TEE ATI-ORNEX GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

HonorableThcanae D. Blackwell 

Comty Attorney 

Travis colmty 

Auetln, Texas 

Opinion No. ww-692 

DearMr.Blackwel.l: 

Re: Queetlone rel.atiuS to payment 

by the State to court reporters 

for etat*nte of faat in OlYil 

suite. 

We have yOur letter of July U, 1959, +d mur ~uppl=+ental 

letter of AuSuet 5, 1959, in which you request ow opinion on thrqe questloue 

relating to the paymeat by the S$ate to cow reporters for +at+me&e of 

iaot in oivlleulta. 

Your firsts question la aa follows: 

*1. Under‘Art. 2324, V.C.S., what form of certi- 4 

flcation la peceeaary for a oourt reporter to get a 

statement ti ohergee for the preparationof a trauecript 

of the evidence in a oiVll6uit paid by warrant leeued 

by the Comptroller of Public AccounteTY 

Artiole 2324, Vernon'e Civil Statutes, prescribing the oornpenaatlon of court reportera.for the preparation of transcripts of evldenoe 

reads in part ae follows: 

* 

. ~. . 

"When any party to any suit reported by any such 

reporter shall desire a transcript of the evidence in aald 

suit, q aid party may apply for mme end the reporter shall 

make up euoh tzimecrlpt and shall receive ae ccmpeneation 

therefor the em of not more then thirty oents per one 

huudred worde for the original thereof. In the event aaid 

&+neorlpt ehould be ordered and made in narrative form, 
‘)r--’ ll1:L*2 3 

Honorable Thomas D. Blackwell, page 2 (~~-692) 

then such ~reporter shall make up same In duplicate 

in narrative form, and shall receive a8 ocmpenaatlon 

therefor the~sum of twenty cents per hundred words for 

the orlglnal; “grovided, however, that no charge shall 

be made for the duplicate copy, and provided ,further, 

that in case any reporter oharges more than the fees 

herein allowed he shall be liable to the Derson 0a.vlna 

the fmme a mm equal to four times the excess soc&d,‘* 

(Emphaele our8. ) 

We believe that the foregoing provision specifically authorizea 

the following: 

1. When a transcript is ordered and prepared in 

narrative form, the reporter is required to prepare 

same In duplicate and ie prohlbited from making an 

additional charge for the duplicate. The authorized 

oharge for both t&e original and the duplicate is 

“the emu of twenty cents per hundred worde” in the 

original. 

2. There ie no requirement that the reporter 

prepare a duplicate if the tranaoript la ordered and 

prepared other than in narrative form. If the tieporter le requested to make coplea, there Is no prohibition against his charging for those 80 made. 

There is no provielon a8 to how much he may charge for 

copies. 

3. If the transcript is prepared In other than 

narrative form, the authorized charge la ‘not more 

than thirty cents per one hundred worde for the original 

thereof”. Here the charge la not prescribed In absolute 

term8 but Is prbsented as a maximum. 

The reporter must take precautlo~ to ineure that his claima for 

payment are accurate and In compliance with the statute. The Canptroller 

may prescribe the forms to be used in presenting the claims and may require 

such information a8 may be neoesaary for him to audit and prooesa the claim, 

as provided by Senate Bill 308, Acts 56th Legislature, Regular Session, 1959. 

Should the Comptmller purport~to require a reporter to certify to matters 

other than as required by Article 2324, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, he would 

be imposing an additional.bnrden on the reporter8 and the agemy or depertment requesting the transcript. We find uo authorization for the CamptiLler 

to alter or’vary the statutory requirements, nor to preocrlbe requirements i* 

exceee of those provided by etatute. 
Rouorable Thomas D. Blackwell, page 3 (w-692) 

Therefore, when such a trauscript 16 ordered and prepared In 

other thannarxative form, the reporter preparing same omplies with the 

statute if he oertiflee that the transcript is in "other than narrative form" 

adl oertiilea that the amount charged is "not over the rate of thirty oenta 

per on8 hmdred words for the original thereof." We find M statutory 

authority for the Ctiptroller to require the actual word count of the transcript 

onthe stat8mePltof oharges or to requirethatthe reporter affimatively 

osrtify the trauacrlpt is in *question and answer" form. If the transcript 

la ordered and prepared in narrative form, the reporter must oertify that 

the oharg8a he makes ar8 "twenty cents per one hundred words for the original 

thsmof." 

