.Aurrrmr.Tmcx~e T87ll 

April 1, 1975 

The Honorable Ttilly Shahan 

County Attorney 

Kinney County 

Brackettville. Texae .78832 

Opinion,No. H- 572 

Re: Authority of a county to 

lower the salary of a justice 

of the peace. 

Dear Mr. Sha,bn: 

You have requerted our opinion regarding the authority of a 

county to lower the r+lary of a juotice of the peace. You rtate that, 

at the general election of 1970, a jurtice of the Pease wao elected to eerve 

a four-year term from precinct 1 of Kihney County, but that the justice 

of the peace poaitionr for the other three precinct6 were left vacant. In 

October 1971, the county wu redistricted purbuant to article 5, rection 

18 of the Texan Constitution; The jurtice of the peace for the .old precinct 1 continued to merve in that capacity in the redirtricted. precinct. 

At the 1.972 general el,ection, ~jueticee of the peace were elected to two- ’ 

year term8 from precinct8 2 and 4. At the 1974 general election, the 

precinct 1 juetiqe of the peace was el6cted i6 the precinct 2 posi,tion, 

and another individual war. elected foi precinct 1. You ark whether the 

county will be required to.pay the new justices of the peace for precinct ’ 

1 the same salary ae was paid to the previous occupant of that office. 

Article,3912k, V. T, C. S. ,provides in a&ction 1: 

Except as otherwine provided by this Act and 

subject to the limitations of this Act, the commiseionerh court of each c~ounty shall fix the 

amount of compensation, office expenee, travel 

expense, and all other allowances for county and 

precinct official0 and employees who are paid 

wholly from county &nfls, but in no. event ohall 

such ealprier’be ret lower than they exist at the 

effective. date of thin Act. 

p. 25’57 
The Honorable Tully Shahan pdge’ 2 (H-572) 

The effective date of. article 3912k was January 1, 1972. That 

article was amended to include justices of the peace by Acta 1973, 

63rd Leg., ch. 188. p.423. ,mis~ statute wan effective May 25, 1973. 

On both January 1, 1972 and on May 25, 1973, the salary of the justice 

of the peace from precinct 1 was $5880 per annum. The county has not 

been redistricted since those dates. It would therefore seem obvious 

that the new justice of the peace must be paid a minimum annual salary 

of $5880, ‘although it has been argued that section 9 of article ‘3912i 

rmght permit’s different result. 

Section 8 of article 3912k provides: 

To the extent that any local, special, or general 

law, including Acts of the 62nd Legislature, Regular 

Session,. 1971, prescribes the competisation, office 

expense, travel expense, or any other allowance for 

any official or employee covered by this Act, that 

law is repealed.. 

Since article 3912k was enacted subsequent to section 9 of article 

3912i, the repealer clause of article 3912k muat be deemed to take precedence 

over that part of section 9 which permit8 counties to increase the salaries 

of justices of the peace in counties where “the number of Justices of the 

Peace holding office and performing the duties of au& office is less thati 

the maximum number of Justices of the Peace authorised by the Constitution of Texas. ” See, Attorney General Opinion H-35 (1973). Thus, the 

- 

salary of the justice of the peace for precinct 1 was $5880 on January 1, 

1972, and on May 25, 1973, without regard to the salary-augmentation 

provisions of section 9 of article 391%. .Accordingly, it ia our opinion 

that, ~by virtue of section 1 ‘of article 3912k; which prohibits salaries 

lower than their level the effective date of the statute, any future occupant 

of the position of justice of the peace, precinct.1, muet~be paid a minimum 

annual salary of $5880. 

SUMMARY 

A county mriy not. lower the salary of a justice 

p. 2558 
The Honorable Tully Shahan page 3 (H-572) 

of the peace below its level am of the date 

upon which article 3912k became applicable 

to justices of the peace. 

Very truly yqm3; 

DAVID M: KENDA,LL, First Assistant 

Opinion Committee 

p. 2559