OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Bonorablo Baooom Qires
Oodosloner , Oeneral Land Ofi+oe
Austin, Texas
f tho Aot makes provision for the
0x1s to purohose or lease land olaineil
g other thin&s, Yootion 1 (0) provides
plioation to purchase or laaoe shall
loant *dosires to purohase or lease
visions of this dot.” The aama seotion
further provides as follo~tr
=Tha~commlssioner shall notify the appli-
oant by letter of the astirnate of the oost of
prooaedings under tho appl.ioation, and, within.
thirty (30) days aftor tho date of siroh letter;
the applicant shall make. a deposit with the Cam-
missionor to oover oosts of all work whioh.gay
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Honorable Beeoom Oiles, Page 2
be nooaosary in order to .oomply wfth the request
oontained in suoh applloation.”
It is rurther provided that8
*The doposlts provided for in thio seotiox
shall ba a speoial trust fund to be usod only
for the purposes authorized by this hot..*
Seotion 1 (01 further providcar
Dopon tiling of any suoh appllotitidn with
tho Comisoloner and upon the making of tho re-
quirod &posit as provided fOr horain, the Com-
mianionor shall forthvilth ocus3 a notice of ln-
tention to survey to.bo mailed to’all parsons
named in the applloation as interastod ptirsons,
and at the addroosos .given thoroin and to tho
Attornoy Goneral of Texoa. Tho no&ooo &hdll’ba
depoolted in the Pos.t Offioo at Austin, Texas, at
least ten (10) days prior to the date .fixod for
the’bo(iinning of suoh survey.”
You stato thot an~applloation.tq leoso, oorta%n
aXlegod vaoont. land under the provlniond. tW’3lbusb Bill 9
iLas been.ill6d ln your oSfioo,and.thst suoh applloatlon
oontdlns a’llot of approxin;tely 2700 intorontod parties.
You thon roquoot our opinion upon the follovrti speoifio
Que~tiona s
“1. Is the oost of preparing’ nnd nalline
snid notiooa e par$ OS tho ‘costs of all work
which may be noconssry in.ordor to oomply with
the rsqu&t oontalnod in ouoh applioation”,
which ohould ba inoludod in the estimate mailed
to the applioant?
*‘xi you have anewerod the question in the. af-
fQ?matlvo, thonr
mi?. Doos~ tho Commissionor of the Gonol*al
Land Offioo have the authority to e&lby’% titeno-
graphar .to propa~ro and ma~il sa$d notlcos and to
pay ouoh a stenographor out or the money doposited
by tho applioant to cover fho o.osta .of proooodlng
,mder his applioation?W
64,
Xonorable Basoom’Oiles, Page 3
Inasmuoh as Sootion 1 (0) of Houso Bill 9 ro-
quires the Commissioner upon the nnkinl: of tho required
deposit to “forthwith oause a notico of intention to
.suriroy.t.o bo msllod to all persons named in the applloa-
fion as interosted partlesv, we, thorefore; are of the
opinion that the preparation and malllnG of such notices
la “work which may be nooessary in order to oomply with the
request oontalned in suoh applioation.&J~o~~~e,Blll 9
%peolfioally provides the steps nhioh shall be token by
the Commlssloner of tho Oeneral Land Office upon the
flline with him of an applloatlon to purohdoe or loase
an alleged vnoonoy. One of those atcps is the mailing
of notices to ‘all persona nomod in tho applioatlon as
‘Interested persons. AooordlnSly,, in our opinion, It la
olear that the cost oi preparlng and molllng the notioos
required by the aot is a oost whloh may properly be in-
oluded by the Commissioner lnpaklng up his ostlmate of
the Woost of proceeding under the aypllootionW. The first
quostlon oontained in your letter ia, ;therePoro,. answered
in the affirmative.
In. an8i’;‘er ‘to the sooond question oontalned in
your letter, you am advioed.thot, in our opinion, the
Commissioner of tho General Land Offioa does havo the
authority to employ a stenographer to’propare and nail
the notioes referred to and to pay such stcnoSrapher out
of monoy doposited by the applioant as eforosoid, provided,
however, that the ordinary otenoSraphiti~:force roGular1.p
employed by the General Land Offioe Is ‘ifiaufrldlent to
prepare and mail said notices with reasonable dlapatoh.
“e do not believe that It was the purpone of nouae Bill
9 to authorize tho employment of a speoial otenoerdphor
.upon the $ilinS of each appllootlon to purchase or’ loose
a vaoanoy without repard to the number of lnterestod per-
sons named in the application. However., in the lnstanoe
roferrcd to in your letter, the lntorestod porsoua number
2700. If the preparation and~mailinS of notices to the
2700 persons namod In the appliontlon in quoetion would
neoessitate the employment of a stenographer in order to
have suoh notloas propared.and mailed with reoaonnble- dls-
patoh, It is our opinion that you cm authorized ~to employ
a stenoSrapher.for that purpose and to pay suoh BtenoSrapher,
out of the speolel trust fund depo.aited,by the applioant,
Honorable Basoom Gflerr, Page 4
the aotual and reasonable amount ohareed by tie steno-
grapher for suoh work, i
Your8 very truly