October 7, 1971 

Honorable Roger M. Dreyer 

County Attorney 

204 Christian Building 

711 St. Joseph Street 

Gonzales, Texas 78629 

Opinion No. M-969 

Re: Authority of county 

to lease two-way radios 

for a deputy sheriff 

and related questions. 

Dear Mr. Dreyer: 

Your opinion request contains a series of questions which 

may be consolidated and paraphrased as follows: 

1. May the county commissioners lease two-way radio equipment for use by the sheriff? 

2. May the countv commissioners lease or purchase and maintain two-way radio equipment for the personal vehicles of the 

sheriff and his deputies, including special deputies? 

3. May the county commissioners lease two-way radio eaujpment for the automobile of a game management officer employed 

by the Parks and Wildlife Department? 

The authority for the county commissioners to pay fpr the 

expenses incurred by a sheriff is found in Article 3899, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, which reads in part (b): 

"(b) Each officer named in this Act, where he 

receives a salary as compensation for his services, 

shall be entitled and permitted to purchase or charge 

to his county all reasonable expenses necessary in the 

proper and legal conduct of his office, premiums on 

1 All Articles referred to are Vernon's Civil Statutes 

unless otherwise stated. 

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Bonorable Roger M. Dreyer,page 2 (M-969) 

officials' bonds , premiums on fire, burglary, theft, 

robbery insurance protecting public funds, and including the cost of surety bonds for his deputies, provided 

that expenses incurred for premiums on officials' bonds 

for the county treasurer, county auditor, county road 

commissioners, county school superintendent, and the 

hide and animal inspector, including the cost of surety 

bonds for any deputies of any such officers, may be also included, and such expenses to be passed on, predetermined and allowed in the time and amount, as nearly as 

possible, by the Commissioners Court once each month 

for the ensuing month, upon the application by each 

officer, stating the kind, probable amount of expenditure and the necessity for the expenses of his office 

for such ensuing month, which application shall, before 

presentation to said court, first be endorsed by the 

county auditor, if any, otherwise the county treasurer, 

only as to whether funds are available for payment of 

such expenses. The Commissioners Court of the county 

of the sheriff's residence may, upon the written and 

sworn application of the sheriff stating the necessity 

therefor, purchase equipment for a Bureau of Criminal 

Identification, such as cameras, fingerprint cards, 

inks, chemicals, microscopes, radio and laboratory 

equipment, filing cards, filing cabinets, tear gas and 

other equipment, in keeping with the system in use with 

the Department of Public Safety of this State, or the 

United States Department of Justice and/or Bureau of 

Criminal Identification. 

"Such purchases shall be made by each officer, 

when allowed, only by requisition in manner provided by 

the county auditor, if any, otherwise by the Commissioners 

Court. Each officer, shall, at the close of each month 

of his tenure of office, make an itemized and sworn report of all approved expenses incurred by him and charged 

to his county, accompanying such report with invoices 

covering such purchases and requisitions issued by him in 

support of such report. If such expenses be incurred in 

connection with any particular case, such report shall 

name such case. Such reports, invoices, and requisitions 

shall be subject to the audit of the county auditor, if 

any, otherwise bv the Commissioners Court, and if it ap- 

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Honorable Roger M. Dreyer,page 3 (M-969) 

pears that any item was not incurred by such officer, or 

that such item was not a necessary or legal expense of 

such office, or purchased upon proper requisition, such 

item shall be by said county auditor or court rejected, 

in which case the payment of such item may be adjudicated 

in any court of competent jurisdiction. All such approved 

claims and accounts shall be paid from the Officers Salary 

Fund unless otherwise provided herein. 

"The Commissioners Court of the county of the sheriff's 

residence may, upon the written and sworn application of 

such officer! stating the necessity therefor allow one or 

more automobiles to be used by the sheriff in the discharge 

of official business, which,if purchased by the county shall 

be bought in the manner prescribed by law for the purchase 

of supplies and paid for out of the General Fund of the 

county and they shall be reported and paid in the same manner 

as herein provided for other expenses. 

"Where the automobile or automobiles are owned by . 

the Sheriff or his deputies, they shall be allowed four 

(4) cents for each mile traveled in the discharge of offical business, which sum shall cover all expenses of 

the maintance, depreciation, and operation of such automobile. Such~ mileage shall be reported and paid in the 

same manner prescribed for other allowable expenses under the provisions of this section. No automobile shall 

be allowed for any Deputy Sheriff except those regularly 

employed in outside work. It shall be the duty of the 

County Auditor, if any, otherwise the Commissioners Court, 

to check the speedometer reading of each of said automobiles, owned by the county once each month and to keep 

a public record thereof: no automobile owned by the county 

shall be used for any private purpose." (emphasis added). 

The commissioners court has jurisdiction and authority,lfmited 

to that provided by the Constitution or by law, but~the commissioners court has the implied power to exercise broad discretion 

to accomplish the purposes intended by any right conferred or 

obligation imposed. Anderson v. Wood, 137 Tex. 201, 152 S.W.Zd 

1084 (1941); Dodson v. Marshall, 118 S.W.Zd 621 (Tex.Civ.App.- 

Waco, 1938, error dism). 

