Did Texas's letter-size paper purchasing rule for state agencies apply to courts, district clerks, and county clerks?

Texas AG Opinion JM-488: Letter-Size Paper and the Judiciary

Plain-English summary

The statute prohibited a state agency from buying most paper supplies larger than 8½ by 11 inches and from buying filing cabinets designed for larger completed documents. The question was whether that rule included district courts, county clerks, and district clerks. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

JM-488 read state agency narrowly. It said the statutory terms "board, commission, department, institution, office" generally described administrative agencies in the executive branch. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

The opinion concluded that article 6252-6c "does not apply to the judicial branch of government" and that district courts and district and county clerks were not subject to its paper and filing-cabinet limits. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1986. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Were courts state agencies under this paper-purchasing statute?

No. JM-488 said state agency in article 6252-6c included only executive-branch agencies. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Did the rule apply to district and county clerks?

No. The opinion specifically excluded district court clerks and county clerks from the statute's restrictions. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Why did the fiscal note matter?

JM-488 observed that counties paid many court and clerk office-supply costs, but the bill's fiscal note reported no fiscal effect on local governments. The opinion treated that as support for excluding the judicial branch. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Background and statutory framework

Article 6252-6c defined state agency as a board, commission, department, institution, office, or other agency of state government and expressly included institutions of higher education. JM-488 treated that wording as narrower than every entity that could loosely be called an agency of the state. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

The opinion also reviewed statutes placing the cost of stationery and office supplies for clerks and some judicial offices on county commissioners courts. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Citations and references

• article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S.
• Education Code section 61.003
• article 3899b, sections 1 and 2, V.T.C.S.
• article 3930(c), V.T.C.S.
• Government Code section 74.003
• National Surety Corporation v. Friendswood Independent School District, 433 S.W.2d 690, 694 (Tex. 1968)
• Foley v. Benedict, 55 S.W.2d 805, 808 (Tex. 1932)
• District Judges of the 188th Judicial District v. County Judge, 657 S.W.2d 908, 909 (Tex. App. - Texarkana 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.)

Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-0488
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0488.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF via OCR. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

The Attorney General of Texas

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General

April 28, 1986

Honorable Kent A. Caperton
Chairman
Committee on Criminal Justice
Texas State Senate
P. O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. JM-488

Re: Whether article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., which requires state agencies to use letter-size paper, applies to the judiciary

Dear Senator Caperton:

You ask whether article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., which prohibits state agencies from purchasing paper supplies that exceed 8½ by 11 inches in size, applies to the courts of this state. This statute, enacted as House Bill No. 756 by the Sixty-ninth Legislature, provides in part:

Sec. 1. In this Act, "state agency" means a board, commission, department, institution, office, or other agency of the state government and an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.

Sec. 2. (a) A state agency may not purchase forms, bond paper, stationery, pads, or similar paper supplies that exceed 8½ inches by 11 inches in size.

(b) A state agency may not purchase filing cabinets that are designed to store completed documents that exceed 8½ inches by 11 inches in size.

(c) This section does not prohibit the purchase or use of forms or paper supplies that exceed 8½ inches by 11 inches in size if those forms or paper supplies are used: [exceptions for specific kinds of documents not relevant]. (Emphasis added.)

You point out that the judiciary is not expressly excepted from article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., and ask whether district courts, county clerks, and district clerks are within the definition of "state agency."

In our opinion, a "state agency" within article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., includes only agencies in the executive branch of state government. The phrase "agency of the state" can be construed broadly to encompass courts and political subdivisions. See, e.g., National Surety Corporation v. Friendswood Independent School District, 433 S.W.2d 690, 694 (Tex. 1968) (school districts are state agencies created to administer public school system); Attorney General Opinion M-1266 (1972) (Mental Health Mental Retardation Community Centers are "agencies of the state" but not "state agencies"). The definition of "state agency" in section 1 of article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., shows that the term is used in a narrow sense. The terms it uses, "board, commission, department, institution, office," generally apply to administrative agencies in the executive branch of government. See, e.g., V.T.C.S. arts. 1396-2.23B; 6252-11c; 6252-13a; Attorney General Opinion M-1266 (1972). The express inclusion of "institutions of higher education" suggests that "state agency" or "other agency of the state government" would otherwise not encompass colleges and universities even though these institutions are in the executive branch of state government. See Foley v. Benedict, 55 S.W.2d 805, 808 (Tex. 1932); Letter Advisory No. 22 (1973). In our opinion, article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., does not apply to instrumentalities of government within the judicial branch. District courts, and district and county court clerks are not subject to its prohibitions against purchasing paper supplies and filing cabinets in excess of the prescribed size.

The Fiscal Note attached to House Bill No. 756 supports our conclusions. Fiscal Note of May 21, 1985, Bill File for H.B. No. 756, Legislative Reference Library. It states that the change from legal-size to letter-size paper would have fiscal implications on those agencies that may need to convert forms designed on legal-size paper. It found no fiscal implications to units of local government.

If, however, district courts and county and district clerks were subject to article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., county finances would probably be affected. The commissioners court pays for the stationery and office supplies of district and county clerks. V.T.C.S. art. 3899b, § 1; see also V.T.C.S. art. 3930(c) (pages of document filed with county clerk must not exceed 8½ inches by 14 inches). The commissioners court also has discretion to furnish "offices and stationery and blanks necessary in the performance of their duties" to resident district judges. V.T.C.S. art. 3899b, § 2; Attorney General Opinion O-3899 (1941). The counties composing an administrative judicial district are required to pay part of the expense incurred by the district in carrying out its duties. Government Code § 74.003; see also District Judges of the 188th Judicial District v. County Judge, 657 S.W.2d 908, 909 (Tex. App. - Texarkana 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.). If the legislature intended House Bill No. 756 to apply to the judicial branch of government, some fiscal consequences for the counties would probably have been mentioned in the fiscal note.

We conclude that the judicial branch of Texas is not subject to article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., and that district courts, district court clerks, and county clerks are not subject to it. But see Supreme Court Order Relating to Preparation of Statement of Facts (July 11, 1977), at Tex. R. Civ. Proc. 377 (statement of facts must be prepared on 8½ by 11 inch paper).

SUMMARY

Article 6252-6c, V.T.C.S., which prohibits state agencies from purchasing paper supplies that exceed 8½ inches by 11 inches in size, does not apply to the judicial branch of government.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

JACK HIGHTOWER
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

ROBERT GRAY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Susan Garrison
Assistant Attorney General