OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVER SELLERS 

ATZORNEI GENERAL 

Eon. m. P. Bema,. Jr. 

County Auditor 

Yeller COuat.J, .'::;i:: 

Hen#Aeed;Texas 

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opln10n !a-;+6 j67 

Ro: How mny dopey shrrl?ia 

oan be appointed la Valler 

; A, County to be paid by war- 

.I .I xt rent on OOMty funds and 

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x,. ,F .. 

auoh salarlea chargeable 

.to the sheriff? . . i. .I 

20 have..&&ived y&r ti$,ent opinion reqwat, quoted 

as ro11owa: ,./‘* ,;.-J‘\. “\ ‘%.. ?:; 

nThk q~sstlon. bob.. srlaea ,BI to the number o? 

shsrlSf*o deputies whloi~ can, by request of-the 

sheriff, be ap olnted by tho Commissionera Court 

and. paid by ?;a P ler County. 

*This ccupty’ia tm a tea basls, and aontsm- 

.pi&es apFolnting,3’deputiea, to be peid by war- 

. rant bg tha County, and ohargeable to the rherlif 

on hla mnu~l report. 

-a*, i “1 ishall appreolats your opinion regarding 

the~huinbec~ oi deputlee which 060. be so oppolntsd 

and. peld. by Yaller County.p 

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Yeller County kes 8 popiiietion O? 10,210 acoording to 

the 191rO Federal Census. 

In aountles operating on 8 tee hale, Artlale 3591, 

Vernon’s Annotated Civil Ctatutee, provide8 irjr the payment of 

compensation of certeln otrlcera, their eesietbnts acd doputiea 

end other dispoeitlcn 0r rees, n8 r0ilows: 

Taah orflcar nemed In this chapter shall first 

out of the ourrent fees of his otiio8 pay or be 

paid the amount allowed him under the provivioaa oi 
!I. n. '7. -'. Harms, Jr., pagr 2 

' Artlola 3883, together with the ralarlea a? his 

assletnnts and daputlse, a nd l uthorlzad l xpontwa 

under Artiole 3859, and the amount neoweary to 

cover oosts of premium on whatever surety bond 

may be required by law. I? thr ourrrnt ?ers o? 

suoh oirioa oolleotsd In any year be aon than 

the amount needed to pay the amounta above specified, same shall ba deemed SXOOBI 1008, and 

shall ba dlepoead of in the Eanner bertlnartar 

provId.d. 

*In counties containing twenty-?Ire thousand 

(25,000) or laaa Inhabitants, District and County 

orrloers named herein shell retain one-third or 

such exoesa ?aSs until auoh one-third, together 

with the amounts spsaISIad In Artlala 3883, anrxants 

to Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000). . . .* 

The Fhcrl?? 1s one of the o??i.?srs named In the Chapter 

containing the above Artlolr. 

Art. 3883, V. A. C. C., provider, in part, aa 

?ollowa: 

Y?%oept as otherwise provided In this Act, 

thm annual ?eer that may be retained by prsolnot, 

county and district oftlosrs nantionad In thin 

Artlale ahall be aa follows: 1. In oounti aa aontaInIce twenty five (25,000) thousand or 108s 

Inhabitants: . . . .Chari?? . . . . Twenty-?wr 

Hundrrd (,12400.00) Dollars . . .* 

Wtlola 3902, V. A. C. r., In regard to the number 

of deputies that mey be appointed and the anu3unt o? aalarlas 

to be allowed them, provldas in part as iollowa: 

i "“nenever any district, oounty or praclnot 

of ricer ahall require the services o? deputies, 

ssaiatants or clerks In.tha per?ormance o? his 

duties ha shall apply tk: the County commiasioncrsl 
736 

Court of hls county for authority to appoint auoh 

deputlea, aaslstsats or olerke, stating by aworn 

appllostlon tha number needed, the poaitlon to be 

tilled and the emount to be paid. 9aid applioatlon shell be aooom9anlad by e statement showing 

the probeble raoelpta from ieea, oommlaslons and 

oaapeneatlon to be aollaotad by said oifloa dwin% the ii8081 yaer and the probebla dlaburaemsnte 

whlah ahall lnolude all aalarira and l xpenaaa of 

88id o iilo e; a nd a a ld o wr t l hall make it8 order 

authorizing the appointment or auoh deputlea, l aslatanta and olerkr and $1~ thr oompanaatlon to/ 

ba paid them wlthln the llmltatlons heFaIn preaoribed and determine the nmber to be appolntatl 

as in the dleorctlon of aald oourt leay be proper; 

provided that in no oaaa shall the Comisalonera’ 

