OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Em&able Thos. 

County Attorney 

Robertson Ccunty 

?ranklin, Texas 

8. Chandler 

c\.. : 

Dear Slrr 

A . 

to the oomlaowed expenses 

nanely district 

ntlon, sherirr*e 

antp comlissione85or 51~3 Colleoprovisions of 

Revised Civil Statutes of 

s unended bj the Acts or the 

re (1937) page 1340, ohopter 

4, paragraph (b). : 

Y%uld such expenses be reeaonable and 

neoossary in the proper logo1 conduct of 

either of such orfloers?m 

Article 3699, as enanacd, in pnrt reads: 

“(b) Each offioer rimed in this Act, 
Eon. Thos. Il. Chandler, Bay 19, 1839, Page 2 

. 

'-where he receive8 a salary as compensation 

3or this aervlces, shall be errpowered and 

pemltted to purchase and have chnreed 

to his oounty all reasonable er;?enses 

necessary in the proper and legal conduct 

of his office, premiums on officiala' 

bonds, prenlum on firo,.bur&lery, theft, 

robbery insurance proteoting public funds 

and lacludlcg the cost of surety bonds for 

his DeFutles, such exncnseo to bo ;?assed 

on, pre-determined snd elloued in kind end 

amounts, as nearly OS posslbl~, by the 

Comnlssloners* Court occe eech Eonth for the 

ensuing month, upcn the application by each 

officer, ststinq the kind, probable amount 

oi’ expenditure ond the necessity ror the expenses of his ofilco for such ensuing month, 

irhlch application shall, before presentation 

to said court, first be endorsed by the 

County Auditor, lf~any, otherwise the County 

Treasurer, only es to whether funds are ,. 

avallable for payment of such expenses.w ‘. 

In the .case ot State VS. Cernes, 1OC ST (2) 397, 

tha ~cou,rt ccnstrued Article S399, Acts of 1933, 4.3rd 

Legislature, substantlolly the sme~as our present.Artlcle 

‘3S99, supra, holding that the expenses, bther then those 

oxpendlturea in connection with automobiles,. which en 

ofrioer 1s outhorlzed to olalm as deductions, are llmlted to stotlonery, stamps, telephone, traveling expenses, 

.and other slmAlor mccnsary cxpansos; the rule of ejusden 

.&eneris be1r.g applied to qualify the general language 

of the specially enumerated Item end to restriot its 

meanlng~to expenses of semc kind or clnss - citing Cameron 

County vs. Fox (Tex. Civ; App.) 42 S.7 (2) 653; Casey vs? 

State (Pex. Clr. App.) 289 % 420 (writ rofusod). We 

quote from the lanSw&e used in the Cesey vs. State 

case, supra, wherein the jury found and the evidence 

supported the fact thnt th6 sorvlces of a stenographer 

to assist the county attorney xero necessary: 

=It may be thnt such assistance wan neces- 

-.sary-in this particular oaso, to enable the county 
c 

‘c . 

-. 

c 

Ron. Thos. B. 

attorney 

but that 

right to 

to dettei dlscherge hls duties; 

feet clone does not confer the. 

pey r0r such assistance out of 

public fuuds. Such authority m.ust co38 

trora soue appropriate stetute. The one 

relied on does not @ve it.* 

ChamUer, Llay lp, 1939, Pa&e 3 - 

. 

We ake nnoble to’find any stetutory authority 

authorizing the couulssloners’ court to pay the expenses 

of the above norned officers to their respective orsicers* 

aonventlons, e.nd thou&h retsonable in mount, under the 

statutes referred to, such eqcnses would not under the 

authorities cited be *necessary in the proper oud lewl 

conduct of their respective offices.* 

It 1s therefore the dpl&n of this dspartanent 

that rbrtlole 3899, section (b) does.not euthorize the 

couulssloners~~~ court to ellow to district ond~ county officers ,expcnses incurred in ettendlc5 their rbbpcotivo offlclers* conventions; Such expenses, though .reasonnble, 

would not be neoessary in the proper end legel.conduct of :, 

thelr offlcee. 

In keeping with your re:ucst, we herewith en- ’ 

olose.ooples of oplnlons rendered by thfs dqartzent, 

No. O-331 as mended end ho. O-332. Opinion hoot O-331, 

not specifically onsxerin5 the point raised by the request,: 

was tithdrnm and in lieu thoreor. our opinion Mo.O-331 

aa amnded’ mm rendered. 

raeain 

Trustla5 tb6 above answers your request, t& 

Very truly yours 

Enclosures 

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