Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1957 )


Menu:
  • THE ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS The State Board of Water Engineers No. WW-314 Opin-i,on Austin, Texas Re: Whether or not the ,JttorneyGeneral must approve a person filing for the positions of examiner and assistant examiner for the Board Gentlemen: of Water 3~>@n~~ers. In reply to your letter of August 15, 195'7,in wlhich YOU ask whether the Attorney General is required to approvsz applicants for the positions of examiner and assistant exam'~ner for th,eState Board of Water;Engineers, we tender the follow:j.n~g opinion: The answe'rto your qu,estlonis to be found in subdivi- slons (6) and (11) of Arkl~~,le c;~+77, V.C.S., which we quota as fo:.:i.ows : "(6) The Board may appoint such other employ- ees as may be deemed necessary for tlheeff'io.cnt nerforman~.eof the duties authorized and required of it t.y law. "(11.)The ‘ttor:r:rJGeneral shall :TPthe leg.al advisor OT the 'TJ board a:Xi3hall represen.tY! t Ianli+i- gatlon to whici:Jt-m::ybe a !;)a!,%y; provided, that in addition, the Chai~r;,;lan, su',jectto approval of the Board and written consent of tha Attorney General of the State, may employ other iegal counsel regular- lY> or may engage their services temporarily. Suits to enforce any provisions of this chapter may be pro- secuted :i~n ,theco:irt:;c;.f the State by the Attorney General." The language above quoted req!l1.res the Attorney Gen- eral's approval of all legal counsel employed by the Board, whether (employedregularly or temporarily. The position of legal counsel, however, Ls distinct and separate from the posi- tion of examiner or assistant examiner. In administrative practi~cegenerally, an examiner 1s primarily a hearing officer iho conducts hearings for the agency State Board of Water Engineers, page 2 (WW-314) and performs other incidental duties as required by the agency or by statute. See Davis, Administrative Law, Sets. 91 et seq. The status. oowers and duties of an examiner depend upon the terms of the-statute providing for his appointment and the rules and regulations adopted by the administrative agency which he serves. 73 C.J.S., Public Administrative Bodies & Procedure, Section 17. Subdivision (11) of Rnl;icle7477 places the duty and responsibility for legal advice and representation upon the Attorney General and requires his approval of all persons cm- ployed by the Board in the capacity of legal counsel. whether such persons~are employed regularly or temporarily. This does not mean, however, that the approval of the Attorney General would be required for a position other than that of legal counsel. In our opinion, subdivision (6) of Article 7477 em- powers the Board to employ an examiner or ?ssistant examiner without the approval of the Attorney General. SUMMARY The Attorney General is not required to approve a person filing for tilepositions of examiner or assistant examiner for the State Board of Wa.terEngineers. The Board may not, however, employ legal counsel, regularly or temporarily, without the ap- proval of the 4ttorney General. Very truly yours, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas By++ /2wwfk 3, HB:PC Houghton Brownlee, Jr. Assistant APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE: H. Grady Chandler, Chairman J. C. Davis James N. Ludlum RI!XIEWEDFOR THE ATTORNEY QENERAL BY: Geo. P. Blackburn

Document Info

Docket Number: WW-314

Judges: Will Wilson

Filed Date: 7/2/1957

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017