Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1973 )

THE ATITORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. H-12 3
Comptroller of Public Accounts
State Finance Building Re: Supplementation of salaries
Austin, Texas of district court judges and
justices of the Courts of
Civil Appeals under House
Bill 139, 63rd Legislature,
the General Appropriations
Dear Mr. Calvert: Bill
You have requested our answers to a series of questions concerning
the Judiciary Article of House Bill 139 of the 63rd Legislature, the General
Appropriations Bill for fiscal 1974-1975. The questions involve the maxi-
mum rates of compensation of district court judges and justices of the
courts of civil appeals,
The Constitution, in Article 5, $ $ 2, 6 and 7, generally authorizes
the Legislature to fix the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court, the
courts of civil appeals and the district courts.
Article 6819, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes, derived from laws in
effect prior to the 1925 codification, set the salaries of those jurists,at
$6,506, $5,000 and $4,000, respectively. While neither has ever been
expressly repealed, Article 6819 with Article 6813, -which sets the annual
salaries of numerous other state officers at’sums ranging from $1,250 for
members of the Live Stock Sanitary Commission to $6, 000 for the Banking
Commissioner (the Governor was to get only $4, 000). ,was impliedly repealed
by the enactment of Article 6813b, V. T. C. S. , and other similar acts dating
back to 1933.
Article 6813b provides thsrt all salaries of all state officers and
employees will be set by the biennial appropriations bill. “All laws and
parts of laws fixing the salaries of all state officers and employees . . .
are hereby specifically suspended insofar as they are in conflict with this
Act . . . . ”
p. 593
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2(H-123)
Article 6819a-18a provides that commissioners courts in counties
comprising each of the fourteen supreme judicial districts may supple-
ment the salaries of the justices of the courts of civil appeals residing
in that district up to $8, 000 per year but not to exceed “the total add-
itional compensation authorized to be paid to a2 District Judge residing
within such affected Supreme Judicial District. ”
Various other subdivisions of Article 6819a provide for the supple-
mentation of the salaries of district court judges by county commissioners
courts within their districts for varying amounts and for varying purposes.
For example, Article 6819a-22, V. T. C. S., applicable to Travis County,
authorizes its commissioners court to pay the district judges or the districts
within the county “a reasonable sum not to exceed Six Thousand Dollars”
“for services rendered to Travis County, and for performing administrative
duties. ”
Supplements are authorized as high a~8 $12,000 per annum. Articles
6819a-19b and 6819a-25a, V. T. C. S.
House Bill 139 app38 S.W.2d 770 (Tex. 1931). Therefore, ,in ansv.e r to your first
question, the salary of a judge of a district court located in the district of
a court of civil appeals whose justices receive no salary supplementation
from counties may not be more than $34, 000 per year. If the district court
is located in the district of a court of civil appeals whose justices receive
a salary supplement from counties, the maximum .salary for the district
judge would be $1, 000 less,than the combined yearly salary received from
state and county sources by the associate justices of the court of civil
appeals in that district.
p. 596
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert. page 5 (H-123)
Your second and third questions ask:
“Section 2 also reads in part, ’ . . . Judges of the Courts
of Civil Appeals may receive a combined yearly salary rate
from State and County sources vh ich is one, thousand dollars
(1,000) less than the yearly salary pr.ovided in this Act for an
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and the Court of
Criminal Appeals . . . ’
“2. Would the Chief Justice of a Court of Civil Appeals
be .limited in salary by this provision?
“3.~ If your answer to Question 2 is in the affirmative,
would the Chief Justice be limited to a combined salary
not to exceed $1, 000 less than $40,000 for Associate
Justices of the Supreme Court or not to exceed $1,000
less than $40, 500 which is the salary of the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court? ”
The language of the Appropriations Bill refers to “Judges ,of the
Courts of Civil Appeals”. Throughout the Judiciary Article, the term
“judges” is used generically and should be construed to include chief
justices -of the courts of civil appeals as well as associate justices. To
exclude chief justices from the group of judges Df the courts of civil appeals
would result in an omission of any mention of chief justices from the salary
supplementation section of the Bill, a result which would ‘be illogical and
clearly contrary to legislative intent. A statute will not be construed in
such a way as to produce an absurd result. Oriental Hotel Co. v. Griffiths,
33 S.W. 652 (Tex. 1895).
It is our opinion that all judges of the courts ,of civil appeals, including
chief justices as well as associate justices, are limited to a salary not to
exceed $1, 000 less than the yearly salary of an associate justice of the
Supreme Court. See Attorney General Letter Advisory No. 26 (1973).
Your fourth and fifth questions ask:
p. 597
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 6 ( H-123 )
“4. Brazos County composes the 85th Judicial District
alone and is in the 10th Court of Civil Appeals as well
as the 1st and 14th Courts of Civil Appeals. Could the
District Judge of the 85th Judicial District choose which
Court of Civil Appeals he is under for the salary limit-
ation?
“5. District Court No. 1 is composed of Jasper, Newton,
Sabine, and San Augustine counties. Newton and Jasper
counties are in the 9th Court of Civil Appeals, and Sabine
and San Augustine Counties are in the 12th Court of Civil
Appeals. Would the district Judge be limited to the
supplemental pay from the counties, [ i]f any, as that paid
by the counties of the 9th Court of Civil Appeals or that
paid by the counties of the 12th Court of Civil Appeals?
Would the county of residence of the District Judge have
a bearing on this question?”
The Bill requires a district judge’s salary to be $1, 000 less than “the
combined yearly salary rate from state and county s~ources received by Judges
of the Courts of Civil Appeals in whose district the District Court is located”
and the fourth paragraph of $ 2 calls for strict compliance with the provi-
sions of the section. One apparent purpose of the statutory scheme is to
insure that no district judge receives a greater salary than a justice of
a court of civil appeals embracing the same district. A district judge’s
salary from all sources must, therefore, be measured against the lowest
salary of any justice of any court of civil appeals whose jurisdiction includes
that district. The judge of the 85th Judicial District may receive a salary
which is not more than $1, 000 less than the lowest salary of .a justice of
the courts of civil appeals for the lst, 10th or 14th districts. The judge of
the First Judicial District is limited to a salary measured against the slowest
salary paid to any justice of either of the courts of civil appeals for the 9th
orl2th districts.
Your final question is:
“6. In certain Courts of Civil Appeals only one c,ounty
supplements the salaries of the Judges of said courts,
would this supplementation regulate the salary to be.
paid to aDistrict Judge whose district is in the Civil
Judicial District, but whose county or counties do not
supplement the salaries of the .Civil Appeals Judges?”
p. 598
The Honorable Robert S. ~Calvert, page 7 (H-123)
The Act does not require that a particular county supplement the
salaries of justices of a court of civil appeals before it may supplement
the salary of a district judge. The only requirements are that, the dist-
rict. judge’s salary be at least $1,000 less than the lowest salary of a
member of any court of civil appeals in whose district the district court
is wholly or partially located and that the total salary supplement paid ,a,
justice of a court of civil appeals not exceed the total additional compen-
sation authorized to be paid to any district judge residing in the affected
supreme judicial district. Article 6819a-18a, V. T. C. S. Provided.the
Legislature has authorized supplementation of the salary of the judge of
a particular district court, it may be supplemented regardless of whether
the county also contributes to supplement the salaries of justices.of the
court of civil appeals.
In connection with your request, District Attorney Robert 0. Smith
of Travis County has asked “whether or not compensation received as a
member of the Travis County Juvenile Board is properly included in the
total amount paid the District Judges in Travis County for the purpose of
determining their entitlement to an increase under the General Appropria-
tions Bill of the 63rd Legislature? ‘I Section 2 of Article 5139KK, V. T. C. S.,
applicable to Travis County, creates a County Juvenile Board.composed of
the county judge and the judges of the civil and criminal district courts of
the county. It provides in 0 2:
“As compensation for the added duties imposed
upon the members of the Juvenile Board, each member
thereof shall receive the sum of Forty-eight Hundred
Dollars ($4, 800.00) annually, to be paid in equal monthly
installments out of the general fund of said county. Such
compensation shall be for all judicial and administrative
services thereafter to be assigned to them as members
of the Juvenile Board, and shall be in addition to all,other
compensation allowed or hereafter to be allowed by law
for County Judges and District Judges. I’ (Emphasis added)
A district judge is not “entitled” to. salary supplementation by a county
under the terms of the General Appropriations Bill, although other statutes
may require a county to provide additional compensation. The General
Appropriations Bill merely establishes a ceiling for the “combined yearly
salary rate from state and county sources” which a district judge may
receive. Article 5139KK, $ 2, V. T. C. S., provides that the $4,800 is
p. 599
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 8 (H-123)
compensation for added duties required of members of the Juvenile Board
and is “in addition to all other compensation allowed or hereafter to be
allowed by law for . . . District Judges. ” In our’ opinion, however, it is
for services rendered as a judge. See Jones v. Alexander, 59 S.W.2d
1080 (Tex. 1933). To permit judges to hold two offices, for each of which
they were compensated, would run counter to 5 $ 33 and 40 of Article 16
of the Constitution of Texas.
We are of the opinion, therefore, that the additional $4, 800. 00 paid to
district judges of Travis County for service Dn the Juvenile Board is a
part of their “combined yearly salary rate from state and county sources”
and enters< into the determination of the amount of salary they may receive
from the State under the General Appropriations Bill. If the ,justices of
the court of civil appeals for the Third Supreme Judicial District, which
embraces Travis County, receive $39,000 per annum, then the district
judges may receive the $4, 800 required by Article 5139KK, and the full
$6,000 authorized by Article 6819a-22 or a total of $35, 800 including the
State appropriation. If the justices of that court of civil appeals receive
less than a total of $36,800, then the district judges of Travis County will
be limited in the amount their salaries may be supplemented. Compare
Attorney General Opinion H-96 (1973).
SUMMARY
Chief justices and associate justices of courts
of civil appeals receive from the State as ,their salary
$35, 500 and $35, 000, respectively, In addition, their
salaries may be supplemented by the counties in their,
respective districts by no more than $8,000 limited
by the provision that the combined salary may not
exceed $39, 000 and the ,added provision that the supple-
mental pay may not exceed that authorized to be.paid
for s district judge residing within the district.
p. 600
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 9(H-123)
The state salary paid to district judges is $25, 000
per year. Their salaries may be supplemented by the
counties comprising their districts as provided in the
various statutes applicable to different districts. In
any event, the combined salary from all state and county
sources must be at least $1, 000 less than the salary of
any associate justice of a court of civil appeals whose
district encompasses the district court.
Very truly yours,
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General of Texas
APTROVED:
DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman
Opinion Committee
p. 601