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Honorable Roger M. Dreyer,page 4 (M-969) 

Under statutes such as Articles 3902, 6699, and 6699a, the 

commissioners court is authorized, in conjunction with the sheriff, to provide for deputies and county traffic officers. The 

commissioners court is obligated to furnish transportation for 

the sheriff and his deputies by Articles 3902 and 6877-l. The 

authority to provide transportation under these statutes includes 

the authority to reimburse the sheriff and his deputies for mileage driven in personal cars. The usefulness of radio equipment 

in law enforcement programs is recognized by Article 3899, which 

also places upon the commissioners court the obligation to provide for the necessary expenses of operating the sheriff's office. 

Two-way radio equipment is an obvious incident to effective 

law enforcement. Since the commissioners court is authorized to 

provide for all reasonable and necessary expenses of the sheriff, 

the cornnissioners may provide for the purchase or lease of twoway radio equipment for use by the sheriff and his deputies in 

accordance with the provisions of Article 3899. 

Sheriffs and deputies are authorized to use their personal 

cars in the performance of their official duties, and the commissioners court is authorized to pay mileage expenses for personal vehicles. Our opinion is that the commissioners court has 

implied authority to maximize the effectiveness of that use by 

the installation and maintenance of two-way radio equipment, 

either purchased or leased. 

Your request, insofar as it applies to a special deputy, 

warrants special attention. The special deputy in question, according to the information furnished, has been appointed by the 

sheriff purusant to authorization entered upon the minutes of the 

commissioners court. The special deputy serves without pay or 

mileage reimbursement land has only parttime or emergency duties. 

This office has previously ruled that a sheriff is not authorized 

to issue commissions to special deputies to serve without offical 

duties or without compensation. Attorney General's Opinions Nos. 

V-20 (19471, V-1050 (1950), and R-2189 (1950). The last legislature enacted special provisions for reserve deputies to serve 

without pay. (Acts 62nd Leg., R.S.,1971, ch. 506, p. 1738, and 

ch. 829, p. 2531). If the special or reserve deputies are appointed in accordance with the law, the commissioners court has 

the discretion to determine if the purchase or lease of two-way 

radio equipment for the special or reserve deputies is a reasonable and necessary expense of the sheriff. 

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Honorable Roger M. Dreyer,page 5 (M-969) 

Your third question concerns furnishing of radio equipment 

for the state-owned vehicle of a game management officer. This 

officer is employed by the Parks and Wildlife Department under 

Article 978f-3a, Vernon's Penal Code , and does not work directly 

under the commissioners court or the sheriff. The information 

furnished with your opinion request indicates that the radio is 

desired primarily so that the sheriff can maintain contact with 

the game management officer. No statutory authority expressly 

authorizes county commissioners or the sheriff to provide radio 

equipment for a game management officer y*vho is not employed by 

the county. This office has previously ruled that a sheriff is 

not authorized to transfer to a constable radio equipment furnished the sheriff's office. Attorney General's Opinion No. R2442 S 51 (1951). The only possible authority for furnishing the 

radio is the provision of Article 3899. that a sheriff is entitled 

" . ..to purchase or charge to his county all reasonable expenses 

necessary in the proper and legal conduct of his office...;* but 

this provision is restricted to expenses relating to the conduct 

of the sheriff's office. The authority of a commissioners court 

must ultimately rest upon a constitutional or statutory basis. 

Canales v. Laughlin, 147 Tex. 169, 214 S.W. Zd 451 (1948). Since 

no statute expressly or by implication gives the commissioners 

court or the sheriff authority to provide radio equipment to 

someone not employed by the county commissioners or the sheriff, 

our opinion is that the commissioners court may not furnish twoway radio equipment to a game management officer employed by the 

Parks and Wildlife Department. 

SUMMARY 

In accordance with the terms of Article 3899, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes, the conunissioners court is 

authorized to provide for all reasonable expenses 

necessary in the proper and legal conduct of the 

sheriff's office and may, in its discretion, purchase or lease and maintain two-way radio equipment: 

1. For use by the sheriff and his deputies; 

2. For installation and use in the personal 

cars of the sheriff and his deputies when the 

vehicles are used in the performance of official 

duties8 

3. For installation or use in the personal 

vehicle of a special or reserve deputy sheriff 

when the deputy is appointed in accordance with 

the law and the vehcile is used in the performance 

of official duties. 

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. . . 

Honorable Roger M. Dreyer,page 6 (M-969) 

The commissioners court has no authority to 

purchase or lease two-way radio equipment for use 

by a game management officer employed by the Parks 

and Wildlife Department. 

C. MARTIN 

Prepared by Roland Daniel Green, III 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Gordon Cass 

Max Hamilton 

Ben Harrison 

Sam Jones 

SAM MC DANIEL 

Acting Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WRITE 

First Assistant 

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