Corald C. Mann

* A-u.NxY OmNrnPA..

Ronorablo

A. lV. Lows=y Coun+q

Attorney Naoogdoohes,

Texas

Dear Sir: OpfaioaHo. C-624, R.8 Ecmis the salary of the oounty audltor,~appblntod

andor.Artlolo

1646, R. C. 6.. fi&o6 or dotormlnodt

Your roquostfor'anoplnioa oa.the abovs rtitod +&lon, tog&b&r with othor questions incidental

thoroto, has beoa rooolmd by this offlw.

It appoarsthat Haoogdoohos Countydoes not havh oithsr th+posdribed'populatlon

07 asssssod

tax valuationi

required

by Article 1646,R. C.8. to autborlca

tha 

### l ppolatzent

of a oouufJr~auditorundor thatArtlo10, but a ‘oqfp suditor has boon appcdated for the oounCyunder $he~provlslons d hrtloloo1646 and 1647. The distrlotjudgewho-app&ntod the auditor fixed hio~salary

at r,mlnimum

of one hundred%wenty-f1~~'(#%26;CC) dbllari permanth; fully ocmpllod with all the ~ovlsionr of Ai% 1647;and th& +triot olerk'porformo&hir dufy'aspesaribod by iaid-Art%alo. Xau~or, tha 'Conmissloaors' Court refusedtoreoord in Iti mlnutii tho~6eitifiod Oopy of thti

ndnutonroooited

from tho distriotclerk;.land refusedtoeator
an ardor dlrootiag'tho paymat of tho auditor'6 'ralrty,'is

oonnaandod

to do by tho sameArtiolo,but to t&e ooatrarg onterod

~~ordsr iastruoting~th~ oomty alark to lsfuo no Wt to tho'audltor ln paymoittbf

hlr monthly salary. 'In

piow of thle eituatlon, you nant to know whether the audltoi-Is salary ir fixed bythe dlrtrlotjudge or by the Wmnlssionerr'Court. O&or quotione subnltto6 will bo subsequently coneidorod

and answered

herolna

The question

&.a%¶ has been hsretoforo oonPIPld&ed

by'thiadrp&rt-' mont npoa at least four obo8slolls. Cn'July 24,'1921;

Ron. 0015;

C.'.Stiptikljs, tibor oftho House of Roprosontativos, nas adivsed thatOtheG.lary of Ouab
a oouutyauditor

was determined

by the.provlsiona

of et. 1646. On August 17, 1956, Mr. R.C. Tompkins, County Auditor of Kaoogdoohbs,Caunty, -1 advlsodthat the Commissionera' Court of said aounty was the proper author-. lw to fix his salary,ti thrt the amount was for tho Court's dotermine

**tion.** Thon, on D&amber 21, 1926, **Hon.** Roy R. Priest,DTstriot Attorney, Rankla,

W&P advlsod to tho oamo effect. The last oxpnrsion bytho dopartmeat on the subjootwhioh we have been able to find 1s contained in a lattw dated December22, 1938, addressed to Hon. Lox. B.Smith, District

Judge, Groesbaok,

wherein ho IP advisodthat the salaryof tho Ccwnw Auditor of Freestone

County should

bo fixedby tho Cona&ssion*rs' Court of said oounty, Tho bsis for that anolusion was&at the %xmuiosloners' Court lo an agentHon. A. I% Lowery,page 2 (C-1326)

of the county and controls the levies affooting rovaauas

of a o~unty.~ Tho opinions

rendered

to Mr. Tompkins&d Hr. Priest stateno reasons for the conclusions thorolareaohed. All of the abovemsntionod opinions.
were writtenby Assistant Attorwys General, wore not oonforonoe opinions, cad were not approvod by an Attornv Goaoral. The firat opinionwas writtan duringthe administration of Hon. Jas.V. Allrod,tho othersduring the time that Hon. W. HcCrawwas Attorauy General. L%IO of th.so

opinions

holds that the salary& the am&y Auditor of your oounw nmst be fixed Iy the Commlsslonsro~

Court of said oow at au& an Mount 46 it might determine, while the opinionfirst 4bova roforrod to speolfioally

holds that tho salary of an auditorappointed under tbo authority of Article 1646 mst %a governed

and dotermined

by'the measuring

mothod 8of up in Art1010 1645. Both opiaionr

oannot be oorreot.

