I -. , 

E *a ORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Honorable V. P. Sexton 

Coiinty Attorney 

Orange County 

Orange, Texas 

Attention: Hr. 3. IT. Adams 

Assistant 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. o-5968 -~ 

Re: Authority of Constable of Ora’bge 

County to appoint deputies ana 

incur allowable expenses of offioe. 

We have received your recent pequest for an opinion on 

the following subject z 

Authority of Constable of Orange County to 

appoint deputies and operate his office upon an 

expense account to be allowed by the Commlssloners Court, to the same extent as the sheriff. 

Orange County has a population of 17, 382, according 

to the 1940 Federal Census, and Is operhtting on a fee basis in 

the compensation of its county and precinct officers, according to the records of the State Comptroller’s Office. 

Article 3902, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, provldes, In substance; that whenever any dlVtriCt, county or 

precinct offFoer requires the service of deputies such officer 

shall apply to the Commissioners t Court for authorltg to appoint such deputies, and that such court shall make its order 

authorlzlng such appointment and fix the compensatfon, to be 

paid such deputies and determine the number to be appointed as 

in the discretion of said oourt may be proper. ,(‘, ~,’ 

Article 687ga, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, reads, 

in part, as follows : 

“Sec. 1. The duly elected Constable in eaoh 

Justice Precinot having a eltg or town of less 

than eight thousand f8;000) population according 

to the preceding Federal Census may appoint 6ne 

(1) Deputy and no more; and each Justice Preoinct 
Honorable W. P. Sexton, page 2 

having a city or town of eight thousand (8,000) and 

less than forty thousand (40,000) population accordi to the preceding Federal Census may appoint two 

(3 Deputies and no more * and in each Justice Precinct having a town or city of forty thousand 

(40,000) population or more accordi 

ing Federal Census may appoint five "i 

to the preced5) Deputies 

and no more, and each and every instance said Deputy 

Constables shall qualify as required of Deputy Sheriffs. 

"Sec. 2. When the Constable In each and every 

Instance named and described in the preceding section 

of this Act shall desire to make appointment of a 

Deputy or Deputies, as the case may be, said Constable 

shall first make written application to the Commlssloners' Court of his County showing thatit is necessary for such Constable to have the Deputy or Deputies 

requested In order to properly handle the business of 

his office .originating in the Precinct ln which such 

Constable has been eleeted, gfvlng the name of each 

proposed appointees; and if the Commissioners' Court 

shall find that the Constable is in need of the Deputy or Deputies requested to handle the business 

originating in his Precinct, then and In that event, 

and in that event only, the Commissioners' Court shall 

approve and confirm the appointment of the Deputy or 

Deputies provided by this Act." 

Article 3902, at the time of Its passage having substantially the same provisions as po?nted out herernabove, was 

enacted In the form of an amendment by the 42nd Legislature in 

Regular Session and approved May 26, 1931, (General Laws of 

Texas, 1931, Chap. 214, pe 364). 

Thereafter at the same session, the said 42nd Leglslature enacted said Article 6879a, which was approved May 27, 

1931 (General Laws of Texas, 1931, Chap. 280, p. 503). In 

the case of State v. Johnson, 52 S.W, (2d) 110 (writ dismissed), 

it was said in regard to Articles 3902 and 6879a, as follows: 

"Two days after the passage of article 3902, 

an amendment was passed thereto,~article 68,79a, 

which does not affect the provlsi~ons of the former, 

except to provide for the number of deputies that 

can be appointed. I . e *'I 

Therefore, it seems that the appointment of deputy constables in your county should be made under'authorlty of both 

said Articles (3902 and 6879a), and the number of deputies 

limited as provided in Section 1, of said Article 6879a. 
Honorable W. P, Sexton, page 3 o-5968 

As to expense accounts and expenses of office, in regard to the constable and sheriff of your county, we refer you 

to the following articles: 

Article 3899, V. A. C. S., provides, in part, as follows: 

ure iffaiff;;,the close of each month of his teneach officer named herein who 18 

compensated 0; a fee basis Shall make, as part 

of the report now required by law, an itemized 

and sworn statement of all the actual~and necessary~expenses Fncurred by him in the conduct~of his 

office such as stationery, stamps, telephone, premiums on offFeialsl bonds, including the cost of 

surety bonds for his deputies, premium on fire, burglary, theft, robbery insurance protecting public 

funds, traveling expenses, end other necessary expenses; provided, t.hat in addition to the officers 

named herein, the county treasurer, county auditor, 

eountg road eommlssioners, County school superintendent, and the bide and animal inspector shall likewise make a report on the premiums on officials' 

bonds, including the cost of surety bonds for any 

deputies, and said premiumsshall be subject to payment out of the fees of safa office, as herein 

