325 

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OFFICE OF THE A-ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

? AUSTIN 

Q @~m*LD c. MANN hw*“*.” 0.*.-&L 

Honorable E. L. Hlnson, Jr. 

county riuditor, Polk county 

Livingston, Texan 

Dear Sir: 

ion of this depertae 

part, a8 follows: 

43, r4qusatingtls opind question reada, in 

oran8 County Ssrvlco 

48th Legielnturo, it 

Bill 368 of aald Leglean Oplnlon on the SolloWounty Treasurer of Polk County be 

a County Service orricer and oonofflaa Of County Treaeurer and 

4 be the County 6ervfce Offlimr aa 

created under the Acts of the 48th Legieleture?w 

Houee Bill No. 968, dot6 of the 40th Lsgialkture, 1943, 

reaba, in part, ae tollown: 

"~eotion 1. When the oom~~loeionere' court 

of the county shall determine that a Veterane County 

Service Officer is a public neoeeslty in the dlspatah 
&horsble X. i. HIneon, Jr., aage 2 

of the county bueincaa, it eh.111 by a majority 

vote at the f’uil mstubershlp thereof, create a d 

establish a Veterans county Service Office. ‘fhe 

ooro~ieaioners~ oourt shaall ap;)oInt suoh Veterans 

to suoh dervice Oiflae and ewh nasletant Veterans 

to ouch Service OtfIoe a(1 ehall be deemd neoeeeorp 

by the ooudy oofsm18aionera1 court. Suoh Vaterana 

County Aervlce Officer and/or Iisaiataat Veterana 

County Servlae Officer &all reoeive a aalarf not 

to exoeed one huadred ($,lOO) dollar8 per month ior / 

the principal orficer nor more than r iitf (@Xl) --- 

Qllars per math, f lred by the OownIssfomrre* Oourt, 

to be paid in equally monthly Inmtallmnte out of the 

general funds of the oounty and all salaries, travel 

and other expeusss of such office shall be paid on 

order of ths oomniaeIoaere* oourt. 

The &t further prescribea the qualiffoationa Cf 

aueh Veterans County Service 0rr:osr ar;d/Or Aesistant Veterano 

County ;iervlce Officer, the dutlea of such offioera, the term 

oi off l.oa, etc. 

Literally construing the language In Section 1 of 

the &t, it Is apparent that the ~o.:m?ieslonere~ oourt Ie autimsIzed to create and establleh a Veterana Countr bernbe Off’ice when the oounty conuals~ionera* court determiner, that a 

Vetirans County Servlo-e Offloer is a puhlio neoeeslty in the 

dispatah of county busineaa. Generally speaking, aom offices 

are areated by the Constitution and other8 by the statutea. 

It is a settled prinolple also thst an offtoe oo~mm Into exlstonce only when created In the preaoribed manner, aad oontinues 

only so long ~8 the law to whloh it owes existence re;lPlins in 

force; when that law 1s abrogated the offloe Ipso facto oeasee 

to exist, unlosa perpetuated by virtue of som other enactment. 

(City of San id3eonfo v. Couitreas, 169 S. Y:. 917, 179 S. iti. 515, 

lZZJ 3. ii. 194; Bennett 0. CIt 268 S. Y. 785; Tex. 

37) 1nt 

&t ,“~‘~a~~~d%he~ County, 146 S. it. 

r v. ~omm.lselons~ 

m70, the Suprent 
32’7 

Court of this State has said: 

“The creation of an ofSice is peculinrly 

a le&lntlve satter.” 

The question whether tkB oommiesionerr* Oomt creiites 

the ofilce or nkther the Legislature haa.orsated tfr, oSfice and 

the Aot merely Surnisi~a a method by whioh appointmnt to the OSlice is rsnde, 18 not bdore ~8. IS the Ltgi slature bar not created 

the osrlce but authorize6 the oomlosioners* oourt to oreate eald 

oSSloe, then a eerloue quretlon ea to the oonatltutionalitf OS 

the mt is raised. Thsrerore, we express no opinion as to the 

validity OS aaid ikttr 

Ypeclflcally anawerlng your question, lt 16 our 

oplnlon thut in view OS Section 40, etiole 16 OS the Ytate 

Conetltutlon prohibiting tha holdtag or rxerclalng, at tha 

same time, Bore th&n one olvil oSSice OS emolunsnt, the county 

treamrer cannot legally hoti the oSSlce OS County Treasurer 

and tbs ofiice OS Votarane County Service OfSicer at the uame 

time. 

Vary truly your8