OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

ZOnerable 8. D. Looney 

Bfnmty Auditor 

Bowl. Qotlntp 

~prtxm, Texas 

Dear Sir; 

That pooflon of yo 

a deiiaienay basis. 

ge Salary for 1940 wa6 &!ii340.I.rt 

&SO.00 and ag extra Steno ic+z 

d other 8xpenae or 0rrioe &27r,oa 

‘Rimed upon the above faots, you wish to be adtlaed whether 01 not you would be in the x?i_ght to approve suoh stefm tar 

*he extra raise seked toiz in the- order. 
619 

Bvnorsble J. D . Looney, pqze Z 

:i.a hwa d0terxincu POUiQ s'cunty's pv~uL2ition eccordinf to the 1240 Fmle.ml Cer,suv tc bo E5,244 lnbabltante. .otion 13 (a), srtlvle 391Ze, Vemon’li ~:imotatrad Civil .5t;ituta::s, 

vgpllv-ble to ovuutiva with g0pti.fth.3 0r 20,550 iah~b:ta~t~ 

of sorv, and leea than 190 000 

b the domBEiau?vner8* UPt 

Inhsbltnnts, vest8 vuthorlty 

00 tv sutborlee the szployment of a 

8tenog.rapber tar the oounty jade vnd pny for mot: sexWoe 

out ef tha ~ccaral find o? tte oounty to an mount nvt to ex0-d Twelve hn2red (~12OC.00) Dollars per year. 

In oumrcrrln~ your queution, it ia neeaamry to eonrMer oettain postlcirku bi the bud& 1st ndopteff by ths 42nd 

tr@lalaturr, Aote of 1931, Incorporated in Vernon*r &uxaatad 

01~11 Citstctes ~8 Articrle 6fWa-l-30. 

nrtiole #9e-11 of aaid Stat~*%xa,Ja part proridcs; 

When thr bud@ be8 been Slnally ctpprove8 by 

the oomGs810ner8t aourf, the badgot aa zqpwe& by 

the court shall be filed with the olerk of t&e county 

vourt, and tars8 lsviad vnly in avoordv~ne~ therewfth, 

snd no exg8.ndltqre ie the fum3.q 0r the wwnty rhall 

therssf%r k 788ae,6m0pt In 8tPlot oorapllanve with 

r~the budget 88 rrdopted by the Oourt. Exoept that 

mmrpc+nvy axpandltnras, is OBM of @me pablio 

nooweity, to met unwuel end uaizressen vonditions 

whloh ovuld not, by resr8onably dflifpnt thought end 

ette::tion, h:ve been lnoluded in tha orl&se$ bud@., 

say rro%J t1ze to t&a0 bs RuthQrked aI) 5?aend!!ents 

to tCa ori&wil budget. In 111 oeavs rhcire wah 

a33ndwntu to the oripizwl bucket Is pnado, IP oopy 

of the order or the vuurti u8isndl~ the budgst she11 

be riltrd wit& the alerk vr the oounty vomt, and at.:ahed to the bc&&et or~lnally Ea;doptad.w 

The only way the oounty budpt *map be camendrd etter 

it8 adoption is In atrlvt oomplfrjnoe with the above utstuto 

;pro*fslon. ThZs doprtmmt ha6 vonsistsntly ruled that whet 71 er 

a 8ItuettLoa la on6 whivb 0811 be vla86~ified 88 can eBmr$enQy Under 

the bud@ Isr no s?8 tv peszit the tmimiaaiontsrli’ VvUl’t to acaend 

the bud@, ia H qoastfoo of icOt pri~wlly tv be passed upon by 

the ovsz3i~slon~rs~ court. f&e Opinion 0007, O-lOE3 end O-l/E& 

&m3?ll I?plnlon Reporti CT thv Attorney C4tneml for 1939, psgaos 

8, 274 and ax, rermpmtive1y. 
Honorable J. D. Looney, page 3 

(I 

The quoted statutory provision provldea that 

no expenditure of the funds of the oounty shall be made 

after the budget is finally approved and filed with the 

clerk except in strict eomp~lance with the adopted budget. 

Anexoeptlon to the foregoing la made, however, as to 

vemergency expendltures.W 

In your letter of request, no amendment of 

the budget Is shown to have been made to meet any supposed emergency nedessary to take oare of the proposed lnoreaaed expenditure a8 shown by the order raising the 

stenographer's salary. Until such amendment is made, 

no quesftlon of "emergency expendltures,a as defined in 

the statute and neaessary to exist in order to support 

an amendment, la raised. 

It is therefore the opinion of thla department 

that a oounty auditor ha8 no authority to approve a claim 

for an expenditure of county funds outside of and beyond 

that fixed in the adopted budget exoept those under 

*emergency expendlturesv authorlxed as amendments to the 

original budget in compliance with Article 689a-11, Pernon's Annotated Civil Statutes. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY C-AI., OFTEXAS 

WJRK:EF'