Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
uonorable ropr Somy
county AttorAay
?ottw county
marlllo, Tsxar
mar sir:
otoa r0r 8 porlod
ed ln your lottrr of
8n OpiAiOA tr'onthf8
0 r01108in~ paragraph:
2, a0ri80a civil 8tOtut0r, lees, 88
YOU rd@r iA fOUr lOttOre rO8d8 i~ p8~%
er 8ny aimm, oounty or preolnot
1 require tbo sorvlooe OS a0puti08,
8aahtOAte Or Oh&@ iA the pSl'iO~AO0 Or hi8
dUtiOa he mill Apply t0 the COUAtY COAA~C``OAOTIS'
CoUrt Of hi8 OOUAt~ for suthorltyt0 ‘``$At``Il~b
aaputler arrlatants or olorks,
8ppiit38thA th8 AOAbOr AOdd, th8 t%OA tO b0
‘tilled 8Ad the amount to bo paid. Said 8~$liOOtiOA
rtmll be rooompaAird by a statement rhowlng thr
,
146
BOA. Tom s0.y. i’aee2.
probable reoeIpt8 frown feel, 00m18@1oa~ and OOA-
peaaetlo~ to be oolleoted by said offloe during
the tisoal Jeer and the probablo dfsbursements
vhloh shall lnolude ell lalarles and oxpenaes or
said 0rri00; and e.aldoourt shall make It8 order
authorIziA2 the appolntzent of suoh deputlee, Sa-
818taatS and olerks and flX the oomponsstloa to
be peld them within the 1Imltatlonr: hsrsla pre-
eorlbed and deter&n8 the number to be appointed
as in the diaorstlon of said court ASy be proper;
provided that In no cake ehell the Coni~l~slooero~
Court or any member thereof attempt to lafluenoe
the ap~olntneat 0r any person as deputy, asclstant
or olark la any orrloe. Upon the entry or suoh
order the orrloert applylae for suoh a6Si8t&ntS,
deputies or olarke shall be authorized to appoint
then; provided that mid oonpea~.etloa shell not
exoeea the marlmum amourt hereinafter Pet out.
Tho OOAptiaSStiOa vhlch say be allowed to t.he de-
puties, erslctants or olerks above named ror their
servloes shall be a rassonable one, not to eroeed
the r0110Piinf.
ar;iounta:...a ~'
3-eare unable to find any statute deallag with the
Subj60t of vacations fmow oounty ofrlolalr. The P.~JZO1s
true of Ceputles, aseI6taatr or other rocular employees
authorized to perrorn tsrvlce8 under the prlaclpal of any
pub110 offloe, nlth the sxoeptlon of Art1016 1583b, Penal
Code 0r Texas, 1925, which provides that every regularly
Ssslened jellor, jail Euara, or Jail matron at eny oollnty
$a11 la any olty of aore thorntreaty-five thousand (25,000)
inhabitants eh~ll be allwed fifteen (15) day8 vacation
la each year tith pay, adt more than two (2) tmmbera to
be on vaoatioa St the same tIzie.
COJUQ.sdoaerb Courts ara oourtb of geniral- jarls-
dlotlon when a !tlw within the sphere of the povers and
duties oonrerr Id u:oa them, hOwever, they Sre OoUrts of
1iElted jurled .otion in that their authority oxteade oaly
to mttere per ;alalw to the general welfare of their cm-
peotlve oouatl :B SAd thiittheir pawors me only those expross-
ly or lmplledl r conferred upon theznby law -- that is, by
the Conetltuti #A end Btatutes of the 2tSte. 11 Tex. Jur.
para. 37, P. 5 H.
147
Boa. Taa Seey, Page 3.
