OFFICE OF THE AI-I-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable I?. L. Washburn
County Auditor
Harrle county
Houston, Texas
Dear Sirs
n of the county
8 which are
lthln the Acta
ure, page 759,
led a8 Sections
Juvenile Board duly appointed
"In a list aubmlttsd to me for approvals
vere the salaries of three assistant probation
.
Honorable H. L. Washburn, Page 2
.
for under a subdivision of Seotion 19, Chspter 465,
as amended. .The aeoond two positions, as depsrtment
heads, are not provided by Artlole ~3902 in the emount
of salary requested, but are so provided by Chapter
465, as amended.
Yfhe question arises in detemlnlhg the oorreot
a&arias which may be paid to.aaaiatsnta to the ohief
probstlon oirioar In Hsrrls County. la Artlole 3902,
as it now exists., the yardatiok by which asld salaries
are to be measured? Or, may the provisions of Chapter
465, relating to deputies and aaslatsnta, be Used as
the basis or determining salaries to be paid to pro-
bstion offioera?
n* * *’.
We have a similar situation with reapeot to
Artiole 669Qb, Vernon* a.Anuotated Ten-is Statutes,
Page 120, Pocket Part, conoerning the salaries of
county trarrio orrlaera. As will be observed from
Seotion 2, the’salarlea of suoh deputies ahall be
the asam as those rixed in Artiole~3902. Thla aot
was gassed at the.~Regular Session of the Torty-fourth
Legislature, 1985, at Page 711.
*In approving r0r paywent wsrrsnts Issued for
the salaries OS assistants to the juvenile offloer
ana highway him0 orficera, am I to be governed aa
to the maximum by the provisions of Artiole 3902, or
by the provisions of Chapter 465 as contended by the ,. ..*,,``..~I’I..,~;~
offlolala presenting such pay rolls and wsrranta for
my approval?”
Artiole 5142a, Yectlon 1, Vernon*a Annotated Civil
Statutes, provides:
“Seotion 1. Provided that in oountiea having
a population 0r more than three hundred and fifty
thoussnd (350,000) ‘inhabitants aoooraing to the last
preaeding or any future Federal Census the County
Juvenile Board shall appoint a juvenile offloer for
a term of two (2) years at a salary not to exceed
X’ive Thousand Dollars ($5,000) per aunum, to be fixed
by the County Juvenile Board aubjeot to the approval
of the Commlasionera Court to be paid monthly by the
county, whose extra duties will’be to make lnvesti-
gations for the Comlaaiouera Court on applioationa
for oharlty or admiaaion into- detention homes or or-
phan homes created by such counties. Suoh juvenile
orfioer may seleot assistant juvenile officers aub-
jue3t~. .,. .,i : --., ~:- ``
~C ,..~,
,. .
., .~” ..._~
,
Honorable H. L. Washburn, Page 3
aubjeot to the spproval of auoh Baard, the number
of auoh assistants to be determined by the Juvenile
Board aubjeot to the approval of the Conunlaalonera
court. The salaries of auoh assistants shall be the
asme as that fixed in Article 3902 of the Revised
Civil Statutea.of Texss, of 1925, and as amended for
sasistsnta to other offloials, exbept that the head
of a department need,not have before served for any
psrtloulsr period’ of tlma; efflolen~y‘belng oallea
for in auoh counties. Suoh juvenile ofrloera may be
allowed expenses not to exceed Two Hunarea Dollars
($200) a year each.”
Article 3912e, Seotion 19, Subdivision (h), Vernon*8
Annotated Clvll Statutes, in pert, provides:
R(h) Whenever any district or county. off her,
or precinot offioer when such officer Is oompensatea
on (I salary basis, with the exception of district
attorneys and oriminsl dlstriat attorneys, shall re-
qulre the aervioea of, deputies assistants, and em-
ployees In the performsnoe of his’~dutlea he shall ap-
ply to tha Coaaniaaionera* Court for authority to.ap-
point auoh deputies, assistants, and employees, stst-
ing by sworn application the number needed, the poal-
tion to be 250 S.W. 159, that where an sot Is amended
as to only one aeotion, the original provisions appearing in
the amended act are to be regarded as hsvlng been the law alnoe
they were first enacted, wblle the new provisions are to be
construed as having been enacted at the time the amendment
took effect. Also, It was held that when new provisions are
introduced into a statute by amendment, the amended act and
all its seations, new and old, must be construed as a harmonious
whole.
: I’. It will be noted that Artlole 5142a, auprs, provides
,. that the aslsriea of such assistants shall be the same as that
~rlxed in Article 3902 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texsa, ;.
of 1925, and as smended for assistants to other ottioials, ex-
oept that th he a f a department need not ha before served
for any psrt~oul%~erioa of time. This langulie we think is
olear and unambiguous and can refer only to the general law on
the same subjeot found in Article 5912e; Seotion’lS, gubdlvl-
aion (h) and its subsequent amendment, which with Artiole 3902
roundre-enaoted and set forth under Se6tlon 14 0s said Law,
is applioable to all salaried counties.
