**.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 ofajustice of the peace. Dear Mr. 

### Sha,bn:

You have requerted our opinion regarding the authority ofa 

### county to lower the r+lary ofajuotice of the peace. You rtate that, at the general election of 1970, ajurtice of the Pease wao elected to eerve a four-year 

### term from precinct 1of Kihney County, but that thejustice of the peace poaitionr 

### for the other three precinct6 were left vacant. In October 1971, the county wu redistricted purbuant to article 5, rection 18of the Texan Constitution; The jurtice ofthe peace for the .old precinct 1continued to merve in that capacity in the redirtricted. precinct. At the 1.972general el,ection, ~jueticee of the peace were elected to two- ’ 

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

### 1juetiqe ofthe peace **was** el6cted i6 

### the precinct 2posi,tion, and **another** individual war. elected foi precinct 1. You ark whether the county will be required to.pay the new justices ofthe peace for precinct ’ 1the same salary ae was paid to 

### the previous occupant ofthat 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~ountyshall 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 ofthin Act.

p. 25’57The 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 thejustice ofthe peace from precinct 1was $5880 per annum. The county has not been redistricted since those dates. Itwould therefore seem obvious that the newjustice of the peace must be paid a minimum annual salary of $5880, ‘although it has been argued that section 9ofarticle ‘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 9of article 3912i, the repealer clause ofarticle 3912k muat be deemed to take precedence over that part of section 9which permit8 counties to increase the salaries ofjustices of the peace in counties where “the number of Justices ofthe Peace holding office and performing the duties of au& office is less thati the maximum number of Justices ofthe Peace authorised by the Constitution of Texas. ” See, Attorney General Opinion H-35 (1973). Thus, the - salary of thejustice ofthe peace for precinct 1was $5880 on January 1, 1972, and on May 25, 1973, without regard to the salary-augmentation provisions of section 9of article 391%. .Accordingly, it ia our opinion that, ~byvirtue of section 1‘ofarticle 3912k; which prohibits salaries lower than their level the effective date of the statute, any future occupant of the position ofjustice of the peace, precinct.1, muet~be paid a minimum annual salary of $5880. SUMMARY A county mriy not.lower the salary ofajustice

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

of the peace below its level amof the date upon which article 3912k became applicable tojustices of the peace. Very truly yqm3;

DAVID M: KENDA,LL, First Assistant

Opinion Committee

p. 2559