Case Information
*1 Gerald C. Mann AUSTIN 11. -r~xaS X-Y
Hon. Fred Norris Opinion No. O-3132
County Auditor Re: Can a county of 20,635 population, to the 1940 Census be charged Polk County according Livingston, Texas with commissions or fees the county and another related question7 Dear Sir: of February 5, requesting
Your letter an opinion of this department, later modified by your recent letter of May 24, presents the following questions:
“1. Can a county of 20635 population, accord- ing’to the 1940 Census, charge commissions or fees for the County Treasurer?
“2. Should the treasurer in the above mention- ed County deposit his fees the officer’s Fund?
Xe have restated your first question in the caption set forth above as we understand it.
Article Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, part, provides:
“The commissions to any county shall not exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2000,00) an- nually; *** .I’ . . 3912e, Vernon’s Annotated Civil in part, provides:
“The Commissioners’ Court in counties hav- ing a population or more, and less than one hundred
and ninety thousand ac- cording to the last preceding Federal Census, is hereby authorized and it shall be its duty to fix the salaries of all the following named sheriff, assessor and col- officers, to-wit: lector of taxes, judge, county attorney, including criminal attorneys and coun- ty attorneys who perform the duties of district *2 attorneys, clerk, county clerk, treas- urer? hide and animal inspector. Each of said officers shall be paid in money an annual salary in twelve (12) equal installments of not less than the total sum earned as compensation by him in his official capacfty for the ffscal year 1935> and not more than the maximum amount such officer under laws exfsting on Aug- ust 24, 1935; ***."
Section Article 3912e, Vernon’s Annotated Cfvil reads, in part ) as follows: ‘*All monies drawn from said Officers’ Fund or funds shall be pafd out only on warrants approved by the county auditor in counties having a county auditor; all claims against said fund shall first have been audfted and ap- proved by the Commissioners’ Court of said county and the monies shall be disbursed on such ap- proved claims by warrants drawn by the county treas- urer on said fund.‘” 3912e, of said statutes, in part,
provides:
“It shall be the duty of all officers to charge and collect in the manner authorized by law all fees and commissions which are permitted and collected for all of- ficial service performed by them. As and when such fees are collected they shall be deposited in the Officers’ Salary Fund, or funds provided fn this Act. ****‘I
Section of Article 391.2e, of said statutes, pro- vldes:
“In all cases where the Commissioners’ Court shall have de.termined that county officers or precinct officers in such county shall be compensated for their by the payment of an annual salary neither the State of Texas nor any county shal f be charged with or pay to any of the offfcers so compensated, any fee or commission for the performance of any or all of the dutfes of their offices but such officers receive said salary in lieu of other or compensatfon. which they would *3 page 3 be authorized to retain; provided, however, that the assessor and collector of taxes shall continue to collect and retain for the benefit of the Officers! Salary Fund or funds hereinafter provided for all fees and commissions which he is authorized under law to collect; and it shall be his duty to account for and to pay all such monies received by him the fund created and provided for under the provisions of this Act; provided further, th.t the provisions of this Section shall not affect the payment of costs in civil cases by the State but all such costs so paid shall be accounted for by the officers collecting the same, as they are required under the provisions of this Act to account
and costs collected from private parties."
The county being specifically named in 3912e, supra, the method of fixing the treasurer's compensation formerly prescribed by Article Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, has been superseded by the foregoing provisions of the Officers' Salary Law as they apply to countfes or more, The law provides that a county in such counties draw all warrants on the Officers" Salary Fund, which must be approved by the county auditor.
Relative to your first two questions, the foregoing statutes require the officers designated to deposit all fees and commissions collected for all official performed by them in the Officers' Salary Fund. Since they are prohibited from makfng any charge to the county9 such commissions as pre- scribed in Article 3941, Revised Civil Statutes, are no longer "permftted and collected" as provided in Sectfon of ,Article 3912e, supra.
It is, therefore, the opinion of this department that your questions in the order presented should be answered in the following manner:
1. Question No. 1. is answered in the negatfve. 2. Commissions authorized by Article 3941, Revised Cfvil Statutes, 1925, can no longer be charged to the county those counties with twenty thousand or more,
therefore are not to be deposited in the Officers8 Fund.
Yours very truly LTTORNEY GENERfi OF TEXAS By /s/ Wm. J. R. King Wti. J. R. King, Assistant APPROVED JUL 8, 1941
Is/ Grover Sellers
FIRST ~ASSISTtiT ATTORNEY GENERAL
This opinion considered and approved in limited conference- WJRK:RS:wb