otherwise provided for the officers namecl; and provide3. further that if any of the officers so designated aYe on a sala?g rather than a fee basis, 

then all such bond premiums for officers and their 

deputies shall be paid from the General Fund of 

the county, The Commissioners Court of the county 

of the sheriff's residence may, upon the written 

and sworn application of the sheriff stating the 

necessity therefor, pUrchase equipment for a Bureau 

of Criminal Identiff@atlon such as cameras, fingerprint CaPaS, inks, chemicals, microscopes, radio 

and laboratory equipment, filing Cards, filing 

cabinets, tear gas, and other equipment in keeping 

with the system in use by the Department of Public 

Safety of this State or the United States Department of Justice and/or Bureau of Criminal Identlfication. If such expenses be Lncurred In connection 

with any particular case, such statement shall name 

such case. Such expense account shall be subject 

to ,the audit of the county auditor, if any, otherwise by the Commissioners Cburt; and if it appears 

that any item of such expense was not incurred by 

such officer or such item was not a necessary expense of office, such item shall be by such auditor 
Honorable W. P. Sexton, page 4 o-5968 

or court : rejected, in vhich case"the collections of 

-._. -. such item may be adjudicated Inany court of competent jurisdldtlon. The amount of salariespaid 

to assistants and deputies shall also be clearly 

shown by such offycer, gloving the name, position, 

and amount paId each; andln no event shall any 

officer show any~greeter amount than actually 

paLd any such assistant or deputy. The amount 

of such expenses,/tbgether with the amount of 

salaries paid to assistants, deputies, and clerks, 

shall be paid out of the fees earned by such officer. The Commissioners Court of the county of 

the sheriff's residence may, upon the written 

and sworn application of the sheriff stating the 

necessity therefor, allow one or more automobiles 

to be used by the sheriff in the discharge of his 

offlci.al duties, which, Lf purchased by the county, 

shall be bought in the manner prescribed by law 

for the purchase of supplies and pald for out of 

the General Fund of the county, and they shall 

be and remain the property of the county. The 

expense of maintenance, depreciation, and operatlon of such automobiles as may be allowed, 

whether purchased by the county or owned by the 

sheriff or his deputies personally, shall be paid 

for by the sheriff and the amount thereof shall 

be reported by the sheriff, on the report above 

mentioned, in the same manner as herein provided 

for other expenses. As,amended, Acts 1941, 47th 

Leg., P. 1390, chap. 629, FJ 1." 

Article 3899b, W. A.C.S,, provides, in part,as follows: 

%ection 1. There shall be allowed to County 

Judges, Clerks of the District-and County Courts, 

Sherlffs, County Treasurers, Tax Assessors and 

Collectors, such books, stationery, Including blank 

bail bonds and blank complaints, and office furniture as may be necessary for their offices, to 

be paid for on the order of the Commissioners 

Court out of the County Treasury; and suitable 

offices shall also be provided by the Commissioners 

Court for said officers at the expense of the 

county. And such books and stationery as are necessary in the performance of their duties shall also 

be furnished Justices of the Peace by said CommIssioners Court. Provided all purchases herein must 

be approved by Commissioners Court, and must he 

made under the provisions of Article 1659, Revised 

Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925," 
Honorable W. P. Sexton, page 5 o-5968 

You will note 

said Article 3899b. 

that constables are not mentioned in 

Article 3891, 

follows : 

v. A. C. S., provides, in part, as 

"Each officer named in this Chapter shall 

first out of the 'current fees of.his office pay 

or be paid the amount allowed him under the provisions of Article 3883, together with the salaries of his assistants and deputies, and authorized expenses under Article 3899, and the amount 

necessary to cover costs of premium on whatever 

surety bond may be required by law. If the current fees of such office collected in any year be 

more than the amount needed to pay the amounts 

above specified, same shall be deemed excess fees, 

and shall be disposed of in the manner hereinafter 

provided." 

The authorized expenses which may be deducted under 

Article 3899, supra, are such expenses as are enumerated therein, and only those expenses which are authorized under the 

statute can be deducted. Such expenses are to be paid from 

fees earned by the officers, and are allowed to both, constables and sheriffs. 

The i~tems of expense mentioned in Article 3899b, supra, , 

are allowed only to the officers therein mentioned by the express terms of said article, therefore, constables would not 

be allowed such expenses. 

Trusting this is satisfactory, we are 

Yo.urs very truly 

ATTORNEX GEI\TERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/Rcbert L. Lattimore, Jr 

Robert L. Lattimore, Jr. 

Assistant 

RLL:fo:wc 

APPROVED APRIL 29, 1944 

s/Gee. P. Blackburn 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TFXAS 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/BWS Chairman