Your letter.of July 21,'19!!1,. requests the opinion of this department regarding House Blll,No. 821 of the 47th Legislature. You ask: ,.

"Is It necessary by the.provlslons of- these two amendments that both the Justice of the Peace and County Clerk, each keep a bound volume of birth and death certificates? .' Or

"Would It be permlssable for the County Clerk tom file her copies of birth and~death certlSlcaLes in alphabetical order instead of transcribing them Into a bound record?" The duties oS,a justice of the peace as the local registrar, and of the county clerk who receives copies of birth and death certificates for recordatlon are undhanged by House Bill No. 821.

Under Rule, 52a of Article 4477, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, each local registrar 1s required to "make a complete and accurate copy of each birth and each death. certlSlcate.reglsteredby him In a record book supplied In accordance with the provisions of Section 18 of this Act, to be preserved permanently In his office as the local record, In such manner as directed by the state registrar, or In the event that local ordinances require that all ye- ports of births and deaths be made in duplicate, he may permanently bind the duplicate reports and index them,ln the manner prescribed in Section 18 for the state regi&ir." *2 Honorable W. ‘M. Tucker, Page 2

HouQe Bill No. 821 makes no ohange In thl0 requirement of a justloe of’ the peaoe serving as the local registrar.

As to the oounty olerk, .the requirement In House Bill No. 821 is that the certltioates be “reoorded In the county olerk’b office In their respeatlve oounties on or before th,e tenth of the following month,” Again the language Is used “and’shall be deposited in the county olerti’s offloe. ing and preserving suoh reoords, such oompensatlon aa may be The county clerk ahall be paid for index- a reed upon by the commiselonere~ court.” (Rule 53a, Article 4$77).

Rule 51a of Artlole 4477 supra, as amended by the 46th Legislature (Acts 1939, P. 346), provides that “each county shall print and supply the County Clerk with perman- ent record books, in form approved by the State Registrar, for the recording of all births and deatha occurring within their respective jurisdictions’. The State Registrar shall prepare and issue such detailed Instructions as may be required to procure the uniform observance of Its pro- visions and the maintenance of. a perfect aystem of reglstra- tlon; and no other forma shall be used than those approved by the State Department of Health.

In Opinion No. O-3748, this department held that “considering the two provisions of Article 4477, quoted above, it Is apparent that it was contemplated by the Legislature that eaah county clerk should file, Index and record in full a oopy of eaqh birth,and death aertlflcate deposited In his offloe by the commlssloners~ court In the permanent reoord ~books, in form approved by the State Registrar, for the recording of all births and deaths. occurrlng wlthln their respective jurisdictions.”

Yours very truly GERALD C. MANN A’M’ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS APPROVED AUG..l, 1941 S/ Grover Seilers ”

Grover Sellers By S/ ZolJle C. Steakley FIRST ASSISTANT ATlVRNEY OENERAL Zollle C. Steskley Assistant ZCS : eaw

APPROVgU :

OPINION COMMI’FPZR

By* B.W.B. CHAIIRMAN ’