When the court reporter suhnits his bill in oclDpliance with the 

fore&n& it la the duty of the agency or department requesting the transori'pt 

to oheokacouracy as to ohargesmade. It is within the sole disoretion of that 

agency or departmant to determine whether suoh trauacript is ueaeseary to 

prop8rly carry out their assigned duties. It is the funotiou of the Ccmptroller to audit the claim from a "bookkeeping" atandpolnt. This is not to be 

oonstrued so as to authorlee the Comptroller to determine the wisdom,.neceesity or propriety of-the expenditure nor to go behind the certification and 

approval of the agency or department purchasing the transcript. See Attorney 

Oeneral'a OpinionV-lIll'(1950). 4ssuming the absence of proof of an errozmous 

certification and furtheraseuning moneys are avaiLable for its payment, it is 

the ministerial duty of the Conptroller to issue the warrsnt, and the Oce~ptroll.8r is not authorized to require the court reporter or anyone else to certify 

to a word oomt of the transcript. 

In the event excess charge6 are nade and paid, the State ie fully 

protect8d by.the provieione of 4rtloI.e 2324 WheMin itiiuihoriees the coYleotlon frm the reporter of four times the 8x0888 80 paid. Furthermore, if 

imiiaated, the Comptroller can refer the matter to the Grand Jury. See 

Psrker v. Bushep, 170 S.W. 1042 at 1044 (Civ.bpp. 1914). 

Your second question is as follows: 

*2. Is a court reporter aUthOriZ8d to 1tGlUde the coat 

of binding, indexing, photostating of doounenta, postage, 

and the preparation for filing in app8lLate oourts of original 

exhibits in the statement of chargss for the preparation of a 

transcript of evidence?" 

There is no statutory authority for court reporters to make 

eeparate charges for the items mentioned in your question; however, the 

Rules of CivilProcedure dictate the form In which such transoripts are to 

Eglnd what they are to contain. (Rules Civ. Proc., RuIe 371 and 

. 
Honorable Thazae D.Bleckwell, page 4 (W-692) 

It should be Pointed bat, hOweVer , that the reporter 10 authorized 

to base hle oharge'on all the words in the original of the tranFmipt (both 

narrative and other~than mtiVe) which WOdld include the caption, index, 

testimony proper and do&e&a made a part of the transcript. 

Your third question ia as followa: 

*3. Doea a State agenay or deparhuent have authority to 

pnrohaae a caA0.I copy of a transcript of the evidence in any 

oase?" 

In anrrwer- this question, we shall ssaume you are inquiring 

about a carbon oopy other than the duplioate of a atatenent of facts if in 

narrative fonz. Of course, this question turns on the authority of the 

agenay or department to purchase the copy and not on the authority of the 

repor.$er to make or eellthe oopy. If the purohaser ha8 monies available for 

au& purpose, it is a matter entirely within the diecretlon of that agenoy 

or department as to whether the copy is necessary to carry out their dutiee. 

The CC&Zol.l.ti &es Mt have the aUtih0rit.y t0 determine the 

wisdom or necessity of euch purchase except when he la makinS the purchase. 

Therefore, you are advised that wh8neVer an agenoy of the State ordere a 

oarbon copy~of a tranaorlpt and has approved the voucher, it 16 the minieterial duty of the Ccauptroller to issue the warrant. 

Article 2324, VeiPon'e Civil Statutes, authorizes 

a"&irge of not more than thirty oenta per one 

hundred words in the original of a statement of 

facta Prepared in other than narrative form and 

the mm of twenty cents per one hundred words if 

in narrative'form; the reporter need not certify 

to a word oount. 

There la no authority for a court reporter to 

chargetheState for binding, indexing, postage, 

etc., in oonneotion with preparation of a q tatement 

of facts. ,' 

TheStatemaypurchas8 oarbonooples of statementa 

of faot if the particular a~enoy purohaeing ha8 the 

authority and the money available for such purohase. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL UIISOR 

Attorney General of Texas 

TIM:mg:mfg:me 

TanI.l4cEzrlinS 

Aeeietant 
Ho~rableThcmaeD.Blackwell, page 5(1iW-692) 

OPnIoR cEomRmE 

Geo..P. Blackbarn, Chairman 

John Beeves 

L.P. Id.lar 

Riley Eugene Fletcher 

RalphBash 

RMlXUEDFOR!EKAlT~- 

By: W. V. Geppert