OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable J 6 8. Wraiaison 

Hxooucivo Diraotar 

State DepPrtmnt of Publia UsWare 

AumtiR, Texas 

or Your um.sr of 

A@1 IZQI 1841, 

puantlty of the reoarrla am now atoxwd 

in the baeoment of a builbilyg iB San Illtotio, TQXSS. 

Tlze Area Supervisor hae R0tiff6d the State Dopertnvmt 

of hab3ia llslfare that notioe has been g%ven &he Area 

Office to vatate the build&x& w &a~ ftl, ~941, whioh 

mill necessitate the reaawal eP t&e Ft3coW troa &II@ 

baeemnt of' this b~S1dzI.q~ Qmn hvest&atlon, it has 

besn datsmx0wd that to r#is~e t&e LWW~%X~ fran fJan 

dntanio to Austittit will r*Wre an outlrby of fund0 

In the ap@rsx%mto BuQl Of $%SO,M. 
Honorable 3. 8. bmrchison - page 2 

sI anticipate that from time to time this agency will be 

co8fronted with a eimil8r situation in other cities of 

the state uhere reoords are etored, 8nd it is m opdnion 

that some disposition crhould be rvlao of t&e reoards aa 

they are of no value to this -47 and no further ueeful 

purpose could ba served by keeping them in storage and to 

oontinue to pay freight in h8ving them rammed from one 

plaoe to mother when a altuation arises M .the one in 

the olty of 68R ARfOniO. 

801 date Augu8t 18, 1938 the Sate Board of Control entered into a contract~with II. A. Carter Company ?or a detril.ed 

audit of the aotivities and operations of the Texan Relief 

Comudsmion from July I, 1036 to August 31, 1038 oad to inoorporate into such sudit certain finonoiol infommtion 

from 1yweRher 1, 19x2 to Angumt 31, 1030. ml.8 audit warn 

duly made 8ndaaopy of emm~asfiledrith theL)oud of 

Control and acknowledged by the Chairman of said Board M 

being acoeptable to 8aId Doard. Irikeuiee, a aopg of the 

audit ma filed in the offioe of Hr. Corringten Bill, Amintant Conmdseioner ot the Federal Vorks Agcmq, Waebington, 

D. C., and in hl8 aoknmledgpsnt of the receipt of the copy 

of the audit, he stated, ammg other things, a8 follor8r 

"The report pmmente a very orderly pfature 

of the Cosmd~on's 8ativitioe arri brings 

w to the oonalueton that the f%mnciol Spfaire of the Co56esion were cozxW~ted in 8 

very bucineealike and ooespsndable 8uumsr. 

I feel that the Condasfon i6 to be ~oompliwnted highly,* 

*It i8 the intention of this agenoy to keep in 8torage mrolls, vouchers, and x other ba8ic rsoord vhere it ap 

pears 6ome nece*sity stightstttie de that rafersme uould hsve to be mule to thorn, and to disregard the 

files, et cetera, rhloh, in my opinion, are of no further 

value. 

#In rim of the above statement, I desire your opinion on 

two queetions, naarelpt 

"1. Does the State Board of Public Welfare 

have the authority to deetroy the reoarde 

Or to diSpOi$8 Of the l%WOrds, F8pOFtSI 8t 

cetera, as sorap paper br male under the 

direction and euperrieion of the Btata 

Doard of Control? 
Honorable J. 8. IhnrWeOn - page 3 

“2. In ~the went you answer quemticm So. 1 in 

the afflrolafive, then, should the prooeede 

be creditod to the General Reretiue Wamd er 

to the Ganoral Relief Fund of the State Depkrtment of Public IlelfareTm 

Vo beg to advise that the Gtato Board of Fublio 

Welf'sre, 8~ legal aucoeaeor to the.Texas Relief Comieeion, 

does not ham the authority to destroy the rorrwde, Or to 

die~ee of the reoocde, roporte, papers, dootmente, eto., 

8tmtiomed in your.inquiry. 

It is n wall-reoog&md ,arrernme~tal pol3.6~ for the 

varloub deperrt;laont6 of the Wwwnman t to k+eq nnd weserve 

the papers, ilOoWMint8, instruments, rulings, Order@, and the 

like, of suoh department, and no arggtueenf neede to ba udvanoed 

t0 SiNlW the closirability , SRd wen the neOWIi8ity, iR 1~08% histanaus, for 8uah j?olicj* 

Artiole 34'931 of the Revhod Civil Statutoe daolares 

that: 

vGertifiod aopios, under the hande and oftioial seal8 Oi a0 heads Of depsrtmsnts, of 

all notes, bOIId8, mort&agee, biller neaounte, 

or other dooumenta, properly on file ir, shy 

department of thiu St&e, &all be retmired 

in ovidcmoe on an equal footing uith the! 

original8 in all mite now pending, or which 

818~ be h8mNSft6r tistitut8d in this state, 

where the uriginalo of euoh notoe, bonds, 

mortgages, bills, oocounts or other aocumonte 

woulu bo ~vi.d~noo,~ 

Fe think &he deyart.rPont here rofermd to inoludee 

boar?is and ooPmPls~one such 30 the State Board of Rlblic 

WelPam, and the Texas ilalief Cr~?mk8don~ And the purpose 

and objaot of the statute oould b8 8aOOmplifbheii only through 

a ~e8ePVatiOZI of SUGh dOW~I.ltS, pp63r8, C&C*, O~StitUting 

the archives of the pfWA.ouUU deportslant. 

Moreover, them is another and wen better r61Mon 

why 8Ud.3 amhives should be pomarmnt3y preserved. The State 

itself is governmentally condernod with keeping as nearly as 

lnay be poseiblc a oomplete reczord of the affaira of its depsrtmnte with reepeot to the Bsrttere ooamdtted to them 

Sucth thing8 regmwmt the Tunotioming of the State. 

e 
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243 

tronorsble J. 6. Uurobiieon - page 4 

Your Mm-d, like other boards, eo?luILssianr, 

and governmental agsmles, hao ju8t ouah powers and 

none other, as are conSerred upon it either bj exgceoo 

lau or by neoeesary implioation. There ia no UT authorising the destruction of the rrchives msentioned, aad, 

therefore, the power to deetroy them is not vested in 

any one. 

Our ruling follows our Opinion Ho. o-2241, 

giving eimilar OariCe to the chairavrn and %eoutite 

Direotor of the Teue Unemployment Compen8atlon Cow 

tiesion, a copy of' which opinion we baud you hererith. 

ver7 tray yours 

ATTOIWET GiBWUL OF TEXAS