Case Information
*1 Auwrx~ 11. TEXAS PRICE DANIEL ATTORNEY GENERAL March 8,
. . Ron. Robert L; Kirk opinion Bo:V-515 Count Attorney E Lamb ounty Be: ~avellng expense OS Llttle?lald. Texas the sherlif ‘and hi.8
deputies.
Dear S&r: from ,thia ofiice
Your re&est for ag opinion the above subject matter is as follows: ‘IIn accordance with the rspuitiements of the enactment of the 50th Legislature, regarding the supply and pay for transpor- sherlffb and their tleputles, tatlon
Conrulsslonere ,Court of, Lamb Cotmty~have,se- lected aeotion (c) oi,.said act aa the mm- ner of ‘c&ring for aaid tranaporation
The Comi8sionera Court have The’aot does noVstate from what funds thk expense shall be paid.
“Row ,ehall thls’oone$ be’pald,and iroll what fundr?”
Lamb County has a,p6pulation of~l7,606 l.nhabi- f,tieral oenaua. We are in- tanta socording t&the,1940 formeQ’fr~ *he Com@trolle*is offioe’~tbat the county OS- : tioirla ln IAm~~County’in:lg47~vere oinipenaatea’on a lee office at this tlrs Haag not re- ThwC~trollerlti basis. oopy of the ordbr of the CUmirrlo8aers’ ceive&a~oertiflitd Court ot I&8b County de~termining whether thd oowty oi- fioers are’to be compensated ori a fee or salary basis i’Or the year 1948, aa reqialr?U:by ‘Section 2 Artlale 3912%. The lan$uage’ of your request, however, vould,lmply that the county,offi~era’ are .on,a ?ee barla aU this oplnlon.
la bawl on ruoh,m.aewmptlan.
.’ You ,&ate i.n~‘your Gqueet, that the ComlealOn- era’ Oburt of Lamb, County har &etermine$ to provide
..‘: ., : : ;,. .,,,.,’ ,, ,’ *., ,, y “t ,. ” ‘, ,. .,’ :, ,‘,*: ‘I’ ,,,, .I,,‘.‘,,, :+ ,:‘.! ‘a ._., ., I:. *2 Hon. Robert L. Kirk, pqe 2 tlw mare11 expense of the sheriff end hl deputies
aooardance v th the provisions of Section 1 c) of B. 8, 501, Acts of the 50th Legislature, 1947. You further atate that the Codaalonera~ Court Is ,allowing ahorlff and h3a deputlee eight cents (8p?) per mile for eaoh mile traveled in the performance of OifiCial duties. SoeWon l(c) of R. 8. 501 povlaea as followa:
“Alternatively eueh Fault7 Coamla- alonare Courts may allow sheriffs in their respective coun- ties to use and operate cars on official b
buelfmaa vhich cars are personally owned by them f’or which such officers
paid not leas then s%x o nts (6#!“,$ %a 104) per lnile nor more than ten tents t each a&lo treveled in performance of 0rr30m 0r them orme.” twie8
It v&a held in hour Opinion No. V-293 that the prov38ioam of 8. 8. !Sl wore man&tory: In other worfla, the OQaiuo~ofmrat U4nM mast prov3tla traveling for the aimrIfT an& his 6eputiea under one of the four St was further held in our Opinion lo. V- aubditlriana. 472 that 8. 8, 501 is applicable to all coptl&f Steto whet&w amh oounties wer0 on a ‘tee or salary of th$a baas. See also epinion IV04 V-343. We quote the follow- sag from op3n3oIl Ipa. v-472:
t&oo&a8ee Or aherlffa thro bout
. Sabl~oiai~ (a) of Ar icle 3899 Y uao 8pplicaMo tb cwnt%oe v?ion of?&ra
on a fee ksia, .
*It u&u br ~nated that P. Br 501 is .'
. . '
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Hon. Robert L. Klrk,page 3
It la our opinion that H B 501 ai9e&des aubdivialon (1) Section’ 19 Art. 3912e, V. 0. 5. . .‘”
Prior to the enactment of Ii. B. 501, the tra- veling expense of the sheriff and hia deputies provided for in Artiole 3899(a) was paid out of~feea earned b (Clv. App.) 73 S. W. 12d) such offiaers. Hood v.’ State, 611. Following the reasoning in Oplnion.Re~. V-472, It is our opinion that H, B. 501, Acts of the 50th Legls- supersedes subdlvlalon ytye, (a) of Article 3899, V. insofar as It pertains to the traveling expense oh thi sheriff.
Since aubdlvlsion (0) provides that the county for the use of their cars and shall “pay” the officers makes no provision for any fee of office for such pur- pose, and since the eaiergency clause (Section 2) of’& B. 501 atatea that prior to the present Act theve was no adequate law providing for transportation for sher- iffs and their deputies, it is our opinion that the Leg- islature Intended to provide them with traveling of whether’ the fees of office were .sufficlent. regardless Therefore, the Leelsleture plaoed a mandatory duty on the Commlsslonera Courts of this State to provite ate- This can only be done in quate transportation. fee counties by paying traveling expense out of’the general’ fund of the county. In view 0s w0g0iag, it is our the sheriff o9lnion ‘that transportation of Lamb COW- ty should be paid out of the oeneral Fund of the county.
suMMARY Traveling expansevof aheriifs fee counties should be paid out of the General Fund. Ii. B.
501, R. S., 50th Leg. 1947.
Yours very truly, ATTORREY ORRRRAL OF TRXAS APPROVED:
John Reeves
JRrmv