### Hon. Qene Maauin

DistrictAttorney McLennan County Waco, Texas 

### opinion No. v-598
Re: The authorityof the county clerk to charge a fee for birth certlficates furnishedthe Waco State Rome.
Dear Sir:
Your request for an opinion is as follows:

"Can the CountyRegistrar of births charge the Waco State Home, which is a State Institution, for birth certlficates which they must obtain on the children who are committedto this home, an8 donsequentlgwar&s of the State of Texas?"
Youstate that it is the county clerk of MCLennan Countywho is furnishingthe Waco State Rome certifiea copies of birth certificates.

It was held in the case of Tobin v. Skaggs, 107 S,W.(2d) 677, that:

"The office of county clerkwas not created,nor Is it maintained,for the private gain Of perSOnS Occupyirig it from time to time. nor for the nuruose of rais

### ing revenues;except as fees iuas be collected as an incident to its ooerationfor public DtWDOSSS. (Emphasisadded) Rule 51a of Article 4477, V. C. S., authorizes the county clerk to Issue certifiedcopies of birth certificatesand collecta fee of fifty cents for such service. We quote the followingfrom Rule 51a:

,I

. . . Certifiedcopies of said b~irth or death certificateshall be issuedby either the County Clerk or the State Registrar and fee for said certifiedcopy shall. .

Hon. Gene Maddln, page 2 (V-598)

be fifty cents (504).

. .' Since there Is'

no provision in the rule above quotedwhich would exempt the Waco State Home from the payment of the fee due the county clerk, the question for our determinationis whether a county officemay collecta statutoryfee. from a state agency. In this connection

we quote the followingfrom AttorneyGeneral's OpinionNo. 0-783:

"It will be noticed that the language of these statutes concerning who shall pay these charges is very plain and mandatory, and that it is all inclusive. Article 58 provides that 'allapplicants shall pay13 and ArticleT provides thit' l 'beforex cotton seed breeder or cotton seed grower is registered

. . . he or it shall agree in writing to pay.'
"We are,

not unmindful of the rule and the departmentalconstructionin many cases to the effect that ordinarily one state departmentcannotcharge another state departmenta See because to do so would amount to the state takingmoney out of one pocket and putting it into another;but in this particularcase under consideration

we think the statute shows that it was intendedby the legislature that passed it that every one, including state departmentsand agencies, shouldpay for this work of cotton field inspection

when they request it and it is done for their benefit.
'Our answer to your inquiry is that the Department of Agriculture should collect the applicationand inspectionfees and charges for services performed,under the Field Seed Certification law (Artlcles 56 to 67, inc., R. C. S.) SOP other State departmentsand agencies, ing Texas Technological College.

fncludIt way held in OpinionHo. i-589, dated May 26, 1948, that 'the State Registrar Is required to collect a fee of fifty cents for all csirtified copies ofHon. Gene Maddin, page 

### 3 (V-598)

birth and death certificatesfrom ties requestingsame,exceptthose all persons or agenpersons or agencies specifically

exempt from the payment of such fee unde3; the provisionsof Rule 54a, of Article 4477, V. C. S. A copy of that opinion la enclosed.

In view of the foregoing,it is the opinion of this office that the county clerk is required to collect a fee dflfty cents for each certifiedcopy of a birth certificatefurnishedthe Waco State Rome.

The county clerk is required to collect a fee of fifty cents for each certlSied copy of a birth certificatefurnished the Waco State Home.R.51a,Art.4477,V.C.S.
Yours very truly, ATTORREYGENERAL OF TEXAS

JR:mw