The law Lop0808 up o n leoh lleotlvo OfiiOi81 0s
8 OouAty oertaIa duties oonaeoted with his orfloe rhloh
ho 18 obligated to relthfull~ dlsolmrgo ma perform. He
is rospoaslblo ror oerteln cots 0r his deputlor~ lAa iA
ths rutter of atteadl~ to 6na performing tho dot108 0r
his Otfioe, tho l.r holds him rospoaslble. &f.ay duties
ooaaeoted dth 6 pub110 offloo must aeoosserlly be perrorm-
od’ by olerieal workers OAa rsaistanta, who eoaseqaently
p8rfOCPItheir duties solsl~ under the dlreotloa of the
prlnolpsl in orrlae. Xs9eaIell~ 18 this true uhere their
dutIo8 are not reguleted by stetute.
The status of the verIous daputles, assistants
or clerks, 08 provided ln the lbove-quoted statuto, era
varied. 8herlfi deputies, ooastablo deputies and 011
oooaty olerk deputies ore oonslderea pub110 orrloers. In
6 true seass, they psrrorm ~ove~ramental runotioa8, end
where their duties ore not prescrlbod or replated br
statute, they perform a pub110 servios, 8hsrlng tho ro-
sponsiblllty of offloe with tholr prlnolpal. Suoh orrloers
stand on a rooting different rrom mere oouaty unployess--
tho semloes and sn?plo)ment of the tormsr being authorized
br lsw, the latter being based upon oontrcrotwith ths OOCI-
mlssloaer6 oourt.
An ezsmlnatloa oi the aotr Of the various legls-
1atur.s ror sevsral years pdst discloses that the geaoral
appropriation bill prorlsloas, as 8rr00tiag State employees,
pomlt twelve (12) working day vaoatlons, when agreed to
betveen tho off18161 end hi8 eaPlo~ee8. It It can be sold
that the StOt0 ha8 OaOpt0a 6 $'01:0y Of .llOWiA& paid V.O.-
tioas, a law whleh requires a pub110 offioer to 6erve a
year before being alloued.saoh vao8tioa wotild, IA our oplaIo~,
oontrsveae suoh deolared polley, deprlvlne tho government
of hotter and more erfloleat servloe, whloh 18 the only
priasiplo upon vhloh saoh vaeetIoa8 000 bo 8a8talned.
Suoh satters of general offlee rOUtlaO or mode in
which 6 pub110 orrlaer, with the help Of hla 6uthOris8d de-
puties, asslstanta aad olerks, perfornrsthe duties of hle
oitloa, where not reguletsa by stetnte, 8re not vestoa IA
the oomIssloners oourt. Xe 0aaAOt help but view the ast-
ter or regal.tioa or hours end vaaatloas of pub110 OfSlOsrS
In 011 governmental and polltloal unlta OS the goveramat
OS being solely ono of ereoutIvo or ad5iAistrativo dlsore-
t:OA, rubjeot to be wlthdram or eontrolled by tbe LWISlO-
turo.
- .
1.48
son. Tan Seq. Peg8 4.
Veoetlons am olosely Idontlflod with geaerel
``l;;stretlve powers vested la the bolder of a pub110
. The only prlnolple upon whloh vacetloas are per-
mIttod, lasofer es 6 deolared polloy of the q,overnment
would lutborlzo semo ‘appesre grounded on a settled polioy
of employees or pub110 ofrlcers eaterlag Into ea agree-
n0At with their dOpart8mntel or Off108 hoed, under the
lrttor(s supenlslon end dlreotlon.
As vaoatloas dlreotly effect the discharging
or the duties of a pertloular offloe, the responslbllIty
ror whloh ropores in the prlacIpal of such offloe, the
comnIssloners Court, bclng -aowlse charged with such respon-
slblllty, would not be authorized, in the absence of lsg-
lsletlvo authority, to 68same control and attempt to regu-
let8 the some.
It la, therefore, the oplnloa of this deportment
that the oommlssloners oourt of a county does not hate the
authority to peas an order providing that no vacatloas
with pay shell be ellowed en7 employees of the county or
deputies or assistants or county orrloers until and unless
suoh persons have been employed for a period of oar year.
guoh order, belae beyond the soope of power and authority
vested in the Commls~loaers court, la ultra wires and void.
Trusting tbe above easwers your request, we ore
Yours verr truly
ATTOFUIEYG~IJAf``TXAS
J. f klag
Aa latent