Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1940 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AU8TIN
Honorable J. B. Allred
County Auditor
Baylor County
YF---+-
=ym our, -LXAS
Dear Sir;
ion of this departmmt
on th* aboro 8 reaaioed.
as follbas :
Court ot Baylor County
O\mty AuaZtOr to get a
to payment ot expens6e
fw a period running
ers for extra help aa
derstanding that thle offi-
ed to aover any extra help
th:‘ce,eLFhLYKty
tidy, whfoh ln cmlr part
oounty ie not large enough
the oounty has paid tU8
en srnount for oonnty and
iag per year,
around4l,4OOdM
8 should hsri
et from them
fast that the
expenoe &ate-
ment monthly to the emrtl which ha ‘has done amI
in whlah hs has not alai&ml the&~ expenses, it
Is mg belief that M Ia not entitled to alah
them at thlls late date.
ITOn. J. B, Allred, pace S
matter for the full period or any part of the
nine year period.”
Article 3899, Vernon’s Annotcitofl Civil Statutes,
rea&a In part au follows:
*(a) At the elose of eaoh month of his
tenure &$ offioe eaeh offlaor named herein
who is oompensated on a Pee basle shall make
as part of the report now required by law,
an it&.zsd and sworn statement of all the
aotual and neeessaq expenses lneurred by
him in the oonc¶uet of hia offlee suoh aa stn-
tlonerp, stampe, telephone, premknns on offi-
atslat bon&a, inaluding the, eoat of surety
bon&e for hie premium on fire, bur-
glary, theft, robbe nsuranoe proteatlng
pub110 funds, expenses an& other
neoesaary expenses, Ihe Commiesioners~ Court
of the oounty of the Sheriffte reeldenee may,
upon the written and 8w:rn applioation. of the
bherlff stating the necessity therefor, pur-
ehase equipment for a bureau of oriminal Men--
tlfleatlcn suoh-as eemerae, finger print, ear&s,
inka, ohemieals, &@rOsoopes, radio and lsbora-
tory equipment, filing oards, filing eebinete,
tear ~:as and other equipment in keeping with the
system in use by the Department of Pub110 Qafe-
ty ~of this State of the United States Departsmnt
;foiustioe enU/or Bureau of Crlmlnal’fdentifloa-
If suoh expenses be ineurre& In eennaotlon
with’any partioular aase, sueh statement nhall
neme euoh aaee. Sueh expense aoeount shall be
aubjsat to the eu(llt of the County Audzttor, ~ii
any otherwfse by the Connnlsaioners~ Court1 an4
Y it appears that any item of such expense wae
not incurr& by auoh oflioer or eueh item wae
not a neoessary expense of offioe, s~ueh item
ehail be by suoh auditor or court rd$eoteU, 3.n
whloh &se the aolleotlona of .lsueh item ma’y be
adjudioated in tiy oourt of ooripetent~ &trlsdietlon.
The am&& of salariee pai& to Aesietante aab De-
puties shall also be, el~:~arly shown by suoh~offi-
owl plvinC the name, position an8 amount peicl
eaoh; and in no event ahall any offioer show
Hon. 3. 5, Allred, page 3
any graater amount than actually paid any such
Aseistant or Deputy. The amount of suoh ex-
Pensee, together with the amount of salaries
paid to Assistants, Deputies and Clerks nhall
be paid out of the Pee8 earned by such offioer.
