Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

523 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF. TEXAS _--- AUSTIN he Oowity au- fUl44tiQE With 4. desired rsaora rob to attaal the ,at ia your JuQn4nt ia t&4 fifth itfan unller i.rti.c?le 3944: cgaive twenty-five CQrlCS for 4aoh ex6aiin6tlQn of each p4per or re4or&, or that he faay f&tr&g~ tvimty-fLvfb rlenta to t&e pertion 6x6~16~ the pttperw anA reCorda? could me AOXC suc444&* .iag fee of trsntr ccents for eeah I.00 word6 for meking o~,pl4s of al.& Pt4ld notes awhosia4 gonorabls A. L. Waehburn, Page 2 e charge under the pbotoetatia moaeee under the oiraumetenaee abort maed?* Artiale 3944 of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Btatutee (Aate 1676, Ch. 164, pp 264-292, # 16) provides aerteln fees for county eurveyore and reade in part as fallows: “County surveyors shall raceIre the following fees: .* c l %xeeinetIon oi paperr and reaamle in his off Ioe et the request of eny person..... .2b “Coplee of all field-notes and plate, or any other papers or reaorde in hle offiae, Sor eaah 100 wmde, lnaluding aertitiaats.. . .20.” Art Icle aeag, Vernon’ e Annotated CIrIl St@>re (Aote 1919, Seaond Gelled Seeelon, Ch. 67, Q. 173, I 10) pravl4ee t *Surveyors qualified under this law et&d aounty surveyors may make a aertlfiante of an7 faot shown by the books, doeumente and reaorde of any oountt lwvey o r of?Iae ~6 and may make a oertiiled oopy of any doousient a? reaord or entry shown by reaord of luah oounty surveyor!, end lrld oertlfloate shall be aQe~Zeeille in evlbenas as to what laId reoorde aey dIealoee. For eaoh euoh oertlfiaate the eurveyor may oharge a fee of one doller, and for eeoh one hundred words aontalnea In any certified copy thirty-fire oente. When e aounty her a aounty rurveyor euah surveyor alone 8ha.11 be au- thorlmd to m6kO osrtlfiastae and aertlfIed ooples and reoelve the face therefor.* A aeeual ownarieon of Artialee 3944 and 6260 in- dioetee a poeeible oonflIat as to the amount of tree a aounty surveyor nay reoelve for aertified aaplee of the papers and reaorde in hle offiae. It would seem by the former he Is entltleb to 20# and by the latter, 364 for eaah 100 words In the Instrument aertlfled. gonerable H. L. Washburn, Page 3 While orlor to Its 0odltIoatIon as Art1010 5280 In lQS5, there nay have been some doubt as to the validity of thgt portion of ‘the hat of 1919 pror%dlng tees tar oounty lurreyore (beoauee of an ineufflolent title or oaptloa), thers 484 be no doubt as to Its valMlty now. LegIelatIve revlelone 4f our laws aure prior def4ate In their oeptlone. kerloan g&l*mnIty Co. v. Olty of Austin, 118 Tex. E39, l34d 0. W. 1019; go part0 Fergueon, llS? Tex. Cr. R. aS, 18 S. W. Ed 660. 8ino4 x$Q8 Artlale W80 must be held to have SUQSTSSd4d that portion of ArtIole 3944 providing a tee of twenty aente (f!Oj) foci oertIfI4d ooplee of dooumente and reaorda In the ooantf lumr~- or@* ottioe. The aounty surveyor Is ROW entitled to r*seIre thirty-five oente (SSf) for raoh one hundred (100) word4 oeitlfled of any of the beaks, dooumente end reoorbe In his off 108. Your first quertlan Is whether or not this fee Is ; p;l;;b:: to photographlo or photostatlo ooplee. We hold L . Of oouree, Until 04mparatI**l~ resent tIm48 it has been the praatlae of those upon whom the duty falls ta reoord and make oertltled oopiee of inetrcmente to make luoh reoordatlon 4~ faoeImllee either by hand or on the tfPI*TIter. We polnted out in Oplaloa Ro. O-H41 that the tr~~earlptloa may be by photographlo pcoaeee, la y lttg t 'Of o o ur a e, where a #t&ate ruthorlree tha .reoordatIaa of an tnetrument the tra?ieorI~tIon may be by the phOtegr~phi0 praaeer as well as by oallIgraph%o proaeee. We so heid In opin- ion Uo. O-637. 