Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 2016 )


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  •                                                  KEN PAXTON
    ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
    August 15, 2016
    The Honorable Rodolfo V. Gutierrez                            Opinion No. KP-0110
    Jim Hogg County Attorney
    Post Office Box 84 7                                          Re: Whether section 49.052 of the Water Code
    Hebbronville, Texas 78361                                     disqualifies an employee of the county
    attorney's office from serving as a member of
    the board of a water control and improvement
    district in the same county, when the county
    attorney also provides professional legal
    services to the water district (RQ-0102-KP)
    Dear Mr. Gutierrez:
    You ask whether section 49.052 of the Water Code disqualifies an employee of the county
    attorney's office from serving as a member of the board of a water control and improvement district
    in the same county, when the individual serving as county attorney provides professional legal
    services to the water district in a private capacity. 1 You tell us the employee is an investigator with
    the Jim Hogg County Attorney's office and was so employed prior to your taking office as county
    attorney. See Request Letter at 2. You also tell us that the employee is paid by the county, pursuant
    to a budget requested by you. See 
    id. You tell
    us further that the employee is not employed by
    you "in any matters pertaining to [your] private law practice, which includes representation of th~
    Water District on a retainer basis." 
    Id. You state
    that the employee's name will be on the ballot
    for the May 7, 2016 water district election. 2 See 
    id. You question
    whether the employee, if elected
    and if still employed by the county attorney's office, would be disqualified from service on the
    district's board by section 49.052. ·See 
    id. Chapter 49
    of the Water Code applies generally to all general and special law water
    districts. 3 See TEX.WATER CODE §§ 49.001-.512 (titled "Provisions Applicable to All Districts");
    1
    See Letter from Honorable Rodolfo V. Gutierrez, Jim Hogg Cty. Att'y, to Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex.
    Att'y Gen. at 1 (Mar. 16, 2016), https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinion/requests-for-opinion-rqs ("Request
    Letter").
    2
    In a telephone call to your office, you explained that the candidate was unsuccessful but that you still desire
    the opinion because it is likely this scenario will arise again. Telephone conference with Honorable Rodolfo V.
    Gutierrez, Jim Hogg Cty. Att'y (May 11, 2016).
    3
    Y ou do not ask us to make a determination about whether section 49 .052 applies to the district in question.
    For purposes of this opinion, we presume that it does.
    The Honorable Rodolfo V. Gutierrez - Page 2         (KP-0110)
    but see id § 49.052(±) (providing for specified exceptions to the application of section 42.052).
    Section 49.052 disqualifies a person from serving as a member of a board of certain water districts,
    "if that person . . . is an employee of any developer of property in the district or any director,
    manager, engineer, attorney, or other person providing professional services to the district." Id
    § 49.052(a)(2) (emphasis added).
    Turning to your question, we note that the goal of statutory construction is to "ascertain the
    Legislature's intent." Tex. Adjutant Gen. s Office v. Ngakoue, 
    408 S.W.3d 350
    , 354 (Tex. 2013).
    "The best guide to that determination is usually the plain language of the statute." 
    Id. Subsection 49.052(a)(2)
    includes within its disqualification an employee of any attorney
    providing professional services to a district. TEX. WATER CODE § 49.052(a)(2). You tell us this
    person is an employee of the county attorney, thus we need only consider the scope of the phrase
    "any attorney." The term "any" is defined to mean "[s]ome; one out of many; ... and is given the
    full force of 'every."' Beck v. Craven, 
    360 S.W.2d 827
    , 830-31 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston [1st
    Dist.] 1962, no writ) (internal quotation marks omitted)); see also City of Austin v. Salyer, 
    441 S.W.2d 862
    , 865 (Tex. Civ. App.-Austin 1969, writ ref'd n.r.e.). On its face, the statute makes
    no distinction between an attorney providing professional services solely to a district and an
    attorney working in dual roles, only one of which involves providing professional services to a
    district. Absent such a distinction, a court would likely construe subsection 49.052(a)(2) to
    disqualify an employee of an attorney who provides professional legal services to a district, even
    if the employee serves the attorney in a role that does not include the provisions of legal services
    to the district.
    The Honorable Rodolfo V. Gutierrez - Page 3       (KP-0110)
    SUMMARY
    A court would likely construe subsection 49.052(a)(2) of the
    Water Code to disqualify an employee of the county attorney from
    serving as a member of the board of a water control and
    improvement district in the same county, when the county attorney
    also provides professional legal services to the water district.
    Very truly yours,
    KEN PAXTON
    Attorney General of Texas
    JEFFREY C. MATEER
    First Assistant Attorney General
    BRANTLEY STARR
    Deputy First Assistant Attorney General
    VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER
    Chair, Opinion Committee
    CHARLOTTE M. HARPER
    Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee
    

Document Info

Docket Number: KP-0110

Judges: Ken Paxton

Filed Date: 7/2/2016

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/10/2017