The Attorney General of Texas 

June 16, 1983 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P.O. BOY 12546 

Awtin. TX. 78711. 2548 

5121475-2501 

Telex 9101674-1367 

Telecopier 512/475-0266 

1607 Main St..Suite 1400 

Dallas, TX. 752014709 

214/742-6944 

4624 Alberta Ave.. Suite 160 

El Paso. TX. 79905.2793 

9151533.3464 

220 Dallas Ave.. Suite 202 

Houston. TX. 77002.6966 

7131650-0666 

606 Broadway, Suite 312 

Lubbock, TX. 79401-3479 

6061747-5238 

4309 N. Tenth. Suite B 

McAlle”. TX. 76501.1685 

5121662-4547 

200 Main Plaza. Suite 400 

San Antonio, TX. 78205.2797 

5121225-4191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Affirmative Action Employer 

Honorable James S. McGrath 

Criminal District Attorney 

Jefferson county 

P. 0. Box 2553 

Beaumont. Texas 77704 

Opinion No. JM-38 

Re: Whether community mental 

health/mental retardation center 

may provide union dues checkoffs 

for employees 

Dear Mr. McGrath: 

You have requested our opinion as to whether a mental 

health/mental retardation community center may provide union dues 

checkoffs for its employees. 

The Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center for Southeast Texas 

was created by the governing bodies of Jefferson, Chambers, and Orange 

Counties, pursuant to section 3.01 of article 5547-203, V.T.C.S. 

Subsection (c) thereof provides: 

A community center is an agency of the state and a 

unit of government as defined by Section 2, Texas 

Tort Claims Act (Article 6252-19, Vernon's Texas 

Civil Statutes). 

Article 6813e; V.T.C.S., adopted by the legislature in 1981, prohibits 

a "state governmental body" from making a deduction from the 

compensation of an officer or employee paid in whole or part from 

state funds unless the deduction is authorized by law. Article 6813e 

provides in part: 

section 1. In this Act, 'state governmental 

body' means: 

(1) a board, commission. department, office, 

or other agency that is in the executive branch of 

state government and that was created by the 

constitution or a statute of the state, including 

an institution of higher education as defined by 

Section 61.003, Texas Education Code, as amended; 

(2) the legislature or a legislative agency; 

or 

p. 163 
Honorable James S. McGrath - Page 2 (JM-38) 

(3) the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal 

Appeals, a court of civil appeals, or the State 

Bar of Texas or another state judicial agency. 

We must determine whether a community mental health/mental 

retardation center is a "state governmental body" within article 

6813e, V.T.C.S. A "state governmental body" is a body created by the 

constitution or a statute of the state. V.T.C.S. art. 6813e, §l. 

Community centers may be established by various local agencies. SW 

V.T.C.S. art. 5547-203, §3.01. The community centers are establis= 

by local agencies pursuant to statute, but they are not actually 

established by statute. Thus, the prohibitions of article 6813e, 

V.T.C.S., do not apply to them. 

Next we must determine whether a community mental health/mental 

retardation center has express or implied statutory authority to 

institute a dues checkoff program. Prior opinions of this office have 

concluded that a county could not authorize payroll deductions at an 

employees' request for labor union dues or credit union savings plans 

without express statutory authority. Attorney General Opinions M-334 

(1969); WW-1107 (1961). See also Attorney General Opinion M-613 

(1970). On two occasions this office has concluded that a state 

agency or political subdivision with broad statutory powers had 

implied authority to make payroll deductions from employees' wages for 

union dues. See Attorney General Opinions MW-130 (1980); H-1125 

(1978). Governmental bodies not subject to article 6813e, V.T.C.S., 

are left in the same position with respect to payroll deductions that 

they occupied before its enactment. A community mental health/mental 

retardation center did not acquire any additional power to institute 

payroll deduction programs by the enactment of article 6813e. 

Section 3.08 of article 5547-203 provides: 

The board or director may employ and train 

personnel for the administration of the various 

programs and services of a community center. The 

board shall provide appropriate rights, privileges 

and benefits to the employees of a community 

center consistent with those rights, privileges 

and benefits available to employees of the 

governing bodies which establish the center and is 

authorized to provide and may provide workmen's 

compensation benefits. The number of employees 

and their salaries shall be as prescribed by the 

board of trustees, 

Commissioner. (Emphasis aadsded)approved by the 

As already noted, the Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center for 

Southeast Texas was created by the governing bodies of three counties. 

p. 164 
Honorable James S. McGrath - Page 3 (JM-38) 

Article 2372h-4, V.T.C.S., provides, with respect to some 

counties: 

(a) The commissioners court of any county of 

20,000 or more population may authorize payroll 

deductions to be made from the wages and salaries 

of county employees, on each employee's written 

request, to a credit union, to pay membership dues 

in a labor union or a bona fide employees 

association, and to pay fees for parking in county 

owned facilities. 

