Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE A~TORNN GENERAL 0~ TEXAS AUSTIN
GROVER SELLERS ~IIOINSY GcWRAL ALi- 1/- N$y
LIIs&ma &k-v! -33-y c+f. d-%7??*_, .
Honorable, 3. I?. Heraa, Jr. 4+/~twX -+A? County Aud.itor %%411er countg
Hsmpetoad, Mxas
Deer sirs
rbloh
you propound iollow
AmI, aaA&di
lrad to elthor ill, by overt aot, a8 and awthoda of e ma to submit oleiina (or &which I have disapproved . t bean aoted on by th$s
approqe remain on file in my 0rsi0e ior public ~reoord, be turned to the Coatdsslo&eret Court, or iiled with the,, : County Clerk4" _ . . .
.
: 238 ;ionorable N. P. Iierne; Jr., Pw.P [2]
Article flevisd Clvll Stetutoa of Texae, pro- vider 88 followet
“All cl&as, bills end aooounts a@lnst the county mst bo filed in a~qAo tine for the au- ditor to exonine and approve sws before the meetings of tho ooiu~ls3ioncrs court. Ko olalzi, bill or aooount ahall be allowed or paid until' it hoe been exaraimd oud opprovod by the county auditor. The auditor shall emnina the 83~~ and stamp his approval thereon. If he doo>tlo it x190- eeeary, 311 such aooounte, bill,or olains must bo verified by affidavit touching tiie oorreotnsse ' ot the 3me. The auditor 1s hereby sluthorizod to administer oathe for the purpose3 of this law." Article 1661, 3. 0. S., ~provldae as. follows: YIe (the auditor) ohail not audit or approve any ouch olaim unless it has bean contracted a3 provided by law, nor any aooount for the purohaee of suppILe or materials for the uso of mid oounty or any of it3 oflloors, unle3s, in oddf- tlon to other requirement3 of law, there 13 at- taohad thereto a requisition 3i~;led by the officer OrdorinE 33.m and approvod by the oounty aid requisition mot bo mde out end judge. sl@ed and approved in triplloate by the said officera, the triplioote to remain with the officer dcelring the purahasa, the duplioate to be filed r-vlth tho oounty auditor, md the .orif$nal to be delivered to tho party from whom ooi'd gur- chase is to rcado before any purohaso shall be made. Afl Wal%mt3 on the.county troaaurer, ex- cept Warrant3 for jury servfoe, au& be oounter; eimned by the oounty audItor.* The oounty audltor*e oxnminetion and approval of all olalms oontomplatod said next heroinbefore quoted artiolea 13 a aondition preoedent to the, oxeroiso of jurisdiction over such olalmr, by the oommi3310nar31 oourt. See Xyatt ;;etal and Boiler Xorke va. Lipaoomb, c7 S.. W. (26) 331; Andereon 90.
Aahe, T. 4.47, 90 8. iv. 874) and Yanti? 178. bIOntagu% Gounty, 50 0. A. 403, ll0 S. We .162.
I *3 Xonorable N, P. Harms, poee 3
Dome typce of olaims, hOviGVOr, noed not,bo prosonted to, tho oounty auditor for apgoval boforc they osn bo ap- proved and pold by the oonmiasloncrs* court. See IIsoog- dooheo County ~3. ‘riinder, 140 S. \I. (26) 972; fiaoo&doohee county vs. Jinklns, 140 S. W. (26) 901, errorrefuoad; Coina County va, itill, 25 S. W. (2d) 197; southern Surety co. VS. LioOulre, 275 s. W.
IV0 assunie that the olnlns about which you in uim are euoh a3 are within the oonteaplatlon oi Artlolea 16 8 0 and supra,
The plain wording of said Article 1660, supra, in re- gard to a olaim, bill or aocount 5.a that tho%udltor oh311 exanino the 3ane and stamp hia approval thoreon.” This lo, ‘\; of oourso, when he ~DT~?OVO~ s0n". There is no prooaduro deoorihed in said article a3 to the methods used by the auditor when he dlsanbrovoo a olnim, bill or aooount. :‘le believe, in the abscnoo of an exprese etatutory dirootlve thnt the noet reaeonabla and pmotloal nethod of showi.n& the auditor’3 disapproval of suah claim would 3UfflOe.
whether it be stamping hi3 dieapproval theroon, writin& it theroon, returnincj the alelm to it3 owner or verbally in- foIXin& euoh owner of the dloapproval of such alaim. ‘iie ,a130 believe the nplgaon-holin@of a 01&n, i. 8.. the failure of the auditor to take any ponitiveaotlon at all to auoh olaim would, in 6oma lnetanoes, oon- in regard , etttute a dleapproval of Bsme. We bellevm the fore&oing fully answers your firat. two questfone.
Vie anawer your question@ Noa. 3 end 4 oetegorloally a8 follows
Hoe. and 4: NO, ~for ‘the reoeon that the co~i3i.3- alonera9 oourt &in no juriadiotlon auoh olalm.3 as are not approved by the auditor.
.IA regnrd to your guoetion No. 5, we point out that we find no etatutorg authorization for any further aotion to taken by you in respeot to a oertain claim when onao you have dleapprovod etune. . . The. rtnal diep0441 or euoh
Iionorable xi. P. Xerzis, pa138 4
dloapproved olalni is mrcl.y e procedural netter that 1s loft to the good judrpent of the offloers width whom sake wae riled.
In addition to the foregblng questions, you fur- ther ee;c ua a Ccnerol queetioa (1s to the legal otntus of a cartnln ordur passed by your oomzlsolont;ro~ court ln whioh .suoh oourt orders and directs you, ns county auditor, . to approve or rejoot certain claims mentioned thoroln, "to&other with all Oth6r oltilm properly :llod with him (you) whloh have not been aotod on by this oourt, and to Endlatoly oubnlt same to this court for their OOE5idcnYI~
." (word ln parenthesis addod for olerlty.) We believe the next above described order to be In the nature or a writ or aandonuo. Tex. Jur., $01. 28, p. 515 defines the writ of nandaldus "~8 a oo%cnd or order iseulng f rom a OOUrt Of OOapet0nt juriadiotion ro- quiria som orfloor, lnforlor court, or corporation to porforn aone duty enjoin& law.= The Constltutlon of Texas (Art. 5, ao. 16) provldos that the flcouuty court or juQe thoraof" shall have povler to issue writs of inan- danus, and Art. 1957, IL c. 8. T., also provides ior the loouanoe ot somo by the oounty judge, but after e deli- cunt seeroh of the statutoo and the Constitution; we fall to find where the oommioeloners~ oourt la ~lvon this au- thority. It is well settled that ooi3;3isslonero* oouSs oan only exorcise powers oonrerred by tha Constitution and lQW11. see kioore ~8. ~~ormnen co., 275 0. W.
This bein& 80, we feel it unneoessary to discuss suoh ordar' further es the oomalarrlonera~ oourt olearlp had no au- thortty to lcteue mae,~
Wo truct ioragoh $uUg answers your quootlons, Youre very truly, AT'i!OlU&Y CMT&AL Oi? TiXX3 ' : . ;.~ - .,