. 

Tn.- ‘E NEW GENERAL 

IFTEXAS 

Honorable Bob Bullock Opinion No. M-1179 

Office of the Secretary of State 

State Capitol Building Re: IS the office automatically 

Austin, Texas 78711 vacated if the notary public, 

appointed in the county of 

Attention: Donald W. Ray his residence, subsequently 

Legal Counsel removes his residence to 

another county while continuing to maintain his 

principal place of employment or business in the 

county for which he received 

Dear Sir: his appointment? 

In your recent request you asked for an opinion from 

this office on the following question: 

If a person is appointed as notary public in 

the county of his residence and later moves his 

residence to another county but continues to maiatain his principal place of business or employment 

in the county for which he was appointed notary 

public, is his office automatically vacated? 

Several articles govern the office of notary public. TWO 

articles pertinent to your question are Articles 5949 and 5958, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

Article 5949, Section 2, as last amended in 1969, reads 

in part: 

"To be eligible for appointment as Notary Public 

for any county, a person shall be a resident citizen 

of this state and at least twenty-one (21) years of 

age, and either a resident of the county for which he 

is appointed, or shall maintain his principal place 

of business or of employment in such county; provided that any person may be appointed, as hereinabove set out, in only one county in this state at 

the same time; . . ." (Emphasis added.) 

-5759- 
Hon. Bob Bullock, page 2 (M-1179) 

Article 5949, Section 6, also last amended in 1969, 

reads in part: 

"Any qualified Notary Public whose term is 

expirinq may be reappointed by the Secretary of 

State without the necessity of the county clerk resubmitting his name to the Secretary of State, provided such appointment is made in sufficient time 

for such Notary Public to be qualified on the expiration date of the term for which he is then serving; and provided that - if any such Notary Public 

has removed~-iiisresidence, or his principal place 

of business or employment, to a county or counties 

other than the one for which he has been appointed, 

his office in such county or counties shall be automatically vacated and if he desires to act as a 

Notary Public in such other county or counties, his 

ion in such county or counties shall be sii?= 

ired to the Secretary of State and his nar 

submitted by the clerk of such county or cc 

commiss 

rende ne shall 

be ~~~ Iunties 

as hereinabove provided." (Emphasis added.) 

In addition Article 5958, which was enacted several years 

prior to 1969, states: 

"Whenever any notary public shall remove 

permanently from the county for which he was appointed, or an ex officio notary public from his 

precinct, his office shall thereupon be deemed 

vacant." (Emphasis added.) 

One rule of statutory construction or interpretation 

is that statutes dealing with the same subject are considered to 

be in pari materia even though they were enacted in different 

sessions of the Legislature and do not refer to each other. 

Buford v. State, 322 S.W.2d 366 (Tex.Civ.App. 1959, error ref. 

n.r.e.);d Independent School Dist. v. Richardson, 2 

S.W.2d 513(Tex.Civ.App. 1928); Lingner v. Haly, 277 S.W.2d 

302 (Tex.Civ.App. 1954, error dism. w.0.j.); State v. Dyer, 

145 Tex. 586, 200 S.W.2d 813 (1947). 

To determine legislative intent and to properly construe the statutes involved, all of the acts in pari materia should 

be read together to harmonize any conflict between their provisions 

so that the acts, if possible, can stand together. Hunter v. 

Whiteaker and Washington, 230 S.W. 1096 (Tex.Civ.App. 1921); 

-5760. 
Hon. Bob Bullock, page 3 (M-1179) 

Hurt v. Oak Downs, Inc., 85 S.W.2d 294 (Tex.Civ.App. 1935); 

Roby v. Hawthorne, 84 S.W.2d 1108 (Tex.Civ.App. 1935); Goldman 

v. State, 277 S.W.2d 217 (Tex.Civ.App. 1954, error ref. n.r.e.); 

Townsend v. Terrell, 118 Tex. 463, 16 S.W.2d 1063 (1929). 

When an existing statute is amended, it is to be construed, if possible, in harmony with existins law on the same 

subject. Shipley v. Flovdada rndenendent School Dist.. 250 

S.W. 159 (Tex.Comm--,, ~~~~ .,, 

S.W. 1036 (1914); scting vLy 

ners, 158 Tex. 279, 310 

,Aoo. 1923): Cole v. State, 106 Tex.'472; 170 

Texas State Bd. of Medical ExamiS.W.2d 557 (1958). 

Applying the rules of construction to the statutes involved, Sections 2 and 6 of Article 5949 can be harmonized with 

Article 5958. As a result it is our opinion that one who is appointed a notary public in the county of his residence, or of his 

place of business or of his employment, and continues to meet any 

one of these statutory bases after his original appointment in 

that county, regardless of which one or more of these was the 

basis of that appointment, has not "permanently removed" himself 

so as to create an automatic vacancy in the office of notary public 

under Article 5958. 

Although Section 10 of Article 5949 empowers the Secretary of State to make necessary rules and regulations to carry 

out the act, a check with that office indicates no administrative 

policy or rules or regulations have ever been established. It is 

assumed by that office, unless otherwise indicated, that the basis 

of an application for a notary's commission is the applicant's 

residence. However, it is not always possible to tell from the 

current application form just what basis the applicant is using. 

There is a simple statement at the bottom of the application, to 

which the applicant agrees by signing his application, that he will 

notify the Secretary of State and the county clerk of "any change 

of address." There are no statutory provisions to this effect 

nor are there any provisions for investigation or a penalty of any 

kind. Article 5949, Section 5, does provide that the Secretary 

of State may, "for good cause, reject any application or revoke 

the commission of any Notary Public", but he cannot do so without 

the proper safeguards of due process which are also included in 

Article 5949, Section 5. 

To summarize, one who is a notary and continues to meet 

any one of the three statutory requirements has not "permanently 

removed" himself. 

-5761- 
Hon. Bob Bullock, page 4 (M-1179) 

SUMMARY 

One who is appointed a notary public in the 

county of his residence, or of his place of business, 

or of his employment, and continues to meet any one 

of these statutory bases after his original appointment, regardless of the basis of that appointment, 

has not "permanently removed" himself so as to 

create an automatic vacancy in his office. 

truly yours, 

Prepared by Linda Neeley 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Jack Goodman 

Jim Swearingen 

James Hackney 

Scott Garrison 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

-5762-