Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Honorable John Stapleton
County Attorney
nora county
Ploptada, Texas
Dear Sir:
Opinion Ilo. o-
Re1 Aoor8lJity
Wr are pleased t Iotter of Deoembor 30, 1BSS. we pta0t0 rr0pl p
an eleotlon mltruotbon or Pub110 Instruotlon anb appointed Clarsnoe Quif*e County Suparfntandsnt.w *2 pm hai 8688, ~OCI~OLL'O imti0tOt06 cltii mat
Statuto8, llM5, whioh ia portlnent to the faotr uhlah you preo- ent prorides:
". . . and, if a majority of the gualiflbd property tnx-paying voter6 tot- at said oloo- tion ohall rota for the atmtlon 09 the offioo of county &uparint*ndont in 8a1e ootmty, tho com- mle0ioneTo* Court, at It0 WXt Ngalar term
after the held* Of oaf6 l leotloa~ shall oraato the orrio of County Superinturdont, ana aom a Cowty Suporinten6aritwho shall qualify under
t&o Chapter and hold mmh ofi%ee ant11 the Iurt ocmerel Bleetloa. . . .g (t3n~erooCFhg oarnJ
A0 iu: rio w haW bUn able to a6oartain, them IO w&wa~ oan oonotrulng tha aborr gwted port1011 of nrtiolo
. In iilW66~~t~ the oaool of other joriodiotiono, relr- to the @raw "hea 6eImral eloation", we hat6 fo\pld aon* tit* with root8 uu~Lo@oa8 to thooe wuoh mu have praoonkb. mea can0 r&or w ogpolatwato mida ror the unexpired term of rariouo 0rri808 end ar* not relative to tha ag ointmnua ma&o ore&ad ofJio@o. After uonslaar~ L thee* 0an0, to ffllnowly w find that the oourta are la ooafllot aa the smning 05 Waxs uuwral eleotion*. wuwrouo jtuio6lotlo~o oonolado t&a* thio @ran relatms to the ‘%efmral sloetlonR whloh io aoxt in or tfiw. Otbrr $arioillotlono adopt tba rule that *next point g u ural l leetione rofsr8 to the nert g8aaral l loot%en at whloh a l tao0awor to the off&m uould Ime beon elrotod had therm bral no raealloy. The *ordine or the Conotitution er tha Stat- uteo or the partloalar jarlo~latloa appears to ba tha control- llng factor in each lnstanoe.
Th666 6tutcbDPUlt6 are rsriflrb by the many eaoao whioh we hwe ooaol6ered (txxm~~)row to mantlon here) aad by in parts noto in SO L.B.A. (19.s.J 369, ahloh otatao *The aourto are In e+&liot a6 to the auanla@ of the phrarw *next uowral el~aotian' or similar axprsosion, wed in the 0Eafntae provltUng for tb fius,qg oi vaoawl86 la publAo oiflooo. Ia the abaenoe 6i 8peO%fiO ooSWtitUfioep1 or atah- mine Qcurto take the view that
tory oonotruation, ouoh phra8so awn thr elaotion &am lB point Of tlxw, whfl6 others &old that suoh phraos6 refer to the mxt ~leation at whlah a oubeeooor to the
..: *3 Honorable John Stapleton, Pago 3
offloe would have been eleotad had there beon no Tnoanoy.
". . .
"de was stated above, the term *next general elaatlon' has been held to mean the general eleo- tion next in point of SW, although, had there been no vacancy, no eleotlon to the offloe rould hare been held until 8ome aubsequont year.
(Citing caeee)
". . . "On the other hand, It he6 been held that the phrase *next general eleotlon* refers general eleotlon at whloh the oiiloe would have been tilled had there been no raeanoy. toit4 oPoea; . . .* In view oi these oondltioao end olrauwtwaa~, we mot resort to a oonotruotion OS our onn otatateo to detarmlne the meaning of the phrase "next general elaotionW, and not blindly adopt the rule or another jnrlodlatlon whose partioular oonetltatlon or etatutes ara worded dlfiterontly from our own.
