‘. 626 

7 

1 OFFICE OF THE All-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

b AUSTIN 

Honorable J. M. nilllam~ 

aounty Auditor 

Tarrant Oount y 

Xort Worth, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

equeating the opinion 

ttere reads a6 r0li0w8t 

haa also been 

de relative to 

8 In other looalnt Oounty Juvenile 

expanse be paid 

get that we are nowf operating 

oats this expenbiture~ :?a realather an odd request and that 

y rerused to pa? these olaims, 

on or ruling that you may give 

e&ion will be greatly appreolated.” 

Senate Bill No. 44, Aots or the 48th Leglslatuxe 

ResuZar Session, 1943, 18 an aot athe purpose of whloh is b 

ahange the method for handling delinquent ohlldren from the 

Present orimlnal prooedure to guardianship in order to seoure 

ror each ohlld ooming within the dot suoh oare, gUidanOe and 
62’i - 

Honorable J. M. WlLllame, Page 2 

oontrol as ~111 serve the ohllb’s welfare and the best interest of the state1 providing for a Juvenile Court ln each 

oounty of the state in the County or District Courts elready 

eatabllshed) defining oertaln terms) providf!?g for the proaedure in oases or delinquent ohildrenl nunner or hearing1 

dispositional power of Juvenile Courti seleotlon of ouatodlal 

agenoyl protidIng ior support of ohlldren oommltted to ous- 

&dial agenofj presorlblng that reoords shall be oonildentlal) 

permitting physioal and mental examinations of ohlldren upon 

order of the oourti presoribing plaoes of detention; oourt 

aeseioni oo-operatloni oontemptl methods of appeal1 saving 

Olause; re-enaotlng that partion or Artiole 2329, Revised 

Citll Statutes, 1925, dealing with dependent and neglected 

ohlldrea; repealing olauee; and deolarlng en emergency, and 

effeOtlYe date to be sixty days atter enaotaent.* 

in partr 

Seotlon 3 of Senate Bill No,. 44, supra, provides 

. 

No . . The term ‘delinquent ohlld’ meana 

any remale person over the age of ten (10) years 

end under the age or eighteen (16) 

male person over the age ot ten (10 3 

ears and any 

years and 

under the age of seventeen (17) yearel 

“(a) who violates any penal law of this 

etate or the grade or relonyt 

‘(b) or who violates any penal law or this 

state ot the grade of misdemeanor where the punlshnent prosorlbed for suoh offense may be by oonfinemalt in Jail; 

“(0) or who habltually violates any penal 

law or this state or the grade of misdemeanor where 

the punishment presorlbed ror suoh offense is by 

peouniary rine only1 

“(a) or who habitually riolatea any penal 

ordlnanoe or a political subdlvislon of this statei 

“(e) or who habitually tlolates a oompulsory 

eohool attendanoe law of this state; 
628 

Honorable CT. & Wllllama, Pago 3 

“(i) or who habitually so deports hlmselr 

as to injure or endanger the morals or health of 

himself or othersi 

“(g) or who habitually assoolates with violous and Immoral persona.“~ 

Seotlon 11 or said sot provides: 

Whenever any orrloer takes a ohlld into ouatodp, he may release said ohlld to a parent, guaraIan, or any other person upon reoelpt of a written 

or oral promise or f3aia person to assume ocfnplete 

responsibility ror said ohlld and to have him before the probation offioer or the oourt at any time 

then, or subsequently, speolfled by said orfloer. 

II’ not so released, suoh ohlld shall be placed In 

the oustody of a probation otfloer or other person 

designated by the oourt or be taken lmedlately to 

the probation department, the oourt, or to the 

plaor or detention designated by the oourt. The 

oourt may make a general Order UeSlgnatIng suoh 

plaoes of detention whioh may InOlUde private 

foster or boarding homes fork ohlldren, or suoh 

other plaoes of detention which to the oourt seem 

desirable, The County Oodssionera Court may pay 

for boarding or foster home oare for suoh ohildren 

to be detained, or all ohlldren aoming within the 

meanlag or this Aot whether prior to, or after the 

ohlld has been adjudged a ‘delinquent ohfld~.” 

Seotlon 24 0r aaid aot protldesr 

*Artloles 1083, 1084, lOS$, 1086, 1088, 1089, 

1090, 1091, 1092, 1093 0r the (lode 0r Criminal Prooedure, and ArtIole 1087 of the Code ot Criminal 

Pmoedwe as amended Aots 1927, 40th Legislature, 

Chapter 163, Seotlon 1, are hereby repealed. 

“Artlolee 2329 and 2338 or the 

Statutes or Texas, 1925, are hereby 

RAll laws and parts or laws In 

with are also repealed.” 

