population of 6,168 ‘inhabitants 

aooordlne to the 1940 Federal Ce~eus. You rwrer to hrtlole 

2*12e j Seotion .(a I,. Vornon~s Annotated Civil .Stbtutes. Apparentlp you haye rerirwncs to paragraph (01 oi Section ‘19 oi 

lirtiole 39124;.;V4rAoA’s Annotated Civil 3tatutes. This provision is only:-applfoable to o-ouatlss harlnq a populatloo In 

exo4as or 190,000~ inhabitants aooor&lnJ to the last preoablng 

--- Foderal Ceasu8;a. Tner(efore, this provision of.thm statute is 

not applicabls:t6 .\Fsinkler County a8 said oounty doss not have 

a population i5 :0tos;ss, or 190,009 inhabitants. : 

ieoti& 2,&~&&014’39l24, Vernbn’s ¬ated Civil 

Statutea, is appllosble to oou~tlws having a popul8tloA Of 

less than 20,OIJO inhabitants acoording to the latit praaedlog 

Bederal Census and reads iA p’art as iollowtit 

Vhe couiieeionsri~ Court of each o&tf 

in t.ha~Stato of ToXas; at lts rirrt rrgulqr 

m&#i.U&~~+,January or. each calendar year, shall, 

byr;OrdOr 'm&e Andy entered 15 the mioutss or. 

said ‘~oug$i: dotsmine whather pree’lnet offioers 

or suoh county, (oroept pub110 wefghsrr and 

registrars or .~l+al 8tatistlos) shall b4 009- 

pensated 05 a I%r&arr basis as provided for in 
Xonorablo H., L. Robersan, Fapag4 3 

this Aot; or whether thsp shall reowirr as 

thrir ootipwnaation,~suoh tees of orrioe as 

MJ be earned by them in the p4riom4504 of 

the duties of their oiiioea, and it shall 

bo the duty,of the. ?ountp olerk of eaoh 

oountr to forward to the Comptrollsr or 

Pub110 Aaoountr dr the State of Texas on or 

berorr the 31st da$ or January a oertirled 

copy or euoh order. . . .” 

Seation 2s of Artiole 39120, supra, prooldsst 

"x5 all OOUAti48 Of thftt s&&to OOAbi5- 

ing a population or lass than 054 hundroll and 

ninety thousand (190,000) inhabitants, aooording to tho last preoedlng Poderal Census, 

wherein ths preoinot ottiorrs are oompwsated 

un a salary basis under the pro?lsloas‘ or this 

act such prwoinot orriosrr shall reoeiva, 

adtfoa to the salary fired by thr Commlsin 

eionerr Court, all r9e8, oommkasio~, or payments ror perrorasng marrlago oeremonlws and 

for aoting as ro@.strar ror thtt acard of 

Vital Statlatios, aad ror aotlng as OreOrriOiO 

notar puDll0. w 

Seotion 1S or Artlole 39120, supra, providas.:in gnrtr 

The hXa!Bh9iOAoM' Court in counties bariA a pOpUhtiOA 0r less than twenty thousand 

(20,000) inhabitants, aoooFding to the. last preoeding Federal Census at the first regular 

meeting 15 January or eaoh oalondar your, may 

pass an order providing ror ooPrpensatlon or all 

ooutttf and preolnot orricers on a salaa-7 basis. 

. . . 

Seotion 17 (a), Article SOl23 sitpra, rqads in part 

ss rm0tf8t 

Vhe term *Preoinot Ofrioers* as~uaed in 

this Got asans justiowa or the paaor wnd eonstable u . 

“(b) In oountlss whore it 8hal1 bavr boon 

datemined t&t prooinot offloors rim11 br don- 
_. 

218 

Honorable B. L. Roberaon, Page 4 

pensatstt on an annual aalav basis it shall 

be the duty of the Comnissioner8’ Court of 

auoh county .to fix the salary allowed to suoh 

orrfoerr. moh or said orriaerr #hall br 

paid in money an wmual salary in twelve (16) 

equal incrtallmata or not 20~8 than the total 

6um earned aa oompsneation earned by him in 

hia offMa qapaoity for the flsonl p%r 

1935 and not more than the mrirnum amount rlloued suoh orfiosr under lawn existing Awp 

uat24, 1935. , . ,” 

Sustloos o? ihs paroe am rsqulred to aot ao r8- 

&mars ror the B&ml or vital Statlatioa, in oertaln instrmoea, by Article 4477, Vfwnon’6 Armotatstl Civil Statuteo, 

and amendamts thereto. 

In vi6~ 0r the roreguing statute8 you era rerpsotfully advisdd th&t it iS th0 OQflliO!l Or this deQEUtrk&t that 

where Just&oar OS the peaos..arr compsnaated owfin annual 

saley basis, auoh justlose~df the psaoe are authorize6 to 

oollsot and retain reer for noting as registrara for the 

Board or Vital Statirtios, in addition to their eumual salaries, whioh hem bemi,ilxed bf the Commi~ioner8 Court8 in 

conpllanos dth the above mentioned statutes. 

We are en.olo~lng a oopy oi our opinion Nor O-419 

and a oopp or so ppinion written by Honorablr J8me.r N, Neil, 

Assistant Attor#ep O~naral, addposaed to Honorable Tom C. 

King, Btats Auditor, oonmrnfng the qriestioa dlaoussod in 

oljinlon NO. O-419, for pour fnrormation. ~. 

Trustin that the roregoing fully~~anensn your inquiry, we are. - 

.._ 

,.., .: : 

Yours wiry truly 

AWaG 

ATlDR?ZTMiERALOFTEXAS 

ArQell williamr 

As8iatant