OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTliU 

Bonorable Carlo8 0. Aehley 

Dlatrlot Attorney 

Llarlo, Texas 

Attention: Xr. A. 0. llueller 

Dear Blrr 

fied and is now haldkg off%oe , 

“So formal olalm has ever been filed for said 

unaolleated aommIsaIon8, and. no avorB statement ~a8 

made for any OS said years as required by Artlole 

3897 R. s. Ho report voa illed by the Collector 

shoving the said ooztnisslona due and uncollected. 
914 . . . 

Bonorable 0~108 C. Ashley, page 2 

"Is there any vay that the Tax A88eraor-Colleator may at this time he lavfully paid the aggregate olaim for ~ommlaal~8 due him by virtue of said 

l a8e8ament8? 

. 

l . .* 

Llano County has a population or 5996 inhnbitont.8 acoording to the 1940 ?ederal Cen8u8, and it8 oounty offlola 

l r a oompenaated o n a fee basis. 

Artlolo 2795, Vernon’8 Annotated Iox Civil Statutes, reads as follova: 

"The ocmmir8lonerr court, at the time of levying taxes for county purporer, shall also levy upon 

all taxable property vlthin any oomnon school dirtriot the rate OS tax 80 voted if a rpeairio rate 

ham been voted3 othervise said oourt ahall levy 

l uoh a rite vlthin the limit 80 voted as has bean 

determined by the board of trustee8 of said diatrlot 

and the oounty l upmintendent and oertifled to said 

aourt hy the oounty au rlntendent. If auah tax 

has heea voted after t r e~levy of county taxes, it 

shall be levied at nnymietlng'of said oourt prior 

to the &livery of t&:&aaeasment rolls by the aaa ea a or l The tax arusarbr 8hall aaaeaa said tax a8 

other taxes are assessed and make en abstract shoving the amount of special texea assersed against 

eaoh aahool dlatrlat-~inhir oounty and furnish the 

same to the ootmty l uperlntendemt on or before the 

firat day of September of.the.year for vhlah augh 

taxes are aaaeaaed. Zhe taxer levied upon the real 

property in said diatrlata shall be a lien thereon 

and the same ahall be aold for unpaid taxer in the 

namer and at the time of 8alea Sor State and oounty taxer. The tax colleator l hsll collect aaid 

taxer as other tuea are oolleated. The tax aaaea8or shall reoelve a commla8ion oi one-half of one 

p r oen t . f or l 88e88 ing mu& tax and the tax aollec6- 

or a aommisafon of one-half of one per cent. for 

gollectinff the same. The tax oOlleOtOr shall pay 

a11 auah taxer~to fie aounty treaaureP', and said 
. 

Bonorablo CW108 0. A~hlOy, *go 3 

treasurer shall oredit oaoh school dlrtrlat vlth the 

amount belonging to It, and pay out the same in aoaordanoe vlth 181. 

lag ours) 

Aots 1921, 9. 56.' (UndorroorArtlalo 3883, Vernon's hotsted Texas Civil Statutes, 

reads In part as follovar 

'Paopt as othorvlro provided in this Aat, the 

annual foes that may be retaIned by proainot, oounty and dlstrlct offlcor8 montloned In this Artiolo 

Shall be as iO11OUSI 

“1, ti countlsr OOxkt8ining tventy f'lve (25,000) 

thousand Or 108S iDhabItants: county Judge, Dirtrlat 02 Criminal Matriot Attorneg, nheritf, County 

Clerk, Oouaty Attorney, District Clerk, Tax Colleotor, Tax Aa8os8or, or the Aaso8sor and Colloator of 

T6xo8~ Bmnty-four Eundrsd ()2400.00) D0llars eaohj 

. . . 

Artiolo 3891, Vernon’s mnotated Texas Civil Statutes, 

roads In part as follov8r 

?&oh ofiioer named ia thls Chapter 8hall flrat 

out of the current fees of his offlod pay or be paid 

the &imoUzit alloved him under the provlrlona of Article 3883, together vlth the salarlos of his asrlatNOZLtS and dO&NXtiOS, and authorized expenses uuder 

ArtIolo $399, and the amount necessary to aover 

aoats of proaium on vhatevor surety bond may be Fequired by lav. If the current fees of suoh office 

aolleoted In any year be more than the amount needed to pay the amounts above 8poclfIed, wuw shall be 

deemed excess fees, and shall be disposed Of IU the 

maunor hereinafter provided. 

‘In counties oontalning tventy-five thousand 

(25,000) or loss Inhabltantm, DIrtriot and County 

offiaors named heroin shall retain one-third of nuch 

exaes8 fOO8 until 8Uah one-third, together vlth the 

MOUIItS speolfled Zn Artlole 3883, mounts to !&Pee 

Thousand Dol;Lars ($3,000), . . . 

