-.A.~ 

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

,6-G- 

-eHonorable I. Pmdeokl 

County Auditor 

Oalveston County 

t?alveeton, Texas 

Dear sir: 

0 eleations. 

to whether the 

ered by persons 

to be paid by 

Sahool Disthat have 

e also alassed as Cow 

kmon*a Annotated Civil Statutea, re1 district trustee elections, provides, 

"Said bustees shall appoint thred (5) pepsona, quallffed votem of the dietriot, who shall 

hold such election and make returns thereof to 

maid trustees wIthin five (6) dprs after euah 
ry Honorable I1 Fmdeoki, page #2 

election, and said persous shall receive aa 

compensation for their servlaee the sum of one 

Dollex ($1) eaoh, to be paid out of the looal 

fuuds of the sahool district where the eleotion 

was held.” 

Prior to itrr amendment in 1941 (Xouee Bill No. 11, 

Oh. 623, Aata 47th Legislature), this statute prmlded tiat 

the one dollar compensation to the eleetLon offlolals rhould 

be paid out of the aounty geueral fuud. However, the amendment a h"tf 

ed the statute by providing that such ooupeasation 

shall be paid out of the locral fuuda of the oohool district 

where the eleotlon was held.a This wa6 the only respeet in 

whiah the statute was changed. 

The emergenoy olause of Hmse Bill 20. 11 read8, in 

part, a6 followsr 

*set. 2. The fast tbat the general hnd of 

the several oounties of thl* Btate is muah depleted creates au eaasrgeney * + 0." 

Artiole 2746a provides that the expenses of printing 

and delivering the ballots to the pretalding offloer, "together 

with the other eupenses inoldental to sa3.d eleatiou ehall be 

pnld.out of the ava.tlable malutenauae fuuds belonglug to the 

sohool dlstriot In whloh arrid eleotlon is held, or to be held." 

Artlale 2740b provider that all expenses In conueation 

with or incidental to any sohool dlstriat eleation anal1 be 

paid out of the maintenance fund of maid distritt. 

In view of these atatutox-y proviriona there canbe no 

doubt that the one dollar compeneatlon to offioiale for holding 6-n aehool dlatrief trumtee eleotiona should be paid 

out of the looal funds of the school distrlat# 
847 

Eononble I. p~edeaki, page #3 

Additional oousldePations enteP in, however, when 

oonsolldated mmmon aahool distriat trustee elections are 

involved. Articles 2774a (Seatlon 3) end 2808 both provide 

that offiaisls holding suah eleatlons shall reeelve tro dollaxwa &I for. euah rerviaes. We quete the last sentenoe 0r 

seat&on 3 of Artiole 2774s as follows: 

*The board of trmsteea of the district shsll 

appoint three qualified vote- of the district 

to hold bald eleation aud mske returns thereof 

in like aLlpner as provided by law for holding 

eleatlous for tPustees in aosmon school dlrtriata, exee*t that the perrom holding said 

eleatlon shall eaah roaeive &an the geuenl 

~M;fst$e oounty two dolluw a day ,tor 8ueh 

. 

You will uotiae that the artioIe provides tbst persens 

holding the eleotlon shall reaelve the two dollrrs frapI the 

general fund of the aouutq. But we bolieva that the muemlmeut 

in 194.l to Artlole 2746 ahongsd the souPae of paTsmut frca the 

aounty general fund te the maintummoe fund ot the dtstriat. 

CUP reamone for this view ace stated am folloust When Artlcrle 

2774s wao ensoted in 1930 the general law (Article 2746) provided that the compensation of officlsls holding common sahool 

dlstriot tnutee eleatlous should be oue dollar and should be 

ppid fraa the general fuud of the aountI. Therefore, the only 

dlffereuae between Seation 3 OS Artlale 2774a aud the general 

lsw in this respeot was the amount of the oompensation - two 

dollua a6 wlnst one dollaP. If fOllOW8 that the part of 

Section 3 of Article 2774a providing for payment to be vmde 

from the oouuty general futul wa8 pure surplus. The Intention 

was declared in Seotion S that the eleotion should be held ae 

eleotions ~for common sahool dietriot trustees except, elimiuating the surplus part, that the compensation of election offioials should be two doll3rs. 

The emergency ~ILUUW of the 1941 amendment statesc "The 

faot that the general fund of the several, aountiea of this State 
is muoh depleted + * +." Thie language olearlg ahowe the 

reason for the &an&e of the eouree of papent from the 

genera& fund to sohool funds. The luuae reason would apply 

with equal foroe to the ocnapenaation of pereons holding sonsolidated aomon sohool dletrlot trustee elections. We do 

not think that the amount of eompenea~ion*mentionsd In Seotlon 8 (two dollars,) was affeated by the 1941 amendment, for 

it la &early ahown in the aurgrns~ olau6e that It wa8 not 

the uouut o? oaupenaatlon that prompted ,the &an@, but, 

rather, the sourae of payment. 

A.r we have mtifore mentieued, th6 intention #a8 

shorn in Se@tZon-8 of Ar%ile 8TWa &hat consoUda$ed school 

distriot tmastee .eleotlonn &ouXd be held ae electioxxe for 

acsntwn a&do1 dlrtrlat trusteoa mept thet tht% oompezaeatidn 

should be two,dol&rai ~Xou ,qm, therefore, advised Turk th# 

one dollar aampbnaation to pertao~ SOP holdin,y[a a31wwn sohool 

dietriot truetee eleotion and the twu dollara oompenaafion to 

pereone SOP holding a cohaolidated eQoBon sahool d%.strlat truetee election should be paid out OS the looal ruadrm of the distriot in jhioh suah eleetzon wan held. 

Gws-s 

O.K. 

C.@.R.