OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS AUSTIN

Honorable John A. Blienefee County Attorney upton Gounty Rankin, Texas Dear Sir:

nfrom their liarequesting the oplmadquestion reads in

of the coma he facts are as folounty failed to rile enditures of his asloners cow% of Nowoutside expenditures not.filed in monthpproved by said oommissloners
"TEEf&fETION: Canthe present commissioners court laartully approve expenditures run&by the sheriff in the year 1941 andrelease the sheriff andhis bondsmen from their liability. ".

. . ."Honorable JohnA. Menefee, page 2

The sheriff as well as all of Upton County was oompensated on a 1941. other oounty offioials ree basis for the year
section (a) of Article 3899, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, applicable to fee offices of the.county, requires each offioer namedin the ~maxirum foe law (now .ArtfCles 38839891, Vernon*8 Annotated Civil Statutes, as amended) to makea?monthly Itemized and sworn statement of all of the actual and necessary expenses incurred by such officer in the conduct of hia office.

The case or Pierson v. Galveston County, 131 S.W. (2) 27, amongother things, holds that ajustice of the peace wasnot entitled to recover from the county items of expenses olaimed ror postage, traveling expenses andmessenger service during oertain years in offloe, where the justiae of the peaoe did not render monthly statements of such expenses as required byArticle 3899, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes. In’this case the justice of the peace merely riled annual reports estimatlng the expenaes in lumpsun amounts. Wequote from this case as iollows~

=. . . . Pierson mademomonthly statements as required in the followingportions of B.C.S., Article 3899: At the close Otteach month of his tenure of such offloe eacrhofficer whose fees are aileated by the provisions of this law shall make as a part of the report nowrequired by law, an itemized and sworn statement of ’ all the aotoal and neceeaary expenses inourred by himIn the oonduot of his orrloe such as stationary, stamps, telephone, traveling expenses and other neoesaary expense. If suah expenses-be lnaurred in connection with any partic.ular aase euoh statement shall name suoh case. Such expense aooount shall be subject to the audit of the county auditor, ii any, andii it appears that any Item,of such expense wasnot incurred by such officer, or that such Item was not neoessary thereto, such item nay be by such auditor or court rejetted. In which case the correotness of suoh item maybe adjudicated in any court of competent jurisdiction.

. . .

“The manifest purpose of this statute was to provide ameans of asoertalning the correctness of expense items eaoh monthas they are incurred. The actual expenses paid or incurred constitute theHonorable John A. Menefee, page 8

measure of the orflcial*s right to recoupment. Themonthly Itemization is for the protection of the county by affording ameans of ascertaining the faot andthe amount of such claimed item of expense andwhether it was properly chargeable as such. It is manirest from the annual reports and confirmed bythe evidenoe that these expenses were merely estimated and a lumpsumgiven eaoh year. The statute would be of no value if its salutary provisions could be evaded In this manner. Wehold the Items properly disallowed by the commissloners~ Court, and the trial court’s judgment oorrect in denying recovery therefor.” In view of the foregoing you are advised that it Is our opinion that the oommlssioners* court of Upton County cannot legally approve and allow expenditures madeby the Sheriff in thenyear of 1941 where the Sheriff railed to file swornmonthly statements of all of this actual neoessaryexpensewIncurred by hirain the oonduct of his offioe a8 provided by law. Yours very truly


# BP /s/

AW: nip APPROVED

APR 19, 1949 Grover Sellers FIRSTASSISTANT ATTORNEY

GENERAL AFPPOVED

OPINIONCOMMITTEE BYBWB

CHAIEmaAa WJF lrdell Williams ,AfJsietant

AW:mw