**,OFFlCE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS**
**AUSTIN**



### April 28, lQS9

HonorablaE. 0. Garvay CottutAwlltor BexarCounty San Antonio, Texas

**lb2 IS**  **an Inins**  

### 8herlfr**or** 

### olalmed t him on **aoeouut** 

### 18tratlon

### 0rhir, **dauthorlamthe tor**  **to rorwa**  **to hi8**  **salary** 

### warrant*

addrosaodto the an oplnlonupon Ire&and oarolottera oom**Bexor Ueunt;r,**  

### aQdre68ed**to** 

### 0osuiQore~

**'in eonneotlon** 



### 'alettmrim too 

### lengthrto%o i It 

### 6oal rith tbeorotloal questions *sue8ai Saot. **Eonror,** 

### wo haregiven
o. him lottor and from 

### It **and** 

### hour **~084** tha **subataaoo of**  

### the oontromrd tho0herirr. We quote 

### TOPT latter

*Thedmrltf oi 

### Bexar Ceunty ha8 requested that 

### Iwriteyou 

### r0ran opinionooororlng a oortalnmatter. 8iYiOa hia roqUeBtnoem t0 explainthePatterrexy thorot@ly X~amenolo8lngherewithoopyor him roqtmet.


### *In oompllanos

wlth hi8 raqnemt,I an **asking** 

### an opinionrrom

### you oorerlngthe

### r0iimi~ quastlons:
Qst. Are the 

## type of olalm mentioned in hisHon. E. C. Carvey, April 28, 1939, I'age2

request under (a), (b), (o), and (A), suoh types of olalm that would oome under Artiolo 3912e, Section 19, Paragraph m, that **would** make It wmdstory for
me to refuse to oounterslgu his salary oheok drawn against the Offlaers Salary Fund?

'2nd. xr only a part of these olaims are types 0r a-8 that would oomo under Artiolo 39120, Seotlon 19, Faregraph m, state rhether they are olalms that would OOPS under (a), (b), (o), or (A), ot the sherirr*s roquest.

"3rd. znot Ii any or all of the olelms above mentioned

a typo of olalm ooming under Artlolo 39lZ8, Seotlon 19, Paragraph P, are thoy olalms or llebil

### lty thet would bo held against the Shsrltr or Oonstable

### under any other statute? If so, stat0 tho Art1010.

"4th. 8lnoo these are an aooumulatlon of olaims oovorlug a period rrom JBL 1. 1931, to Dooember 31, 

### 1938,against 

### tho Oonetablo and Sheriff,whloh havo been reported by me each year to ths Crlmlnal Dletrlot **Attorney, are**  **any of**  these olalms, whothor under Artlole 39X%, Seotlon 10, Patsgraph a, or a olalm ooming under any other part of tho Btatutee, 

### barredby llmltatlon?W



### In oonhleratlon of the questions propounded br 

### you and of tho propsranswers to 

### bemods therotoby this 

### department,

ws think 

### that we should first Alreot your 

### attentionto ths llmltatlons plaooa upon the Attornoy Oenorsl **by** Artlolo -9, 

### RevisedCivil Btatutos of lQZ8, 

### wherolnIt Isprovided insorer **as** oounty auditors ars oonoornoa, 

### that tho Attorney General "shall give them wrltton adrice upon any question

. . . touohlng their orflolal duties.* It Is not proper that this department shall abvlso oonoluslvely upon 00ntiovereialmatters 

### 0r raot, or as to what testimony should be oonsldered b;la court in the trial of a oause, or
**as to**  **what** judgment should **be** rendered by a **oourt** In the trial of a oauee, for 

### to do so would be 

### to InvaAe the funotlons or the jualolary.

We shall, therefore, oonrlne this opinion to the lnterpretatlonof ths pertinent statutes bearing upon the eubstanoe or your lotter so as to advise you with regard toHon. 5.. C. Harvey, April 28, 1939, Pwe 3

your offloial duties with respsot to the mntters dlscusaed in this oplnlon. In oonneotlonwith paragraph (m) of Article 3912e, WB quote 80 much of thls Artiole and Sections as are deemed pertinent!

