Honorab&e B. T. Walters 

County Auditor 

Smith County 

Tyler, Texas 

Dear Sir: Oplnlon Ho. O-3670 

Re: Commissioners8 Court of 

Smith County has authority 

to allow county attorney 

reasonable necessary traveling expenses in attending 

justice courts of the county. 

Your request for tiplnion has been received and carefully 

ooas%dered by this Department. We quote from your request a8 

follows~: 

"Pletlse.~advlse the method of crmputlng the 

aaount_of traveling expenses that may be legally 

paid the County Attorney of Smith County for attending the Justloe of the Peace Courts in the 

different precincts of Smith County." 

Smith County has a population in excess of 20,000 lnhabitants, and its county officers are compensated upon a 

salaly basis. 

Section (b) of Artlolc 3899, Vernon's Annotated Civil 

Statutes, reads as follows: 

"(b) Each officer named in this Act, where he 

receives a salary as compensation for his servlaes, 

shall be empowered and permitted to purchase and 

have charged to his county all reasonable expense8 

necessary In the proper and legal conduct of his 

offloe, premiums on officials1 bonds, premium on fire, 
Hon. B. T. Waltera, page 2 (O-3670) 

burglary, theft, robbery insurance protecting 

public fund8 and lncludlng the cost of surety bond8 

for his Deputies, such expenses to be passed on, predetermined an allowed in kind and amounts, as nearly 

aS pOSSlbI0, Q y the Commlsaloners~ Court onoe each 

month for the ensuing month, upon the application by 

each officer, stating the kind, probable amount of 

expenditure and the neaessity for the expenses of 

his office for such ensuing month, which application 

shall, before presentation to Said court, first be 

endorsed by the County Auditor, If any, otherwise 

the County Treasurer, only as to whether funde are 

available for payment of such expenses. The Comnilssloners~ Court of the county of the Sher ff's 

residence may, upon the nltten and sworn a a pllaatlon of the Sheriff stating the necesalty therefor 

purchase equipment for a bureau of criminal ldentiflcatlon, 8uoh as cameras, finger print cards, Inks, 

chemicals, microscopes, radio and laboratory equlpment, filing cards, filing cablUOt8, tear gas and 

other equipment in keeping with the system In use 

by the Department of Public Safety of this-State, 

or the United States Department of Justice and/or 

Bureau of Criminal Ideutlfloatlon. 

"'Such purchases shall be made by each officer, 

when allowed, only by requisition in meaner provided 

by the County Auditor, if any, otherwlsc by the 

Commlss~oners~ Court. Each officer shall, at the 

close of each month of his tenure of office, make an 

itemized and sworn report of all approved expenses 

incurred by hlm and charged to his county, accompanying suoh report with invoices covering such purchase8 

and requlsltlons Issued by hlm in support of such 

report. If such expenses be incurred in connection 

with any particular case, such report shall name 

such case. Such report, invoices and requlsltlons 

Shall be subject to the audit of the County Auditor, 

if any, otherwiae by the Commissioners' Court, and 

if lt appears that any item was not Incurred by 

such offleer, or that such item was not a necessary 

or legal expense of such office, or purchased upon 

proper requlsltlon, such item Shall be by Said 

County Auditor or court rejected, in which ease the 

payment of such item may be adjudicated in any court 

of competent jurisdiction. All such approved claims 

and accounts shall be paid from the Officers' Salary 

Fund utiess otherwise provided herein. 
Hon. B. T. Walters, page 3 (o-3670) 

"The Commlssioners~ Court of the county of the 

Sheriff's residence may, upon the written and sworn 

application of such officer, stating the necessity 

therefor, allow one or more automobiles to be used 

by the Sheriff in the discharge of official business, 

which, if purchased by the county shall be bought 

ln the manner prescribed by law for the purchase 

of supplies and paid for out of the General Fund of 

the county and they shall be reported and paid in the 

same manner as hereln provided for other expenses. 

"Where the automobile or aUtomObil are owned 

by the Sheriff or his Dsputles, they shall be allowed 

four (4#) cent8 for each mile traveled Ln the di8- 

charge of official business, whlch~ sum shall cover 

all expense8 of the maintenance, depreciation and 

operation of such automobile. Such mileage shall be 

reported and paid In the same manner prescribed for 

other allowable expense8 under the provisiona of 

this Section. Wo automobile shall be allowed for 

any Deputy Sheriff except those regularly employed 

in outside work. It shall be the duty of the 

County Auditor, if any, otherwise the Commissioners1 

Court, to cheak the speedometer reading of each of 

said automobiles, owned by the county once each 

month and to keep a public record thereof; no automobile owned by the c?ounty shall be used for any 

private purpose.' i. 

We have considered the cases of State vs. Carries, 106 S. W. 

(2d) 397 and Casey vs. State, 289 S. W. 428, whiah construe 

Section la) of Article 3899, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

and hold that the rule of construction 'ejusdem generls!$quallflatl 

the general language (other necessary expenses) by the antecedent 

specially enumerated items of expense (stationery, stamps, 

telephone, premiums on officials' bonds, including the cost of 

surety bonds for his deputies, premiums on fire, burglary, theft, 

robbery insurance protecting public funds, traveling expenses) 

and reatrlcts and limrts the meaning of the geo@ral language 

(other necessary expenses) to expenses of the same kind and 

class of the above specially enumerated items of expense. We 

have also considered the case of CroSthwait vs. State, 138 

S. W. (2d) 1060, whl.ch construes Section 19 (1) of Article 

39120, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, and hold8 that 

the rule of construot$on 'ejusdem goneris 18 applicable to 

Said SO&ion. (Said section is in all material respect8 hereto - 

virtually the same as Section (a) of Article 3899.) 
Eon. B. T. Walters, page 4 (0-3670) 

The rule of Construction 'ejusdem generls' has been 

defined by 19 Corpus Juris, page 1255, as follows: 

"Liberally 'Of the same kind of species.' 

A well-known maxim of construction, to aid In 

ascertaining the meaning of a statute or other 

written instrument, the doctrine being that, where 

an enumeration of specific things is followed by 

some more general word or'phrase, such general 

word or phrase ~18 to be held to refer to things 

of the same kind." 

It is our opinion that the rule of construction 1eju8dem 

goneris' Is not applicable to Section (b) of Article 3899, 

Vernon's Annotated Clvll Statutes, because the general words X 

"all reasonable expenses necessary ln the proper and legal 

conduct of his office" do not follow the specific words "premiums on offlcials~ bonds, etc." but on the contrary antecede 

Said SpeOifiC words. Clearly the rule of aonstructlon 'ejusdem 

generis ) would not apply to Section (b) of Artiole 3899, Vernon's 

Annotated Civil Statutes. 

': It is frequently necessary ln the proper conduct of his 

office that the oounty attorney travel from the county seat to 

the .varlous outlying justice courts of his county. 

It is our opinion that the oomnlssloners I court of Smith 

County would have authority to allow the county attorney_reasonable necessary traveling expenses for attending justioe courts 

of the county. The method of computation of such expenses 

allowed, if any, would be for the commlssloners~ court to determine in their sound discretion. 

APPROVED JUL 3, 1941 

/dy;;;sg;$- 

ATTORl'EXG1EiiERAL 

WJF:H:mjs 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GEKERALOFTEXAS 

By /s/ Wm. J. Fanning 

Wm. J. Fanning 

Assistant