Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
uonorable ropr Somy
county AttorAay ?ottw county
marlllo, Tsxar
mar sir:
otoa r0r 8 porlod ed ln your lottrr of 8n
OpiAiOA tr'on thf8 0 r01108in~ paragraph: 2, a0ri80a civil YOU rd@r iA fOUr 8tOtut0r, lOttOre rO8d8 lees, i~ p8~% er 8ny aimm, oounty preolnot 1 require tbo sorvlooe OS a0puti08, 8aahtOAte Or Oh&@ iA the pSl'iO~AO0 Or hi8 dUtiOa he mill Apply t0 the COUAtY COAA~C~~OAOTIS' CoUrt Of hi8 OOUAt~ for suthorlty t0 ‘~~$At~~Il~b arrlatants or olorks, aaputler 8ppiit38thA th8 AOAbOr AOdd, th8 t%OA tO b0 8Ad amount bo paid. Said 8~$liOOtiOA
‘tilled rtmll be rooompaAird by a statement rhowlng thr *2 ,
BOA. Tom s0.y. i’aee 2.
probable reoeIpt8 frown feel, 00m18@1oa~ and OOA- peaaetlo~ to be oolleoted by said offloe during the tisoal Jeer probablo dfsbursements vhloh shall lnolude ell alarles and oxpenaes or said 0rri00; and e.ald oourt shall make It8 order authorIziA2 the appolntzent of suoh deputlee, Sa- 818taatS and olerks and flX the oomponsstloa to be peld them within 1Imltatlonr: hsrsla pre- eorlbed deter&n8 the number be appointed as in the diaorstlon of said court ASy be proper; provided that In no cake ehell the Coni~l~slooero~ Court or any member thereof attempt to lafluenoe the ap~olntneat 0r any person as deputy, asclstant or olark la any orrloe. Upon the entry or suoh order the orrloert applylae for suoh a6Si8t&ntS, deputies or olarke shall be authorized to appoint then; provided that mid oonpea~.etloa shell not exoeea the marlmum amourt hereinafter Pet out. Tho OOAptiaSStiOa vhlch say be allowed to t.he de- puties, erslctants or olerks above named their servloes shall a rassonable one, not to eroeed the r0110Piinf. ar;iounta: . ..a ~'
3-e are unable to find any statute deallag with the Subj60t of vacations fmow oounty ofrlolalr. The P.~JZO 1s true Ceputles, aseI6taatr or other rocular employees authorized to perrorn tsrvlce8 under prlaclpal of any pub110 offloe, nlth the sxoeptlon of Art1016 1583b, Penal Code 0r Texas, 1925, which provides that every regularly Ssslened jellor, jail Euara, Jail matron at eny oollnty $a11 la any olty of aore thorn treaty-five thousand (25,000) inhabitants eh~ll be allwed fifteen (15) day8 vacation la each year tith pay, adt more than two (2) tmmbera to be on vaoatioa St the same tIzie.
COJUQ .sdoaerb Courts ara oourtb of geniral- jarls-
dlotlon when a !tlw within the sphere of the povers and duties oonrerr Id u:oa them, hOwever, they Sre OoUrts of 1iElted jurled .otion in their authority oxteade oaly to mttere per ;alalw to the general welfare of their cm- peotlve oouatl :B SAd thiit their pawors me only those expross- ly lmplledl r conferred upon thezn law -- that is, by the Conetltuti #A end Btatutes of the 2tSte. 11 Tex. Jur.
para. 37, P. 5 H.
