,.& -
-
’ .’
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
.. Honorible R. 0.. Neavee
County Auditor ,. Grayson County
Sheman,. Te,xaa ,~.
Dear Sir:
,’ ” I
"3. What would be the statub or'notary rees
colleoted by a person for 'admlnlstering ,oaths under ,.
Xridavit 'A or, .Arriaavit B, in regard 'to gnregis-i
.tereU births, when such 'person is a du,ly sppointeq
~~
notary publio ahd at the same time' ,is holdlng ,t& 1'.
:position 0r ruu tiim deputy douaypoh3rk?.* : ‘~ ,~ .~
”
,.
Roaorable’R. r;. Neavos, page 2
When an: application is maa6 to rile an unregis-
tered birth under the provisions 0r Rule 5lA, Article 4477,
Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, a fee or One Dollar ($1.00)
shall be ‘collected by the probate Court, fifty cents of whioh
shall- be retained by the court, ati dirty oents or vhioh shall
’ be retained by the clerk et the County Court for recording suib :.
birth or death oert if io~ate. The roregolng statute makes no
provision for oonpensatlng the County Clerk ror administering
the oath for either of the afridavits mentioned in your inquiry.
Rowever, Article 3933, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, pro-
vldes, In pa-t:
*Clerks of the County Court shall reoeive
the r0ii0whg rees:
11* * * ‘.
WAdminlsterlng oath with oertifloate
‘and seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...*.... ,$ .25
I.
n* * *n
Section 5 of Article 3912e, Vernon’s’ Annotated Civil
Statutes, provides:
“It shall be the duty 0r all officers to
charge and collect in the manner aut borized by law
all fees and commissions which are permitted by
law to be assessed and collected for all Official
service performed by them. As and when suoh fees
are.collected thsy~shall be deposited in the Orricers’
Salary Fund, or’runds provided in this Act. In event
the Commissioncrst Court rinds t&t th3 failure to
collect any fee or co;l~lllssion was due to neglect on
the part of’ thz officer oharged with the responsibility
or collecting same, the ainount of such ree or conunis-
sion shall be deducted from t?he salary or such orflcer.
Before any such deduction is made, the Commlssioners~
court shall rurnish such officer with an itemized
statement of the uncollected fees with which his
account Is to be elm rged, and shall notify such ot-
ricer 0r the time and place for a hsaring on same,
to ,determine whether suoh officer was guilty or
negligence, which time for huarlng shall ‘be at least
Honorable R. C. Neaves,‘p>ge 3
,~.ten days subsequent to t,he date of not ice. Un-
less an officer is oh.irged by law with .the re-
sponsibility of oolleoting roes, the CommleslonersV
Court shall not in any event make any aed~uotions
from the authorized salary of suoh ,ofrioer.*
In view oi the foregoing statutes, you are re-
spectfully advised that the County Clerk or Deputy County
Clerk administering the oath, under “Afiidavit ‘A,” or WAffidavit
B” is legally authorized to charge a tee of twenty-rive cents
ror eaoh airidavit and under Section 5 or xrticls 39120, supra,
it is .,the duty or su’ch County Clerk or Deputy County Clerk to
collect such fee and deposit the 88.me in the Otfloers’ Salary
Fund 0r the county.
In answer to your second qtiestion, you are advised
that It is our opinion that the Count.y Clerk would be liable to
the County for the fee or commission he railed to oolleot due .t.o
neglect on the part of said officer who is charged with the re-
sponsibility or collecting the saxo, and that such See could be
withheld from his salary as authorized by Section 5, Article
39120, supra, provided that such officer due to negleot failed,
to collect said fee or ooZ~isslon and the required notice was
given him according to said Section 5 of Article 39120, supra.
With reference to your third question, you are
respjotfully advised that this department has repeatedly~ held
that the offices of Bputy County Clerk and Notary Public are
incompatible . Therelore, one could not serve as deputy oounty
clerk and notary publio at the same time, Therefore, you are
respectfully advised that the Deputy County Clerk mentioned in
your inquiry oannot be a notary pub110 during the time he is a
Deputy.County Clerk, and .would not be authorized to act as a
notary pub110 or collect any tees whatsoever when, and if at-
tempting to act as a notary publio ‘when in iact suoh person
is a Deputy County Clerk.
Yours, very truly
.
ATTORNEY
GENERALOF TMhS
‘, By .&&i&4 LJ!-+
Ardeli Williams
ATTORWXY
GkFXRAIOF !2ExA5 Assistant
AW:Ep