ORNEY GENERAL 

HQlior&ble J. E. Fitzgibbon 

County Attorney 

Webb County 

Laredo, Texas 

Opinion No. WW-610 

Re: Is the Commissioners' 

Court compelled to 

pay $2,900.00, or 

can the Court exercise discretion and 

pay nothing, or any 

amount not to exceed 

$2,9OO,OO, uuder 

Section 2A of Senate 

Bill 78, Acts of the 

52nd Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1951, 

Chapter 303, Page 485 

A 

Codified as Article 

819a-3, Vernon’s 

Dear Kr. Fitzgibbon: Civil Statutes.) 

You have requested an opinion on the following 

queetlon: Is the Conmissioners' Court compelled 

under Seation 2A of Senate Bill 78, Acts of the 

52ud Legislature, Regular Session, 1951, Chapter 

303, Page 485 Codified as Article 6819a-3, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes I to pay either $2,9OO.OO, or nothing, 

or can the Court exercise discretion and pay an 

amount not to exaeed $2,9OO.OO. 

The caption, said Section 2A, and Section 4, 

being the emergency clause, of said Act read as 

follows: 

"An Act to amend House Bill No. 805, Acts of 

the Regular Session of the 49th Legislature 

roviding for additional compensation of 

Kdges Of Matri 

t Courts and.Crimi 1 bisCourts in bounties having a pnGulation 

of not less than one hundred fifty-nine 
. 

Hon. J. E. Fitzgibbon, page 2 (~-610) 

nor more than six hundred 

inhabitants, aacording to 

the last preceding or any future Federal 

Census and certain counties bordering on the 

International Doundarv between Mexico and 

the United States; providing the manner of 

ayment thereof; providi 

539~ 

th t Art1 1 

, Revised Civil Stat%es tf TeAi Ef 

1925; as amended, and Article 5142a, Revised 

Civil Statutes as amended by Chapter 27, 

Acts of 51st Legislature, 1949, and Article 

5142b, Revised Civil Statutes as amended by 

Chapters 66 and 339, Acts of 51st Legislature, 

1949, shall not be repealed;,.,prohibiting, 

however, the payment of any 'salaries to 

District Judges under those said Articles 

for any month wherein salaries provided by 

this Act are paid, providing that if sny 

portion of this Act is unconstitutional, it 

shall not affect the remainder hereof; and 

dehlaring an emergenay. 

"Sec. 2A. That in all counties in this State 

bordering on the international boundary between Mexico and the United States and 

having a population of not less than fiftyfive thousand (55,000) inhabitants according 

to the last preceding Federal Census, the 

Judge or Judges of the several District 

Courts and Criminal District Courts. as the 

case may be, may each receive annually, payable in monthly 

!rwTh 

toobe 

tion, out of the zenera fund thereof, as 

comnensation for all judicial and administrativ‘e services, including those as members of 

the Juvenile Board of said counties, now 

rendered, and any additional judicial administrative services hereafter to be assigned 

to it or them, as the case may be, in addition to all sala paid or hereafter to be 

paid by the Statzof Texas out of the State 

revenues. 

"Sec. 4. The fact that Judges of the District 

Courts and Crlml 1 Dl t I t Courts In counties having a poz%atikro: not lessxan one 
Hon. J. E. Fitzgibbon, page 3 (~~-610) 

hundreds fifty-nine thousand (159,000) nor more 

than SIX hundred thousand (6OO,OOO)'inhabitants and~certs3.n counties bordering on the 

International Boun&ry between Mexico and th 

nitd Stt have heavy judicial duties and 

haveenume~o~~ a 

Ed bi """, t "7 creates 2::: 

atrative duties 

They shoul e corn ensa e , 

aency and an ntsera ve pu i 

the Constitutional Rule reouirlnz bills 

~11~ necessity that 

to be 

read on three several days-in eazh House be 

suspended; and said~Rule is hereby suspended, 

and this Act shall take effect and be in force 

from and after its passage, and it ,is so enacted." (Emphasis added) 

"may" 

Your question Is prompted by the use of the word 

in Section 2A. 

Hess and Skinner Engineering Co. vs Turney et al, 

203 S.W.593,594 (Tex.Sup.) states: 

'The Intent of a law is the essence of the law, 

and it is to be gained from the entire context. The 

words 'may' and 'shall' are not infrequently used 

interchangeably in legislative acts. They are to 

be given that meaning which will best express the 

legislative intent." 

