OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

January 25, 1939 

Hon. John F. May 

County Attorney 

Karne s county 

Karnes City, Texas 

Dear Mr. Kay: 

Opinion No. O-62 '~. .~.~~ 

Re: Compensation payable~County,. 

Clerk, indexing and preserving 

birth and death certificates.; 

This will acknowledge receipt. of your letter or 

January 7th, pertaining to compensation payable to the 

County Clerk under Article 4477, Rule./53a, and in which you 

Set forth faots applying-to your looal condition. 

Your questionsread asrollows: 

"1. fs the County Clerk entitled to the 

compensation <allowed,by the Commissioners' 

Court for Indexing suoh bErth and death certificates fil'ad him.,while he was on a fee 

! : si xing aqtually being done 

after ha, began“being'oolHpensated on a salary 

,basla olr should\this.money be turned in to 

the O?ficgr@ Salaryfind of Karnes County? 

c "2. 

< \ 

\.Should all of the compensation re- 

\eeived ror such indexing be paid by said 

bounty cle'rk~,,into the Ofticerst Salary Fund?" 

~., 

' ArtiOii 4477 Rule 53a 

the local registrar ani the 

relating to fees payable to 

lattdr paragraph which pertain t0 

the above questions and which, evidently, you had in mind IS 

set forth a8 roliows: 

"...And provided further, that the Local 

Registrar shall submit to the CmmiSSionerS 

Court or the County Auditor, as the case may be, 

a true and accurate copy of each birth and each 

death certificate riled with him, and such CoPieS 
Hon. John F. May, January 25, 1939, Page 2 

shall be,deposited in the County Clerk's office, 

and the County Clerk shall be paid for indexing 

and pree6rving such records, such compensrjtion as 

may be decided upon by the Commissioners Court.." 

The above provision of the 1929 Act of the FortyFourth Legislature imposed the duty upon the County Clerk 

to receive for deposit in his offlce copies of birth and 

death certificates and required the commissioners' court 

t0 pay compensation (the amount payable within the discretion of the court), for indexing and preserving such records. 

ted in the 

By requiring these records to be filed and deposioffice of the County Clerk, certainly the Legislature intended that they should be indexed and preserved. 

Vo special time, it seems, is required in which these records are to be indexed nor is any penalty applicable under 

the rules of the sanitary code. The law presumes that a 

person, duly qualified and elected to a:.public office, will 

faithfully discharge and perform the duties of thst office. 

Although the County Clerk may be dilatory in the 

performance of his duties, it is to be presumed that the 

commissioners court, in paying him compensetion under the 

authority of the above section Of the act, approved such 

work as it was within their discretion to have refused payment until such work was performed. Having, of course, performed the work for which he had lawfully been paid, it is 

my opinion that such compensation .paid belongs to the County 

Clerk. 

Trusting that the above answers both Or your questions, I remain 

Very truly yours 

hK:AW 

~~TTCRXEY CKR-iGUL OF TEXAS 

(signed) 

BY 

?7m. Ii. King 

Assistant