OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN

Benorable 

### Cbarlrr

H. Theob6Jd 

### 06untyAttornay 

### 06lreat6n

county Oalvrsston,

Teua
D6ar 

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Your requret to **ouofullj oan~idoro6**  **bp t**  request **a6 folLat** 

tabar requoddd me te r spielon oa thle yeuharehoAd Ewe.85 

### 60 of thoastataa68, et thatthesoi6LIB mlrt~ ~pr+wtahg 

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thatthe **b0** l **fr00ttvO.*** 

### fBnak6t **Iasutloa**Honorable Uharles K. Theobeld, Page S

TWction,RS of Article 5 of our State Conetitt&on. gm%Qts authority to thn legislature to inoreaae. dio&nlah or chance the civil and criminal jurlediotlon 6P county aourte by elt%er ha1 or saneral la w. Sections 1 and E’ 01 the above auoted sot are themrore valid.
*Howover, Section 5 of the aot PrOV~diQg addltioual oompensation for the County Clerk and County Judge, and providing for the eppoiQtmnt of an additionaldaputy clerk and the payment of a salary to eucb deputy, is clearly usonQstitutional as a looal or special law ettemptin& to regulate the 

### effairaof a county, **anG** whsra a Sensral lcw oan be labd~e a;iplicable. Al!aostthe idantieel

### prooedure was aondemcd **in** the oaee of Duclos vs. Ebrlja Couuty, 251 6. #. 569, Effi~bd by SupM!N **GOti iQ**  S&5 5. 1c'. S62. Ale0 see the **aese8** OS Altgelt ve. Gutzeit, 1SV 5. R.,ESS, affirmed by Suprem Court in 201 S. Vi.400; *ara vs. Harris Ccirnty, E00 S. W. 794; and the reevntcase of Ulller et al vs. El Paso County, 150 8. X. (2d) 1000, (EmpremeCourt or %x&s--0pin4on deliveredby Ctiiarf' Justfoe AlsdmndsrI.* (Unhrscfning ours) $eotionr 55 end 66, Constitutional Sew, Vol. 9, pp. 4voe, 473 and 474, Taw~ JUrlsprudunOe,

### r8ad aa **fOihVSJ**

**“ 1.**  **86. &3QUR~~y**  **-** A legislative maatment may be unaonetitutionaland therefore invalid aa to aem of Itspprovisionr,and Valid ae te cthera. Indeed, lt ie elementary law tbat **a** statutewill elways be sustained a8 to portions wbleh Rre not ufioomtitutlonal,unlese the **UQ43OQSfi~kd~OQSl gOrtibQS**  **@Qd** the **WQsti** tutional portlo~s are so intsrminglrd that they oamot be severed. The eonstitQtloQal 8,QdUQaOQBtitUtiOQa1prOVit8lOQl3 IBay bVBQ be OOQtaiQed in the same section, and ret be perfectly diatinut end ee~rable, so thet the first miy stami though the ti6t fa~L1. The point is. Qot bheth& they are NJQt0iEOa in the sdDl6seotioQ, fo- the dietributloa into aactidns is au~ely artitioial, but nh:?+harthey ere as6sQtlally and Inrreparably

aonneoted in substanea. If the two parts tin be possibly ieparatad, the OOti srhotid

d0 60, aI%&QOt p%~&t the IQVrrlid parttodfmtrey the whole law.Bonorable Charlea H. 'phrobald, Page 6

Thaw an aat he1.d unaeaetftutlonalaon**tains** a prov+.on for the rapeal of prior law, suah provision is al8o unooastitutioaal. If the statute in qusrtion **operated as.an**  **amend** nmnt of an earlier law, ths **effect** of holding it to **be** unabastitutional is to lsata the orlgfnal anaatmsnt in full tame and offeat.

"I 68. Ssvsrabllit~ of Part8 of **Aat** - **A8** to whether eonntitationalpsrts of the **statute must**  **bo** held to be invalid or inoperatira baasusa of concroeia.tion

18 dependentupon the objeot of the law, **and** the manner and extent to whioh ths unoon~titutional portionaffeots the remaina~r. It is mid that tho aburt araynot d4- elare the whole to be **invalid unlsse**  a11 the 

### grovi4ionm**aro connsated**  

### in **subjsot** 

### mattex,**de** pendent on each other, Qpemtlng togother for
tb lvaw r=po8o 6l'Oth8X'W144 00 COIlMQtti together II

asadng **that** it eaanot **be** preapacld that the laglalaturawould.havo psaed ths one without the otbu.
**It ir a roll-settled xulo that, if Ohs *ore41 pro~irioa4 of a le&slatire aat are 40 mutually emmated with aA depaadeat tm eaoh 

### other **aa** conditions,oonotderatioo~ 

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### oompaaabioafer aach other am to mwmnt the belief fbst the Legirlature intanAa$ them **a8** a uhclo, and would not hare 6aaaCe4 one or mire of theaiii'the others ~0~14 not **br jotid**  and oarried into **effest,** than all th4 pro*lrion* mlut f411.'
non~the othrr hand if the unOo46titutkoMl portion of the mtatuto 1s **rtrioken** 

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### that which rmalnr la oompletr In Itself and oapabla of bring l

**xsouted l.n**  **aOoordaPor** 

### witht&a**ameat** lagf*lativa infant, rihellyimi4~4adent of t&4* whlah is **rsjeotaa,** it Lust be **4u8taiwL"**
Zt is our opinion that Seatiarw 1 anO 2 of th* aot PFB elear2y **severable** aa aonstitutional.

Xt is 001 fwther 6gfnio5 that the partial tmaon5titutmmlify or the 

### sot [tawit, aeohion Ss **aa** point44 eta%Iionorablo Chsrlss Bi Theebald, Page 4

in oplniouNo. O-3722) wkll &at aifeet the other motiona
0r the aat.