Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1950 )

‘zT”mE ,-~?IlFToI-ix~ ~c?Tma-ERAL OE’ Ts:s,l.% itL%X-XX. TEXAS ZXY r>lc>-Tm.,I. hfarch 8, 1950 Hon. W. C. Hancock opinion Ho. v-1019. County Attorney Camp County Re: The disposition to be Plttsburg, Texas made of feea paid to a Justlce of the Peace for actfng a8 a local registrar of births Dsar Sir: and deaths. Your request for an opinion reads in part as follous: "Pittsburg,Texas is an incorporated town which eccordlng to the last federal census has a population Fn excess of 2,- 500, and Is located within the boundaries of Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 of Camp County, Texas. J. Tom Laney4s the duly qualified and acting Justice of the Peace of Preclnot 1. "The Justice of Peace of Precinct 1 has for years aoted as the recorder of births and deaths for the entire aountg. He was appoLnt8d by the State Department of Health as the 138C0rd8l, for the City of Plttsburg upon the recommendationand aon- flrmatlon of the mayor of the city of Pitts- .burg,Texas, and has ZWC8iV8d oompenaation as la provided for such services. . . "Inasmuch as the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 1 is acting as the local regis- trar in the city of Plttsburg by ViFtU8 of his appointment by the State Department of Health with the confirmationof the Mayor of said city, are the fees paid to hl.mfor such services, r8eS 0r orrice aa Justice of the Peaoe of Preclnot 1, and should they be reported on his annual r8port as such?" The State Comptroller informs us that the Jus- tices of the Peace 0r Camp County are compensated on a Hon. Y. C. Eanoook, page 2 (V-1019) r8e basis. Rule %a of Article 4477, V.C.3., provides: "That each loaal registrar Is hereby charged vith the strict and thorough en- foroement 0r the provisions 0r this Aot in his reglstratlondistrict, under the super- vision and direction of the state registrar. And he shall make an immediate report to the state registrar of any violation of this law coming to his knowledge,by observation or upon complaint of any person, or otherwise. "The atate.registraris hereby charged with th8 thorough,and efficient execution of the provisions of this eat la every part Or the State, and iS hereby granted Super- vtsory power over local registrars, deputy local zwglstrars,and subregistrars,to the end that all of its requlrementsshall be uniformly complied ulth. The state regls- trar, either personally or by an accredited representative,shall have authority to in- vestigate oases of irregularity or violation of law, and all registrars shall aid him, up- on request, in such investigatlona. When he shall deem It necessary, he shall report cases of violatlon 0r any of the provlslons of this Act to the county attormey, with a statement of th8 facts and CiPcumstances; and when any swh case is reported to him by the state registrar, the county attorney shall forthwlth initiate and promptly fol- low up the neceasarp oourt proceedings against the person or aorporation respon- sible for the alleged violation of law. And upon request of the state registrar, the sttorney gensral shall asslat In the en- forcement of the provision of this Act." Article 781a of Vernon's Penal Code provides in part: " . . . or (e) being a local registrar, deputy registrar, or subregistrar, shall fail, neglect, or refuse to perform his duty 8s r8quired by this Act and by the instruc- tions, and direction of the state registrar Hon. W. C. Hanccck, page3 (V-1019) thereunder, shell be deemed guilty of a mis- demeanor and upon conviction thereof shall for the rim offense be fined not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor more than fifty dol- lars ($50.00), and for each subs usnt of- fense not less than ten dollars 7( 10.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($lOO.OO),or be~lmprlsoned in the county jail not more than sixty daya, or be both fined and lmpri- soned." In view 0r the fozwgolng we assume that the ap- polntment by the Stat8 Health Department of the JustiCe 0r the Peace of Preclnat 1 as recorder 0r births and deaths for the City of Pittsburg was In pursuance of Rule 36a of Article 4477, V.C.S., which provides: "For the purposes of this Act the State shall bs divided lnto Primary Registration Dlstrlcts as follow: Each Justice of the Peace Preoinct and each lnoorporatedtovn of two thousand, fiV8 hundred (2,500) or more population, aocording to the last United States Census. shall constitute a Primarv R8gistratfonDistrict, rovided the State Board of Health may cornin8 two or more Reg- istration Dlstrlots. or may dlvlde a Primary i?egistrationDfXX&t Into-tvo or more parts, so as to facilitater8p;iStratiOn, and in the Justioe of the Peace PXWCinCt, the Justice of the Peace shall be Local Renlstrar. and In cE&es 0r two thousand, rive hundred (2,500) or more, according to the last United States Census reports, the City Clerk or City Secre- tary shall be the Local Registrar of Births and Deaths. "It Is hereby declared to be the duty of the Justice of the Peace in the Justice of the Peace Prectnct, and the City Clerk or City Secreterg in the city of two thou- sand, five hundred (2,500) or more popula- tion, to secure a complete record 0r each birth and death that occurs within their respectfve jurisdictions,and have same zw- corded In the County Clerk's office In their respective counties on or befOr8 the tenth 0r the rollowingmonth." (Emphasisadded) Hon.If.C. Hamock, page 4 (V-1019). In thla event It beoom88 the duty of the Jna- tic8 of the Pease of Precinct 1 to record said births and deatha Of the City of Plttsburg a8 We11 a~ those out- side the city 1lmit8. In other words, there has been a consolidationor combining of the two registration dls- trlots of which the Justice of the Peace has been desig- nated as the Looal Registrar of said district. It was stated In Attorney General Opinion No. o-1963 89 r0ii0w8: ?ie think it proper to here point out that the State Board of Health is given the right and authority to combine two or more registrationdistricts under the above quot- ed Rule 36a,which, If don8 by the Board would relieve one of th8 local registrars rromhis duties. This, however, Is a mat- ter resting solely within the discretion of the Board and in the absence of the exercise of such discretion a justice of the peace is required to serve." Article 38% of Vernon's Civil Statutes, which is applicableto county and precinct officers who are compensatedon a fee basis, provides In part: "The compensatl6p,llmltationsand maximums herein fixed shall also apply to all fees and compensationwhatsoever col- lected by said officers In their official iii!E%&;~:``~c,,~t~2: Betdf:: %, genera1 or special, to the contrary Is here- by expressly repealed. The only kind and character of compensationexempt from the provisions of this Act shall be rewards re- C8iV8d by Sherlfrs for spprehenslonof crlm- lnals or fugitives from .iustlceand for the recovery of stolen property, and moneys pe- celved by County Judges and Justices of the Peace for performlnu marriage ceremonies. which sum shall not be accountab18for and not required to b8 reported as fees of of- fice." (Emphasis added) In a letter opinion to Hon. Tom C. King, Stat-e Auditor, dated August 11, 1938,this offlce held that fe8S collected by a JUStiCe Of the Peace, compensated on Hon. W. C. Hancock, Page 5 (V-1019) a f88 basis, for acting as Registrar of Vital statistics are fees of office and acoountable as such. In view of the foregoing it is our opinion that all f88S COll8Ct8d by the Justice of the Peace of Pre- cinct No. 1 as Local Registrar of the City of Plttsburg should b8 reported and acoounted for In his annual re- port. SUMMARY Wh8r8 tV0 r8giStratiOn districts have b88n combined, the Justice Of the P8aC8 who has been designated as Local Registrar In such consolidated district should report and account for all fees collected by him as Local R8giStrar. Rule 36a,Art. 4477,and Art. 3891, V.C.S. Yours very truly, PRICE DANIEL APPROVED: Attorney General J. C. Davis, Jr. County Affairs Division Charles D. Mathews gxecutive Assistant Assistant BA:mv