In eonstruing otatate8, a0 a general rule, words In 6omuon nne, when oontaind in a etatute, will bo read aooord- ing to their natnral, ordinary and populer m&a&g. Also en aat should be given a fair, rational, reasonable and oenaible oonotruotlon, oonaldering ltn langnago and oubtbjoat matter.
These rules are so well established a&d familiar that no author- ity lo aeoeesary.
*It is", aleo~ *the general pollay ot the law to till raoanoiea In an electMe oifla8 at an eleotlon a0 Soon as prao- ticable after the vaaanoy OOOUITO. hat6 ~‘8. ~ohroader, 99 lfeb. 959, ll3 B.W. 192". ~,stat.e ex rel. Roerlok TO. Board of Com*ra. of Lyman County, et al, S.D. 1914, 14s 91.11. 348; See aleo 46 Corpue Jurie, Sao. 121, p. 994, and oases olted. (3nderscoriW ours) Thj.8 rule is followed in Taxaa ae Is ehom by the ease OS Dobkina VB. Beaae , CIT. App. 3929, 19 S.W. (26) 81, whera the oourt, on p. 83, sald:
"'As was said by Judge Moore in Wright w?. Adam@, 45 TBX~ 134, It is believed, moreoter, to be a *4 Eonorable Johu Stapleton, Page 4
sop06 rule of oonetruotlon, which holds, when the duration or tar6 ot an orrice which Is rillea by popular eleotion la a queatlon doubt or up- oartainty, that the interpretation Is to be tol- lowed whloh limits it to the shortest tixie, and rOtum3 to the people at the earllaet period the parer and authority to refill it. . . .**
Article 2930, Veruon~8 Annotated Civil Statutes of 1925, provides In part:
"A general eleotlon shall be held on the fir& Tuesday after the first Monday iu Wove6- bar, A. D. 1926, and every two yeara thereafter, at suoh plaoes as eay be prescribed by Law, after notloe as presorlbed by Law. . . .v
BY virtue ~0s the last quoted portion or Article 2930 and the rules of conatruotlon above @et out, It lo the opinion of this depaxtxmnt that it will be neoeesary to hold a6 eleotiou Superintendent of Public Inotruotlou for Floyd County falsity . Suoh ie the ooncluolon reached by giving the quoted portion 0r Artlole 2688, supra, Its natural, ordluarp, reaoon- able and senalble ocmotruotion, and by ratuming to th6 people at the earliest period the power sad authority to rail11 the deat Iv4 offloe.
The rora *naxtw , in oon5on parlauoe, mane a6eare6tv au& la so derlnod in Webster*8 Wew International Dictionary.
The general eleotion to be held In 194C. in oompllanoe with Article 2930, eupra, Is the general l leotlon wnaarestw to the tima 0r appointment or y0ux present County superintendent ol Pub110 Xnstruotlon.
The oonotrudtlon we have plaoed on that portlon of ArtiOle 2088, oupra, which is pertinent to the facts whioh you have presented, la supported by an opiuion rendered by this department, Ho. O-1664. The stat&a under cou6ideratlOu in that opinion was Art1016 2355, Veruon*o Revleed Civil Statute@, 1925, and its terminology ia vary almilar to that portion of A+iole 2888 whlah we are Oousldering. We quota Article 2355:
*The Couxt shall have powOr to fili vacauczles In the office of: County Judge, Connty Clerk,
sherirf, county AttornOy, county heamuer, Coun- ty Surveyor, Couuty Ride Iuapeotor, Aaaaaaor of Taxee, Collsotor of Taxes, Justices of the Paaae, *5 Honorable John Stapleton, Page 3
Constables, and County Superintendent of Publio Instruotion. Suoh racanoiea shall be filled by e majority rote of the members of said Court,
present tend voting. and the person chosen shall hold office until the next general eleation.