” 

. . . . 
916 

Honorable Carlo8 C. Ashley, page 4 

'All current foes earned and oolloctod b orfloors hamod in Artlolo 3%63 during imy ilaoa f yeor 

In exaess OS tho maxlmm and exaesa alloved by this 

Aat, and for their servicer and for the rorvloes of 

their deputies and aa8iatMtr oud authorlrod oxponaoo, together ulth all delinquent fooa colleatod 

ond not uued as provided ln Artlalo 3892, or u8ed to 

pay 8818ldO4 Of deputlor Ud o88iStMta VhM Ourrent foes ore luaufflolent, Shrll be pold Into the 

County Treasury in tha oounty whore the exooa~ aoaruodi 

"All fees duo ond not colleoted, as 8hOPn in the 

report ropulrod by Artlole 3697, rho11 be oolloated 

by the offloer to vhoae o?f.Ioe the foes aoorued and 

rho11 bo dl8pOSod O? by raid Offioer in acoordanoe 

vlth tho provisions of thla Aat, 

"Zhe compensationa, lImItatIona and moximunm 

herein fixed In this Aat iOr offloors sholl Include 

and apply to oll offlaers mentioned heroin in eaah 

and every county o? this State, and it i8 hereby 

declared to be the Intention of the Logislaturo that 

the povlalona of this Aot aholl Spply to each of 

88ld officers, and any special or general lau Inconsistent vlth the provlalona hereof la hereby expressly repealed in 80 far as the same may be Inaonalatent vlth this Aot, 

"The aompenaatlon, uJUitatiOn8 and amximuma 

heroin fixed aholl also apply to all foes and sow 

.ponaatIon vhatsoever oolleated by l ald officers In 

their ofilolal aapaalty, vhether aaaountable as 

foes of offioe under the present law, and any law, 

general or Special, to the contraby la hereby oxprossly repealed. ?he only kind and charkater of 

""7 

enaation exempt from the QrOViSiOnq Of this Pot 

aha 1 be revarda roaelved by Sheriffa for apprehon810n OS OrIQiiM.lS or fu&tIVeS from jUStI and ?OP 

the reaovory of stolen property, and moneys received 

by County Judges and Justices of tho ?eaao for performing awriago oeremales, which sum shall not be 

l ooountablo for and not required to be reported as 

is88 of o?fiae. (As amended Aats 1930, 418t L og., 4th 

G.S., p. 30, ah. 20; Aate 1931, 42nd Log., p 870, ah. 