"(m) All moneys drawn from said Offioers* Salary Funds shall be paid out only on warrants approved by the oounty auditor. No warrants shall be drawn on seld fund In favor of any person indebted to the State, oounty, or to said fund or in favor of his agent or asslgneo until suoh Aobt la paid,when notloe of auoh indebtednesshas beon filed with the oounty auditor..."
"(n) Eaoh Alstrfot, oounty and precinot offloer shall keep a oorreot detailed statement of all amounts earned by him and of sums ooalng Into his hands as fees, oosts, ah& oomlsslons, in a book to be provided for hlm by the proper authorities of the 

### oountyfor that purpose In whloh the orrioer at the time when foes 

### or moneys are earned or shall
come into his hands shall enter the same in suoh form as may be lawfully requixeA.W

It Is provided in paragraph (q) of Seotlon 19 of the stated article of the statute, that a statement at the alose of eaoh fiscal year shall be made by eaoh orrloer therolnmentioned whloh shall be alreoted to the Dletrlot Judge 

### of the property oounty, and shall be submitted on forms AeslgnoA and approved by the stato auditor; that a oopy of suoh statenont shall bo fomardea to the state audltor by the olerk of tho Alstrlot oourt within a given tlma and that one oopy shall bo filed with the oounty auditor. This seotlon also provldss in substanos that the statement shall show the amount of the rees, oommlsslons and oomponsatlons earned by tha orrloer aurlnp the rlsoal year ana the amount of fees, oommlsslons and oompensatlons oolleotedby him during suoh year and their Alsposal, and it shall oontaln an ltemlted statement of all rees. oonnsisslo~ and oompensatlonsduring the rleoal year whloh were not oolleotsd, toaetherwith the style of the oase. the name of the party owln~ euoh fees, oo~lsalons an4 o&pensstlons, and the - nature of the saourlty for ooAt.8, and the reason for nonoolleotlon. The balanoo of this paragraph and seotlon Is here quoted oerbatlm, to-wit!

"For failure to file said report said offloer shall be subjeot to removal from 

### orfloe. The oounty auditor shall audit euoh report and file his reportHon. E. C. Cm-my, kprfl 26, 1939, Page 4

with the Commlsslonersl Court, and said oounty auditor also shall prepare and file with the Alstrlot or criminal dlstrlot attornoy a detailed report 

### 0r all 

### r0e8,oomm.lsalons, and oompansatlons unoolleoted which have been due and payable to any officer of the county ror a period of more than six (6)months; and a rrlmllar report 

### or all 

### re08,oomnieslons and oompeneatlons oollootedby MIA offloers and not reported by them and a list of oases filed alnoe January 1, 1936, inwhloh any oounty or dletrlot olerk or justioe of the pesoe has not taken adequate seourlty ror ooats or requIreA a peuper's oath."

You are advleed that the word wolalmW and the word "debt.* aro not necessarily synonymous, and that they arenot believed to be so used in these statutes. This lamade evldent by the pmvlslone of Paragraph 

### (q)above referred to and quoted. It must be contemplated both 

### rrom the language of the statute and In reason that ln the 

### event of suit against the sherift, as provided for In euoh statuto,ha mlpht establish sufflolent reasons, wlthln the purview of tho law, why rees whloh had aoorued In oortaln oases had 

### not been collected,
or In other words, a valid defense 

### to the suit.

Tho bgislaturo did not mean that the oounty auditor should,merely beoause rm8 his at&It or 

### tho shorirr*s aooount, he Is of the opinion that tho sheriff had 

### been Aerellot in oolleotlng tees or that he had msdo oolleotlonswhloh he had not aoootmted ror, ho, the auditor, should oxerolse tho authority of wlthholalng the lasuanoe or the shorlrr*s salary warrants. To give the auditor suoh unllmlted authoritywould be to deprive the sheriff of his day ln 

### oourtand to inpose -upon him a penalty without a judicial hearing.

The stntutomakes It the duty of the Dlstrlot Attorney upon the oondltlons and for the reasons named thoreln to lnstltute a suit 

### to oolleot the teea ror whloh the aherlrr Is thought to be liable, with respect to any supposed derault upon his part, either to oolleot fees or for fees supposedly oolleoted and not aooounted ror. Until In suoh suit a judeplent has been rendered against the sheriff, the aseerted and unllquldeteA olaime against him by reason of thsae matters do not heve the absolute status of a **“ debt** * within the purview of the law. Ordinarily,you will have discharged your full duty under the: -

. -

Hon. E. 0. Oarmy, April 28, 1939, Page 5



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