It is the duty of the Secretary of State:

(1) To keep the state seal, the original statutes and public records of the state and the records and papers belonging to the Legislature, keeping the papers of each house separate.

(2) To attest commissions and all other public documents from the executive of the state and, when necessary, to affix the seal of the state thereto and to certify the same in his official capacity.

(3) To record, in books proper for that purpose, all grants and patents issued by the state.

(4) To keep all books, maps and other papers appertaining to the survey of lands belonging to the state and the books and papers belonging to the land office.

(5) To keep in his office the books, maps and field notes of the late surveyor general of the United States for this state which are public archives of the state and, upon application, to give certified copies of the same, which shall be received in evidence in any of the courts of this state.

(6) To certify, on application and the payment of lawful fees, copies of all records, grants, papers and laws of the several states or of the United States.

(7) To make annually, by September 30, a verified and itemized account of all money and fees received in his office and of all payments and disbursements made by him, which must be reported to and filed with the Governor, and by him must be transmitted to the next succeeding Legislature.

(8) To give notice to the district attorneys of the respective circuits or counties of all officers who fail to file their bonds in his office, or make returns of elections within the time prescribed.

(9) To procure the acts and resolutions of the Legislature, of which distribution is directed, to be half bound and lettered.

(10) To receive from the state printer 10 additional copies of all bills, joint resolutions and memorials printed by order of either house of the Legislature and, on the adjournment of each session of the Legislature, to have one of each of such copies bound together in a cheap form and file them and the copies not bound in his office.

(11) On entering into the contract provided for in Section 11-3-25, to furnish to the county commissions, from the records now in his office, exact copies of the field notes of the original surveys of all the lands in their respective counties, which shall be books of proper size to be supplied by such courts, at the close of which he shall append his certificate as to the correctness thereof under the Great Seal of the State.

(12) To procure from the general land office in Washington, D.C., complete lists of the entries of public lands in Alabama, so as to be enabled to complete the Alabama state tract books in his office to date, the expense attending the procurement of which to be paid upon his certificate to the Comptroller, or who shall draw a warrant on the Treasurer.

(13) To procure lists of entries of public lands in this state annually, so as to comply with the following subdivision of this section, the expense to be paid as provided in the preceding subdivision.

(14) To enter on the tract books, by October 1 of each year, a list of all the lands (not already so entered) sold by the United States, and to make out and furnish each probate judge, by January 1 of each year, a register or statement showing all the lands so sold in the county of such judge and not embraced in any register or statement previously furnished.

(15) To file all deeds or leases heretofore given or which may be hereafter given conveying real property to the State of Alabama, or any of its departments, agencies, commissions, boards, institutions or public corporations brought into existence by act of the Legislature, except tax sales deeds, in the office of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall promptly record the deeds so filed in his office by writing, typewriting or by photostat, and shall preserve the deeds as recorded in a well-bound book. The Secretary of State shall be required to furnish a certified copy of all deeds filed for record in his office to any department, agency, commission, board, institution or public corporation created by act of the Legislature, when any such department, agency, commission, board, institution or public corporation formed or created by act of the Legislature desires a certified copy of such deed.

(16) To perform such other duties as he is or may be required by law to perform.

(17) To implement a central filing system that complies with regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture pertaining to central filing of liens on farm products.

Before entering upon his duties of office, the Secretary of State shall execute to the state of Alabama a bond, to be approved by the governor, in the amount of $10, 000.00, for the faithful performance of his duties.

The Secretary of State shall charge the person for whom the service is rendered the following fees:

(1) For reproducing any law or other material where the copy is desired, $1.00 per page, and for the annexation of the seal of the state, $1.50.

(2) For any certificate and the annexation of the seal of the state, $5.00.

(3) For the preparation of each set of field notes, $1.00, and for the annexation of the seal of the state, $1.50.

The Secretary of State has the charge of all the books owned and kept for sale by the state and it is his duty to sell the same. He is liable upon his official bond for failure of any of the duties imposed in selling the same and for failure to pay over the money received therefor.

