Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Iionorabl6 uill1.u 0. xopom~ld Iionorabl6 uill1.u 0. xopom~ld A A -_, -_, County Attorney County Attorney county Coke county

Robert x.40, Texas Robert x.40, Texas

Dear Slrr

nion of thle de- partment upon the 4b has born reoeivsa.

ed Civil Statutes, 2‘ provldert

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6OhoO1 superin- I be ox offiG

cepeotlte counties and oondl- ttbiui p~rf0~m0~ his PY 0f the OX 0friOi0 f~pOrin- 0 lnatruction in all countlea e, irom and aSlier September 3, the etats and oounty available The population of Coke County aocordlng to the 1940 $ederal Ceneus is four thoueand rive hundred ninety (4690) Inhabitants.

Artiola Vernon’e Annotated Qloi1 Statutes, reads In part as folloire:

Honorable William C. #ODot¶alQ, Page 2

'Except aa otherwire provldsd in thla hot, the ~+nrut7ii feea that may be retained by praolnot, aounty and dlatrlot offlosra mcntloned la thla article ehkll as follorra:

In oountlee ooatainlng twenty-fire

(25,O~~j thouaand or leea inhabitante; aount? Judge, . . . Tynty-four Hundred ($2400.00) Dollaro' , . l .

Article '3891, Vernon'e Annotated ClVll Btatutre, reads in part ae followe:

Wioh orricer naaied in thie Chapter shall first out of the current Is88 of hla offior pay or be paid the emount allowed him under the pro- vlalone of Artiole 3883, together vlth the eal- arlee of hi8 aeslstante and deputies, and author- 1zeQ expeneeo under Artiole 3899, and the amount neoesaary to oover coet of prfmlum on vhatevor surety bond may be required by law. If the cur- rent feeo of suoh oifloe oolleatgd fn any year be more than the a@ount needed to pay the amounts above apeolflad, earn8 ahall be deemed 8X08SeP e.nd ohall dlapoaed of in the manner hereln- after provided.

*In oountlee containing twenty-flve thou- sand (25,000) or leas Inhabitants, dietriot and county orflcera named herein shall retain one- third such exoeai3 ieea until auoh one-third, 2~ c together with the amounts ape&fled In Artlola 3283, Fount3 to Three Thousand Dollara ($5000.00). . . . i p Art1018 3888, Vernon’e Annotated Civil Btatuteo,

Provldea :

aIn a oounty where the oounty Judge aote as superintendent of public lnatruotlon, he shall receive for euch aerviaaa Buoh ealary not to ex- ceed Nine Hundred Dollara ($900.00) a year aa the county board of echo01 trueteee 0r the r86peotlve oountlea may provide. The amount ehall be paid In the manner apeclrled in Chapter 49, Aote 0r the Forty-firet Leglolature, Fourth.z?alled SeselOn, (Article 2?OOd-1) and in Chapter 175, hota OS the *3 Htnorable ‘nillllam C. HoDonald, Page 3

Forty-aeoond Leglslaturs, Regular DessIOn, (Art1010 2827a). " Article 3895, Vernon’s Annotated Btatutrr, raada

a0 follow; .I ;

*The coawlee~onera' court III hereby debarred from allowing oompenaatlon for 8x-offloI0 8ervlcee OOUn- ty offlolale vhen the compeneatlon and exoeaa Sees vhlch they are allowed to retain ahall reach-the aax- lmum provided for In tlale chapter. In oaeea uhere th8 ooapenaatlon and exoeee Seer~whlch the oSSloce are allowed to retain &all not reach the nrorlrpun provid- ed for In thIa chapter, the coaunloalonerr~ court shall allow ooapeosatlon 8x o?flOIo aercpIcOe when, in thslr jUd@B8nt,0UCh OoPlpanaatlOn ia neCeeBBI?J, prO- vlded, euch compensation for 8x oSSIolo rervloee al- lowed ohall not.lncreaee the compensation of the oi- floial beyond the maximuni of compeneatlon and exoeaa See6 allowed to be retaInad by him under thlo chapter. Provided, however, the ex offlaio hareln authorized ahall allowed only after an OpportunltJ for pubUo hearing and only upon the aSfLrmatIv8 vote of at least three siembera of the Uommireloners' oourt.a

By tIrtue oftie ibove mentioned etatuteo, 6 OOUnty Judge In a county aontainlng lees than twenty thousand ln- retain the habitante, who Is compensated on a See basis, maximum of Twenty-four Hundred Dollara , and one- third OS the exoeee f8es,th0 maxImum compensation and excess See6 not to exceed Three Thousand Dollare (gsOOO.OO), making It posalble for the county udge to earn and retain a total Of Three Thouaand Dollarc ( 3000.00) per year aa hie maxImum Qomppenaation. In this oonneotlon, It le to noted that county offlclale ln countire oontalnlng a population of twenty thoueand (20,OOO) lnhabltante more wet be~aompeneated on UI annual salary baaia a@ preaorlbad by the ~Offlosrm SalarY Law". In counties oontalnlng a population of less than twenty thousand inijabltante, It 1s optional with the commIeslonere' Oourt whether said officers are to be compensated on an antIUti salary or fee baala, we are informed by the State Comptroller, the county offlclala of Coke County are compensated on a See baeis.

Vlth referenae to Article 3888, supra, ne dlreot Your attention to ~the fact that this article hae been long Construed by this department aa bulng aocountable aa pet Of the maximum the officer could retain under the provl.rdone Of Article 3891,aupra, and the oounty la not entitled to the oompaneation provided by hrtlcle 3888 over and above hia maxlmum oompensatlon arrived at by reason said Article t

Honorable Wllllam C. hoDonald, Page 4

It has been oonsletentlp held by former admitis- tratlons OS thle oiiloe that the oonunlselon8rr~ oourt may allow a oounty ex offlollo oompeneatlon under AHlo in any amount within the dieoretloa of that body tao long aa the total oS Sees earned plucl 8x oSSle10 may equal, but not exoeed, the maximum allowed by law, In thlr in- etance, &axo,oo.

. In Oplnlon lo. 2Sl0, rendered by thlr department on March 9, 1921, and printed In the Attorney Qentral'e Report6 and Oplnlonr for 1920-22, page 297, It wa8 held that the oounty judge, aotlng as 8x oiiloio county tohool auperlntendtnt uaa alaply periorslng addltlonal dutitr and ' the compensatloa his .strvlore ae ex oftlclo county eohool euperlnttndent oonstltute a its a8 oounty JUdgt.

In view OS the Soregoing authorltles you are rt- epeotSully adtrioed that lt 1s the opinion OS thlr depart- mtnt that the maximum legal ealary of the county judge of County, who la 8x offI. county eohool euperlntendent, 1s Three Thoueand poliara ($2OCO.O0) per amum.

Your queetlon wlth referenos to txpenets whloh uay bt dsduoted in arriving at tht maxkmum salary ie very geu- erol ana epeoifiee no partloular dtdudtion that you may have in mind, therefore, it neoessarlly follow that we must aatvtr the aime in a general manner. The legal deduotlona that oan be mad8 are those whloh are ep8olSleU 1.n Artiole 3291 aud Article 3899, said deduction8 be mad8 in oomplianoe with said statutea.

Trusting that the Sortgolng ruiiy an~uers your inquiry, we art

Yours very truly ATTORXEX CHCtWbU OF TEXAS Ardell Wllllame nlr:Li4 Aesletant AP~ROVEDJA~ 16, lg41