The Attorney Gene.ral of Texas 

March 19, 1981 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

,220 ONI” ha.. SUIN 202 

No!man.Tx.m 

71- 

42CS N. lath, SuIta B 

Mcubn. TX. 73301 

51-7 

200 MaIn Plu4. sun9 u-m 

San AMlo. TX. 7szM 

s12/2s4101 

Honorable James Warren Smith, Jr. 

Prio County Attorney 

P. 0. Box V 

Pearsall, Texas 78061 

Dear Mr. Smith: 

Opinion No. k!+S99 

Re: Grievance procedure under 

article 391214 V.T.C.S. 

You ask two questions concerning the grievance procedure provided in 

article 391214 V.T.C.S. You first ask: 

Once a grievance committee has met and taken 

formal action, but less than an unanimous concurrence was reached as to raising the aggrieved parties 

salaries, then may those elected officials continue to 

file repeated written requests for the reconvening of 

said committee to reconsider their grievances or 

must said officials wait until the next budgetary 

hearing to file their written grievances at which time 

their salaries would be re-set for the ~followhig 

budgetary year? 

Article 391214 V.T.C.S., authorizes the ,commissioners court to’~sat the 

salaries and expenses of county officers and employees. A grievance 

committee is established pursuant to section 2 of article 3912k. An elected 

county or precinct officer “who is aggrieved by the setting of hi salary, 

expenses, or other allowance by the commissioners court may request a 

hearing before the committee: It Sec. 2(d) (emphasis added). The statute IS 

phrased in the singular. We believe a single grievance.entitles the official to 

a single appeal through the grievance procedure. The elected officials may 

not, have the committee reconvened repeatedly in order to consider their 

salary setting. 

Your second question arises from the fact that the public members of 

the grievance committee are drawn from persons who served on’grand juries 

during the preceding calendar year. Your question is as follows: 

Are grand jurors, who are selected in accordance with 

this article, entitled to a fee for their services on the 

grievance committee as they would be if they were 

actually serving on a grand jury? 

p. 985 
Honorable James Warren Smith, Jr. - Pege Two 

Article 2122, V.T.C.S., provides for the payment of each grand juror for each day or 

fraction of a day that he serves as a juror. We believe that service on the grievance 

committee does not constitute service as a juror. Service as a public member of the 

grievance committee is voltmtary and does not carry compensation under article 2122. 

SUMMARY 

An elected county or precinct officer who is aggrieved by 

the setting of his salary under article 391214 V.T.C.S., is entitled 

to one appeal through the grievance procedure per salary 

setting. The public members of the grievance committee who 

are &awn from grand jury lists are not entitled to payment 

under article 2122, V.T.C.S., as grand jurors for service on the 

grievance committee. 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Exeoutive AssIstant Attorney General 

Prepared by Susan L. Garrison 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Walter Davis 

Rich Gilpin 

Bruce Youngblood 

p. 986