Court or any mambar Charao? attempt to influenoa 

the appointment of any person aa deputy, aaalatant 

or olerk la any office. Upon the entry of suoh 

order the ofiloera applying for such aselatanta, 

daputlea or olerka shall be authorized to appoint 

them; provided that aald ouapensetion shall not 

eroaed the maximum amount hereinafter set out.Tha 

oompenaatlon whloh may be allowed to the deputies, 

aaalatanta or ol8rk8 above named for their sarrloes 

shell be a reasonable one, not to eraeed t&a following araxanta: 

“1. In oountles having a populatlon ot twentyfire thousand (25,000) or leaa lnhabltaots, rlret 

assistant or ohlei deputy not to exoead Eighteen 

Hundred (atl800.00) Dollars per annum; other aaaIatante, deputies or alerks not to exoead Firteen Uundred 

(3500.00) Dollars per annum eaoh. . . .* 

Art. 6869, V. A. C. -. , provices a8 follows: 

*Tharlffa shall hava the power, by wrltlng, to 

appoint one or more deputies fcr their raepeotive 

counties, to continue in offlca during the pleasure 

of the sheriff, who shall !?ave power and authority 

to perrorm all the acts and duties of their prlnqJEil$; < end every parson so a9Tolnted shall, bafore ha s;:tera upon the dutlaa of his of?‘Ice, take 

and subsorlba to the otflcial oath, Tdhloh shell be 

Indorsed on hla sppolntncnt, toaethcr ?jith the oart,irlcate or the orricer atiAnI:torin& the sane; and 
737 

i’.on. “!. ?. Herma, Jr., page 4 

such appointment and oath shall be recorded in the 

offloe o? the County Clerk and deDoalted in aald 

orrioe. The number o? deputies appointed by the 

aharl?? o? any one county shall be limltad to not 

exceeding three in the Juatloe preolnot in whloh 

Is looated the oounty site of auoh oounty, and one 

in aaoh Juatloe preolnot, and a list ot these appointments shall be posted up in a oonapiououa 

plaoe in the Clerk’s Olflae. An lndlotment for a 

felony o? any deputy aherlrr eppolnted shell oper- 

~~~r;r;erooatlon o? his appointment as auoh deputy 

. Provided rurther. that I? in the opinion 

or the Commisalonera’ Court foes or the aherlrr~a 

orrioe are not surriolent to juatlry the payment 

o? eelarIas o? auoh deputies, the ,Commlaslonera~ 

Court shall have the power to pay the aemeout o? 

-jij said county.” (Underaooring 

oura). 

Article 6869, supra, was sneoted in its present r0m 

by anendmant in 1929, while Art. 3902, supra, we6 anaotad in 

Its present ?orm by amendment In 1939. As they are In *Pari 

Xaterlan they are to be oonatrued together sxoapt where in 

oonrllct with eaoh other. where in oonillot, aa they are in 

reapeot to the llmltatlon placed by said Art. 6869 on the number 

o? deputies allowed, the leter enaotad statute (Art. 3902) ~111 

control. In other reapeota not oonrliotlng, auoh as the provisions of said Art. 6869, undersoored by ua herein, eald Article 

6869 la appllaable. 

Thereiore, it la our opinion thet as many deputy 

sherliis may be appointed in ::eller County a8 In tha discretion 

of the Commiaalonera~ Court may be proper; the aalarles o? such 

deputies are to be determined as provided by as16 Art. 3902; and 

they cannot be paid other than ?rom lees of ofiloe as provided 

In said Art. 3891, unless In the opinion of the CommIaaIoners’ 

Court ?aas or the sherlrr’s orrloe are not au?rloient to justify 

the payment o? aelarIea o? suoh deputies, then, In that oase,the 

Conmissioners’ Ccjurt shall have the power to pay the satze out o? 

the General Fund of Yeller County. 

:‘!e rind no statute authorizIne: the salnrles paid out 

o? t,ke General Fund to be charged agalnst the aherlrt. Article 

6869, supra, euthorlzea the payment o? deputies out o? the General 
;:cn. 7. ?. Hems, Jr., page 5 

F’und of thr oounty onlr when the CommIssIonera Court Is or 

the &pinion that the ieea of the sheriff are not surf Iolent 

to juatirg the payment 0r the deputies. This statute does 

not oontamplete that the oompenoetlon paid to thr deputies 

out ot the Oenaral lund In aooordenoe tharewith shall be 

charged against the sheriff. The purpose or the atatute Is to 

enable the sheriff to have a suffIaIent number of deputies to 

perrorm the dutloa or hla oifloe. Ii your ComnlssIonera’ Court 

contemplates advanolng money to the sheriff to pay the oompensat ion of three deputlea for which he must aooount in his 

annual report, you are advised that suoh edvanoement is not 

outhorlzed by either ArtIole 6869 or any other atatute known 

to ua. 

Trusting the above fully answers your inquiry, 

we are 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNZY WNBRAL OF TYXACRLL:rt 

BY 

Robert L. Lattlmore, Jr. 

Assletant.