# TheAttorney GeneralofTexas

December 31, 1982 MARK WHITE Attorney General

Supreme Court Building P.0. Box 12548 Austin, TX. 78711. 2548 51214752501 TAX 9101874.1387 Tekwxier 5121475.0286

1607 Main St.,Suite 1400 Dallas. TX. 75201.4709 2141742.8944

4824Alberta

Ave.. Suite 160 ElPaso, TX. 79905-2793 9151533.3484

1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 Houston, TX. 770026986 7131650-0666

806 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbock, TX. 79401-3479 8061747.5238

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200Main Plaza, Suite 400 San Antonio, TX. 76205-2797 5121225-4191

AnEqual Opportunityl Affirmative Action Employer Honorable TomWells, III LamarCounty Attorney Courthouse Paris, Texas 75460 Opinion No. MW-587
Re: Salary of Lamar County Juvenile Probation Officers

DearMr.Wells:

You have asked if the Lamar County Commissioners Court is required to approve the salary of the juvenile probation officer as established bythe county juvenile board.

Prior tothepassage of article 5138d. V.T.C.S., in 1981, article 5142 et seq. governed the salaries ofjuvenile probation officers of particular jurisdictions. Article 5142d provides that juvenile boards "shall recommend the salary to be paid to [the] Juvenile Officer... which salary shall be approved by the Commissioners Court...." (Emphasis added). Under this provision, salaries set by thejuvenile board are not final but conditioned upon the approval of the commissioners court. Attorney General Opinion H-1296 (1978). See also Attorney General Opinion MW-15(1979) (same result for counties covered by article 5142b, which provides that salaries be "fixed by theJuvenile Board subject tothe approval of the County Commissioners Court").
However, in 1981 the Texas Legislature acted to improve juvenile probation services throughout the state. As a counterpart to the Adult Probation Commission, see Code of Criminal Procedure article 42.121, theTexas Juvenile Probation Commission wascreated toprovide state aid to local juvenile boards andto set standards for probation officers. SeeHumanResources Code§75.001 et seq. legislatureprovided In addition, the for the establishment of county j"W"iLS probation departments by enacting article 5138d, which reads in pertinent part:

(b) Inall Texas counties, thejuvenile board or, if there is none, thejuvenile court may,with the advice andconsent of the commissioners court, employ and designate the titles and fix the salaries of probation officers and of administrative, supervisory, stenographic, and

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Honorable TomWells, III - Page 2 (~~-587)

other clerical personnel who are necessary to provide juvenile probation services according to the standards established by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the needs of the local jurisdiction as determined by the juvenile board or, if there is none, the juvenile court. This determination, if inconsistent with salaries established by laws governing the creation of a juvenile probation department for a particular jurisdiction, supersedes and controls over those statutory provisions. (Emphasis added).
The legislature thus expressly provides that the compensation established under article 5138d overrules salary determinations made under all other statutory provisions -- including article 5142d.

In Commissioners Court of Lubbock County v. Martin, 471 S.W.2d 100 (Tex. civ. APP. - Amarillo 1971, writ ref ’d n.r.e.) and Commissioners Court of HaysCounty v. District Judge, 506S.W.2d 630 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1974, writ ref ’d n.r.e.), the courts construed analmost identical standard for setting the salaries of adult probation officers under article 42.12, section 10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Atthat time, article 42.12, section 10provided:

[T]he district judge or district judges... are authorized, with the advice and consent of the commissioners court as hereinafter provided, to employ and designate the titles and fix the salaries of probation officers, and such administrative, supervisory, stenographic, clerical, and other personnel asmaybenecessary....
Given the legislative purpose to create district-wide probation services and the intent to place the responsibility for probation supervision within the district courts, the courts concluded that this statutory language required the judges merely to consult with the commissioners court in preparing the probation services budget; the conrmissioners court wasnot authorized toreject the budget submitted by the district judges unless the budget was so unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious as to amount to an abuse of the judges’ discretion. 471 S.W.2d 107-08. See also Commissioners Court of Hays County, supra, at 635; Attorney General Opinion M-393 (1969).

In enacting statutes, the legislature is presumed to have taken notice of court decisions construing prior analogous statutes; judicial construction of similar language will beread into subsequent statutes. United Savings Association of Texas v. Vandygriff, 594 S.W.Zd 163, 169(Tex. Civ. App. -Austin 1980, writ ref ’d n.r.e.). We
are therefore of the opinion that article 5138d confers uponjuvenile

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Honorable TomWells, III - Page3(MW-587)

boards (the administrative units of thejudiciary), or in the absence of such boards, thejuvenile courts themselves, the sameauthority to fix the salaries of juvenile probation personnel that the adult probation statute conferred upon district judges regarding the salaries of adult probation personnel. This conclusion is in accord with recent Texas court decisions which recognize the inherent power of acourt tocompel thepayment ofreasonable sumsofmoneyneeded to carry out judicial responsibilities, independently of the other branches of government. See Vondy v. Commissioners Court of Uvalde County, 620 S.W.2d 104, 109-10 (Tex. 1981); Commissioners Court of Lubbock Countyv. Martin, supra. at 110(district court would have the power to appoint probation personnel and set their salaries if such action is necessary for the effective administration of the court's business). See also Noble County Council v. State, 125N.E.2d 709, 714 (Ind. 1955).

SUMMARY

Thecommissioners court mustbudget andpaythe salary of the juvenile probation officer asset by the juvenile board or juvenile court, absent a clear abuse of discretion.

MARK WHITE Attorney General ofTexas

JOHNW.FAINTER,JR. First Assistant Attorney General

RICHARDE.GRAYIII Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared byPatricia Hinojosa Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITTEE
SusanL. Garrison. Chairman JonBible Rick Gilpin George Gray Patricia Hinojosa JimMoellinger

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