Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATT’ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUFTIN
Hon. R. 9. Wyohe iuadltor
Gregg county
Longview, Texas
Eear Sirr latlng to the above matters, haa been reoelvs a8 r0ii0w8: aooordlng to the laat tar our population according 8~8 is 15,778.
aae lnfofm me how the oompsnsatlon the Treasurer ehould be set up an4 how he ehould be Hid. Doss he have authority to draw his own pay from whatever fund he may desire, or does *2 Hon. R. S. Wyohe, Page 2
the County Clerk i ssuo him a warrant ae other officer8 are paid?” note tram your communication that the oompen-
setion of the oounty dfioers 6f Gregg County has been prboidsd for on a salary bask@, preeumably in adoordanoo with Seation 15 of Article 3912e, Vernon’s Annotated Civil of Tezaa. eupra, reads a8 fol- Section 3 of Article lOWa: “In all caeee where the Commieelonere* Court ehell have determined county 6$fioers or preoinot officers in euch county shall be oom- JnMksated for their eervioes by the payment of an annual salary, neither the State of Texas nor any oounty shall be charged with or pay to any of .the otffoere 60 oompeneated, any fee or oom- mission of any or all of the duties offioee but euoh officers receive said salary lieu all other ieee, oanmisslone or ocmpensation which they would otherwleo be authorized to retain; provided, how- ever, the aaseeaor- and collector of taxes ehall continue to collect
benefit of the.Officers’ Salary Fund or funde hereinafter provided for all fee8 and commlesione which he ie authorized under law to collect; it shall. be hi8 duty to account for and to pay euoh moniee received by hLm into fund created and provided for under We provisiona:of this Aot; provided further, the provielone ot this Section not affect the payment of oosts coate 80 paid in oivil case8 by the State but all such
shall be acoounted Ear by the of- fiosrs oollaot~ng same, a8 they are required of thie Act to account ices, dimmissione and oosts collected from pri- vate parties .-
Under statute, neither the state of Texas nor any oounty ehall be oharged wl th or pay to any air the fee oom- officers 80 compensated on a salary baais,~ my mission the periormanoe of any or all of the duties *3 Hon. R. S. Wyohe, page 3 offioaa, ,aave only the tax asaeaaor and oolleot-
or who shall continua ‘to oolleot the bena- fit of the Offioera*~ Salary Fund or run&a provldad in the Aot, all faea ando aaiona which he la authorized .ormt the law to oollaot.~ The only feea, oommieaiona and wata~ whioh the officers of the carnty, save only the tax aaaaaaor and colleotor, are +uthorlzed by law to oollect, are thoae fees, oommiaaiona an.4 costs that private part188 are required to pay under law, and coats in civil oases by the state.
Aocordingly, the con&salons which the county would be authorized, otherwise, to receive on monies of the county received, and dlsburaad by him, under Articles 3941-3943 in.oluaive,.Raviaad of Teta8, may no longer be oollaoted againet the county. To allow auoh collections would do violenoe to Section 3 of Art&- ole 3912e, aupra, the county would thereby be charged with and pay auoh commiaalona
by the county treaaurer of hi8 offioial duties.
This matter waa exhaustively diacueaad by this department fn opinion Ho: O-807, aaareaaea to Mr. L. P. Heard, County Auditor, Ball County, Belton, Taxaa. We are enoloalng, herewith, a copy of this for your fur- ther information.
You are, therefore, ‘respaotfully advlaed the opinion of this department the compensation ia of the county treasurer, plaoad by ordar.of the Commi6aion- era’ Court on a salary baa18 under Artiole 3Vl2e, aupra, ahould be @ia out of the Orrloera~ Salary Fund in aocord- anoa with Section 4 thereof, which reads:
vXn all oountiee state containing a population ty of lea8 than one hundred and nine-
thousand (190,000) inhabitant8 acoording laet preoading Federal ‘Cenaua wherein county pracinot ofricare are compensated on a salary baa18 under of this Act, there be created a fund to be known a8 the county, ‘Officers( Salary Fund 0r Texas. ( Such fund shall be kept separate apart rroak- all other funds,. and shall be held and dlabursed the purpose of paying ‘the *4 Hon. R.S. Wyohe, page 4
salaries of offloers and the salaries or dap- aaaiatanta and clerks of officera who utiaa, are drawing a, salary from said fund under provlaiona Of this Act, and to pay the author- ized expenses offices. Suoh fund shell be depoqited in tthe county dapoaltory shall be protected the aama extent as other oounty finds.*
In anawar to your aeoond question, is opinion of this department th6 salary warrant of the oounty should be issued in the same manner as the salary warrants as set out of the other offioers of the County,
in Seotion 7 of Artlole aupra, which provides :
“All monies drawn rrgn said Offlcera~ Sal- ary Fund or funds be paid out only on warrants approved by the oounty auditor in ooun- ties having a county auditor; otherwise olaima against aald fund shall first have been audited and approved by the Cozmalsaionara~ Court eat14 oounty and the monies be disbursed on auoh approved olaima by warrants drawn by tha oounty ‘tireaaurer on said fund.
” * * +n trust answers yogr inquiries satlafactor-
ily, and we remain
Very truly yours ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS APPROVBD ,WOV 15, 1939
BY Wm. J. FaMing Assistant BY Zollle C. Steakley ZC8:ob Encl. APPR3VED ocmmlttea
BY BWB &$EZan