80, also, where aertltled aoplee of reoorde are permitted, the ooz4ee so aort- Itied may be ~~hatoetatie as well as type-written or handwritten. @ Therefore, in answer to your flret question, It is our aplnlon &nd you are cQvleed that the oounlq surveyor ma? In fulflllIng his duty to furnish aertlfled copies of the reoorde In his office to Interested parties, if he so gonorrbla H. L. Waahbur8, Pago 4 d~a lr ea ,o ma e luoh r eo o r da to be phatoatcted ad ha will m antltlad to charge a fee of thirty-fltr (SS$) oeata ror aeoh 100 wo r d8 in the paper or dooumrnt oartlflad. Your reoond quaatlon La whether or not the county agitator my be oom~allad to produoo hla raoords at a point vhare they may be photoatatrd. Aa ve prerloual~ pointed sot tha oounty rurva~or 88~ parfOr hlo duty O? iurniahtng o8rtlflod ooplsa of hla raoorda llther by the photographlo oalligraphlo or typo- writing prooaar. The option olaa& liar within him. UuQar the ltatutaa oreatlng hla ofiioe, Artlelea be83, 5S98, inoluairr, the oounty aurvoyor la glvtm tha ouatodf of tha oountjr aurvr~lag raoorila, la ohar a4 with their rafa-keeping and Is raqulrad to glro bon %. uhilo under Art1018 SBM, Vernon*r Annotated Clrll Statutea, aor intaraatad paraon haa thr right to aurlna tha rroorda In him offloe, tha oounty lurvr~or omnot ba oompellrb to praduoo thorn (without order of oourt) at a polnt out- al&a of h%a oiiloe, nor oan ho be ooepellatl to wlopt upf putioular prooeaa for making oooiea. Wo 80 ha16 wLth reapeot to the oounty olark ia Opinion ;;.,9;“7, oiting . . ., 156, ana ‘r.11. 164, 146 1.g. YQU ara rooorblngly atlrlaae that the oounty aur- tryor may not be eoaarllad (without order of oourt) to pi@- doer hia oitlaial reoorda at a point rsaotrd fro8 hla offloe In or&or that they aar bs phot6atatad bt an lntor- *ate& party. Your final guamtlon la an to tha awning of the phrase oontrlned In the fifth Item of Artiola 8944, suprai auwly, ‘Examination of paper8 and raamla la hla o?fioe at the raqueat of any person.;..... .85$.” You dealra to knov whether thlr phrrra oontmplataa a ire oi .E?bg for eaoh oxulnatloa, or, a fee of .26d tar the rumination of asoh oaper and arah robor&. ~o~rablo H. L. Washburn? Page 5 ;,rticle SZQE, Bernon*a ,wrotated Civil Statutea, read8 as Sbll0~8: *,$a~ p4r4on intometed, for hlnrself, or as agant or attorney of anothor,ahrll at all times have the right to eranina the bcokrr, papers, plats, naps Or othar arohiws balong- ing to the orrioe Of any surveyor, OLIthe payment of tha fee fixed hy 1aw.m of couxsa, the *fee fixed bg la* :s set forth in ArtlOla 3944, namalyt *~ga?pinatfon of papars and reeorda fn his off100 at the request of any person . . . . &2b#.* we have this ~mvlaion of ~rtlol0 oonoludad that 8044 authorizes tb0 aountg surv6yor to ohargo .S5$ tb each areon for aaoh examination ha may mrrk0of the roaorda ia iiit3 orfica. It does not authorlra a oharge or -.lW lor oaoh paper eraminab. This is Olearlr apparent when refer- anoa Is 1~66 to the aouroe of ;;014 3944; nSulJ, tha AOt of 1875, Chapter 164, p. EPS, r . There it was provided that the oountg eurvoeyor -ahall rsoelre the rouowiag hear qor @aOh axaalcatlon Of pzpara aud r0oora8 in his offioe, at the request OS any parson viahing to 0xmalttO thu, twenty-five oanta~ a * ** you ar0 sooor6lt@y 0dviaacI that &in&w Art1010 9044, supr4, the county surveyor Is 0ntltled to a tea of .E5# for sach axamlnation of th4 papsra and r0Oorda irr. hir ofi foe. Very truly yours APPRCSZSFEB 21, 1941 ATTORNEY G-L ATTORNEY GENXRAL Gp ~~~ Jm:emf