October 2, 19% 

Honorable Robert S. Calvert 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

Capitol Station 

Austin 11, Texas Opinion No. wti-~a 

Re: Authority of the Comptroller 

to issue a warrant in payment 

of a recording fee in order 

to record the Agriculture 

lease on lands purchased by 

Dear Mr. Calvert: the Veterans' Land Board. 

You have requested an opinion concerning the authority 

of the payment of a fee to the County Clerk of a salaried county 

for recording an agricultural lease on land purchased by the 

Veterans' Land Board. The Veterans' Land Board requested that 

the payment of the recording fee to the County Clerk be paid out 

of funds in the State Treasury comprised of money collected ursuant to the following provisions of Section 21 of Article 5 E 21m: 

"The Board Is further authorized and required to charge and collect for the use of the 

State the following fees for the processing and 

servicing of purchase applications and Contracts 

of Sale and Purchase and matters incidental 

thereto. Any such fees, or a portion thereof, 

which In the opinion of the Board are.unused 

shall be refunded. 

II 

. . 

‘“7 . 

. 

Service fee for each Contract of 

Sale and Purchase . . . . . . . $25.00 

“All money8 received by payment of the above 

fees and not re$Iznded shall be deposited in the 

State Treasury and credited to the Veterans' Land 

Board Special Fund, and aaid Fund ie hereby approprlated to the Veterans' Land Board to be wed 

as It deems necessary to pay any expenses of the 

Veterans' Land Board, Including salaries, ln- 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2. m-508) 

creasing of salaries, or travel expenses 

of the employees of the Veterans' Land Board, 

or employees of the General Land Office .dolng 

work with the-veterans' Land Program, provided;however, that such'salaries, or expenses, shall be in line with the salaries or 

expenses paid to similar employees of other 

State departments performing similar duties." 

The contention of the Veterans I Land Board.ie stated 

in a letter ,to the Comptroller's Office dated August 21, 199, 

as follows: 

"The Veterans' Land Board, by necessity, 

must correct errors in deeds and forty-year 

contract8 when such errors are ~discovered during 

the life of the contract. The method In correcting such errors is by means of a corrected instrument which must be recorded in the County 

where the land is located. It is the opinion of 

this office that the $25.00 servlce.fee Is set up 

specifically under Article %21m, Section 21; 

Vernon's Civil Statutes for the payment of the 

recording fee for recording the corrected lnstrument and for the payment of other necessary expenses of servlaing the Veteran!8 contract. 

"Under the above referred to Article %21m, 

Section 21, Vernon's Civil Statutes, the $25.00 

service fee is, quote, 'deposited in the State 

Treasury and credited to the Veterans' Land 

Board's special fund, and said fund is,hereby 

appropriated to the Veterans' Land Board to be 

used as It deems necessary to pay any expenses 

of the Veterans' Iand Board."' 

If the recording fee were.a legal expense, of the 

Veterans' Land Board, the service fees appropriated by the Lagislature could be expended for this purpose. However, Sections 1 

and 3 of Article 3912e, Vernon's Civil Statutes, specifically 

prohibit the payment of such fees. Section 1 states that "nor 

shall the State . . . pay to any county officer . . . any fee 

or coplesion for any service by him performed as such officer 

. . . (Exceptions not applicable)., Section 3 provides 

"neither the,State . . . shall be charged with or pay to any 

of the officers . . . any fee or commission for the perfortmance of any or all of the duties of their offices . . ." 

(Exceptions not applicable). 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 3. mi-508) 

Since the charge is specifically prohibited by statute, 

these instruments must be recorded without any charge to the 

Veterans' Land Board. If the Tree!' for rendering the service of 

recording these instruments should be construed to be a charge 

against the individual rather than the Veterans' Land Board, the 

aoney deposited in the State Treasury could not be used for the 

payment of personal expenses of an individual. Therefore, you 

are advised that you are not authorized to Issue a warrant in 

payment of these fees. 

SUMMARY 

The Comptroller of Public Accounts Is 

not authorized to Issue a warrant in 

payment of a recording fee for recording an Agriculture lease on lands purchased by the Veterans' Land Board. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

JR:$l 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Gee. P. Blackburn, Chatrman 

L. P. Lollar 

Arthur Sandlln 

Richard Wells 

John Steinberger 

REVIEWEDFORTRE ATTORNEYGERERAL 

By: W. V. Geppert