‘zT”mE ,-~?IlFToI-ix~ ~c?Tma-ERAL 

OE’ Ts:s,l.% 

itL%X-XX. TEXAS 

ZXY r>lc>-Tm., I. 

hfarch 8, 1950 

Hon. W. C. Hancock 

County Attorney 

opinion Ho. v-1019. 

Camp County Re: The disposition to be 

Plttsburg, Texas made of feea paid to 

a Justlce of the Peace 

for actfng a8 a local 

Dsar Sir: 

registrar of births 

and deaths. 

Your request for an opinion reads in part as 

follous: 

"Pittsburg, Texas is an incorporated 

town which eccordlng to the last federal 

census has a population Fn excess of 2,- 

500, and Is located within the boundaries 

of Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 of 

Camp County, Texas. J. Tom Laney4s the 

duly qualified and acting Justice of the 

Peace of Preclnot 1. 

"The Justice of Peace of Precinct 1 

has for years aoted as the recorder of 

births and deaths for the entire aountg. 

He was appoLnt8d by the State Department 

of Health as the 138C0rd8l, for the City of 

Plttsburg upon the recommendation and aonflrmatlon of the mayor of the city of Pitts- 

.burg, Texas, and has ZWC8iV8d oompenaation 

as la provided for such services. . . 

"Inasmuch as the Justice of the Peace 

of Precinct 1 is acting as the local registrar in the city of Plttsburg by ViFtU8 of 

his appointment by the State Department of 

Health with the confirmation of the Mayor 

of said city, are the fees paid to hl.m for 

such services, r8eS 0r orrice aa Justice of 

the Peaoe of Preclnot 1, and should they 

be reported on his annual r8port as such?" 

The State Comptroller informs us that the Justices of the Peace 0r Camp County are compensated on a 
Hon. Y. C. Eanoook, page 2 (V-1019) 

r8e basis. 

Rule %a of Article 4477, V.C.3., provides: 

"That each loaal registrar Is hereby 

charged vith the strict and thorough enforoement 0r the provisions 0r this Aot in 

his reglstratlon district, under the supervision and direction of the state registrar. 

And he shall make an immediate report to the 

state registrar of any violation of this law 

coming to his knowledge, by observation or 

upon complaint of any person, or otherwise. 

"The atate.registrar is hereby charged 

with th8 thorough, and efficient execution 

of the provisions of this eat la every part 

Or the State, and iS hereby granted Supervtsory power over local registrars, deputy 

local zwglstrars, and subregistrars, to the 

end that all of its requlrements shall be 

uniformly complied ulth. The state reglstrar, either personally or by an accredited 

representative, shall have authority to investigate oases of irregularity or violation 

of law, and all registrars shall aid him, upon request, in such investigatlona. When he 

shall deem It necessary, he shall report 

cases of violatlon 0r any of the provlslons 

of this Act to the county attormey, with a 

statement of th8 facts and CiPcumstances; 

and when any swh case is reported to him 

by the state registrar, the county attorney 

shall forthwlth initiate and promptly follow up the neceasarp oourt proceedings 

against the person or aorporation responsible for the alleged violation of law. And 

upon request of the state registrar, the 

sttorney gensral shall asslat In the enforcement of the provision of this Act." 

Article 781a of Vernon's Penal Code provides 

in part: 

" . . . or (e) being a local registrar, 

deputy registrar, or subregistrar, shall 

fail, neglect, or refuse to perform his duty 

8s r8quired by this Act and by the instructions, and direction of the state registrar 
Hon. W. C. Hanccck, page 3 (V-1019) 

thereunder, shell be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall 

for the rim offense be fined not less than 

five dollars ($5.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00), and for each subs usnt offense not less than ten dollars 7 ( 10.00) nor 

more than one hundred dollars ($lOO.OO), or 

be~lmprlsoned in the county jail not more 

than sixty daya, or be both fined and lmprisoned." 

In view 0r the fozwgolng we assume that the appolntment by the Stat8 Health Department of the JustiCe 

0r the Peace of Preclnat 1 as recorder 0r births and 

deaths for the City of Pittsburg was In pursuance of 

Rule 36a of Article 4477, V.C.S., which provides: 

"For the purposes of this Act the State 

shall bs divided lnto Primary Registration 

Dlstrlcts as follow: Each Justice of the 

Peace Preoinct and each lnoorporated tovn 

of two thousand, fiV8 hundred (2,500) or 

more population, aocording to the last United 

States Census. shall constitute a Primarv 

R8gistratfon District, rovided the State 

Board of Health may corn in8 two or more Registration Dlstrlots. or may dlvlde a Primary 

i?egistration Df XX&t Into-tvo or more parts, 

so as to facilitate r8p;iStratiOn, and in the 

Justioe of the Peace PXWCinCt, the Justice 

of the Peace shall be Local Renlstrar. and In 

cE&es 0r two thousand, rive hundred (2,500) 

or more, according to the last United States 

Census reports, the City Clerk or City Secretary shall be the Local Registrar of Births 

and Deaths. 

"It Is hereby declared to be the duty 

of the Justice of the Peace in the Justice 

of the Peace Prectnct, and the City Clerk 

or City Secreterg in the city of two thousand, five hundred (2,500) or more population, to secure a complete record 0r each 

birth and death that occurs within their 

respectfve jurisdictions, and have same zwcorded In the County Clerk's office In their 

respective counties on or befOr8 the tenth 

0r the rollowing month." (Emphasis added) 
Hon. If. C. Hamock, page 4 (V-1019). 

In thla event It beoom88 the duty of the Jnatic8 of the Pease of Precinct 1 to record said births 

and deatha Of the City of Plttsburg a8 We11 a~ those outside the city 1lmit8. In other words, there has been a 

consolidation or combining of the two registration dlstrlots of which the Justice of the Peace has been designated as the Looal Registrar of said district. 

It was stated In Attorney General Opinion No. 

o-1963 89 r0ii0w8: 

?ie think it proper to here point out 

that the State Board of Health is given the 

right and authority to combine two or more 

registration districts under the above quoted Rule 36a, which, If don8 by the Board 

would relieve one of th8 local registrars 

rrom his duties. This, however, Is a matter resting solely within the discretion of 

the Board and in the absence of the exercise 

of such discretion a justice of the peace is 

required to serve." 

Article 38% of Vernon's Civil Statutes, which 

is applicable to county and precinct officers who are 

compensated on a fee basis, provides In part: 

"The compensatl6p, llmltations and 

maximums herein fixed shall also apply to 

all fees and compensation whatsoever collected by said officers In their official 

iii!E%&;~:~~~c,,~t~2: Betdf:: %, 

genera1 or special, to the contrary Is hereby expressly repealed. The only kind and 

character of compensation exempt from the 

provisions of this Act shall be rewards reC8iV8d by Sherlfrs for spprehenslon of crlmlnals or fugitives from .iustlce and for the 

recovery of stolen property, and moneys pecelved by County Judges and Justices of the 

Peace for performlnu marriage ceremonies. 

which sum shall not be accountab18 for and 

not required to b8 reported as fees of office." (Emphasis added) 

In a letter opinion to Hon. Tom C. King, Stat-e 

Auditor, dated August 11, 1938, this offlce held that 

fe8S collected by a JUStiCe Of the Peace, compensated on 
Hon. W. C. Hancock, Page 5 (V-1019) 

a f88 basis, for acting as Registrar of Vital statistics 

are fees of office and acoountable as such. 

In view of the foregoing it is our opinion that 

all f88S COll8Ct8d by the Justice of the Peace of Precinct No. 1 as Local Registrar of the City of Plttsburg 

should b8 reported and acoounted for In his annual report. 

SUMMARY 

Wh8r8 tV0 r8giStratiOn districts have 

b88n combined, the Justice Of the P8aC8 who 

has been designated as Local Registrar In 

such consolidated district should report and 

account for all fees collected by him as 

Local R8giStrar. Rule 36a, Art. 4477, and 

Art. 3891, V.C.S. 

Yours very truly, 

APPROVED: 

PRICE DANIEL 

Attorney General 

J. C. Davis, Jr. 

County Affairs Division 

Charles D. Mathews 

gxecutive Assistant Assistant 

BA:mv