‘.’ We note that you mentlon”Artlole 66SSb ~Ver&n~a A& ‘-“‘_‘-‘.
notated civil Statutes, relating to oounty tFarri0 officers.
We oall your attention to the oaae of Anderson, County Judge,
et al, vs. Wood, Sheriff, 152 s. W. d) 1064, wherein the .~.
./Supreme Court strikes down this sta as unoonstittititinsl.’ .
It this beoomes necessary that this opinion deal with those
oounty treSSlo offioers whose appointments are authorized un-
der the provisions of Article 6699, as amended, Aots of 1937,
45th Legislature, Page 438, Chapter 225.
Artlole 6699 Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, re-
lating to oounty trafrio orrioers, provides:
“The Commissioners Court of each oounty, aotlng in
oonjunotion with the Sheriff, may employ not more than
‘two (2) regular deputies, nor more than two (2) addl-
tlonel deputlea-for apeoial emergenoy to aid said reg-
ular deputies,. to be +wn as oounty trsfflo offloera
Honorable H. L. Washburn, Page 7
to enforoe the highway laws of this State regulating
the use of the publio highway by motor vehicles.
Said deputies shell be, whenever prsotioable, motor-
oyoles riders, and shall be assigned ~to work under
the direction of the Sheriff. They shall give bond
and take oath of offloe as other deputies. They may
be dismissed fran servloe on request & the Sheriff
whenever approved by the Commissioners Court, or by
aaid Court on its own initiative, whenever their aer-
vices are no longer needed or have not been satla-
faotory. The Coaanissionera Court shall fix theirs
.oompenaation prior to their aelection; end may pro-
vide at the expense of the oounty, necessary equip-
ment for da otrloera. The pey of said deputies
shall not be lnoluaed in the settlements of the Sher-
iff in aooounting for the ~teea or orr:ice. For the
purpose of thla law, the Comnlssloners Court of ooun-
ties whose funds from the motor registration fees
rovlded herein amount to Thirty Thousand Dollars
...
.s $30,000) or over, may use not exceeding rive (5)
per cent of a&d tunas; ‘and not to exoeed~ seven and
one-half [7*) per oent of such funds In oountlea re-
oelving a lesser amount from ardh registration. Said
deputies shall at all times oooperate with the po-
lioe department of each olty or town within the oounty,
In the enforaement Of aald traffio laws therein and
in all other parts of the oaunty; and shall have the
same right and duty to arrest violators of all laws
as other Deputy Sheriffs have.=
‘\ The’foregoing statute ‘makes no referenoe to Artiole ‘*’
3902 or its aubjeot as a general law Siting salaries for aaaiet-
ants to other oounty orflolala. It expressly provides that the
pay of suoh deputies Shall not be inoluded lnthe settlements
of the Sheriff in aooounting for the rees of offloe and that
for the purpose of the law, the Commissioners’ Courts of ooun-
ties whose runas from the motor registration fees amount to
Thirty Thousand Dollars ($SO,OOO.OO) or over, may use not ex-
oeeaing. five (5) per oent or said funds; and not to exoeea
seven and one-half (7+) per oent of suoh funds In oounties re-
oelving a lesser amount from such registration. Suoh provl-
alon fixes the fund and maximum expenditures for the pupurpose
which of course inoludea the salaries of the officers named
therein. As provided in the Aot, such oifioers’ salaries are
to ba fixed by the Commissioners ( Court prior to their aelec-
tion. .-.-
Anawerlng your request,. it is therefore the opinion
of this department that the salaries of authorleed assistant
Honorable H. L. Washburn, Page 8
juvenile ol'fioers of Barria County are detenained by Artlole
3912e, Section 19, Subdivision'(h), Vernon's Annotate6 Civil
Statutes, rhioh latter provision is to be construed as a part
of the general law, Artiole 3902, Revised Civil Statutes, as
amended therein.
As to the Waffle deputies authorized by Article 6699,
Vernon98 Annotated Civil Statute&, it is'furthei the opinion o?
this department that the order of the Commlsslonera~ Court Six-
ing their salaries within the limitation of funds therein pro-
vided, entered prior to their seleotion, will govern the county
auditor in approving warrants for payment of their salaries.
Youreivery truly
APPROVED
DEC.31, 1941 ATTORNEZGENXRALOF TEXAS
/s/ Grover Sellers
BY
,' PIRST ASSISTlUJT /s/m* LsA*K.w&
ATTORNBYGBNBRU
WJRK:RS
APPROVEDOPINIONCOBMITTBR
BY B.W.B. CHAIRMAR