October 14, 1968 

Honorable Harry B. Kelton 

Director, Texas National Guard 

Armory Board 

West Austin Station 

Austin, Texas 78703 

Dear Mr. Kelton: 

Opinion No. M-289 

Re: Merit increases for Armory 

Board employees and construction of House Bill No. 

5, Acts of 60th Legislature, 

Article V,~Section 1, and 

Article 6252, V.C.S. 

Your request for an op 

tion: 

inion poses the following ques- 

"Should one or more of the employees on 

a local fund payroll be given a one step merit 

increase effective September lst, 1968 and 

later in the year the payroll is transferred 

for payment from our General Revenue appropriation for classified salary positions, can the 

State Comptroller legally approve the salaries 

for payment at the step two rate of the Classification Salary Schedule provided such merit 

increases conform to the provisions Article V, 

Section 1, paragraph a, sub-paragraph (2) of 

House Bill No. 5, Acts of the 60th Legislature, 

First Called Session, 1968 and Article 6252 

Revised Civil Statutes of Texas?" 

Subdivision (2) of Section 1 of Article V of the current 

Appropriation Act relating to merit salary increases provides: 

"(2) MERIT SALARY INCREASES. During the 

fiscal year beginning September 1, 1968, in addition to other salary increases authorized in 

this Section, agency administrators may,grant 

merit salary increases to selected employees 

whose performance or productivity is consistently above that normally expected or required. 

Such merit increases shall be subject to the 

following restrictions: 

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Ron. Harry B. Kelton, Page 2 (M-289) 

"(a) The source of funds shall be only 

the items of appropriations in this Act for 

'Merit Salary Increases', except as otherwise 

authorized below. The maximum monthly expenditure for merit salary increases shall be onetwelfth of the total appropriation for that 

item. 

"(b) No employee may receive more than 

two one-step increases from funds appropriated 

for merit salary increases during the fiscal 

year beginning September 1, 1968. 

"(c) For agencies financed from more than 

one fund, the oost of merit increases shall be 

allocated to each fund in the same proportion 

as regular payrolls bear to such funds. 

"(d) Where a specific line item appropriation Is not provided for merit salary increases, agencies are authorized to allocate 

not more than 1.7s of the fiscal 1969 budget 

for classified positions, provided however that 

any merit salary increases so granted shall 

be subject to the provisions of thzs section 

related to merit salary increases. 

Regular full-time salaried employees of the Texas 

National Guard Armory Board hold classified positions under the 

provisions of Article 6252-11, Vernon's Civil Statutes, unless 

the employees have been excluded from such Position Classification 

Plan by executive order of the Governor or by direction of the 

Legislature. Article 6252-11, Section ~2. Thus it was held in 

Attorney General Opinion WW-1095 (1961) that the Position Classification Plan did not apply to the Finance Commissionand the 

Banking and Savings and Loan Departments for the reason that 

their employees were excluded by direction of the Legislature 

: by virtue of the provisions of Article 342-112, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes. Likewise it was held in Attorney General Opinion 

WW-1222 (1961) that the employees of the Texas State Board of 

Plumbing Examiners were excluded from the Position Classification 

Plan by direction of the Legislature by virtue of the provisions 

of Article 6243-101, Sets. 5 and 7, Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

In view of the provisions of Article 6252-11, whether 

a regular full-time salaried employee is in a classified or unclassified position is not made dependent upon the source from 

which his salary is paid, but rather is made dependent upon 

” 1405 - 
Hon. Harry B. Kelton, page 3 (M-289) 

whether such employee has been excluded from the Position Classification Plan by executive order of the Governor or by direction 

of the Legislature. The fact that an employee is paid from funds 

outside the Treasury during part of a fiscal year and paid from 

funds in the State Treasury during another part of the fiscal 

year will not affect the salary rate to be paid such employee 

if such employee during such period of time remains in a classified position. 

In answer to your question you are advised that when 

such employees are later transferred on the payroll for the purposes of their salary being paid from funds in the State Treasury, 

they are to receive salaries at the rate provided for in the 

Position Classification Schedule; and the Comptroller may legally 

approve merit salary increases which oonform to the provisions 

of Subdivision (2) of Section 1 of Article V of the current 

General Appropriation Act relating to merit salary increases. 

SUMMARY 

The fact that an employee is paid ,from~ funds 

outside the Treasury during part of a fiscal year 

and paid from funds in the State Treasury during 

another part of the fiscal year will not affect 

the salary rate to be paid such employee if such 

employee during such period of time remains in a 

classified position. 

Vfitruly yours, 

Prepared by John Reeves 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman 

Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman 

Steve Hollahan 

Robert Darden 

Malcom Smith 

Z. T. Fortescue 

A. J. CARUBBI, JR. 

Executive Assistant 

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