Smlssen vs State, 9 s.w.112,118 (Tex.Sup.) 

states: 

"The word tmayl in the connection used in the 

sixteenth section was doubtlessly'used in the 

sense of 'shall' and therefore was mandatory. 

Such is the settled construction when the 

subject-matter is one in which the public 

have an interest to be proteoted or promoted 

by the exercise of a power, or performance 

of a prescribed duty, by a public officer, 

unless the context shows that the word was 

used in its primary slgnificatlon." 

When there be doubt as to the Intent of a' 

provision of an act, the entire act, including 

the caption and any emergency clause, are to be 

considered. 
. - 

Hon. J. E. Fitgibbon, page 4 (~-61.0) 

We conclude from the caption.and emergency 

. . . of said aeti whicn we nave ._ _ _ 

set out in full above, that the legislature lntedded a peremptory finding'of fact and decision 

that said judges "'have heavy judfcial duties and 

have numerous administrativE duties for which 

they should be compensated, ereatlng "an imperFftiVf? public necessity, and intended an act 

providing for additional compensation of judCl;es" 

and "providing the manner of payment thereof, 

and~enabling such judges to receive such additional compensation, and fixing the amount thereof, 

and authorizing and requiring same "to be paid by 

the county having such populatfon out of the general~ fund thereof,' and to be "payable in monthly 

installments," and that It was not the intent of 

this act to vest any dfscretfon in the Commisalonerat Court. 

clause and Section 2A 

Another similar act passed by the same legislature is House Bill 395, Acts of the 52nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1951, Chapter 252, Page 

394 (Codified as Article 681ga-7, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes). It contains in Its caption "an act 

providing for the fixing of compensation of judges” 

and "establishing a lim%tat%on of the amount of 

such compensation." It contains in its emergency 

clause "the fact that judges of the district 

courts ---- have numerous judicial duties and numerous administrative duties for which compensation is not now received, creates an emergency----." 

Section 1 of said Act provides in part II---- 

district judges may receive annually payable fn 

monthly Installments, a salary to be fixed by the 

Commissioners~ Court, of each county, 

by said county out of the general fund 

We conclude that, if the 52nd Legislature had 

intended that Section 2A of its S. B. 78 provide 

for the Commissioners' Court to exercise discretion, 

that instead of its merely stating "$2,9OO.OO, to 

be paid by the county," the Legislature would have 

stated "a salary to be fixed by the Commiasloners~ 

Court of the county, to be paid by said county," 

as it did in H. B. 395, or simflar words, and that 

the caption and emergency clause of said S. B. 78 

would have contained statements similar to those 

quoted from the caption and emergency clause of Its 

H. B. 395. 
- . 

Hon. J. E. Fitzgibbon, page 5 (Wf-610) 

It is our opinion that the Act requires the 

county to pay said $2,900.00 annually in monthly 

installments, and that It does not empower or 

authorize the Commissioners' Court to exercise 

its'dlscretion and pay a lesser amount or nothing. 

Accordingly, the answer to your question 

should be that the Commissioners' Court is com- 

$ 

elled under Section 2A of said S. B. 78 to pay 

2,9OO.OO annually, and such Court cannot exercise discretion and pay a lesser amount or nothing. 

SUMMARY 

Section 2A of Chapter 303, page 485, 

Acts of the 52nd Legislature, Regular 

Session, 1951, (Article 6819a53, 

V.A.C.S.) reading In part: ---- 

(District) Judges ----may eaoh receive 

annually, payable in monthly installment s, $2,9OO.OO to be paid by the 

county having such populatior+, out of 

the general fund thereof----, does 

not merely permit such county to make 

such payments, or to pay less, or to 

pay nothing, as its Commissioners' 

Court may in its discretion determine, 

but said provision both authorizes and 

requires such county to make such payments. 

Very truly yours 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Willism R. Hemphlll 

Assistant 

WRH: jlw 
Hon. J. E. Fitzgibbon, page 6 (~~-610) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

George P. Blackburn, Chairplan 

Milton Richardson 

L. P. Lollar 

Leonard Passmore 

Jack Goodman 

REVIEMEDFORTHE ATTORNEXGENERAL 

BY: W. V. Geppert