OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable J 6 8. Wraiaison
Hxooucivo Diraotar
State DepPrtmnt of Publia UsWare
AumtiR, Texas
or Your um.sr of
A@1 IZQI 1841,
puantlty of the reoarrla am now atoxwd
in the baeoment of a builbilyg iB San Illtotio, TQXSS.
Tlze Area Supervisor hae R0tiff6d the State Dopertnvmt
of hab3ia llslfare that notioe has been g%ven &he Area
Office to vatate the build&x& w &a~ ftl, ~941, whioh
mill necessitate the reaawal eP t&e Ft3coW troa &II@
baeemnt of' this b~S1dzI.q~ Qmn hvest&atlon, it has
besn datsmx0wd that to r#is~e t&e LWW~%X~ fran fJan
dntanio to Austittit will r*Wre an outlrby of fund0
In the ap@rsx%mto BuQl Of $%SO,M.
Honorable 3. 8. bmrchison - page 2
sI anticipate that from time to time this agency will be
co8fronted with a eimil8r situation in other cities of
the state uhere reoords are etored, 8nd it is m opdnion
that some disposition crhould be rvlaoof t&e reoards aa
they are of no value to this -47 and no further ueeful
purpose could ba served by keeping them in storage and to
oontinue to pay freight in h8ving them rammed from one
plaoe to mother when a altuation arises M .the one in
the olty of 68R ARfOniO.
801 date Augu8t 18, 1938 the Sate Board of Control enter-
ed into a contract~with II. A. Carter Company ?or a detril.ed
audit of the aotivities and operations of the Texan Relief
Comudsmion from July I, 1036 to August 31, 1038 oad to in-
oorporate into such sudit certain finonoiol infommtion
from 1yweRher 1, 19x2 to Angumt 31, 1030. ml.8 audit warn
duly made 8ndaaopy of emm~asfiledrith theL)oud of
Control and acknowledged by the Chairman of said Board M
being acoeptable to 8aId Doard. Irikeuiee, a aopg of the
audit ma filed in the offioe of Hr. Corringten Bill, Amint-
ant Conmdseionerot the Federal Vorks Agcmq, Waebington,
D. C., and in hl8 aoknmledgpsnt of the receipt of the copy
of the audit, he stated, ammg other things, a8 follor8r
"The report pmmente a very orderly pfature
of the Cosmd~on's 8ativitioe arribrings
w to the oonalueton that the f%mnciol Sp-
faire of the Co56esion were cozxW~ted in 8
very bucineealike and ooespsndable 8uumsr.
I feel that the Condasfon i6 to be ~oompli-
wnted highly,*
*It i8 the intention of this agenoy to keep in 8torage m-
rolls, vouchers, and x other ba8ic rsoord vhere it ap
pears 6ome nece*sity stightstttie de that rafer-
sme uould hsve to be mule to thorn, and to disregard the
files, et cetera, rhloh, in my opinion, are of no further
value.
#In rim of the above statement, I desire your opinion on
two queetions, naarelpt
"1. Does the State Board of Public Welfare
have the authority to deetroy the reoarde
Or to diSpOi$8 Of the l%WOrds, F8pOFtSI 8t
cetera, as sorap paper br male under the
direction and euperrieion of the Btata
Doard of Control?
Honorable J. 8. IhnrWeOn - page 3
“2. In ~the went you answer quemticm So. 1 in
the afflrolafive, then, should the prooeede
be creditod to the General Reretiue Wamd er
to the Ganoral Relief Fund of the State De-
pkrtment of Public IlelfareTm
Vo beg to advise that the Gtato Board of Fublio
Welf'sre,8~ legal aucoeaeor to the.Texas Relief Comieeion,
does not ham the authority to destroy the rorrwde, Or to
die~ee of the reoocde, roporte, papers, dootmente, eto.,
8tmtiomed in your.inquiry.
It is n wall-reoog&md ,arrernme~tal pol3.6~ for the
varloub deperrt;laont6
of the Wwwnman t to k+eq nnd weserve
the papers, ilOoWMint8, instruments, rulings, Order@, and the
like, of suoh department, and no arggtueenfneede to ba udvanoed
t0 SiNlW the closirability, SRd wen the neOWIi8ity, iR 1~08% hi-
stanaus, for 8uah j?olicj*
Artiole 34'931of the Revhod Civil Statutoe daolares
that:
vGertifiod aopios, under the hande and of-
tioial seal8 Oi a0 heads Of depsrtmsnts, of
all notes, bOIId8, mort&agee, biller neaounte,
or other dooumenta, properly on file ir, shy
department of thiu St&e, &all be retmired
in ovidcmoe on an equal footing uith the!
original8 in all mite now pending, or which
818~ be h8mNSft6r tistitut8d in this state,
where the uriginalo of euoh notoe, bonds,
mortgages, bills, oocounts or other aocumonte
woulu bo ~vi.d~noo,~
Fe think &he deyart.rPonthere rofermd to inoludee
boar?is and ooPmPls~one such 30 the State Board of Rlblic
WelPam, and the Texas ilalief Cr~?mk8don~ And the purpose
and objaot of the statute oould b8 8aOOmplifbheiionly through
a ~e8ePVatiOZI of SUGh dOW~I.ltS, pp63r8, C&C*, O~StitUting
the archives of the pfWA.ouUU deportslant.
Moreover, them is another and wen better r61Mon
why 8Ud.3 amhives should be pomarmnt3y preserved. The State
itself is governmentally condernod with keeping as nearly as
lnaybe poseiblc a oomplete reczordof the affaira of its de-
psrtmnte with reepeot to the Bsrttere ooamdtted to them
Sucth thing8 regmwmt the Tunotioming of the State.
e
-
243
tronorsble J. 6. Uurobiieon - page 4
Your Mm-d, like other boards, eo?luILssianr,
and governmental agsmles, hao ju8t ouah powers and
none other, as are conSerred upon it either bj exgceoo
lau or by neoeesary implioation. There ia no UT author-
ising the destruction of the rrchives msentioned, aad,
therefore, the power to deetroy them is not vested in
any one.
Our ruling follows our Opinion Ho. o-2241,
giving eimilar OariCe to the chairavrn and %eoutite
Direotor of the Teue Unemployment Compen8atlon Cow
tiesion, a copy of'which opinion we baud you hererith.
ver7 tray yours
ATTOIWET GiBWUL OF TEXAS