147 Boa. Taa Seey, Page 3.
The law Lop0808 up on l eoh l leotlvo OfiiOi81 0s
8 OouAty oertaIa duties oonaeoted with his orfloe rhloh ho 18 obligated dlsolmrgo ma perform. He to relthfull~ is rospoaslblo oerteln cots 0r his deputlor~ l Aa iA tho dot108 0r ths rutter of atteadl~ 6na performing his Otfioe, tho l.r holds him rospoaslble. &f.ay duties ooaaeoted dth 6 pub110 offloo must aeoosserlly perrorm- od’ by olerieal workers OAa rsaistanta, who eoaseqaently p8rfOCPI their duties solsl~ under the dlreotloa of the prlnolpsl in orrlae. Xs9eaIell~ 18 this true uhere their dutIo8 are not reguleted by stetute.
The status of the verIous daputles, assistants
or clerks, 08 provided ln bove-quoted statuto, era varied. 8herlfi deputies, ooastablo deputies oooaty olerk deputies ore oonslderea pub110 orrloers. In 6 true seass, they psrrorm ~ove~ramental end runotioa8, where their duties ore not prescrlbod or replated br statute, they perform a pub110 servios, 8hsrlng tho ro- sponsiblllty of offloe with tholr prlnolpal. Suoh orrloers stand on a rooting different rrom mere oouaty unployess-- tho semloes and sn?plo)ment of the tormsr being authorized br lsw, the latter being based upon oontrcrot with ths OOCI- mlssloaer6 oourt.
An ezsmlnatloa oi the aotr Of the various legls- geaoral
1atur.s ror sevsral years pdst discloses that appropriation bill prorlsloas, as 8rr00tiag State employees, pomlt twelve (12) working day vaoatlons, when agreed to betveen tho off18161 end hi8 eaPlo~ee8. It It can be sold the StOt0 ha8 OaOpt0a 6 $'01:0y Of .llOWiA& paid V.O.- tioas, a law whleh requires a pub110 offioer to 6erve a year before being alloued.saoh vao8tioa wotild, IA our oplaIo~, oontrsveae suoh deolared polley, deprlvlne tho government servloe, whloh 18 the only of hotter more erfloleat priasiplo upon vhloh saoh vaeetIoa8 000 bo 8a8talned.
Suoh satters of general offlee rOUtlaO mode in which 6 pub110 orrlaer, help Of hla 6uthOris8d de- puties, asslstanta aad olerks, perfornrs the duties of hle oitloa, where not reguletsa by stetnte, 8re not vestoa IA Xe 0aaAOt help but view the ast- the oomIssloners oourt.
ter or regal.tioa or hours end vaaatloas of pub110 OfSlOsrS In 011 governmental and polltloal unlta OS the goveramat OS being solely ono of ereoutIvo or ad5iAistrativo dlsore- t:OA, rubjeot be wlthdram or eontrolled tbe LWISlO- turo.
- . 1.48 son. Tan Seq. Peg8 4.
Veoetlons am olosely Idontlflod geaerel ~~l;;stretlve powers vested la the bolder of a pub110
. The only prlnolple upon whloh vacetloas are per- mIttod, lasofer es 6 deolared polloy of the q,overnment would utborlzo semo ‘appesre grounded on a settled polioy of employees or pub110 ofrlcers eaterlag Into ea agree- n0At with their dOpart8mntel or Off108 hoed, under the lrttor(s supenlslon end dlreotlon.
As vaoatloas dlreotly effect the discharging or the duties of a pertloular offloe, the responslbllIty ror whloh ropores in the prlacIpal of such offloe, the comnIssloners Court, bclng -aowlse charged with such respon- slblllty, would not be authorized, in the absence of lsg- lsletlvo authority, to 68same control attempt to regu- let8 the some.
It la, the oplnloa of this deportment therefore,
that the oommlssloners oourt of a county does not hate the authority peas an order providing that no vacatloas with pay shell be ellowed en7 employees of the county or deputies or assistants county orrloers until and unless suoh persons have been employed for a period of oar year.
guoh order, belae beyond the soope power and authority vested in the Commls~loaers court, la ultra wires and void.
Trusting tbe above easwers your request, we ore Yours verr truly ATTOFUIEYG~IJAf~~TXAS J. f klag Aa latent