Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS
AUSTIN
GCULD C. MANN
.-“” ..*UIL
Honorable C. J. Vllds
Co'untyAuditor
Xueces County
Corpus Chrlatl,
Dear Slrx
Your request following ques-
ticnsr
e of marking
ossor-Colleo-
d the taking of
y Tax kaaessnrs by
lolatlon ai Sootion
farring tc oountles
00.00 per annum?
d your answer to QUr?StiOn number 1
the employees did not teke an
T3. Would the paynent for ovortlme to e1p-
ployoea who sra drawing the maxlmm salary al-
lowed under Sectloa 3 of Artlola 3902 be a
violation of that Artlola?*
Artlols 3902# Revised Civil Statutes of Texas,
in part, reads as follows:
Honorable C. J. Wilde, Page 2
Whenever any district, counte or nroo!nct
officer shall require tho services of deputies,
asslstnnts or olerks in the nerformanoe of his
duties he shall apply to the County Covmlsslcnars*
Court of his county for authority to appoint euch
deputies, assistants or olerks, stating by sworn
application the number needed, the position to be
filled and the amount to be paid. Said applloa-
tlon shall be accompanied by a statezent sbowlng
the probable rocelpts from fees, aommlsslons -and
oo-Apensatlonto be oolleoted by said office dur-
in3 the fiscal year and the probable disbursements
whloh shall lnolude all salaries and oxponsas of
said oftloe; and said court shall make its order
nuthorlzlng the appointment of such deputfes,
assistants and clerks and fir the compensation
to be paid the.mwithin the llmitat6ons herein
prescribed and determine the nuzbor to be appolnt-
ed as inthe dlscretlcn of said court may bo proper;
prorldcd tbst in no case shall the Coms&sloners*
Court or any mczber thereof sttezpt to influence
the aorointzientof any person as deouty, assistant
or clerk in any office. Upon the entry of suoh
order the officers applying for such asslGtants,
deputies or clerks shall be authorized to appoint
them; provided that said compensation shall not
exceed the maxlmun amount heroinafter set out.
The oompensatlon which may be allowed to the deputies,
as?istants or clerks above named for their services.
shall be a reasonable one not to exceed the iollow-
lng amounts: . . . . (Underscoring ours)
Yn counties having a population of thlrty-
seven tbousond five hundred and one (37,501) and not
core thon sixty thousand (60,000) lnhabltonts, first
assistant or cblef deputy not to exceed Twenty-one
Hundred ($2100.00) Dollars per annum; other assistants,
8e2uties or clerks not to exoeed Eighteen Iiundrod
($lSOO.OO) Dollars per annui eaoh. Provided that
nothing in this Act shall be oonstrued as repealing
or affeotlng Section 2 of R. B. NO. 694, Chapter 315,
Acts 1935, Forty-fourth Legislature, page 724. . . .*
The population of Nuaces County. Texas, aooordlng
to the 1930 Federal Census in 61,779.
wConmlosloners* Court are courts Of
llnlted jurlsdlotlon, in that their author-
lty extends,only to matters pertaining to
Honorable C. J. Wilde, PaFe 3
the Ganoral welBfr6 of their respootlvo
oountlas and that their powers nra only
those expressly or lnpllodly oonierrad u?Oir
t!+emby low, - that is, by the Constitution
snd statutas of ,the state.* 11 Taxes Jurls-
prudence 564-565.
*The appolnt:centof deputies, ctlof
clerks’,or assistants by oartoln olfloera
is ~poclflcolly authorized by the stetutes.
