Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF T’EXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable Burl Brittain
County Auditor
San PatrioAo County
sinton, Texas
DeartSir:
Your letter or ~qU'%!Sti~ th4 OiiB-
ion of this Qeprtment 0 tltit+l
tharoln readr
as followB:
6 we,46
eduOtlQns (h't 88Of3)
Honorable Burl Brittaln,Page 82
.* oan est for this olfloer for the year
194%!?
*3. Would this County had to hare had MOO1
or mom population in 1OsIzin order to
be govemod by ths provisions OS Art.
3ssg P. e and Art. aSo1 P. e now?"
Artiole 5888, Vernon*s Annotated Olvil Statutes,
provides In part:
*Exoept as otherwiseprovided in thi8 _
Aot, the annual iese that may be retiined by
preoinot, county and dirrtriotofflosw aim-
tioned in this Artlole shall be as folloWi:
In oountlea oontalningtwenty rive
(~3,o;J~j thousand.orless inhabftantar aount,
Judge, Dletrlat or Criminal Dletriot Attaiqey,
Sheriff, Count7 Glepk, Oountp Attorney, Ma-
trlot Clerk, Tax Collootor,Tax Asssasor, or
tha Asrsssor and Gollsotor of Tares, 'Rpstity-
four hundred (#PAOO.OO) Dollars aaoh; w . ."
Artibl.eSS1891,
Vernon*8 Annotate6 61+%1 &atatea,
provider in pa-1
“Eaoh efiioet named in thir Ohaptea ~@hall
first out of the current ises of hts offtee
pay or be id the -QUBt allowad h%m under
the provierens of &tiO%s Sg@M& ttbga%&er tiihh
the aaiarler 0~r bie aetaiutaqlaain& dsputl*8,
and authofized sxpense8 u&de& Art&al6 SSW,
and the amountneo~ssuery to ooiar oorts 0r
pmmua on titersr eurety bond may b+ riqnir-
sd by law. ~If the OtWlcr@IBf
ises oi.stiohCbfftOe
oollsotsd in anp rsati'bemore thaaths, -9-t
needed to p&y the amou@ts abwe SpeQifb&
same a&&l.bs dswd 6x60~8 fees, .iUid shwl
i;ddsposdd OS iB the mann6f harainaftsclr PSO-
.
"In oaunt~sa oontmtningtksntpfive thou+
sand (23,000) OE less fahabltante~,Distrlat
and Oounty~.ofiio~rn&ems6 harein shaX1 rstaia
one-third or suoh exw3t3 Zsss unttl suah 'one-
Honorable Burl Brlttain,Page 8
. * third, together with the amOuB46 apeoliied
in Artiole 5883 alaountsto ThreoThourand
Dollars (t3,OOOj. . . .-
Artlolo 39120, Seotlon 13, vemon*e Annotated
C&l1 Statutes, reads In part ae r0um8
*The Coi5lauloneru*Court ln oountieo
hating a population of twenty thousand
.~: (eO,OOO)lnhabltant~or nom, and 16~s than
one hundrsd.andninety thousanU jlQO,OOO)
InhabItant aooording to the laut preoeding _
Fedora1 %BSW, is hereby authorlzed'andif
shall be lta duty to fir the saXarlerr.ot
all the.followlngnamed M'floe~s, to-nit1
sheriff,ammmor and oollaotor of taxen,
county judge, county attorney, lnoludln&
0rimlnaL Uistrlot attorneye and oou&ty crtt
torneya who perrow the dutiee of dIetriot
attorneya; dilrtrlotclerk, aounty i?lerk;
treasurer,hiae and anIn& lnsepsotor.:’ Eaoh
of said offloere ohall be paid ln~momy on
annualoalaryintwelro (I.21squel inata&
nents .ofnot lesy than %he total qua M&+od
au oompensatlonbyeUm fn ,hiaci~fioiail~eq+
04qror th4 ilIMa years1935, and Bat m&i+
t&~them&lm~amount ilLowedeuoh off'%oer
tinderlami 'existingon Augumt 84, +?ati;+ a ."
On August 2& 1933, 6&e p&pulatl~& oi & Patti,010
County, %nrp, aoaordiag to the theo'Zaa&.preo~ding Federal
Conaua of 1930 *aa 23,fW lnhabltaata,, and at.,$hat time tho
maxImum aamant,.Woh the oounly judge -8 ent%tled to under
Article zass -xfn&*tlc&as891,~.Vsmaa~4:-~otated Civil Stat-
ute8, was the supsof '$S~OOQJMpet ~jW*,;:. ..
mde~'%he &iota lrtditsdia gouj~lattir,the total
Wunt OfSes``eii``84
'bythe OOU%ty JUdgS fOs~!%heY-r 1983
wall (aa&6a and an ex offlalo sa$aky M'$l,9,99;92reampaid
to the oauuty ju&s fok that year laalrl~@ a total of e3.662.43.
AHlols S896, VernontE Annotated ClliX StatUtSd,
* Omrt ircm allowing oompent3atlon
prohibits the UomaUi6iionszro
for BX offfafo aerviaes to county offleers where the oompen-
sation and exaeaa ieea whloh they are GJ.a;ad to Fetaln ohall
reaoh .them&&um provided for, .buOprovidss that whel% the
oompematlon and exoet)eteea .do not reaah euoh maximum, the
Honorable Burl Blttaln, Page 4
oourt shall allow compensationif in their judgment It Is neo-
s 'essary. This provlsloh it88ir authorless an ~+l.lowance
for
ex ofrloio servloes wlthln the limitation stated) payment
need not be author$xedby some other statute, (Voltmanv.
Slator, 217 S. H. 898; Texas Jurisprudence,Volume 34, page
546) The above mentions4 statute (ArtiolsZ$SOS)authorizes
the Commissloaer``Court to allow (111offloer oompenaatlan
for ex offloio ?ervloer provided that suoh ocimpensaflon,to-
gefher with the fses~r&alnad by him under the preosdlng
seotlons (Artlole21883and Art&ale 3S91, supra) does not
amount to more than the Umlt fixed by them. The oompeasa-
tlon so allowed is not to bs regarded as exoess fees of whloh
the officer oaa.moelve? only one-third,wheq hia total
Z,nvi&of the foregoing authorltiss~:aud the faotr
stated in your Letter, we answer the first~qu6j&~onstated
above in the *g;atlve.
XIIriply to your eeaond question,you are advlsed
that the mlnl#&um8a$ary of the oouuty,judga.forthe year
f94F.is $8,662.43,aad the maximinnsdtary tha$;ths Cmmlt~-
sion~ra~ Court uan '$Q* set for the oOUB%p :j@ge iOF ths
yaaf 1943 18.$3,000.00.
.... x8100~0tion with the foregofly;, ti atLl yo*
of ~Naoogdoohee OOtmty V. WladeF, 110
attention,Cotbe~:oase
5. W. (I&K)
978 f~lt’refuued] xyferrlag te Seotioa @ of
Artlole 89128 a&Artlola '$891,Vernon*8 Aamtated Qlvil
Statutes, where ltnas sa%dr
Tbder the statutes the salarjr4f.@q
oounty olerk of Nao. do&es Gogoty'wasgoa+sm-
ed by the pllalsrpn
oa
x-3 earno& La ~XQSS,~arid
the ma&mm salary'& $15SOq?fJ0.w
With r~eferennoi
t&the t&d q&&Ian rtat,b~abuvs, ;
in view of the &bore mMM.oned authorities8&b t&s faOt8
stated, we respsotful.1~answer the 8sms in thhess$iiwivs.