Case Information

*1 . . -_.. It-32 OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Honorable C1 l8.

County Attorney

Brewl'tsr oounty

Alpine, Texa8 Your letter of A rwuestingan opinion or thin departmant upon th question has been IeWlVOd*

II Brewster County. 1041, said Bank hen esourity is dstaribed, Treasury bon&r, and *heir num- d oontraot and bond rroitse that ‘tha oonditiom of the above oontraoted am . euoh, that, wh.wme, the above bounden pledge, First National Bank of Alpine, Texa8, was on 10th day of Bebruary, 1911, duly and legal1 ohosen by Oomieeionerr Court of Brim&m County, 4 mm, 1 *2 Honorable 0, X, Patterson, Page 2

. .

a8 County Dspository, ior said County, for a

period of two years, ending 60 days from the

date of the time fired by law for the next

seleotion of a depository.’ Then the rest

of said oontract reoitea oondltlons of same,

as provided by statute.”

The duties of oountp.depositories are presoribed in detail by the statutes, namely, Artlalea 2544-2SSSa, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutea, rule a de ository is A8 a gsnsral not relieved from liability until the funds depoe ted with it P

come into, the oontrol and oustody of the proper offlolala. And the liability my not be disoharged-through a secret arrangement, hot equivalent to payments, made between an in-.

ooming and retiring depository. (State V. Tyler County Sank, 202 9. W. 2llt Taague Independent Sahool Diatriot V, First State Bank, 241 9. W. 608)

Article 2544, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, pro- vides, in partr

*The Commiealoners Court of each oounty is hereby authorized and required at the February Regular Term thereof’ next following

eaoh general eleotioa to enter into a oontraot with any bank- ing oorporation, assmiation or individual banker in such oounty for the deaositihg of the gublio funds of suah county in suoh bank or banks, . . .e 2545, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, reads Artiole as follows~ *Any banking aorporation, association or individual banker in suah oounty desiring to

be designated as oounty depository and deliver shall wake

to the C~ouhty Judge an ajaplioation apolying for such fund8 and sold applioation

s&lx state the amount of paid up oapital atook and permanent surplus of said bank and there

shall~ be furnished with said appliaatiOn a

statement showing the fiuanoial oondftion of said bank at the date of said applioation whioh shall be delivered to the county Judge On or

before the first day of the terin of the Cow&+ sioners Court at whioh the SeleOtlOn Of the

169 Honorable C, I&, Patterson, Page 3 depositories is to be made. Said applioation

, shall aleo be aacofipanled by a oertified aheok for not less than one-half OS one per cent of / the oounty’s revenue’ for the preoeding year aa a guarantee of the good faith on the mart of

‘j, said bank, and that if said bank is accepted,

as county depository, that it will enter into

the bond hereinafter provided. Upon the.failure

of the banking oorporation, association, or

individual banker in suoh oounty that may be

selected aa depoeitorp, to &ve the bond re- quired by law, the amount of such certified

‘I check shall go to the county as liquidated.

damages and the county judge shall readvertise

I for appliaations, if neoesaary, to obtain a ror said county.” county depository

: 1~ bticle 2648, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes; pm I vides in partr

*It shall be the duty of the Commissioners Court at ten O?.clook a.m. on the first day of

each term at whloh banka are to be seleated as

oounty depositories, to oonaidor all applioa-

tions filed with the County Judge, cause suoh

applications to be entered upon the minutes

of the Court and to eelect those applicants

that are aoceptable and who order the most

favorable terms and oonditions for the handling of such funds and having the power to rejeat in the

those whose management or condition,

opinion of the Court, does not warrant placing

of county funds in their poeaession. . . ,*

It will be noted that Article 2545, aupra, 5peCiflCally that Vpon the failure provides of ,the banking corporation, assooiation, or individual banker in suoh county that may be selected aa depository, to give the bond required by law, the amount of auoh oertified oheok’shall go to the county as liqui- dated damage8 and the county judge ahall readvertise for applications, if neoeesary, to obtain a county depository It will be further noted, that the statute for said oounty.” , (Artioles 2567-2569, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes) provides

for the seleation of a depository upon the insolvenoy of a bank which is a county, oity or distrlot dapoeitory.

It Is stated in Corpus Jurls Seoundum, Vol. 20, p. 7521 *4 Honorable C, Is. Patterson, Page 4

“Under some statutes an annual designation of depositpies designation la required, and in such caeo

of the depositary oontlnues for a qeriod of a year only. The term of a depositary

s not limited to one year by a statute requir-

ing the board of deposits to meet at a.epeoified

time annually, or at any time summoned to

de&gnat& the banka of the state deemed eligible

for Ieposite. A statutory provirrlon requiring

the seleotion of a depositary every two yeare

has been held mandatory. Whore neither statute

nor agreement fixes. the term of the depositary,

the relatfon oont&uaa:durlng the mutual will

of the parties to the oontraot, and a deeig-

nation will be presumed to continue until a

ohawe ie s,howA. IA such aaee the government

nay :t,erminate the relationship whenever the

pubfb safety requirea it, but only by not,ica

of the eleotion to wlthdraw the de o&t. The

depoeitary may terminate the relat onehip only f

by notice of its eleotion to that effeot and

the tender of the deposit, A reda&$gnation of

a depoeitary $8 not neosaeary where the appoint-

ment it3 expressly stated to oontinue until

there is a new advertisement for bide, Although

there is authority to the contrary, it ie

generally held’that, where the power to appoint

ia given In general terms, the appointing au-

thority cannot bind itself by appointing for

any definite time, but hau at all times dis-

oretionary. power of revocation; and unless there

i$ axpreaa authoTi.ty to make a designation for

a definite time, the ap’pointing power oannot

make a binding appointment for a term extend-

ing beyond Lts own term of office, but the NO-

oessor has the right, on assuming the offfoe,

to make it8 bwtl doelgna tf 01). 4 . .*

We think that under the above mentioned etatutes there la ‘express authority to make a designation of a oounty depoeitory for a definite time namely, twc years. And aa above etated, a statutory pro&ion requiring the aeleotion of a depository every two year@ hae been held mandatory* (In re Cameron Trust Company, 51 3. W. (2d) 1025)

Honorable 0, E. Pattsraon, Page 5

8or the purposes of this opinion, we must aasum

that the oontraot between the bank and tha oounty i,s a valid and binding oontraot and that it wan to oontinus ior a period of two ysars. TBe think that the above mentioned statutes and the OoAtraOt ltsali fir the term of the depository, and that . euoh relation C?OAtiAtl68 for euoh time and oamot be~tenafnated

at will by either party to the oontraot. Therefore, wa reB- answer the above stated question in the negative, peotfully

Trusting that the foregoing fully answers ycm in- quiry, we are

Yours vary truly