The Honorable Gene Stump Franklin County Attorney 200 North Kaufman Street Mount Vernon, Texas 75457 DearMr. Stump: 

### KEN PAXTON ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS November 13, 2017
OpinionNo. KP-0174 Re: County authority related to a court's registry account (RQ-0167-KP)

You ask about county authority over a court's registry account. 1 You state that Franklin County has a population ofless than 190,000 and has a county auditor. Request Letter at 1. You inform us thatthe county commissioners court granted the countytreasurer "view-only" access to all accounts having the county's employer identification number and appointed the auditor as the county's "online bank account access administrator" for all county accounts at the county's depository bank.2 You are primarily concerned about the treasurer's and the commissioners court's respective authority concerning .the court registry accounts for the county. See Request Letter at 1. You first ask whether the county treasurer has "administrative authority [over] a court's registry account, including permanent online view-only access rights." Id. The county treasurer is the chiefcustodianofcountyfunds, who "shallkeep inadesignateddepository and shall account for all money belonging to the county." TEX. Loe. Gov'TCODE§ 113.001 (emphasis added); see also id. § 116.113(a) (requiring the treasurer to deposit all ofthe county's funds in the county depository). Chapter 116 of the Local Government Code governs the treasurer's duties with respectto the general depositoryfor county funds. Id.§§ 116.001-.060. However, funds paid into the registry ofthe court do not belong to the county. See Sellers v. Harris Cty., 483 S.W.2d 242, 243 (Tex. 1972) (stating that funds paid into the court registry "are not owned by the county but are onlyheld intrust"). Courtregistry funds and certain other funds the countyholds intrustmust be deposited in an account separate from the county general depository account. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JC-0195 (2000) at 4-5 (distinguishing between the county general depository account under chapter 116 and the county trust depository account under chapter 117).3

1 See Letter from Honorable Gene Stump, Franklin Cty. Att'y, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at I (June 23, 2017), https://www.texasattomeygeneral.gov/opinion/requests-for-opinions-rqs ("Request Letter"). 2See id. and attached minutes ofthe Franklin County Commissoners Court's meetings on May 22, 2017, and June 5, 2017. 3Your question concerns a county with a population of Jess than 190,000, and we limit our opinion accordingly. Within chapter 117, some provisions do not apply to a county with a population ofless than 190,000. See TEX. Loe. Gov'T CODE §§ 117.058 (accounting and disbursing provisions for counties with a population of

. 190,000 ormore); 117.111-.126 (provisions applicable in a county with a population of 1.3 million or more).The Honorable Gene Stump

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When funds are tendered to ·the registry ofthe court, the district or county clerk must deposit the funds in a special account ofthe depositorybank calledthe "registryfund." TEX, Loe. Gov'T CODE §§ U 7.001(3), (5), .052. The commissioners court selects and designates the depositorybankfor theregistry fund. Id.§§ 117.023, .025. The account mustbe held inthe name ofthe county or district clerk. Id.§ 117.021(a), .052(b). The district or county court clerk has the responsibility to deposit courtregistry funds paid from the following sources: (1) funds ofminors or incapacitated persons; (2) funds tendered in an interpleader action; (3) funds paid in satisfaction ofajudgment; (4) child support funds held for more than three days; (5) cashbonds; (6) cashbail bonds; (7) funds in an eminent domainproceeding; and (8) any otherfunds tenderedto the clerk for deposit into the registry ofthe court. Id. § 117.052(c). The county or district clerk must keep registry funds secure until the clerk deposits theminthe courtregistry depository. Id.§ 117.081(b). Oncetheregistryfunds havebeen deposited, the county or district clerk acts in a custodial capacity only. Id. § 117.0521. Except as a statute may otherwise provide, the clerk may makepayments out ofthe account onlypursuantto court order. Id.§ 117.053(b); see also Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JM-1162 1990) at 3 (stating that "the first duty ofthe clerk is to follow the instructions ofthe court that directed him to hold the funds"). While chapter 117 ofthe Local Government Code assigns these duties to the county or district clerk, it assigns no duties or powers to the county treasurer. Therefore, the treasurer does not possess administrative authority over a courtregistry account. You next ask whether the county commissioners court has "authority over a court's registry account, apart from selection ofthe depository." Request Letter at 1. A commissioners court has only those powers expressly conferred by the constitution or statute or necessarily impliedtherefrom. City of SanAntoniov. City of Boerne, 111 S.W.3d22, 28 (Tex: 2003). Chapter 117 authorizes the commissioners courtto select, designate, and contractwiththe depositorybank for the special account for court registry funds. TEX. Loe. Gov'TCODE§§ 117.021(a)-(b), .023, .025. Also, the commissioners court may require a depository to execute a new bond "for the protection ofthe county clerk's and the district clerk's registry funds." Id. § 117.057(a). Chapter 117 does not assign the commissioners court any other duties orpowers with respect to the court registry depository. Accordingly, a commissioners courtdoes notpossess authority over a court's registry account except as necessary to fulfill these express statutory duties under chapter 117.The Honorable Gene Stump

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Finally, you ask whether the county may use the county's employer identification number for a court registry account, or whether the court registry account must obtain its own number. Request Letter at 1. An employer identification number, also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number or Taxpayer Identification Number, is a number provided by the Internal I Revenue Service ("IRS") for administering tax laws and certain other purposes. See 26 C.F.R. § 301.6109-1. No Texas statute regulates the use oftax identification numbers for depository accounts. Because the use ofa tax identification number for particular purposes is ultimately an issue for theIRS, yourquestionis more appropriatelydirectedto thatagencyratherthanthis office. See, e.g., Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. Nos. GA-0130 (2003) at 4 (declining to answer a city's question about compliance withInternalRevenue Code), JC-0482 (2002) at 7 (suggestingthatthe requestor direct a question about tax deductibility to the IRS); JM-1263 (1990) at 2 (not resolving whether the tax assessor-collector was entitledto obtain a separate employeridentificationnumberbecause "[t]hat is a matter withinthejurisdictionofthe Internal Revenue Service").4

41RS assistance with local government issues can be accessed at https://www.irs.gov/governmententities/federal-state-local-govemments/fslg-customer-syrvices (last visited Oct. 24, 2017).The Honorable Gene Stump

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### SUMMARY A county treasurer does not have administrative authority over a court's registry account. A county commissioners court has only the authority necessary to perform its duties to select, designate, and contract with a depository bank for court registry accounts and to require adequate security for the accounts.

JEFFREY C. MATEER First Assistant Attorney General BRANTLEY STARR Deputy First Assistant Attorney General VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER Chair, Opinion Committee WILLIAM A. HILL Very truly yours,

KEN PAXTON Attorney General ofTexas

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee