Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

,’ Honorable Charles F. Hemphill County Auditor upton county Rankin, Texas Dear Sir: QpFnion NO.. o-4882 Re: Allowable deductlon- for - traveling and auto expenses made by aounty offlolals. Your letter of September 23, 1942, requesting the opinion of this department,reads as follows: "An~Opl.nionis herein sought bearing on Allowable deductloh for traveling and auto ex@naes or auto depreoiatlonclaimed'against the County for having been paid by the County Judge, County Clerk and County Attorney. "F'orsuch deduotionsI 8111demanding that proof be furnished that such dedutitions;were abtual and neoessary k and that rebeipted bills be furnished to s'ubstahtiate'suchexbenses and that a division be made between traveling-In and around the Cbunty and traveling between the residence and the Court House. II . .. . .I, In conneotiotiwithyour-request,we are unable to furnish you an opition whFch;under the facts submitted,pass- es upon the allowance of traveling and auto expenses or'auto depreciationincurred by the County Judge and County Clerk. We have not been furnished with a copy of the order of the' Commissioners'Court all-owingsuch expenses nor are we able to determihe .tioin your-requestthat such officials in their claim for expenses, presumably under Article 3899(b),:Vetinoh's Annotated-CivilStatutes.,under whloh we assume auoh expenses- are claimed';have complied with the provisions-of such statute. We therefore confine this opinion to such travellng'expenses as claimed by the County Attorney, assuming that the oonaitlons of Article 3899(b) have been complied with by such officer. Honorable Charles F. Hemphill, Page 2 (O-4882) In ah opinionrendered by this department,being- 0-3670, approved July 3, 1941, 'weheld that the Commisalonersl Court of Smith County. would have authority to allow the County Attorney reasonable necessary traveling expenses for attend- ing'justice courts of the County and that the method of com- putation of such expenses.allowed,If any, would be for the Commissioners1Court to determine in their sound discretion. Your attention is called to our opinion O-332, dated March 3, 1939, a copy of'whloh Mhereto attached, in whitih we set forth and construedArticle 3899(b) of sald statute. Under the opinions above tilted,it is presumed that any order allowing such expenses does not reaah out and Include items lnoukred by the County Attorney in the use-of his car- while traveling to and from his residence and the oourthouseor courthouseand residence. The-County Auditor is charged with auditing and ap- proving such-expense'accounts, in support of which he may re- qulre invoices ahd requisitionsand If it appears that any item shown'on the'sworn monthly report wasnot inourred by such bffioer or WBs not a neobssary or legal expense of such office or purchased upon proper requisitionprovided by him, the Auditor is required to rejeot such Items. Itsis therefore the'opinion of this departmeht that in'auditlnga monthly sirorn report of travelkg expense allowed the County Attorney under Article 3899(b),Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, the County Auditor is requlrea to disapprove any Item whloh he has reasonable~groundsto believe was lncur- red In traveling by automobilebetween the courthouseand said officer*.7home. Yours very truly ATTORNRYQENERAL OFTEKAS By /s/Urn. J. R. King WJRK:mp:mjs Wm. J. R. King Encl. Assistant APPROVED OCT-7; 1942 /s/ &over Sellers FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEX OENERAL APPROVED OPINION COMMITTER BY f5/ BWB CHAIRMAN