Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1966 )


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  • Honorable Robert S. Calvert   Opinion No. C-680
    Comptrollerof Public Accounts
    Austin, Texas                 Re: Under Art. 35.27,
    Vernon's Code of
    Criminal Procedure,
    when no funds have
    been appropriatedfor
    witness fees, what
    will constitute a
    filing with the Comp-
    troller of a claim
    for witness fees and
    Dear Sir:                          related questions;
    You recently requested an opinion of this Office
    concerning an interpretationof Attorney General's Opln-
    ion Number C-637 (1966), wherein this office held that
    witness fee bills must be flied with the Comptroller of
    Public Accounts within 12 months from the due and pay-
    able date. Concerning the same you ask the following
    questions:
    "Please advise me 8s to what is
    necessary in this instance to consti-
    tute a filing by the witness, If the
    wltness fee bill is submitted to this
    department and received by this depart-
    ment and docketed and then returned to
    the witness or his assignee, would this
    constitute a filing of the fee bill?
    And if so, could the witness fee bill
    be legally paid if money were approprl-
    ated at a much later date, or at least
    more than twelve months elapses between
    the filing of the fee bill and the time
    that an appropriationbe made for its
    payment? Or, should this department
    maintain such fee bills on file in this
    department?"
    It is the opinion of this office that a witness
    fee bill is filed when the same reaches the office of
    the Comptroller of Public Accounts for the purpose of
    being filed. It is a well-establishedrule in this State
    -3271-
    Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (c-680 )
    that an instrument Is considered to be filed when it is
    placed in the hands of the proper officer for such pur-
    pose. Thomas v. Farrls, 
    132 S.W.2d 435
    (Tex.Civ.App.
    1939, error dism. judgm. car.) Civil Service Commission
    of City of Lufkin v. Crager, 
    364 S.W.2d 361
    (Tex.Civ.App.
    lgb4, error ref. n.r.e.)
    Therefore, when a witness fee bill is submitted
    to the Department of the Comptrollerof Public Accounts
    and received by the Comptrollerof Public Accounts and
    docketed and then returned to the witness or his asslg-
    nee, the same would constitutea filing. Whether It
    would be advisable to maintain such witness fee bills
    on file in the office of the Comptrollerof Public fit-
    counts, Is an administrativematter, to be determined
    by your office.
    The second portion of your question concerns
    whether or not a witness fee bill can be legally paid
    if the money to pay the same were appropriatedmore than
    twelve months after the filing of the witness fee bill.
    It Is the opinion of this office that the State of Texas
    is obligated to pay witness fees when the same are filed
    within twelve months of the due and payable date with
    the Comptrollerof Public Accounts. The date upon which
    the appropriationls made does not affeot the obligation.
    SUMMARY
    A witness fee bill Is consideredas
    being filed when it reaches the office of
    the Comptroller of Public Accounts for that
    purpose.
    Witness fees can be lagally paid even
    though the money to pay the same is appro-
    priated more than twelve months after the
    witness fee bill is filed with the Comp-
    troller of Public Accounts.
    Yours very truly,
    WAGGONER CARR
    Attorney ffeneralof Texas
    By:
    THOMAS
    THOMAS w. MACK
    MACK
    TWM/er                           Assistant Attorney General
    -Z’72-
    Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 3 (C-580 )
    APPROVED:
    OPINION CONMITTEE
    W. V. Geppert, Chairman
    Douglas Chilton
    Pat Bailey
    Gilbert Pena
    Robert Norris
    APPROVED FOR TRE ATTORNEX GENERAL
    By: T. B, Wright
    -3273-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: C-680

Judges: Waggoner Carr

Filed Date: 7/2/1966

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017