THEATTORNEYGENERAL 

OFI‘EXAS 

GROVER SELLERS AUSTIN 1~. TEXAS 

-N AlTORNEYGENERAI. 

Honorable W. D. Laceg 

County Attorney 

Leon County,Centerville, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-7374 

Re: Authority of the Coizimlssloners’ Court 

of Leon County to pay the county 

clerk for recording veteran’s discharges and for furnishing certified 

copies of the same. 

We have received your letter of recent date requesting 

an opinion from this department on the above subject matter. We 

quote from your request the following: 

“Art. 1939a of the Revised Statutes of Texas 

requires certain county officers to furnish to any 

person, his guardian, or his dependents or heirs at 

law who is eligible to make a claim, etc.-- shall 

upon request, etc. wlthout cost furnish a certified 

ena authenticated copy or copies of any instrument 

public record or aocument, etc. on file or in custody 

of such officer. 

“Under the above Statute the County Clerk of 

this county f.s called upon to furnish and does 

furnish to the persona mentioned in the above Statute s great many Certlfled Copies of Veterans 

discharges, Marrlage License ana Birth Certificates, 

end also records a great many veteran’s discharges 

wlthout cost tothe veterans, their guardians, dependenta ana heirs at law. 

“This county la operattng under ‘the fee system 

and the above aervioea rendered the veterans by the 

County Clerk has become quite a burden to the oounty 

clerk who informa me the work requires one deputy to 

attend to it. 

The Commissioners’ Court has refused to pay 

the county clerk for performing the above work In 

connection with furnishing the Certified copies and 

for recording the Veteran’s discharges. 
Honorable W. D, Lacey, page 2 O-7374 

"I will thank your Department for a ruling as 

to whether the County la legally liable to the said 

Clerk for recording the veteran's discharges and for 

furnishing the above mentioned certified copies; if 

80, would the Commissioners' Court be authorized to 

pay the Clerk the usual fees for so recording the 

discharges and furnishing the certified copies above 

mentioned." 

Article 1939a, V.A.C.S., aa amended by the Acts of the 

Forty-ninth Leglalature, 1945, Chapter 346, Page 587, Section 1, 

is as follows: 

"Article 1. Any person, his guardian, or his 

dependents or heirs at law who is eligible to make 

a claim against the Government of the United States 

of America as a result of service in the Armed 

Forces of the United States of America, or the 

services auxiliary thereto, including the Maritime 

Service and the Merchant Marine, shall upon the request therefor by such person, his guardIan, or his 

dependents, or heirs at law, be furnished without 

cost a certified and authenticated copy or copies 

of any instrument, public record OP document neceaaary to prove or establish such claim, which is in 

the custody OP on file In the office of county 

clerks, district clerks and other public officials 

of this State, by such officials. Provided, the 

issuance of such certified or authenticated copy or 

copies by such officials shall not be considered in 

determining the msxltrmm fee of such offices. 

"AP,~ 0 2 0 The rights conferred by this Act shall 

extend to any person, his guardian OP his dependents, 

or heirs-at-law who are eligible by reason of service 

heretofore or hereafter rendered in the Armed Forces 

of the~united States of America, or the services 

Auxiliary thereto, including the Maritime Service 

and the Merchant Marine, when such person, his 

guardian, or his dependents, or heirs-at-law are 

eligible to make claim against the Government of 

the United States of America as a result of such 

service." 

This department held in Opinion No, O-6939 that the 

county clerks and districtclerks were required to furnish to 

ex-servicemen without coat a certified and authenticated copy 

or copies of any instrument necessary to prove a claim against 

the United States Government. 
Honorable W. D. Laceg, page 3 o-7374 

In construing Article 1939 (as amended by the Acts of 

the 48th Legislature) we held in our opinion No..o-6750 that the 

Commissioners' Court had no authority to allow any fees claimed 

by the county clerk for recording and keeping discharges of the 

members of the Armed Forces or Reserves. 

The Commissioners' Court is a court of llmtted jurisdiction and has only such powers as are conferred expressly or 

by necessary implicstion by the Constitution or statutes of 

this State. (Galveston, Houston and San Antonio Ry. Co. v. 

Uvalde County, 167 S.W. (2d) 305, error refused). 

To entitle an officer to receive fees or commissions 

the receipt thereof umat have been provided for and the amount 

fixed b 

Y. 

law. (See 34 Texas Jurisprudence 522 and cases cited 

therein 

We have been unable to find any statute authorizing 

the Commissioners' Court to pay the county clerk a fee or commission for recording veteran's discharges and for furnishing 

certified copies of the same. Neither have we been able to find 

a fee provided for this service. Therefore, it is the opinion 

of this department that your question should be answered in the 

negative and It is so answered. 

Very truly yours, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/ J.C. Davis, Jr. 

J.C. Davis, Jr, 

Assistant 

By s/ John Reeves 

John Reeves 

JR/=/WC 

APPROVED SEP 12, 1946 

s/Grover Sellers 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Approved Opinion Committee By a/BwB Chairman