The Secretary of State may dispose of, at public or private sale, in such quantities and at such price as may be deemed most expedient, all acts, journals, codes, department reports and all other books in his custody, excepting the codes of 1975; provided, that 10 copies of each series of the acts, 10 copies of the journal of each session of the House and Senate and 10 copies of the codes issued prior to 1975 shall be preserved and kept in the custody of the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State must, at the commencement of his term of office, file in the Governor*s office a list of such books as come into his possession for sale and must, at the end of every quarter of such term, return to the Director of Finance a certified statement showing the number and description of books sold and the amount of money received therefor at prices fixed upon such books and pay the same to the Treasury for the use of the state.

The Secretary of State must keep in his office a book in which shall be entered an account of books sold and money paid over.

At the end of his term of office or his resignation, the Secretary of State must file, in the office of the Governor, a full statement of the books sold and remaining on hand, to be turned over to his successor, and is liable on his bond for failure to comply with the requirements of this section and Sections 36-14-4 through 36-14-8.

The receipt of the doorkeeper of the Senate or House of Representatives is a sufficient voucher for the Secretary of State for each book so receipted for, and a receipt of a member of either house to the doorkeeper thereof is a sufficient voucher for the doorkeeper.

The Secretary of State shall retain for the use of the executive offices and the two houses of the Legislature the number of copies of all volumes of the acts and resolutions of each session necessary to provide for distribution pursuant to law. The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Department of State of the United States two copies of each volume, and distribute to the Governor, Treasurer, Auditor, Superintendent of Education, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, State Health Officer, Adjutant General, the Board of Corrections, President and each Associate Commissioner of the Public Service Commission, Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Revenue, Clerk of the Supreme Court, Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives two copies of each volume, to the Attorney General and Secretary of State, three copies, to the Department of Archives and History, five copies, to the Chief Examiner of the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, 40 copies, and to the President of the University of Alabama, for the law department, 8 copies of each volume, and to each judge of the Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals, circuit court, district attorney, United States District Judge, and United States Attorney in this state one copy of each volume, and to the Supreme Court Library 11 copies of each volume, and to the Department of Justice of the United States one copy of each volume, and to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit one copy of each volume, and to the Librarian of Congress at Washington, for the purpose of copyright, two copies of each volume, and to the University of Alabama, for the Land Commissioner, the University of Montevallo, each normal school in the state, Auburn University, and to each district agricultural school in the state one copy of each volume. Any department, officer, or court named in this section may reduce or refuse the allocation of acts upon written request to the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State is hereby authorized and directed to furnish to the Library of Congress, for the Division of Documents, eight copies of the general and local laws of the State of Alabama for each session.

The Secretary of State must also transmit to the chairman of the county commission and the judges of probate of each county, for such judge, each member of the Legislature, clerk of any court of record, sheriff and register of the circuit court, one copy of each volume. The remaining copies must be sold as other books and documents, the property of the state, at a price to be established by the Secretary of State, and the proceeds thereof paid into the treasury.

Whenever any of the books furnished by the state to the judicial officers thereof have been destroyed without fault on their part, or on the part of their predecessors in office, the Secretary of State shall furnish to the incumbents duplicate copies, if in the possession of the state and not required for use by the state or otherwise appropriated, but before he shall do so, the Secretary of State shall be satisfied, by affidavit or other evidence, that such books were destroyed without fault on the part of such officers or their predecessors.

(a) The Secretary of State may cause any record, document, plat, file, book, map, paper or other writing made, acquired or received as required by law to be photographed or microphotographed on plate or film. Such photographs, microfilms or prints made therefrom, when duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, shall have the same force and effect at law as the original record or of a record made by any other legally authorized means and may be offered in like manner and shall be received in evidence in any court where such original record, or record made by other legally authorized means, could have been introduced and received.

(b) The Secretary of State may buy or lease photographic or microphotographic equipment and supplies necessary to carry out the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

The Secretary of State is hereby authorized to hire, without regard to the state Merit System law, one additional employee who shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of State. The position shall be an executive assistant position with duties assigned by the Secretary of State with a salary range of $29,068.00 to $44,070.00. For purposes of pay and employment benefits, rights and privileges, the said additional employee shall be treated as if he or she is an employee of the state.