Let us examinethose staktbs along lrfffi Art. 1647,&d 8.0 if wo o8nnotarrivoat a acrreot an8wor to tho questlon lnvolmd.

The pertimnt prts of Artloles1645 and 1646 road, roepeotively, 

### as follows:

*In m count;v

having a population of thirty-flea

thousand

inhabitants,

oc 

### over,aooordingto tha prooodingFodoralomsus, or havlngatuvalQati&n of flftooa

mlllloa~dollusor over, 

### l o,oordlng

to thr last approad tax rolls, tharo shallbe Mennlally.appolnted an audltor'of

aooounts

&id finaxioos, the title of said offleer to b oountyauditor, Who &all hold his offiae for trro

yoam, and who shall reoeiw as amponration for-hi8 smvSoer 6nS huu6redd'and

twenty-flvo

dollarsfor eaoh milliondollars, or major portion tharoof,

of thoaosossod v8lurtion, %o armual 8414ry to k ooniprfid f&an tb last approved

t@x rolls, sald~annual Palw'fra oount$tide‘shall not oxooedthlrwslx hundred dollars,

to be paid monthly out of'thti &tiqral fundn of tha oounti upon an order of&a oommia8lmers~ court.

. . .t

"Woatho cc%maisnionors' oourt of a oounty,

not mentioned

ad daumoritti

iip thr preooding

art.3010

shall detirmino

that an iudltarIs k publlO~~ooidSlfy lntha diaptoh of the oountitisinaos and shrll into*'ah

drdor.:ti@ti

~ti ndnutes'of

said oourt fully settingout thereasoak hid~aeaesaity of ’ rPr‘ auditor;

.rad shall~oauso

iaid'S+drr

to ~'ooirtffl'id

to thi drstii&tSjizdgo# hating juriodiotloa Ln the boimw; 'rid judgbS‘Sh&ll, Wsuoh~r'Mkori%K ooasldend good aad sinffiolont, appointi cknty aidltdr, ie prtidti lai the suocoeding

artiol~,

who shall quall~~and perf&ti~all~tho'dutibr .' ioqulred

of county auditors

by the laws of fhir 2tat-e; provided

mid judw shallhavu the power to dlscoatlano the offloe of suoh countyauditorat any W after tho expiration of cuxo yoar wlmn it is oloarlyshown that suoh auditorir not a publio neoessity and his services

aro not oommonaurato nith hls salaryrooolvod.

. . l "
Article 1647 reads as follows:

Yho distriot judgoa hati% jurisdiotioa In the oountyshall appointthe oountyl udltor at a speolrlmooting hold for that purpose, a majority

ruling:Hon. A. W. Lowory, page 3 (O-826)

provided,

that if a majorityof such judgos shall fail to agree upon i&e solootion

of some psrson as 4udltor, then either of said judgos shall oartidy suah fast totho Goarnor, who shall thereupon 4ppolntsoma other districtjudge to sot and vota with tho aforesaidju+os in tho sole&ion of suoh auditor. The a&ion shall thea be rooordedin the minutes of the district

oourt of the oounty 4nd tie 0101% thereofshall ootify the eeme to the colmnis6lonero'oourt, which shall oauee tho sane to be recorded in its miautes togothor with an order directing the paymoat

of the auditor's salary.

. . ."

Tha offioe of the ooun@ auditor was created

in 1905 by Chrp; 161, Reg. See. 29th Legisl4turac 800. 1 of thatAat, as mendad in 1907,wns oarriodinto tho Rovisod Statutes of1911ar Art.l46O,whichArtiolow&s wndod la 1915. The original Act and all amendmontr up to and LnoludSng gho ~an&neat of 1916 were based oa oltherthe population of the wunty or acane olty located

therain.'