AS amended iLets 19 40th I, 1 t C.S., p.
248, ch. 90, 6 1." (Onderet%g &me)
The feet.8 presented in Opinion Ho. O-1664 were stated as follows:
"*In my special ease, my hueband's term would have expired January 1, 1943, since this is e
rotu year ofiiee and he had served not quite one year 0r his term. I am told that I oan hold it until the next general eleotion, but it seems to me this should be interpreted as aeaning anti1 the next general eleotion for this office, which would ooeur in 1942. Whioh interpretatioa is
correet?*~
On the basis of these faots, the op5nlon 8tated: wPrior to 19S1, the offiee of aounty eehool superintendent was ror a term or two years. Sin88 1931, ths offiae of eoanty sohool superintendent has been ror a term of fom years. The other eofmty offiaes emmrated in Article 2333 are for terms or two years. There are numerous aistriat and state offieea ror longer terms than two yems.
and irreapeotire of the length of the unexpited
term of the appointee's predecessor, the appointee may only hold office until the next general eleo- There has been no judicial constrnetion of tion. Article 2333, aforesaid, a8 to the offioe of eolmty 8Ohwl superintendent. However, the language ir olear aad is not subject to a contrary eonstruetioa than that the appointee must be up'ror eleetion, and that the offioe is open to election at the next general ebetiOB, and that the term of the appointee till expire 0B Jarmary 1st r0nowing
the aext general election. That ill, where an
elective orriae is raeant asd is filled by appoint- ment of the Oo~ernor or ComaissioBers* Court, swh appointits power is only a matter expedienoy in that the will and power of the ,people will prevail to -me the incumbent at the next geaeral d8OtiOn." *6 Bonoreble John Stapleton, Peg8 6
IB an8wer to your seoand question, you ere respeet- fully adrlwd that, in our opiaion, the peraon elected to offiee of County Superintendent of Public Instruotion at the next general eleotion will be eleeted for a term of four years.
howhere, have we been able to find any provision fn the Statute8 or Constitution Of this State requiring the goun- ty Superintendents of the various oouBtle8 to be sleeted at the 8aiS8 general eleotion; nor have we found any prorlrrion that would require the oounty superintendent to be elected et aBy speoifio general eleotion, end then at the end of regular iatenalsl thereafter.
Attention is direoted to that portion of Art1018 2686, supra, whioh provides:
"The Commissioners~ Court of every couuty having three thousand (3,000) eoholastio popule- tion or -1-8 es shown by ths preo8ding seholas- tie oeneue, shall et 2 general Eleotion provide for the election of a County Superintendent to sene.ror a term 0r rour (4) J%@U8, . . .* (UBd8r8OOring 0Ul-S)
Thie prori8ioa olearly indloates that county superin- tendents are not required to be elected at any epeaifie general el8otion, but, 08 the other hand, 8ueh offioers may be el88ted at any general eleotion presoribed by hrtiole 2920, eupre pro- vided, or course, all other neaessary requirements are me i .
In view of this provision, and oonolusion, end by virtue of the faot that the present county superintendent Of Floyd County was not appointed fill an uuexplrod term of a previous offleer, there 18 nothiBg whioh would limit the per808 eleoted at the next general eleotion to a term of less than r0l0r pears.
fitiole 26SSa, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 1925, provides:
*J.B all oountiea in which the eopnty euperin- tendent of sohoole is ahosen by popular 8leetiOn the term 0r orrioe shall be roar y8ars.* Sj.hee the County Superintendent of Public In8trQotiOn c
Honorable Johu Stapleton, Page 9
is to be elected at the next general eleotion, and since suoh orricer will not be dleoted to fill en unexpired term of the previoue superintendent, it is our ~pinlon that such duly eleoted officer will be entitled to a four year term as pro- vided for in mtlcle 2688a, supra.
Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENER&L OF TFXAS %alter R. Kooh Assistant Hs:jm