Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1945 )

757
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVER SELLERS,
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Honorable :;;.
J. Tomsend
couzltyAttorney
Aogelina County
Lufkin, Texas
LIelear
sir:
of recent data
raquesttig an op bent on the above
subject matter.
etati tha Sees aarAsd
In which the county
Art1019 39128, Vernon*s Annotated
vides in part aa follows:
x$~~&;ersl Court of eaoh county In
at its first regular fneat-
ing in JiiAUary of &ch calandar year, Shall,
~. by.order made and entered ln the ninutes of said
.court, deternine whether precinot officers of
suoh county (arcapt publio weighers and regis-
trars of vital stetistfos) shall be compensated
on a salary basis as provided for in this Act,
,’
758
..JL. z:. J. Townsend 8 pa@ 2
or -whhsther
they ohall receive as their cozqensa-
tioa, 3uch fees of office as my be earned by thea:
Y,thz perfomance of the duties of their officss,
Sec. 3 of Art. 3912e, 7. A. c. ii., is a3 foJ-ims:
*In all case3 where the C0zi~i3aioners~Sowt
shell have detemlmd that county oflicers cz pre-
oinct officers IIIeuch county shell be cozpersated
for their service3 by the cement of au ahmol
salezy, nuithz; the Stat& 3f-Tesaa fiorany co;lr,tp
shall be chargea wltc or pay to say or t ilti 0-i iC3r3
90 conpwisatea, ELY r’seor coi7.~Ao3~~3 for ‘it3 pr-
iV&ian~e or any or ail 01’ it& c!:uties OS xrldlr
ofr~ceo out aitoi; osricer3 anau r3colve YS~:.3ulary
n llL3U Oi &Id OcZh?r 1333, COnrsi 9sI on3 or cozqwfla-
tion which they V.~LU!stkmvise be euthorized to
retain; providkd, homver, that ths ssse3sor snd
collector of taxes 3hal.11 c;mthxe- to collect 3cd
mtaitl :or the benefit of~'thoWficorsl salary
Bund or fuhds hsrainafter provided for nll:feea
and com.bsio&a which he is authorized wider iev
to collsct; 9ka it shall bs hi3 duty to accollrt
Sor aA to pay all such zoniss received by Nz
into the fund or-eat& and provided for under tha
provisioh3,of this Aot; provided further, that the
provleiuna oA e.tiris5ectlo3 3haU not afSect the
pa-t of cants In oivil oases by the State but
all such costs 30 paid shall ba eccourrtedfor by
the officers collecting the sauce,as they are ”
rec;uFraZ: uhder the provisions of this Act to
aocouot f~orfees, com.i.a3ion3end costs collsoted
from private partietr." ('Jnderscoriugour3)
Sea. 3.0s Art. 35133, 3upra, prohibits the k5Zt.eor
: Cour;tyfro= _=~yingany ret3 to ofr'icurs conpensstad 33.3
i 3akry basis and stetes that the s8lery of such,oSticer Shall
/ be in lieu of aii fees, oormisoiorsor co~qmnsatio~~which they
: would otherwiase authorized to rsteti.,
‘759
iiOn. ii. 5. Touaaend, Pace 3
Sec.,4 of Said article states that iricounties contain-
ing a population of less than one hundred and nimty thousand
(190,000) inhabitants aheroin the county or preoinct officers
are coupenseted on a salary besis, there shall be oreated a
fund to be known as the UffiCarS' salary Fund."
sec. 5 proviaeaz
*It shall be the duty of all offioera to
ahnrge and oolleot in the manner authorized by
law all fees and comi9siOQs which are peruitted
by lew to be assessed and collected for all
offioial servloe performed by them. As sad Men
such Seas are collected they shell be deposited
in the Offioersc Selary FLCd, or funds provided
in this Act.”
Vje therefore answer your queatios in the negative.
Youra very truly,
p----q~ 1
Johns. C, Savi5, Jr.
Aasistent