(b) Each employee requesting a deduction under 

this Act shall submit to the county auditor a 

written request indicating the amount to be 

deducted from the employee's wages or salary and 

to transfer the withheld funds to the credit 

union, proper labor union or employees 

association, or county funds. The request shall 

remain in effect until the county auditor receives 

written notice of revocation signed by the 

employee. 

(c) The amount deducted from an employee's 

wages or salary for the purpose stated in this Act 

shall not be more than the amount stipulated in 

the written request. 

(d) Participation in the program authorized by 

this Act is voluntary on the part of any county 

employee and the county. 

sec. 2. The provisions of this Act shall not 

alter, amend, modify, or repeal any of the 

provisions of Chapter 135, Acts of the 50th 

Legislature, 1947 (Article 5154c, Vernon's Texas 

civil Statutes). 

sec. 3. Public funds shall not be used to 

defray the administrative cost of making the 

deductions authorized under this Act, except those 

deductions relating to payment for parking. The 

credit union, labor union or employees association 

shall pay the full and complete administrative 

cost, if any, as determined and approved by the 

commissioners court of the deductions made for 

their benefit under this Act. 

p. 165 
Honorable James S. McGrath - Page 4 (JM-38) 

Two of the three counties which established this center have authority 

under article 2372h-4, V.T.C.S., to make payroll deductions for union 

dues and have exercised this authority. One of the three counties has 

a population of under 20,000 people and therefore lacks authority to 

permit such deductions for its employees. See Attorney General - 

Opinion M-334 (1969). 

A payroll deduction for union membership dues is, in our opinion, 

a "right, privilege, or benefit" within section 3.08 of article 

5547-203, V.T.C.S. The question is whether the board of the Southwest 

Center must make such payroll deductions available to its employees in 

order to provide them with rights, privileges, and benefits consistent 

with those enjoyed by employees of the governing bodies of the three 

counties which established the center. "Consistent" has been defined 

as follows: 

Having agreement with itself or something else; 

accordant; harmonious; congruous; compatible; 

cornpliable; not contradictory. 

Black's Law Dictionary 279 (5th ed. 1979). In this particular case, 

the three founding counties are not consistent among themselves with 

respect to offering payroll deduction for union dues. Two counties 

make this option available to its employees, while one does not. In 

such a case, where the practice of the founding counties is internally 

inconsistent, we believe the board of the Southwest Mental Health/ 

Mental Retardation Center is permitted, but not required, to offer 

payroll deductions for union dues to its employees. If the center 

offers payrolls deductions, its action will be consistent with the 

practice of two of the three founding counties. If it does not offer 

such deductions, its action will be consistent with that of the third 

county. In neither case will the board's practice with respect to the 

dues deduction privilege be wholly inconsistent with the practice of 

the three founding counties. If the board chooses to authorize 

payroll deductions for union dues, it must do so in accordance with 

the provisions of article 2372h-4, V.T.C.S., which provides that 

public funds not be used to defray the administrative cost of making 

the deductions. 

In this case we have had to determine whether a particular 

employee right, privilege, or benefit is consistent with that offered 

by a group of three counties, where two counties offer the benefit in 

its entirety and one offers it not at all. A different approach to 

determining consistency might be necessary to deal with another kind 

of benefit, for example, insurance with different benefit levels 

available to employees in each of the counties which established the 

center. We express no opinion on what constitutes "consistent" 

rights, privileges, or benefits under article 5547-203, section 3.01, 

when another kind of right, privilege, or benefit is at issue. 

? 

p. 166 
Honorable James S. McGrath - Page 5 (JM-38) 

SUMMARY 

Community mental health/mental retardation 

centers established pursuant to section 3.01 of 

article 5547-203, V.T.C.S., are not subject to 

article 6813e. V.T.C.S. The Mental Health/Mental 

Retardation Center for Southeast Texas created by 

the governing bodies of Jefferson, Chambers, and 

Orange Counties has permissive authority under 

section 3.08 of article 5547-203 and section 1 of 

article 2372h-4, V.T.C.S., to authorize payroll 

deductions at the employees' request for payment 

of union membership dues. 

,Very/tzh 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General of Texas 

TOM GREEN 

First Assistant Attorney General 

DAVID R. RICHARDS 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Susan L. Garrison 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

David Brooks 

Jim Moellinger 

Nancy Sutton 

p. 167