AN LTT ACR MADE AN INST APCH WITHOUT CURRENT WX AND A WX OBSERVER ON DUTY.

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WE WERE ON A VFR FLT PLAN INITIALLY; WITH VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AND FORECAST. AFTER TKOF FROM CNM; WE COULD SEE HOBBS CITY AND ARPT AS USUAL. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; BOTH DISAPPEARED. AS WE GOT NEARER; WE FOUND THAT THERE WAS A CLOUD LINE WHICH WAS ABOUT 3 MI WIDE AND AS LONG AS WE COULD SEE. AS WE DSNDED TO APPROX 1000 FT AGL; WE COULD EASILY SEE THAT THE VISIBILITY UNDER THE CLOUDS WAS EXCELLENT; JUST AS ELSEWHERE. WITH THE SITUATION WE HAD; WE COULD HAVE EASILY DUCKED UNDER THE CLOUDS AND GOTTEN IN VFR LEGALLY. INSTEAD; THE CAPT OPTED TO GET ON IFR CLRNC FROM ZFW AND SHOOT AN ILS RWY 3. BY OUR OPS MANUAL; THERE MUST BE A VISIBILITY RPT BEFORE WE CAN EXECUTE AN IFR APCH. I FEEL THAT THE LAST RPT MADE WHICH WAS ABOUT 2 HRS OLD IS PROBABLY TOO OLD TO SUFFICE. THE CAPT CLAIMS THAT OUR OBSERVATION IS LEGAL TO SUFFICE; AND I FEEL THAT IT SHOULD BE. HOWEVER; ANOTHER CAPT CLAIMS THAT THE PERSON OBSERVING THE VISIBILITY HAS TO BE CERTIFIED AS SUCH AND/OR A PART OF THE ATC SYS AND ON THE SURFACE; AND THAT WE THEREFORE MADE AN ILLEGAL APCH. WHO IS RIGHT? I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW SINCE IT IS DEFINITE POSSIBILITY THAT THE SITUATION COULD ARISE AGAIN. ADDITIONAL NOTES: HOBBS HAS A TWR; BUT IT WAS CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT. AFTER BREAKING OUT ON THE ILS; THE BASES WERE ABOUT 900 FT AGL; AND THIN ENOUGH THAT THE MOON WAS EASILY VISIBLE THROUGH THEM (ABOUT 2-300 FT). A VFR APCH COULD HAVE BEEN FLOWN WITH LESS THAN 1 TO 2 MI; BEING BELOW 1000 FT AGL IN A WELL KNOWN AREA AND VISIBILITY AFTER BREAKING THROUGH THE CLOUDS WAS ESTIMATED TO BE IN EXCESS OF 30 MI (PROBABLY 70 TO 100 MI). I CAN BE HARD TO REACH BY PHONE; SO PLEASE SEND A REPLY SOON.