Case Information
*1 599 . . OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN Honorable hanoia H. fienahaw
Sts te Librarian
Austin, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-7132
Your rsquest r
raoeived and considered
reads as follows:
torlaal~ com- o *discontinue ich microrilm five to thirty-five years and become unusufrble and irmplaoeable.
Honorable Franois 8. HenshaW, Page 2
“3. Microfilm saves more than nlnetg percept storage apaoe and is easily and fnex- pensively maintained and used -- bound newa- papers require large areas for storage and are e~~peneive to maintain and ditfioultto use. is lea8 expensive, “4. :.fiororilming oon-
sidering total coats, than binding. “In other words, mlorofilming and binding are essentially the same in purpose -- preser- vation of valuable material -- but mlarofihing is the uore desirable process.
Tunds to oarry out the authorizstlon should some fro@ either or both of the two f ollowlng socounts :
-1. Our aocount titled fBd.nding, repairs, for binding’. Beside payment for actual binding, this fund has been and ia being used for payment of salary of a book repairer who also prepares newspapers for binding.
“2. Our account titled ‘Gathering his- torioal data’. Besides payment ror historlaal material inoluding nlcrofilm, this fund has been and is being use& to purohase equipment neceaeaaary to uae said miorotilm.
“Would It be permissible to use either or ‘both of the above funds for the following
purposes :
“1. Furchase or miOr0rih oopies 0P news- pa,pers from publishers now microfilming their own lssuaa.
“2. Purohase’ of equ.ipment neoessary to nlaror.1l.m newspapers not now filmed by their pub.llshers.
“3. Salary of an operator to do suoh tiltnlng.
F&norable Pranals II. Henehaw, Peg 3
84ror0
we oaq anhwer your epsairla queetlone, It 1s neceasery firet. tc ooneider tha authcrity of the Teres Library eEd HlatcXifM bumiaeloo. 'ha Com$asfon Is oreated and b Title its owdrs rnd dutlre dCi.wd 89 of the Statutes P Actloles 54% - 5U6, ina. r The purpose df tha Couualssion Is stntrd la Art&lo 5435. to be to Vcntrol end ad~~ialotsr the State Library, adopt end rnfcroe roaeonabls rulss end reffulatione govnrning its adninintratlon and control, . . . pruaarve, olaas- ify and ,publish the ~mmtm~ript arohivsa and such other ;latters a8 it may desn prop8r." ;Irtlals 5440 author- lzss the Ucmisalon Co sleet a State Librarian, whom dutlss are defined by ArtLots $Ul. Those duties, aacordiJi& to the statut*, are 60 be exesoined *under the direatlon ot said &l?adsaiOA1'~. &I addition to the entsxerebad d!tlss, he la rrqulrsd to parfom *mbh other dn.ties 45 add Commission tray aeoign hlmwr ;Seo- tlcxi 3 of this statute &mvldsfi ins part as follcwrst
"3. EM shall endeavor to oolleat all rsoords'ralati?lg to @ha history msmscript . . . He shall andsavor to COP- or. Textw. pleta the tilea of the early Texas ,newi3- paperst~~h;~tsta Library; nt$+ the ourrent 4nd -P flies 0 not OaUSB I&n ten or the leadl.7e. ztewegap%rs or the
hss State and the current files of not lass than four lending nmapapem of other atetee, and of aa many county pepers, grofesslonal journals, denominational papers, e6riaultural. papas, trade jcurrmle and other gubliaetlons of thle Stete a5 my seaa neoosoary to preaerva in the ::tattJ ~Llbrarp ,on accurate record of t&a history ~of Texas.** (Sphaais ouru).
It is ths optnion of this EaFRrtnent that tha words %IUD~ to be bound” rneen “bind&q,* in the aonven- tions1 SsRno , snd will not p3mit the eubot:tution or Seation 3 of Artlole 5Ul was enscted in alorofltalng.
Honorable Franois H. Iienshaw, Page 4
1909 (Aots 1909, p. 122, Ch. 70) and the words used muat.be given the meaning as then used an8 understood.
bdi0r0rilmin~ ia a prooess of most reoent origin and obviously oould not have besn oontemplated by the Legislature at the time of enaotlng this seotion.
Furthermore, the Commission, sin06 the time of enaot- msnt, has oonstrued this provision to ,mean binding in book Sorm, and under the familiar rule of' law, long-oontinued pretatlon contemporaneous and practioal lnter-
of a statute by the offloers oharged with its adminletration will be given great weight in da- tsrminincJ the meaning of a statute. 2 Horack's Sutherland Statutory Construotion 512, Sea, 5103.
This opinion is strengthsned by the faot that the Legielature has oonsidared legislation neoes- sary~ to permit microfilming as a substitute for the maintananoa of the originals of oartaln reoords of the State Highway Department. (Acts 3.945, p. 57, Ch.39)
For ths reasons stated, it is our opinion that ths Commission has ex&eded its rule-making power in direotine, the disoontinuanoa of "binding" of the nswspapers required by Article 5441 to be kept and bound. The rule-making power does not include the making of rules In direot contravention of a statute.
It is our further opinion thst neither your account entitled nBinding,,repairs, for binding" nor the one entitled "Gathering hlstorioal data" oan be used ror any of the purposes Inquired about.
Yours vsry' truly Assiatent AL&films