Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF T’EXAS AUSTIN
Honorable Burl Brittain
County Auditor
San PatrioAo County
sinton, Texas
Deart Sir: Your letter or ~qU'%!Sti~ th4 OiiB-
ion of this Qeprtment 0 tltit+l tharoln readr as followB:
6 we,46 eduOtlQns (h't 88Of3) *2 Honorable Burl Brittaln, Page 82 oan est for this olfloer for the year
. * 194%!? *3. Would this County had to hare had MOO1
or mom population in 1OsIz in order to be govemod by ths provisions OS Art. 3ssg P. e and Art. aSo1 P. e now?"
Artiole 5888, Vernon*s Annotated Olvil Statutes, provides In part:
*Exoept as otherwise provided in thi8 _ Aot, the annual iese that may be retiined by preoinot, county and dirrtriot offlosw aim- tioned in this Artlole shall be as folloWi:
In oountlea oontalning twenty rive (~3,o;J~j thousand.or less inhabftantar aount, Judge, Dletrlat or Criminal Dletriot Attaiqey, Sheriff, Count7 Glepk, Oountp Attorney, Ma- trlot Clerk, Tax Collootor, Tax Asssasor, or tha Asrsssor and Gollsotor of Tares, 'Rpstity- four hundred (#PAOO.OO) Dollars aaoh; w . ."
Artibl.e SS1891, Vernon*8 Annotate6 61+%1 &atatea, provider in pa-1
“Eaoh efiioet named in thir Ohaptea ~@hall first out of the current ises of hts offtee pay or be id the -QUBt allowad h%m under the provie ens of &tiO%s Sg@M& ttbga%&er tiihh r
the aaiarler 0~r bie aetaiutaqla ain& dsputl*8, and authofized sxpense8 u&de& Art&al6 SSW, and the amountneo~ssuery to ooiar oorts 0r pmmua on titersr eurety bond may b+ riqnir- sd by law. ~If the OtWlcr@IBf ises oi.stioh CbfftOe oollsotsd in anp rsati'be more thaaths, -9-t needed to p&y the amou@ts abwe SpeQifb&
same a&&l.bs dswd 6x60~8 fees, .iUid shwl i;ddsposdd OS iB the mann6f harainaftsclr PSO-
. "In oaunt~sa oontmtning tksntpfive thou+ sand (23,000) OE less fahabltante~, Distrlat and Oounty~.ofiio~rn &ems6 harein shaX1 rstaia one-third or suoh exw3t3 Zsss unttl suah 'one- *3 Honorable Burl Brlttain, Page 8
. * third, together with the in Artiole [5883] alaounts amOuB46 apeoliied to ThreoThourand
Dollars (t3,OOOj. . . .-
Artlolo 39120, Seotlon 13, vemon*e Annotated C&l1 Statutes, reads In part ae r0um8
*The Coi5lauloneru* Court ln oountieo hating a population of twenty thousand .~ : (eO,OOO) lnhabltant~ or nom, and 16~s than
one hundrsd.and ninety thousanU jlQO,OOO) InhabItant aooording to the laut preoeding _ Fedora1 %BSW, is hereby authorlzed'and if shall be lta duty to fir the saXarlerr.ot all the.followlng named M'floe~s, to-nit1 sheriff, ammmor and oollaotor of taxen, county judge, county attorney, lnoludln& 0rimlnaL Uistrlot attorneye and oou&ty crtt torneya who perrow the dutiee of dIetriot attorneya; dilrtrlot clerk, aounty i?lerk; treasurer, hiae and anIn& lnsepsotor.:’ Eaoh of said offloere ohall be paid ln~momy on annualoalaryintwelro (I.21 squel inata& nents .of not lesy than %he total qua M&+od au oompensatlon bye Um fn ,hia ci~fioiail~ eq+ 04qror th4 ilIMa years 1935, and Bat m&i+ t&~them&lm~amount ilLowedeuoh off'%oer tinder lami 'existing on Augumt 84, +?ati; + a ." On August 2& 1933, 6&e p&pulatl~& oi & Patti,010 County, %nrp, aoaordiag to the theo'Zaa&.preo~ding Federal Conaua of 1930 *aa 23,fW lnhabltaata,, and at.,$hat time tho maxImum aamant ,.Woh the oounly judge -8 ent%tled to under Article zass -xfn&*tlc&a s891,~.Vsmaa~4:-~otated Civil Stat- ute8, was the sups of '$S~OOQJMpet ~jW*,;:. ..
mde~'%he &iota lrtditsd ia gouj~lattir, the total Wunt Of Ses~~eii~~84 'by the OOU%ty JUdgS fOs~!%he Y-r 1983 wall (aa&6a and an ex offlalo sa$aky M'$l,9,99;92 ream paid to the oauuty ju&s fok that year laalrl~@ a total of e3.662.43.
AHlols S896, VernontE Annotated ClliX StatUtSd, prohibits the UomaUi6iionszro * Omrt ircm allowing oompent3atlon for BX offfafo aerviaes to county offleers where the oompen- sation and exaeaa ieea whloh they are GJ.a;ad to Fetaln ohall reaoh .the m&&um provided for, .buO providss that whel% the oompematlon and exoet)e teea .do not reaah euoh maximum, the *4 Honorable Burl Blttaln, Page 4
oourt shall allow compensation if in their judgment It Is neo- s 'essary. This provlsloh it88ir authorless an ~+l.lowance for
ex ofrloio servloes wlthln the limitation stated) payment need not be author$xed by some other statute, (Voltman v. Slator, 217 S. H. 898; Texas Jurisprudence, Volume 34, page 546) The above mentions4 statute (Artiols Z$SOS) authorizes the Commissloaer~~ Court to allow (111 offloer oompenaatlan for ex offloio ?ervloer provided that suoh ocimpensaflon, to- gefher with the fses~r&alnad by him under the preosdlng seotlons (Artlole 21883 and Art&ale 3S91, supra) does not amount to more than the Umlt fixed by them. The oompeasa- tlon so allowed is not to bs regarded as exoess fees of whloh the officer oaa.moelve? only one-third, wheq hia total
Z,n vi&of the foregoing authorltiss~:aud the faotr stated in your Letter, we answer the first~qu6j&~on stated above in the *g;atlve.
XII riply to your eeaond question, you are advlsed that the mlnl#&um 8a$ary of the oouuty,judga.for the year f94F. is $8,662.43, aad the maximinn sdtary tha$;ths Cmmlt~- sion~ra~ Court uan '$Q* set for the oOUB%p :j@ge iOF ths yaaf 1943 18.$3,000.00.
. . . . x81 00~0tion with the foregofly;, ti atLl yo*
attention,Co tbe~:oase of ~Naoogdoohee OOtmty V. WladeF, 110 5. W. (I&K) [978] f~lt’refuued] xyferrlag te Seotioa @ of Artlole 89128 a&Artlola '$891, Vernon*8 Aamtated Qlvil Statutes, where ltnas sa%dr
Tbder the statutes the salarjr 4f.@q oounty olerk of Nao. do&es Gogoty'was goa+sm- ed by the pllalsrpn oa x-3 earno& La ~XQSS,~arid the ma&mm salary'& $15SOq?fJ0.w
With r~eferennoi t&the t&d q&&Ian rtat,b~abuvs, ; in view of the &bore mMM.oned authorities 8&b t&s faOt8 stated, we respsotful.1~ answer the 8sms in thhe ss$iiwivs.