Tho salaryof the auditorIn tho orlgltil Aot, & all am&ndm~to thereto; was fixed 4t #2400&Q, 

### no more, no 108a. In 1917, Chap. 184, Reg. SOS., l&o 35th Legislature POr thi first time provided fortho appalnbnont of 4 counw auditor based on~population or tax. valuations. Tho valuation was fixed at fifteen mllllon dollars,'or over, tho oame as am provided for in Art. 1645. Ia the smnoAct; Art. 1460a, now&t. 1646,~was oreatod

and ArCl460, afterMing omqndedIn 1925 to inomaso tho suxbm salary,la now, exoludlng later "braokot"

amendmenta, t. 1646. 2 It mry hero be lioted that the dot of 1917 limited tha aalarJt

'
o a county auditorto #100X@ for 4421 mlllfon,o? major portion thereof, of fax valurtion,

not to l

~oeod #2400&O per 4mmh

Art. 146Oa (Art. 1646) did not oreah the officeof countyauditor l& only pmded that those oount&oa who were not 

### l

llgibleto have 8 ooun* auditorbeoauso of lack of the nea*ssary popilatlon,

or the requlrad taxable

valuation,

might have the benefit of tha sarvioos

of a aauntg auditorif 453 whwa the Conaaiasionere~ Court ~etfermined

a publioneawri* existed

for s-, and provided tho'proo&xre f& the'appolntm&t of an auditor

by the P- appointingagona$ (o1d.k-t. 1461,now&t. 1467) empowwed to appointan auditor under Art. 1460.

Art, 146Oa was no'&+ moro nor loss than an exoqtion to th* genoral qualificatlonr prescribe for counties to be eligible

to have 4 oceanty auditor

by Art. 1460. Thin exooptloa couldhave with propri*CJr been added to saidArticle as a proviso, for In truth and In faot, that is what it is, and nothing moroe Sec. 1 of the Act of 1917 amends Art. 1460: 600. 2 adds Art. 1460a,and Sec. 3 amends Art. 1461 by providing the additional

proooduro,

perhaps

made neobssary

by Art. 1460s.

If Sec. 2 addingArt. 146Oa,had been written a.0 4 pruvbo to 600. 1 of the Act of 1917, amending Art. 1460, the question now under considorationwould never have arisen because it would have bean apparent that the salaryof a countyauditor appointed

in a aountyambraaed withintb proviso would be measured

by the same yardstickthat salaries of countyauditorsHon. A.& hwory, page 4 (C-626)

nho am within the g*naral prwi~10n~ of Art. 1460, of which It would haw boon a part,were measured, whichwas "one hundrod dollarsfor saoh mlllloadollars,or major portiontheroof, of the assossod

valuation." It is apparent

thatmovured by thinyardstiok, ao countyauditor's salary would ever amount to the smxbum salaryof $2400.00, to which thor* auditors

of countios

having more the.n

$lS,OCO,OCXMO taxablr valuation

**wore** limited.

It is tho wrifer'sopinionthat the Etatut. 4x-4 so plaia and'unambiguousthat there is a0 oaoasion to resort to rulos of aonstruation, tit If nrah **rosart** muot be had, thea w* **must** rmaombsrthat a otatut* must be oon*truod

to make It eff*otiw, that is, enforooalilo and operatiw, If It Is fairly susooptiblo of such lnterpretation~ eaoh prt must b ocmslderod In ocanoctionwith

every otherpart, in order to produco a harmonious whol* u&to roaoh lh* true l*g%slativa Intoi&,