oh 

~~~~,A~~~h1~~~,4',~d7~~'~h~*3~fjj)~.j" 

220, i 23 Act.8 
e 

---. 

Honorable Carl+ a4 Aahloy, p&go 5 

'irfilole 3892, Vwnon'p Annotated ?OX4%8 civil St@&uter, 

roads .a8 r0ii0v81 

*Any offlaer mentioned .in this ChaDtor vho door 

not oolliot 

to oOiRploto the 

Artiolor %3, 

aaxlmum~aompenaatlon 

3883-A, 

SUthOrlSod by 

and 3886 for the youp In 

vhlah dollnquont fear voro charged, and al80 retain 

the munt of l xuo a ~ too8 authmlred b law, and the 

rmlndor of the dolinqwnt fees for t L t firaal 

oar shall bo p8id a8 horrln provided for trhon oolI eot4d; povid4d, the provialon8 0s thl8 hrtiolo 

shall not apply to 4ny offioor after 'xza yo4r ir05 

the date he 0088.8 to hold the orrioe to vhich any 

deAinqwnt r04 18 duo, aad in the event the orriaor 

o4rnm the foor t&t 4re delinquent has not aolleutod the same PithIn tvelvo mmthe aiter.he aoaso8 to 

hold th4 0rfi00, tha aatount 0s fee8 001140ted shall 

bo patd into tho oounty treasury. Provided, howover, that nothing In this Aat prealuder the gaymont 

of ox-ofrlalo fooo in aacordanae vlth Tltlo~ 61 of 

tho Roviaod Oivll Statutes 0s Toms4, 1925, a8 part 

of tho lu~l~n 003qW88tlOn. Provided, that any 

change mode in thlr &tlole by this bet 8h4ll not 

apply to fear h4retoforo earned. (A4 amended Acts 

1930, SlSt tg., 4th c. d., QD 30, oh. 20, )' 4.)” 

(Undorooorlng ouro) 

lW above quoted rtatuto boaw offootivo iu 1930, 

prior to the oornfng of the oOmmIanlona in quortlon hero. 

ArtlOb 3897, !hrnoSi'S Aunot8t.d 90X48 Civil Stahter, 

roads 88 folloor~ 

Woh diatriot, 0Ounty Ud pr4ofnOt orrmir, at 

the.aloao of o8Oh ii8041 y44r (Dwenbor 31at) rh411 

make t0 the dl4trlot oourt of the oounty ln vhIoh 

ho rorido8 a 8vorn rtetom4at in tripllcatct (on row 

doSi@lod and approved by the State Auditor) a OOQJ 

of wh$oh St8teMnt ahall be forvardbd to the State 

Auditor by the olerk Of the dIatrlOt oourt of said 

aounty within thirty (30) days after the rw has 

been filed in hi8 OfflOO, and One OOQy to be filed 
Honorbble C-108 0. Ashley, page 6 

vlth the oounty audItor, if any; otherwise aa’“,;;gy 

shall be filed tith the Oommiaaionera~ Court. 

rbport shall show the ameunt of all fees, oommiasiona and compenaatlona whatever 4arned by said officer during th4 ilaaal peari and 84oondly, ahall 

ahov the amount of f4e8, commlaaiona and ooa~pen~ationa ooll4cted by bin durw tha fiscal y41rj thlrdly, 88id report ahall contain an it4miaed statement 

of all f448, ooamlaai~na and oompenaatlona earned 

during the fiaoal yeas vhioh vere not oollected, 

tog4ther vith the name of the party ovlng said f44a, 

oommiaa~ona and oomp4naatlons. Said report shall 

be tiled not later than P4bruary 1st folloving the 

close of the fl~csl ye8r and for each day after 

said date that said report remains not filed, said 

officer shall be liable to a penalty of tvanty Five 

(@LOO) Dollars, vhiah may be reoovered by the county in a suit brought for auoh purpoa48, and in addltion said offloer shall b4 subject to removal from 

office. (As 6mended Aota 1930, 41at Leg., 4th CA., 

p. 30 ch. 29 ) 5 Acts 1935, 44th Leg., 2nd C.S., 

p. 1762, ch. 465, 1 9.)" 

The oaa4 of Pierson v. Oalreaton County, 131 S.N. (26) 

27, held that a justice of’ the pea04 vaa not entitled to recover from a county items oi expenses claimed for oertain items 

during oertsln years In offlo where the justice did not render monthly atatembnta of such expenses as required by Art1 1 

mg, v . A . = . 3 ., but merely filed fm.nual reports estimating ghz 

expenses in lump sum amounts. 

’ ion in said cause as follova: 

We quote from the court’s opin- 

\ 

“The manifest purpoao of this statute vaa to 

provide a mans of ascertaining the correctness of 

erpenssitema eaoh month 88 they ere incurr4d. The 

~.~e,~1-:t~4.:,qtficirl~a right to recoupment. 

actual 4x enaea paid or inaurrad constitute &$$$eamohttil~~it4miaation is for the protection >f the 

county by afford&x& a means of arcertain.tr?g the feat 

and mount oi auoh albtimed item of’ expense and 

rh4ther it vaa properly chargeable a8 such. 1t is 

manifest from the mnwl reports and oonflrmed by 

the evidence that these expenses vere merely eatlmated and a lump sum given each year. The atatute would be of no value if its aalutory provisions 
929 

Hono~rI114 Osrloa C. Aehley, page 7 

aould, be eveded in thir m4nn4r. Ye hold the items 

properly diaalloved ~by the oomlaalonera~ oourt, 

and the trial court*8 judgment correct in denying 

recoyery therefor,” 

U4 think it oould llk4ulae be said of Article 3892, 

auprb, that before any dellAwent fear oould be aolleot4d under l eld brtiole that 88 a conditloA preoedent same must have 

been reported as dellnqu4nt ire8 vlthln the time and aanner 

required by Levi The fact8 in this obae reilect .that this 

vaa not don4, 

It is our opinion that uud4r the racta stated, the 

4x-tu assessor-oolleotor la not nov entitled to the oomaiaaiona 5~2 que8tlon. 

.Xt vi11 be noted further thbt your letter does not 

ahov vhether the or-tax l aaeaaov-oolleotor oolleoted the 

muiaum fees alloved him by 140 (in this a848 - 3,OOO.OO) 

e8,oh year. If he did that vould bee an addltlona f reason for 

denying him auoh oommiaaiuna-)- + 

Phere are pwhbpa additional reasons vhy ouch oommiaalona oould not nov be legally paid to such ex-tax aaaeaaoraolleator but it is not neoeaaP.ry to go intq them here as 

the reason givsa &bow4 rfll &&ply suffice. 

Very truly yours 

ATTO8lEY OWEBAL OF TBXAS 

Wl’rdb