The Attorney General of Texas 

December 22, 1982 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P. 0. Box 12546 

Austin, TX. 7671% 2546 

5121475-2501 

Telex 9101674.1367 

TelecoDier 5121475-0266 

1607 Main St., Suite 1400 

Dallas, TX. 75201-4709 

214,742.6944 

4624 Alberta Ave., Suite 160 

El Paso. TX. 79905-2793 

9151533-3464 

1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 

Houston. TX. 77002-6966 

7131650-0666 

606 Broadway. Suite 312 

Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479 

6061747.5236 

4309 N. Tenth. Suite B 

McAllen, TX. 76501-1665 

5121662.4547 

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 

San Antonio, TX. 78205.2797 

5121225-4191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Affirmative Action Employer 

Mr. Wake Adkins 

City Attorney 

City of Fort Worth 

1000 Throckmorton 

Fort Worth, Texas 76102 

Dear Mr. Adkins: 

Open Records Decision No. 338 

Re: Availability of birth and 

death records held by local 

registrars 

You have requested our decision under the Open Records Act, 

article 6252-17a, V.T.C.S., as to the availability of birth and death 

records maintained by a city health department. 

Section 3(a)(15) of the Open Records Act excepts from disclosure 

"birth and death records maintained by the Bureau of Vital Statistics 

in the State of Texas." In Attorney General Opinion H-115 (1973), 

this office said that this provision also acts to except such records 

when in the custody of a county clerk "to the extent that he maintains 

records of birth and death of the type maintained by the State Bureau 

of Vital Statistics." The opinion was based upon the following 

rationale: 

To hold otherwise would present the anomalous 

situation that the State Registrar of vita1 

Statistics could not produce a record but that a 

local registrar or a county clerk could. 

In Open Records Decision No. 307 (1982), we held that article 

6600, V.T.C.S., which directs a county clerk to furnish "attested 

copies whenever demanded of all papers recorded in his office," 

requires the conclusion that "birth and death records kept by a county 

clerk are not excepted from disclosure under any provision of the Open 

Records Act." Attorney General Opinion H-115 was overruled "to the 

extent of conflict." Since Open Records Decision No. 307 addressed 

only the question of birth and death records maintained by a county 

clerk, you ask whether the same result is applicable to such records 

in the custody of a city health department. 

Although Open Records Decision No. 307 based its result on the 

mandate of a statute first enacted in 1836, the existence of that 

statute completely undermines the reasoning of Attorney General 

Opinion H-115. If birth and death records must be disclosed when in 

the custody of a county clerk, but are excepted when maintained by the 
Mr. Wade Adkins - Page 2 

Bureau of Vital Statistics, the rationale of that opinion does not 

exist. When the legislature created the exception for state vital 

statistics information in section 3(a)(15), it must be presumed to 

have been aware that such records were disclosable when held at the 

county level. The only reasonable alternative to the reasoning of 

Attorney General Opinion H-115 is to conclude that, when the 

legislature enacted section 3(a)(15), it chose its language carefully 

and meant thereby to except only those birth and death records which 

are maintained by the Bureau of vita1 statistics. Such an 

interpretation, in addition, follows the well established rule of 

construction that every sentence, clause, phrase and word of a statute 

is presumed to have been used for a purpose, and accordingly, should 

be given effect, if reasonably possible. Eddins-Walcher Butane 

Company v. Calvert, 298 S.W.2d 93, 96 (Tex. 1957). Had the 

legislature intended to except all vital statistics information, 

wherever maintained, it need not have appended to section 3(a)(15) the 

clause "maintained by the Bureau of Vital Statistics." 

Moreover, rule 54a of article 4477, V.T.C.S., authorizes a local 

registrar who issues certified copies of death certificates to charge 

the same fees charged by a state registrar. This language, added in 

1979, further indicates the legislature's intent that such records be 

available upon request from local registrars. Acts 1979, 66th Leg., 

ch. 543, 82, at 1135. 

This result is not without precedent. In Open Records Decision 

NO. 144 (1976), we noted that, although conviction information is 

readily available from court files, it need not be disclosed when in 

the custody of the Department of Public Safety, by virtue of section 

3(a)(8) of the Open Records Act. We conclude that birth and death 

records maintained by a city health department are not excepted from 

disclosure under the Open Records Act. Attorney General Opinion H-115 

is hereby overruled. 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOBN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General 
Mr. Wade Adkins - Page 3 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Rick Gilpin 

Patricia Hinojosa 

Jim Moellinger