OFFICE OF THE AXT'ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Honorable Ti.A. Davis State Registrar Texas State Board of Health Austin, Texaa~ Dear Sir:
transariptaof cer- ates of birth, death, And other questions. ng request for an opin- loitor this dep .~$j$ ,, .~i
10s of the State af opossd oontrsot is snolosb6
er either the Bareeu of Vital .Sfate ~HealthDepar$me& :or or Health, actlllgthPortgh the stat& orfioer in bharge, is authortied to enter into this oontraot? "(gJ Y non& o,Sthe above ~narnedatate .,ageneles'may&awfully enter into kuoh.oon- traat, @ether the orrloer in oharge or any such age&y: la prevented,by reason or auoh 'RonorableviiA. Davis, page 2
orfioe, rr023lawfully entering into suah oontraot, not in his ofl'ioialcapaooity,but as an Individual? "(3) In the event the Eureau of the Cen- SW enters Into the yropoeed.contrsotwith an Individual having no orfIoIe1 oonneoticin with the Bureau of Vital Statlstloe,am I es Registrar,permitted by law to allow suah Individual,or his agents, to exemim and transcribesuch reoords? vU question.(l)Is answered.in the negative am3 question (2) In tae arrIrmatIve,should the money paid fox the tranaorlptabe handled through ~' 'the state treasury? "Your'attentlonIs oalled to the ~provisiona of Rule 54a OS Artlole 4417, V.T.S. end Paragraph 25 of Rule 47s of the same artiole." Role 54a of Article 4417,:Vernon*sRevWed Civil Statutes, provides forthe Ilqsuanae of oertLiIedoopies of bI&hsnddeath ,oer.ttiIoatea.bg,!th~~,S~~~.:,~egI,e~ar. upon the p&pent of a fee of fifty oents for each euoh'oopy,and iixes fees for any searoh of the reoords or the Bureau of Vltsl StatlstIaswhen no certified copy Is furnished,but makes the following spe6IfI.aprovisions to permit the'UnItedStates Ceu- sue Bureau to obtain o.opIssot suoh reoords: w ~.;an4 provided rurther, that the United Statea*&eus Bureau may obtain, rltheut expense to'the State, tranmiripta or oertlriedooples or 'births~and deaths,without payment of the fees here- In prescribed;and provlidedfurther, that the State Registrar Is hereby authorized. to enter Into au agreementwith the United States Bureau of the Get&a .toaot as.epeolal agentror that Bureau In acoepting the use 61 the frankIng privilege and blanks iuraished by that Bureau and 18 authorized to aot aa disbursing agent in oraer to have trana- orlbed ior that Bureau aopisa of thenbirth and death oertlfloatesi'lled,wIththe State Bureau.or Vital StatIatIos; , . .* .
'HonorableW. A. Davis,,Pape'3
The Bureau of Vital Statistics, the State Health L&+ partment and the State Board of Health are all agencies of the State of Texas, and the persons in charge thereof are all of- flaers of the State. "The State Is not bound by contracts made In Its behalf by Its offioers or aq,entswithout previous au- thority oonferrea by law. . e .* 98 Texas Jurlsprudenoe040; Stste vs. Perlstein (Ct. of Clv. App.) 79 9. W. (2d) 543. ze f&ridno provision of law authorizingany of said agencies, or the officers in oharge thereof, to enter Into any such oon- traot as the one here considered. Iu answer,to your first 3lrestlon,therefore, it is our opinion that none of said State agenoles may lawrully enter into the proposed oontraot. Artlole 441Sa, Vernon's C5vfl Statutes, preaorlbes the'autlesor the