~p~~~aclvll 

. 

oonfllo t hsre- 
Honorable 5. 11. WIlllams, Page 4 

Seotion 24-A or da aot reads as r0ii0w 

“This Aot shall in no wise alter or aireat 

existing laws with referenoe to dependent or negleoted ohlldren as that term is derlned by Artiole 2330, Revised Clvll Statutea, 1925, and the 

Dlstrlot Court only shall have original jU~lsdlOtion in all prooeedlngs wherein it la sought to 

have a ohlla adjudged to be a dependent or negleoted ohlld, and its rlndlngs in suoh oases 

Shall be entered in a book kept for that purpose 

to be known as ‘Juvenile Reoord*.* 

Detailed provision is made by statute (Title 43, 

Yernon*s Annotated Olvil Statutes) ror prooeedlnga for the 

adjuaioation ma dlsposltlon 0r dependent ana negleoted 

children also adequate provision is made, ror the dleposltlon,:~m&tenanoe and oustody of ohlldren who are found to 

be dependent or negleoted. Your request, as we oonatrue it, 

does not pertain to dependent or negleoted Ohlldren, Therefo?e, this opinion la w be OonstrUed as applying to delinquent ahlldren only. 

Tarrant Oounty has a population or 225,521 Inhabib- 

!$anta aooordlng to the 1940 Federal Csnsus. 

Artlole 5142b, Vernon’s Annotated Cl~ll Statutes, 

moviaea in part; 

“Seotlon 1. That the provisions or this Aot 

shall apply to and arreot auoh oountles only in 

the State of Texas as have, apoording to the last 

preoeding Federal Oensus, a population of not more 

than three hundred and twenty thousand (jZO,OOO) 

inhabitants, and not less than two huudred and 

twenty thousand (220,000) inhabitants, aooordlcg 

to the last preosdlng or any future Federal Census. 

"Qeo. 2. The Juvenile Board of suah oountlea 

shall be oomposed of the Judges ot the several 

Dlstriot and Criminal Dlstrlot Courts, thereof, 

together with the Oouuty J&s thereof. 

The members oonposlng said Juvenile 

Board”f?&%*oounties on aooount or the additional 

duties hereby imposed in them are eaoh hereby allowed an aaaitional oompe*sat~on of Seventy-five 
630 

flonorable 1. M. Williams, Page 5 

($75.00) Dollars per month to be paid by the Oommi~d~nerr* Court in such oounties, and the same 

to be in addltloo to all other’oompensatioii now 

allowed by law to suoh oitloersr 

*. . . .” 

It will be noted that the population of Tarrant 

County is auoh, aooordfng to the 1940 Federal Census, as 

comes within the provisions of the foregoing StatUte. 

Section 11 of Senate Bill No. 44, supra, expressly 

authorizes the Ckmlssioneraf Court to pay for boarding or 

foster how oare for oertaln ohlldren to be detained, or all 

children oomLng within the meaning of the act whethsr ?rlor 

to, or a+3?r ~the ohfld has been adjudged a delinquent ohlld. 

‘: In-answer to your first questlon, you are advised 

that it 1s our opinion that the Commisslonersl’ Court r;lay 

legally pay for boarding or fonter home oare’ for oertaln 

children as are mentioned in the preoedins paragraph, out 

of oounty funds, proolded, of course, suoh expenditure 1s 

made in oompllanoe with the county budget. 

We have failed to find any statute authorizing the 

peyment of any expense to the members of the oounty Juvenile 

bard relative to plaolng delinquent ohfldren in foster homes ! *ioh are situated In other localitlee of the state. Therefore, it is our opinion that the expense inourred by the members of the County Juvenile Board while making trips relative 

tc Plaoing delinquent ohlldren in roster homes oannot be legally Paid. 

You state in effeot that the 1943 budget under whloh 

the county la now operating did not allooate the expenditures 

inWired about. Under the faots stated and in Viea of the 

*oreeoing statutes, you.:.are advised that it 1s the opinion of 

21s department that the Conmlssloners’ Court of the oounty 

uaauthorlzed to make any expenditures of the funds of the 

cou%, exoept in striot oomplianoe with the budget, except 

a?Utrgsnop expenditures in oase of grave publio neoesslty 

-et unusual and unforeseen oondltlons which oould not, iy 

to 

rraSO~ble diligenoe 

tipdsd in the origin& 

thought and attention, have been inbudget. Suoh emergenoy expenditures 

1’ 
631 - 

Honorable J, Id. ~llllams, Page 6 

must bs made in oompllanoe with the proper amendment to the 

budget by the Comlseloner8~ Court. Whether or not the payment for boarding or foster hone oare for delfnqlant ohlldren 

is a eltuatlon as oan be olasslfled as a grave pub110 neoesslty 

requiring emergenoy expenditures under the budget law so as 

to permit the Commlsslonera 1 Court to amend the budget, is a 

question of faot primarily to be passed upon by the Commiseionera* a0w. 

~Yoors very truly