E NE 

EXAS 

February 17, 1966 

Honorable Charles 

Criminal District 

Harrison County 

Marshall, Texas 

Dear Mr. Allen: 

A. Allen 

Attorney 

Opinion NO. c-615 

Re: Whether Harrison' County Is 

authorized to employ a 

secretary for the juvenile 

officer pureuant to the 

provisions of Article 51395, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes, and 

related question. 

You have requested, by your letter and subsequent telephone conversations with this office, the opinion of this office 

as to whether Harrison County Is authorized, pursuant to the provisions of Article 51395, Vernon's Civil Statutes, to employ a 

secretary for the juvenile officer , and if so, may the salary of 

such secretary exceed the salary provisions of Article 51395. 

In connection'wlth the foregoing you have stated In 

your letters that: 

"In 1964 the Commissioners Court of 

Harrison County authorized the employment 

of a secretary for the Junveile Officer of 

Harrison County. Prior thereto, an agreement was worked out with the State Department 

of Public Welfare whereby among other things 

the State Department of Public Welfare would 

appoint a Child Welfare Caseworker, who, In 

turn, would be designated by the Juvenile 

Board (composed of the District and County 

Judge) as Juvenile Officer. . . . 

n 

. . . 

"The Department of Public Welfare now 

inaiats that the secretary, ,who is paid by 

the County but qualified by the Department 

of Public Welfare, be paid on the merit 

system. If the Commissioners' Court of 

-2988- 
Hon. Charles A. Allen, page 2 (C-615) 

Harrison County complies with the request 

of the Departmentof Public We.lfare; the 

amount expended would exceed $3,500, the 

amount authorized by Article 5139J, which 

is the amount originally agreed upon by 

Harrison County." 

Section 3a of Article 51395 provides in part that: 

"The juvenile board of Harrison County 

may appoint a juvenile officer, whose salary 

shall be fixed by the Commissioners Court of 

said county in an amount not to exceed Three 

Thousand Dollars ($3,000) per year, and whose 

llowance'for expenses shall not exceed Five, 

&ndred Dollars ($500) per year. . . .The 

Commissioners Court shall provide the necessary 

funds for payment of the salary and expenses of 

the juvenile officer." (Emphasis added). 

While the provisions of Section 3a of Artic&e 51395 

authorize the Harrison County Juvenile Board to appoint a 

juvenile officer whose salary shall be fixed by the Commissioners Court in an amount not to exceed $3,000.00 per year 

and whose expense allowance shall not exceed $500.00 per year, 

we are of the opinion that Section 3a of Article 51395 does 

not authorize the Harrison County Juvenile Board or the 

Commissioners Court of Harrison County to either employ or 

compensate a secretary for the juvenile officer. The 

authorization found in Section 3a of Article 51395 is 

limited to the employment and compensation of a juvenile 

officer and does not provide for the employment or compensation of other personnel who may'work in conjunction with the 

juvenile officer. Such conclusion in construing the powers 

of the Commissioners Court oursuant to the orovisions of 

Section 3a of Article 513 J'is in harmon with such cases 

as Canales 71. Laughlin, 1 z 7 Tex. 169, 21 % S.W.2d 451 (198); 

Childress County v. State, 127 Tex. 343, 92 S.W.2d 1011 

(1936); and Roper v. Hall, 280 S.W. 289 (Tex.Civ.App. 1925). 

In connection with the foregoing it should be noted, 

however, that while Section 3a of Article 51395 does not 

authorize the employment or compensation of anyone other 

than a juvenile officer, Section 39 and Section A0 of 

Article 6 

;: 

5c,. Vernon's Civil Statutes, the Public Welfare 

Act of 19 1, provide that: 

-2989- 
, 

Hon. Charles A. Allen, page 3 (c-615) 

“Sec. 39. No provision of this Act is 

intended to release the counties and municipalities in this State from the speCific responsibillty which is currently borne by those 

counties and municipalities in support of 

public welfare, child welfare, and relief 

services! Such funds which'may hereafter 

be appropriated'by the counties and municipalities for those services may be administered 

through the county or district offices of the 

State De 

Welfare 

artment ,&ate Department of Public 

, and if so administered, shall be 

devote % exclusively to the services in the 

county or municipality making such appropriation. 

"Sec. 40. County Child Welfare Boards 

established,or hereinafter appointed in conformity with Section ~4, Acts of 1931, Fortysecond Le 

ii- 

& 

islature, pa e 

t 

323, Chapter 194 

Section of Article 94a, Vernon's Civil 

tatuteg, shall function and/or continue 

to function as provided therein, and the 

Commissioners Court of any county may appropriate funds from its general funds, or 

any other available fund, for the administration of such County Child Welfare Boards 

and provide for services to and suppart of 

children in need of protection and/or care." 

(Emphasis added). 

Pursuant to the foregoing provisions, and the conclusions 

reached in Attorney General's Opinions No. O-5943 (1944) and 

No. 0-6335 (lg&), it would appear that the Commissioners 

Court of a county would be authorized to employ such 

personnel as it deemed necessary to provide for services to 

and support of children in need of protection and/or c.are and 

compensate such persons so employed in any amount deemed 

reasonable and proper by the Commissioners Court. fin addition, 

if an individual employed by the Commissioners Court, pursuant 

to Section 39 and Section 40 of Article 695c, had as one of 

his or her duties the task of acting as secretary to the 

juvenile officer of the county, we are of the opinion that 

this duty would be within the authorization of Section 39 

and Section 40 of Article 695c, as the responsibilities of 

the county juvenile officer certainly include servieesto 

children in need of protection and/or care. 

-2990- 
Hon. Charles A. Allen, page 4 (c-615) 

The provisions of SeCtion3a~of'Article 

51395, Vernon's Civil Statutes, do not authorize the Harrison County Juvenile Board or 

the Commiesionetrs Court of Harrison County to 

either employ'or compensate a secretary for 

the juvenile officer. 

However the provisions of Section 39 

and Section 40 of Article 695c, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, would authorize the Commissioners 

Court to employ such persons as it deemed 

necessary to provide for services to and 

support of children in need of protection 

end/or care, and compensate such persons 

in any amount deemed reasonable and'proper 

by the Commissioners Court. In turn, a person so employed pursuant to Section 39 snd 

Section 40 of Article 695c, could have as 

one of his or her duties the task of acting 

as secretary to the juvenile officer. 

Very truly yours, 

WAGQORER CARR 

PB:mkh:sj 

Assistant 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, 

John Reeves 

Roy Johnson 

John Banks 

Edward Moffett 

Chairman 

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GERERAL 

BY: T. B. Wright 

-2991-