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It-32 

OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Honorable C1 l8. 

County Attorney 

Brewl'tsr oounty 

Alpine, Texa8 

AUSTIN 

Your letter of A 

or thin departmant upon th 

IeWlVOd* 

rwuestingan opinion 

question has been 

II Brewster County. 

1041, said Bank 

hen esourity is dstaribed, 

Treasury bon&r, and *heir numd oontraot and bond rroitse that 

‘tha oonditiom of the above oontraoted am . 

euoh, that, wh.wme, the above bounden pledge, 

First National Bank of Alpine, Texa8, was on 

10th day of Bebruary, 1911, duly and legal1 ohosen 

by Oomieeionerr Court of Brim&m County, 4 mm, 

1 
Honorable 0, X, Patterson, Page 2 

. . 

a8 County Dspository, ior said County, for a 

period of two years, ending 60 days from the 

date of the time fired by law for the next 

seleotion of a depository.’ Then the rest 

of said oontract reoitea oondltlons of same, 

as provided by statute.” 

The duties of oountp.depositories are presoribed in 

detail by the statutes, namely, Artlalea 2544-2SSSa, Vernon’s 

Annotated Civil Statutea, A8 a gsnsral rule a de ository is 

not relieved from liability until the funds depoe P ted with it 

come into, the oontrol and oustody of the proper offlolala. 

And the liability my not be disoharged-through a secret 

arrangement, hot equivalent to payments, made between an in-. 

ooming and retiring depository. (State V. Tyler County Sank, 

202 9. W. 2llt Taague Independent Sahool Diatriot V, First 

State Bank, 241 9. W. 608) 

Article 2544, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, provides, in partr 

*The Commiealoners Court of each oounty is 

hereby authorized and required at the February 

Regular Term thereof’ next following eaoh general 

eleotioa to enter into a oontraot with any banking oorporation, assmiation or individual banker 

in such oounty for the deaositihg of the gublio 

funds of suah county in suoh bank or banks, . . .e 

Artiole 2545, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, reads 

as follows~ 

*Any banking aorporation, association or 

individual banker in suah oounty desiring to 

be designated as oounty depository shall wake 

and deliver to the C~ouhty Judge an ajaplioation 

apolying for such fund8 and sold applioation 

s&lx state the amount of paid up oapital atook 

and permanent surplus of said bank and there 

shall~ be furnished with said appliaatiOn a 

statement showing the fiuanoial oondftion of 

said bank at the date of said applioation whioh 

shall be delivered to the county Judge On or 

before the first day of the terin of the Cow&+ 

sioners Court at whioh the SeleOtlOn Of the 
169 

Honorable C, I&, Patterson, Page 3 

depositories is to be made. Said applioation 

, shall aleo be aacofipanled by a oertified aheok 

for not less than one-half OS one per cent of / the oounty’s revenue’ for the preoeding year aa 

‘j, a guarantee of the good faith on the mart of 

said bank, and that if said bank is accepted, 

as county depository, that it will enter into 

the bond hereinafter provided. Upon the.failure 

of the banking oorporation, association, or 

individual banker in suoh oounty that may be 

selected aa depoeitorp, to &ve the bond required by law, the amount of such certified 

‘I check shall go to the county as liquidated. 

damages and the county judge shall readvertise 

I for appliaations, if neoesaary, to obtain a 

: county depository ror said county.” 

1~ 

I bticle 2648, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes; pm 

vides in partr 

*It shall be the duty of the Commissioners 

Court at ten O?.clook a.m. on the first day of 

each term at whloh banka are to be seleated as 

oounty depositories, to oonaidor all applioations filed with the County Judge, cause suoh 

applications to be entered upon the minutes 

of the Court and to eelect those applicants 

that are aoceptable and who order the most 

favorable terms and oonditions for the handling 

of such funds and having the power to rejeat 

those whose management or condition, in the 

opinion of the Court, does not warrant placing 

of county funds in their poeaession. . . ,* 

It will be noted that Article 2545, aupra, 5peCiflCally 

provides that Vpon the failure of ,the banking corporation, 

assooiation, or individual banker in suoh county that may be 

selected aa depository, to give the bond required by law, the 

amount of auoh oertified oheok’shall go to the county as liquidated damage8 and the county judge ahall readvertise for 

applications, if neoeesary, to obtain a county depository 

for said oounty.” It will be further noted, that the statute 

, (Artioles 2567-2569, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes) provides 

for the seleation of a depository upon the insolvenoy of a bank 

which is a county, oity or distrlot dapoeitory. 

It Is stated in Corpus Jurls Seoundum, Vol. 20, p. 7521 
Honorable C, Is. Patterson, Page 4 

“Under some statutes an annual designation 

of depositpies la required, and in such caeo 

designation of the depositary oontlnues for a 

qeriod of a year only. 

s not limited to one 

The term of a depositary 

year by a statute requiring the board of deposits to meet at a.epeoified 

time annually, or at any time summoned to 

de&gnat& the banka of the state deemed eligible 

for Ieposite. A statutory provirrlon requiring 

the seleotion of a depositary every two yeare 

has been held mandatory. Whore neither statute 

nor agreement fixes. the term of the depositary, 

the relatfon oont&uaa:durlng the mutual will 

of the parties to the oontraot, and a deeignation will be presumed to continue until a 

ohawe ie s,howA. IA such aaee the government 

nay :t,erminate the relationship whenever the 

pubfb safety requirea it, but only by not,ica 

of the eleotion to wlthdraw the de o&t. 

f 

The 

depoeitary may terminate the relat onehip only 

by notice of its eleotion to that effeot and 

the tender of the deposit, A reda&$gnation of 

a depoeitary $8 not neosaeary where the appointment it3 expressly stated to oontinue until 

there is a new advertisement for bide, Although 

there is authority to the contrary, it ie 

generally held’that, where the power to appoint 

ia given In general terms, the appointing authority cannot bind itself by appointing for 

any definite time, but hau at all times disoretionary. power of revocation; and unless there 

i$ axpreaa authoTi.ty to make a designation for 

a definite time, the ap’pointing power oannot 

make a binding appointment for a term extending beyond Lts own term of office, but the NOoessor has the right, on assuming the offfoe, 

to make it8 bwtl doelgna tf 01). 4 . .* 

We think that under the above mentioned etatutes 

there la ‘express authority to make a designation of a oounty 

depoeitory for a definite time namely, twc years. And aa 

above etated, a statutory pro&ion requiring the aeleotion 

of a depository every two year@ hae been held mandatory* 

(In re Cameron Trust Company, 51 3. W. (2d) 1025) 
Honorable 0, E. Pattsraon, Page 5 

8or the purposes of this opinion, we must aasum 

that the oontraot between the bank and tha oounty i,s a valid 

and binding oontraot and that it wan to oontinus ior a period 

of two ysars. TBe think that the above mentioned statutes and 

the OoAtraOt ltsali fir the term of the depository, and that 

. euoh relation C?OAtiAtl68 for euoh time and oamot be~tenafnated 

at will by either party to the oontraot. Therefore, wa reBpeotfully answer the above stated question in the negative, 

Trusting that the foregoing fully answers ycm inquiry, we are 

Yours vary truly