OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN

Honorable J68. Wraiaison Hxooucivo Diraotar State DepPrtmnt of Publia UsWare AumtiR, Texas

or Your um.sr of A@1 IZQI1841,

puantlty of the reoarrlaam now atoxwd in the baeoment of a builbilygiB San Illtotio,TQXSS. TlzeArea **Supervisor** hae R0tiff6d the State Dopertnvmt of hab3ia llslfarethat notioe has been g%ven &he Area Office to **vatate the**  build&x& w &a~ ftl,~941, whioh mill necessitate 

### thereaawal 

### eP t&eFt3coW 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 

### willr*Wre an outlrbyof fund0 In the ap@rsx%mto BuQlOf $%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 

### reoordsare etored, 8nd it is m opdnion that some disposition crhould

### be rvlao oft&ereoardsaa 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 

### plaoetomother whena altuationarisesM .theone in the olty of 68R ARfOniO.

801 date Augu8t 18, 1938 the Sate Board of Control entered into a contract~with II.

### A. CarterCompany?ora detril.ed audit of the aotivities and operations of the Texan Relief Comudsmion from July I, 1036 to August 31, 

### 1038oadto inoorporate into 

### suchsudit 

## certainfinonoiol 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 

### ConmdseionerottheFederalVorksAgcmq, 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 arribrings
w to the oonalueton that the f%mnciol Spfaire of the Co56esion were cozxW~ted in 8 very bucineealike and ooespsndable

### 8uumsr. I feel thattheCondasfon i6 

### tobe ~oompliwnted highly,*


### *It i8 the intention of this agenoy to 

### keepin 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 

### opinionon two queetions, naarelpt

"1. Does the State Board of Public Welfare have the authority to deetroy the 

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

### as sorappaperbr male

### underthe direction and euperrieion of the Btata Doard of Control?Honorable J. 8. IhnrWeOn - page 3

“2. In ~thewent you answer quemticm So. 1 in the afflrolafive,then, should the prooeede be creditod to the General ReretiueWamd 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~talpol3.6~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 SiNlWthe 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, 

### oocountsor otheraocumonte woulu bo ~vi.d~noo,~

Fe think &he deyart.rPont here rofermd to inoludee boar?isand 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 

### condernodwith keeping 

### as nearly as 

### lnay be poseiblc a oomplete 

### reczord of the 

### affairaof its depsrtmnte with reepeot to the Bsrttere ooamdtted to them Sucththing8 regmwmt the Tunotioming of the State.



# e- 

### 243

tronorsbleJ. 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 orby neoeesary implioation. There ia no UT authorising the destruction of the rrchives msentioned,aad, therefore, 

### thepower to deetroy them is not vested in any one.
Our 

### ruling follows our Opinion Ho. o-2241, giving eimilar OariCe to the chairavrnand %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