.,
\
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
, AUSTIN
GROVERSELLERS
AlrORNEYGENER.4‘
BOnOlbhle ~Ohh B. wiilters,Executive Director
State Department of Public Welfare
Austin 3, Texas
Dear Mr. Winters: Opinion No. O'-6694
*We shall 'appreciate eration and
7 of t!ouse'
blio Welfare
the Federal
Government in on and ais-
tribution of
d and available for
tment of Public Vel-
e State Agency to
ferrals and certifioa-
8 Administretlon, the
ion, and the Civilian
0 these provisions, the Department
are accepted responsibi3ity fop the
genera3 supervision of the direct distribution of
Federal surplus comod$tiee. Under the Ink& end
Certification program, the eligible applicants
were certified for surplus commodities. The oop-
ies of the orders to individuals, reports of dis-
tribution, and al3 other necessary records were
kept in the possession of the EepartEert of Pub-
lic Welfzro. Although the ccployees working @n
the distribution pro.qam were under a F.P.A.
project Andywere Federal empl@goes, the Pepart-
ment had general supervision over the program.
%.
!
.
856
Scnorbble John k. Wii,ters-@age2
The oommodifies, whioh were distributed, were
Federal; and the records were considered by the
Depar++metit as being Federal records. There are
at the present time more than 600 files contain-
ing.these records stored in the County Depart-
ment of Public Welfare offices and warehouses.
.
lwe have received a l~etterfrom the W. 6. Dfi-
partment of Agriculture, Food Distribution Adminis-
tration, informing us that the Washington office
of thk Department of Agriculture has given per-
mission for the welfare agencies to dispose of
any records in 00nneotion with the direct distri-
bution program relating to operations prior to 1940.
%%e Depa~rtmentof Agriculture further,&ivised that
>
the records maintained~oommencing with IQ40 cannot
be.disposea of without special permission but that
oon&deration would be given to an+ request for the
aestruotion of the records subsequent to 1940.
*Senate Bill 260, Acts of the 40th Legislaturer
Regular Session, gives the Department of Public Wet-
fare permission to dispose of certain obsolete ret-,
~oraa. Reference is also made to your Opinion Numb@*
O-3464 and O-5467 wherein you have interpreted Sen-"
ate Bill 250.
,
~*,l.Sinoe~these records are of.no benefit to,the
Department of Fublic Welfare and since the Federal'
Government has authorized the destruction of them, 1
map the Department of Pub110 Welfare destroy..these
obsolete records?
s2. If y& answer the first question in the,af-
firmative~ then is the Department of Pub110 Welfare
.obligated to folloy the procedure outlined in Sen-
.’ 260 oltea
titeI~~ill above in destroying the records?
.?' #3i It'&&ate Bill'250 is c&sidered inapplicable
in this instance, then what yocedure should be PoJ-
.lowed.by the Department of Public jVelfarein destroy-
ing thit reoords?
"4. If tde Department Oannot dispose of the
iecords, may the Department transfer the recoraks
to the C. S. T?erartment of A&culture, F00a MS-
trib.uticn~
and Administration, for difiposal?'
I 857
Honorhble Jbhn’lI. dnters - page 3
Vi
construe your inquiries as embracing all obso3ete
and usel~essrecord8 in your Department, and shall answer them
aooordingly.
1. Pour only authority for destroying obsolete records
is found in SetiateBill 250 of the Begular Session of the 48th
Legislature (page 363). That Aot ~embraces only @Certain records,
for the yea.rs1932 to September 1, 1939*, and "all duplicate old-
age assistanoe records accumulated for the yea.r1936 through Octob-
er, 1938.'
So that, under the faots stated by you, all obsolete
and useless records coming wfthin Senate B11'1No. 250 may be de-
.stropea. While such records as you may deem to be obnolote'ana
usele.ssbut not coming within that dot of authority to destroy
~mar not be destroyed, but should be preserved.intaot.
2: .Sinoe Senate Bill z's0preacri.besthe prooedure for
destroying the obsolete reoords embraoed therein, it is your duty
to follow that procedure in making suah~disposition.
3. What we have said in answer to questions 1 ana 2
,s+ficiently ~knswersNoted.
..
4. four question Nyo~.' 4 should be answered in the neg-
ative - that 1s to say, obsolete and useless records authoriGa
by Senate Bill 260 to be destroyed should be destroyed in v.oaord-
ante.with that Bill,-as above stated, and as to those records
rhioh'are thought to be obsolete and useless, but which do not
fall within the compass of Senate Bil,l250, may not be transfer-
red'to the 0. 6. Department of Agriculture, Food Produotion and
Administration, for that would be doing by indirection what we
have said may not be done at all.
We trust that what we-h&e said sufficiently answers
pour"inquiries.
Very truly pours
Assisiant