The Commlsulonerst Ijourt of the oounty of the
Sher$ff*s residenee~may, upon the written and
sworn applloation of the Sheriff stating the
neeesnity therefor, allow one or more nutomo-
bile8 to be uPred by tile Sheriff ln the dis-
oharge of hie oifiaial dutlee, which, if pur-
ohaeed by the County, ehall be bought in the
manner preaoribed by law for the purchase of
supplieli and pald for out of the Oeneral .Fund
of the county and they shall be and remain the
property of the county. The expenee of mainte-
nanee, depreolation and operation of suoh auto-
mobiles a8 may be allowed, whether purehaeed by
the aounty or owned by the Sheriff or his De-
puties pereonnlly, shall be paid for by the
Sheriff and the amount thereof shall, be reported
by the sheriff, on the report above mentioned,
fin the seme manner as herein provided for other
expenses.*
The Commlssloners~ oourt Is a oreature of the
State aonutltutlon, and In the exooroise of its functions,
the oourt’e power, authority and duties are strlotly lim-
ited to those expreivsly or impliedly conferred upon it b
the Constitution and the ‘laws of this aitate~. Aats outai l e
of these definite bound6 are null and void. (Mills County
88. Lampabaa dounty, 40 S1 W. 403 Oommis6lonere~ Court of
Madison county va. Wallie 15 8. 4 (Sd) 55881 Satsfleld v.
Sheppard, 59 9, W. (8d) lhlg Van ~oeenberg v& ~J.ovett,
173 5. PI. 508 Miller ~~8~ Brown, 515 S, V. 45St Texa8 Curia.
Vol. ll, pp. L-5).
Oonee uently, from the proposition and, authoritlers
eited above, be Pore the aommissionars oourt in the aitua-
tion now oonfronting UB ean legally pay the aounty olerk
money representing expenses of that office over a nine year
period, there muet be mome expreseed or implied authority
found in the Conetitutlon or the laws of this State eonfer-
ring that right or Juetlfying that aetiO&
The county officials of Baylor County are aompen-
sated on a fee basis. Artlole 5899, supra, ragerdlng ths
expen8es of oounty offlaiale, with few exaeptions~, has been
IIOn. J. B. Allred, page 4
dn the same form during the nine year period WC now have
under oo~slderation. This atatuts has alwape allowed the
expenaoe enumerated therein for oounty offioials oompensated
on a fee basis, inourred by them in the oonduat of thair
offioae. Howeqer, these expenses wera never paid by the
oounty, but the amount of suoh expenees, together with th8
&mount OS 5alarlee paid to assistents, deputfss and olerka
wera to be paid out of the fess earned by auoh offioer.
Under the old statute (3899, 234397)suoh expanses and sala-
rice were to bs paid out of the cixoess feee earned by suoh
officer. ??ow, under the present statute, suoh expenses and
salaries are to be paid out of the fees earned by suoh offi-
0er. Said offloer oan le@.ly dedaat the salaries of his
assistants and deputies and the authorized expenses under
Arti 3099, supra, in arriving at his maximum oompensatlon.
Tha county has paid the count olerk ex-offlolo
oompensation in the approximste 5um Of $1400.00 per year dur-
ing the above mntioned nine year period. The aonnnlealoner5~
oourt Is debarred from allowing oompensation for ox offloio
asrviaee to oounty offioials when the oompeasation and ax-
Oesa fess whloh they are allowed to rotain ehall reaoh the
nudmm provided by law, A5 above stated, oounty offioialll
who.am oompeaaated on a fee baste must pay their expense5
out of fees earned by their respeotfve OfflOes, and the oom-
missioners' ootWt ia without authority to allow payment of
the aam by the oounty.
You 'are respeotfull advised that it is the opinion
of thitl departmsnt that the ag;ove mentioned erpenass Of tb6
oounty ulerk should have been paid by h&n fxom fees of offios
and the oounty has no suthority to pay suoh expenses.
Truetlng that the forego@! fully ansWrs your
inquiry, we remain
Your5 very truly
Al'TORhT&pCZ!XERAL
OFTEXAS
BY ISl8ned)
Ardell Pll.lianw
Afmla tant
A%GX
ApprMre&,Aprfi 80. 1940.
Or#ves SeLlbra, First Assistant
Attmney General
ApprQVad1 Opinion Cor;rmlttee by BWBL Ohairman