Under the fianaralstatutory law, corrnty
offloers oomlne within tha provlalons of
the ziarlzumfee bill are required to apply
to th6 oot;l:5issioners'~courtfforauthority
to appoint deputies, asslstrtntsor olerks,
end awh oourt may naka an order auth,orlz-
lng their appolntmont, dotermine the nun-
ber to be appoln!ad, and fix the cozponsa-
tlon to Abe paid them within oortnln pra-
scribed limits. In no ease nay the oom-
slsaioaets' oourt or any member thereor
atte.mptto influence the appointment of
any person as deputy, assistant or clerk in
any office. Prior to the Bna-tmont of
the zoneral statute county offloezs deter-
mined for tiiems~6lves tha qucstlon of empltiy-
lng deputies, and made cont.ractsfor their
oorjpansntlon,but now the State Cetorzinas
tba necessity for e;nploylnethauiand their
aumber ,aad oozpensatlon.
"The authority thus conferred tipon
the com.zlsslcners*oourt to aoslst in ths
appolntzont of deputies can be exerolsad
only in the ;Paanerpresorlbed. If tho
stotutory reyulroments are not compllad
slth, the appolntzent of a deputy IS void,
rendha pap be ousted through quo warrant0
prooaedln,~sat the instance of the State. . . ."
Texas Jur.Ptprudenoe,Vol. 34. I 155, p* 602.
*This provlslon manifests a pub110
polloy to enpower oounty and preolnot Olfl-
oera gonerally to solaot their Laputlcs and
asSlst9ntS, and tc forbid the ComzAssicnera~
Col;rtfrot attospting to lnfluonoe thornin
tho eeileotlonof tholr assistants.. 'The
roason.fGr this polioy is that OffiOerS
eleotad to dlsohargo pub110 trusts, end
upon who% the respoaslblllty for tho pro-
per
Honorable C. J. Wilde, Pa&e 4
per dlsoharne thereof rests, should be free
to seleot persons of their own oholce to
assist them." Neeper vs. Stewart, 66 S. E. (2d)
812.
The statutes do not provide for such offices as,
vRepresent3tlves of the Cormnlssloners~Court*.
The Deputy Tax Assessors-Collectors are the
deputies of the Tax Assessor-Collootor, responsible to
their superior and enployor, the Tax Assessor-Collector,
and are not "representatives of tha Co~nmlsslGnersfCourt",
.andare not responsible to the Connisslonerst Court.
They may be dlsohor&ed by the Tax Assessor-Colleotor,
lut not by the Com3&vsloners* Court.
In answer to your quest&s, you are respect-'
fully advised that it 1s the opinion of this departzient
that there are no such offices atie?representatlvesof the
Comzlssloners* CourtH; that the Coznlssicners* Court
has no authority to employ ciameeither as Wrepresentstlves
of the Coavlssloncrs* Court" or as "deputies of tho Tax
Assessor-COlleotorW, regardless of whether such purported
representatives of the CommloslGners* Court take an oath
of off100 or not.
You arc further respeotfully advised thet It la
the opinion of this departslentthat the Tax Assessor-
Collector of EJuecesCounty, Texas, may apply to the
Coinmissioners*Court for authority to appoint dcputlos,
statIn the number he de3irea to appoint, the positions
tG~he'~flllad,and the anou,ntto be paid each, which shall
be presented in his svorn applloatlon to sold Covn&sloners*
CGUrt, cs outlined in Article 8902, Revised Civil Statutes
of Texas. The 3alary of the first assistant Gr ohlef
deputy shall not exoeed $2.100.00 por annum and the salary
of other deyutles, clerks or assistants shall not exceed
$1,800.00, In your county, under Seation 3 of Artlole
3902, Revfsed Civil Statute3 of Texas.
You sre further respaotrully advlsod that it
1s the opinion of this dcpartmtlhtthat the marinum solary
a lecal deputy Tax Assessor-CoLIeotor, other than the
flr3t aaslstant or ohlef deputy, may reoelve in one year
in &,800.00. There is no provlslon made la the statutes
for WovertiOe pay or salary".
Honorable C..J. Wilde, Paea 5
Trusting that this sntlsfaotorl:yanswers y&r
quofitlons,
ue are
Yours very truly
ATTOSfsiPG'"?.RJ.L
OF TZXAS
I%. J. Fannlug
Assistant
APPROVEDAUG 12, 19%
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4lTORKEYGENEFU OF 'I%%@