the real parposoof oomstruotion. A statute

must be given a aonstruofioathatavoids misohitius conioquono- *si or m&a f;t

imposslblo-of



### l nforoawnt, or to dofoat or'aullify, or that~ will render0 it fruitlars, futile,

purposelo**

or uaol**s. Itnustba pr& *umod that th* ~glslatwU did not intendto do ~afooliSh

### or usolohsthing.

Nhat.dll bo the oonsoquono*s should w* attemptto oon*tru* the rtatute

as authorlsing

Colmetsoionorr

1 Courts to fix tho~saluy of ooun~ auditors

appointed

undorArt.'16461~Sathe first plaoo, wo uy oonfronf*d rrith the established

polloy of the 8tata fired w ropeato6leglslatdw lots fixing th* *alarios of oouu~,audltors

gonorally. The bgi*lrturti tidontly thought,itwould

be unwis* to‘permlt a pmaissloners~Court ti firtho'atilarj? of ax'offloer

irlrosoduty It was to chock their official aotP and to koop them in duo bounds. The duti*s imposodbg 6tatutauponooun~ l uditorii patentlyaffsota

a ccmPni*slon*r*~

omrt in many ways,'lnthr lxaralsoof It* authority

0-r countiaffUra. The Legixlatur* wU fiilly.Garo

of th*'*v$l~ to be ranodlod

&*a. It oroatod

th* offioo of oounty auditor. That body knew that a bountyauditor shouldnot b influ*ao*d by ouch oourto~or'tho 

### mombors thereof,

wh*n It provided

for ME appointment by dlstriotjudges,+nd mad* MS salary oortuin,



### or fixed a yardstick whorebylt oould be made oertain without the int*rvontion of tho court* The bgislaturo aid not Mt to put
a oountyauditorla 

### a position wh*ro h* couldb intimidated or influenoed lythe oourt,

by peaittlng the oourtto rair* or 

### lowor his salaryat will, 

### or dlrohargo

him.

Ik ar* n*xt aonfroatod with thin fundamental proposition

of law, towit:

_ _,. ,.. ~. ,~
?m tie absenceof *xpre*sConstltutlonal pr~sion, the camp*naation of offio*ra

must b+ fixed by the bgislature or by sane governing body whiah han ken expressly

authorized

to do so." Wharton Co. v. Ahldag, 84 Tax. 12, 19 S.Vf.

291; StateV. &ore, 57 Tax. 307; First Baptist Churah v. City of PoCt Worth (Corn.

App.) 26 8.X (2d) 198; 34 Texx. Jur. 506, 607._ . r

Hon. A. 5% Lomry, page 5 (O-626)

Ths affias of the countyauditoris a creature of the Logirlature, hence there is no constitutional prw~sion f3xing the salaries of such offioers.'

Tharofore,womust look to the statuta to SOS how suoh salarfes
are fixed, and if not flxed ly statute, we must th&n look for l rtatute 8xpnrsly authorizing sme governing

bdy to do 80. Ii thorn bno such statuk, it neoesnuily follanrs that no salaryoan km paid to 8uch county offioers. See authorities cited above. .Inthat bvonti, w e noald oomict the tigislaturo

of having done a futile, useleas,ineffective,unenforoeable an4 fruitless thing -- enacted

an impotent

statuto.

We haw been unableto find any ttatuteenpOwering a oolnnclssioners~ court, a districtJudge,

or any governing

body to fixthe salary of a aouuty ,rtiitor,

whether he %S appointed under Art.'1646

or Art. 1646. Thorn are no su&'rt&utos for the very Simplereama tit tharo i8 no neaersity for 88x10.The bgislature has fixed the Salaryof oounw auditor8 bytho plain provi8ionS

(d Jrrt.

164s. In that Ai%cle i8 found a'yardstiak by whioh every countyauditor'8

nalazy may be dafinitsly

delmmined, aoopt tho8o tioioim 8Cb.KtO8

Ue fiXad bg~INlWZ'OUS braOk& 8ZIOn&llSnt8

thSret0,

and by OthSr trackit statutes

withwhioh we are not here conaernod, %8oau8stliay

do not apply to I!hoogdoohes

County.

