**HE** ,!iT’TOHNEY @%:NEKAL
OF TEXAS

Honorable I. Prdecki County Auditor Galveston County Galveston, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-2385 Re: vrhether the provisions of Article 3899-b are broad enough to permit the County Auditor's approval of expense accounts to be allowed out of the fees of office for rental of offices for the Justices and Constables,
Your letter of May 18, 1940, requesting the opinion of this department on the above stated question has been received. 'Wequote from your letter as follows:

"Article 3899-b, Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, as amended, makes provision for the Justices of the Peace to recekve books and stationery necessary in the performance of their duties. This, the County has always provided. At this time an expense account has been rendered by precinct officials (who are on a fee basis in this County) for the allowance of an office rental charge. Seci tion 2 of this Article provides suitable offices, etc., may in the discretion of the Commissioners' Court be furnished to the officials named the rein but does not provide for offices for Justices of the Peace and Constables.

“Your opinion is respectfully requested as to whether the provisions in this Article are &road enough to permit my approval of expense accounts to be allowed out of the feesHonorable I, Predecki, page 2 O-2385

of office for rental of offiaes for the Justices and Oonatablea.”
Section 1 and 2 of Article 3899b read as follows:

“Section 1. There shall be allowed to County Judges, Clerks of the Di,strict and County Courts, Sheriffs, County Treasurers, Tax Aasessors and Collectors, such books, stationery, including blank bail bonds and blank complaints, and office furniture as may be necessary for their offices, to be paid for on the order of the Commissioners Court out of the County Treasury; and suitable offices shall alao,be provided by the Commissioners Gourt for said officers at the expense of the county. And such books and stationery as are necessary in the performance of their duties shall also be furnished Justices of the Peace by said Uommissi,oners Court. Provided all purchases herein must be approved by Commissioners Court, and must be made under the provisions of Article 

### 1659,Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 

### 1925.

“Section 2. Suitable offices and stationery and blanks necessary in the performance of their duties may in the discretion of the Commissioners Court also be furnished to resident District Judges, resident District and County Attorneys, County Superintendents and County Surveyors, and may be paid for an order of the Commissioners Court out of the County Treasury.
Section (a) of Article 

### 3e99,Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes provides that:

"At the close of each month of his tenure of office, each officer named herein who is compensated on a fee basis shall make as pert of the report now required by law, an itemized and sworn sbatement of all the actual and necessary expenses Incurred by him in the conduct of his office, suc‘a as stationery, stamps, telephone, premium on officials’ bonds, including the cost of surety bonds for his Deputies, premium on fire, burglary, theft, robbery insurance

‘protecting public funds, traveling expense, and other neceesary expense.

. .ff such expenses be incurred in connection with any particular ca86, such statement shall name such case. Such1

.

Honorable I. Predecki, page 3 O-2385

expense account shall be su,bject to the audit of the county auditor, attorney, otherwise by the Commissioners Court; and If it appears that any Item of such expense was not Incurred by such officer or such Item was not a necessary expense of office, such Item shall be by such auditor or court rejected, in which the collection of such Item maybe adjudicated In any court of competent jurisdiction. The amount of salary paid to assistants and deputies shall also be clearly shown by such officer, giving the name, position and amount paid each; and In no event shall any officer show any greater amount than actually paid any such assistant or deputy. The amount of such expenses, together with the amount of sr,larIes paid to assistants, deputies and clerks, shall be i:aid out of the fees earned by such officer. U*,
Article 

### 3891,Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes reads in part as follows:

“Each officer named In this chapter shall first ,out of the current fees of his office pay or be paid the amount all,owed him under the provisions of Article 

### 38p3,together with the salary of his assistants and deputies and authorized expenses under Article 

### 3899,and the amount necessary to dover cost of rremium on whatever surety bond maybe required by law. If the current fees of such office collected in any year be more than the am.ountneeded, to pay the amounts above specified, same shall be deemed excess fees and shall be dis osed of In the manner hereinafter provided.

. e R

The authorized expenses which maybe deducted under Article 

### 3899,supra, ane such expenses as are enumerated therein, and only those expenses are to be paid from fees earned by the officers.

In view of the foregoing statutes you are rcspectfully advised that It Is the opinion of this department that expenses for office rent for the Justices of the Peace and Constables ar% not similar to the items of expense provided for by the above mentioned statutes, and

### HonorableI.Predecki,$age4 O-2385

thattheJusticesofthe PeaceandConstablesarenotentitledtodeductItemsofexpensesIncurredbythamfrom feesoftheirofficesthatwouldbeotherwisepayableto thecounty. ThereforeyourquesticnIsrespectfully answeredInthenegative.

Trustingthattheforegoingsatisfactorily answers yourInquiry,weare
Yoursverytruly
ATTORNEYGENERALOFTMAS

BY ArdellWIlliama

Aseistant

!!;R%-;%?, 1940 GROVERSELLERS FIRSTASSISTANT ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
APPROVEDOPINION 

### COMMITTEE BYBWB,CHAIRMAN