Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE AITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable John R. Shcok Criminal Dlatrlot Attorney
San Antonio, Tarar
Dsar Sir: Attention8
nd l m~loyaar o? sngagrd pub110 health thr time ruoh ra abeont from f and engagad in la1 whloh makctham brt- .rendir rarrlor oplnlon on the abotr rtatrd br thfr department.
o thank you ior tha oitatlon OS author-
your Inquiry, whioh hna aldrd u8 in -‘ram Texas Jurisprudenos, Vol. 11, page 564, M quotr as folloner
Honorable John R. Shook, pega 2 court.8 err courts 0r
%mmleslonere~ limited $zrledlotlon, In that their author- ity axtande only to mettere pertaining the general WalZare their raepeotira
oountiae end that their poware are onlf thoee l rpreeely or Implladly oonierrad
upon tham law, --that 18, by the oonetl-
tution e~tatutae of the l tate.a quote from Texee Jurieprudanoa, Vol. 34,
535, a8 r0ii0w8 t
*Samante and aployaee may upon en7 terse of pepant thet mef be ao-
oaptabla to the pertlee the contract of amployment . There must, however, ba author- ity fo r l ntorlog Into the agreamant. A ozm- traot appointing a person to perform oarta5.n eer~lc6e end to pay hIa a oomaleelon thera- for, aade by a etate officer pureuant to an tmoanetltntlonel etatute, le 0r em roroe,
and the appointee 18 not entitled the oom- Again, e county ie not bound by a ~188lOn. oontreot which has bean mede. by the oonmie- wIthout authority3 nor la it slonere~court praoluded aeeertlng the oontract unlewfal end removering tha money wkipp hee paid tharsundor. . . . .*
Soetlo~, ,5J ~oi III of the Tarae Conetl- )utIon reaae 48 rollowe t ehall hare no power
me Leg~elakire ‘any aouatf or to grant, or to authorlee
enmlolpal euthorlty grant, any axtra
oompeneation, tea or allowance to a pub- oflloer, agent, eervant or oontractor,
aitar eenloa her been mmderea, or a
contract has been entarad Into, and par-
ionned In whole part; nor pay, nor tha ~peymant of, any alaim
orsated again8 t any ooucity or aunlcipal-
Itr of the Stats, atier any agra6mant
contraot, made wffhouf authority of law.*
66 Honorable John A. Shook, page 3 44181, V6rnon’e AnnOtatad Revised
Civil St.attltae of T6xam, reads as follower
*It shall be lawful rot the &ate Da- perWent of Haelth to eooapt donetlone and’ oontrlbutlone, to br expradea In the lntar- art of the public health and the anforea-
rent of pub110 h68lth lane. The Commleeionare Court of an? County shall hate ,th6 authority to appropriate and expend money th6
ganerel revenues of its County fir In behalf of public health and eanltatlon
within lta County.*
An offloar 18 not antltlad to any oompanea- addition to thet uhloh has fixed law tion the perforaance ths dutlae of hla offloe, oven though the, ooiupeneatlon so fixed is unreasonable lnaarquata. He may be rsqulrad bra law to perfors epeolflo ea~lcae or dleoherga additional autlae for whleh ao SOmp8nSatiOn Is proYlded. Ths obligation euoh eenloae lnpoeaa ae an lnclaant parfoxa is to -the office, offloer, by his accept&co thereof, daamad to have bean 6 aged. p6rfOrm Texas 7 urisprudence, them wlthout oompansatlon.
vol. , p. 531; XoCaile vs. City of Rookdale
5. W. 2 54; Terra11 Ye. gins, 14 8. a. (2d) 76b;
Statutes preeeriblng fees for pub110 offloara are etrlotl~ oonetrued, and hence a r&?,ht to fr6e IMJ raet in ,j.mplloation. right itft Where thle fiat ‘oonetruoflon, thq language of the law must ba’oonetruad Where a .etatuta is capable lo favor the gorernm6nt. or two ~onetructlone, one of whioh would give an orrlcar eomp&neetion’ for his ecnloos .ln addition his salarT, and the other not, the latter oonetruotlon should be See Texas Jurleprudmde, Vol. 34, p. 508; adopted. Kedaen vs. Hardy, 50 S. PD. 926; Eastland County vs.
Hecel, 288 6. F!. 518.
The same reasoning as lndloatrd ln the lest two praoadlng paragraphs, where an offloar may ra- qulrea ep6olfla~aanlaee or dleoharga ad- perform ditional duties for tiloh no ooqlpaneatlon .I8 provided or allowed, would apply to eanente emplop6ee who *4 Honoreble John 8. Shook, page 4
are required perform epaolflo anloee dleoharga duties without eompaneatlon~ Tharefore, addltlonel ln- eprotore and amplo~aae oountf in pub110 health work ooeld retplred by the ragulatlone the State Health Offloar to take spoolal tralnlng make thm. batter qualifisd whloh 18 deelgned
render eerrloo in health work;,where such training of the State Officer, 1s required raguletlone without oomganeatlon.
We do not think that the terns of Article eupra , arc) broed'enough authorize the WU- Ulttf, ~leelonere* Court to pay the ealar16.e of inspectors e?&plo~eee of the oounty engaged lo public health work while euoh lnspcOtor8 or~employ6ee aka absent from the countf.and perform no dotlae~ae euoh lnepeotore amplo~aae while the special tralnlw es taking above mentlon+d.
In this oonneotlon find no other authority that would the comaleeloners* coart to pay the ealarlae such lnepaoton an4 ~ploysae while taking the special lndiaatad above. fullr hyetlng the foregoing anawere
your lnqali7, we rdmaln, fours very ~truly Ardell )cllllaem Aeeletent