In this cozmootion, w8 call your attSntion'totho fact that in saoh and awry bracket

amndmbatadded to **tiiO18** 1646, an4 in ArtioloS164% to Artiolo 1645g, inolusiw, Vernon's Annotato4

Statutes,

a oalarg is spmifiaally fixed for th0 oOUU~J~ aUditOr

Of the OOUnig or OOunfiO8 ttiwhioh8tid truoket8nm&t1emta

apply.

YOU haV0 adti8.4 **US** that th. aSSS86.4 PrlUatiOn

Of bobgdOdm8 COunty,

**as** 8hm by tbo last approved aS808SWnt **roll8** Of pai4 county, i8 

### lpproximat.4 twelve

milliondollars. It is a simple mattar of oompuation to detirm&n8 that the oountyauditar's 8alary is PiPteen

hundreddollars

per amum.

The other quSstion8 8ubnlttod

am 4opSn4ont

upontho **anm8r** to your main **qU88tiCQ3,** which **1,** haYS just m8wemod, tim C‘=&.8SiOX,Sr8' C0Ul-t should 

### ocmp4 wlith the plainmandatOXy prOviSiOn Of &% 1647,,reOOI'd 50 it8 Ininutes the oertifiod copy of the minutes of the dintriotcourt appointing fhS auditor,

an4 sntsr a~or4er 4irSoting the paymentof the auditor's salary rah month aS it aoorueS*

The law **prasumee** all publiooffloam will pmfona their offioialdu**ties.** Therefore,

wa nwt proman that the Ccmmisaioners~ Court of your oountJr will performits duty in this in8tanoe. In faot, that bo4y **ha8 no**  disoretion or other alternativS than to follow ae plainmandatoryprovisions of tit50181647. For thiS mason, wo 40 not adPi whatherthe countyolark should prow84 to i8suS to th8 countyauditor his salary oheck each month as his salary amruSs until the ComissionsrS1 Court pSrform8 it8 perfunotorg duty of recordingin its **minute8** the oortifiad copy of the **ndzwta8** of thS distr ot courtand entar an order dirmting tbHon. A. V. Lowmy, pago 6 (C-826)

paymentoftha countuauditor's salary,

bscau86

w6 feel that this will bs done 8s soon as th8 oourth8s bean offioially advised

what its duty 18 in th8 prmiseo.

The foregoing

r-marksambased upon the prssumption that the person appointed

to tie office of county auditor ha6 takarr

b&h the constitutional and the specialoath of off108 required of him by Art. 1649, 6x14 has filed with the Comniosicnsrs* Court th8 bond provid6d for in saidArticle. m this oonnection,wse ar6 furtheradvised that the auditozyreoemtly appointed su008848

himsslf in offio8. If he has not t6kon the oaths,~8xooukd 8nd filed the bond,ho may yet do so, for u&d8r Sm. 17, Art. 16 of our Constitution,

he is mquirod to performth8 duti88 of hi8 offioe until ha qualifi88. Purthannore, the provision

found in Art. 1648, requiringth8 bond to b8 filedwithin trSnty 46~8 lftor hi8 

### l ppointmnt ha8 be611 oonotnmd a6 dir&- tory in simil6rSt6tWt86. McFarlum ot al ta. Eow811,County Judge, (WV. App.) 43 S.W. 315, error rofU6o4. In 8ithsr svent,the auditoris mititled to hi8 comp6nsation 80 longao he 88rv86the oountyin that 06pacity.

The opinion8

her8tofore

writtonby assistmts 6nd hmiiaabom r8f8r re4 to, whsmin viano oontrary to this opLnionar8 8xpns66d, ar8 her6w speoifio8lly

W.rrulrd.
Trwting that the foregoing snawu8 your Inquiq, w.8 are V.lytrulyyour6

ATTORM3Y GERERALOF TEiAS

By /s/ Bruoo W. Exy8nt

1.

Bruoe 3?.

Biy8nt As8istult
mMrcegw AFPRWSD: /8/Garald C. tin ATTowlBp GENERAL

OF TEXAS Apprw8d opinionConmitt byGRL Chairman