OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GCULD C. MANN 

.-“” ..*UIL 

Honorable C. J. 

Co'unty Auditor 

Xueces County 

Corpus Chrlatl, 

Dear Slrx 

Vllds 

ticnsr 

Your request following quese of marking 

ossor-Colleod the taking of 

y Tax kaaessnrs by 

lolatlon ai Sootion 

farring tc oountles 

00.00 per annum? 

d your answer to QUr?StiOn number 1 

the employees did not teke an 

T3. Would the paynent for ovortlme to e1pployoea who sra drawing the maxlmm salary allowed under Sectloa 3 of Artlola 3902 be a 

violation of that Artlola?* 

Artlols 3902# Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 

in part, reads as follows: 
Honorable C. J. Wilde, Page 2 

Whenever any district, counte or nroo!nct 

officer shall require tho services of deputies, 

asslstnnts or olerks in the nerformanoe of his 

duties he shall apply to the County Covmlsslcnars* 

Court of his county for authority to appoint euch 

deputies, assistants or olerks, stating by sworn 

application the number needed, the position to be 

filled and the amount to be paid. Said applloatlon shall be accompanied by a statezent sbowlng 

the probable rocelpts from fees, aommlsslons -and 

oo-Apensatlon to be oolleoted by said office durin3 the fiscal year and the probable disbursements 

whloh shall lnolude all salaries and oxponsas of 

said oftloe; and said court shall make its order 

nuthorlzlng the appointment of such deputfes, 

assistants and clerks and fir the compensation 

to be paid the.m within the llmitat6ons herein 

prescribed and determine the nuzbor to be appolnted as inthe dlscretlcn of said court may bo proper; 

prorldcd tbst in no case shall the Coms&sloners* 

Court or any mczber thereof sttezpt to influence 

the aorointzient of any person as deouty, assistant 

or clerk in any office. Upon the entry of suoh 

order the officers applying for such asslGtants, 

deputies or clerks shall be authorized to appoint 

them; provided that said compensation shall not 

exceed the maxlmun amount heroinafter set out. 

The oompensatlon which may be allowed to the deputies, 

as?istants or clerks above named for their services. 

shall be a reasonable one not to exceed the iollowlng amounts: . . . . (Underscoring ours) 

Yn counties having a population of thlrtyseven tbousond five hundred and one (37,501) and not 

core thon sixty thousand (60,000) lnhabltonts, first 

assistant or cblef deputy not to exceed Twenty-one 

Hundred ($2100.00) Dollars per annum; other assistants, 

8e2uties or clerks not to exoeed Eighteen Iiundrod 

($lSOO.OO) Dollars per annui eaoh. Provided that 

nothing in this Act shall be oonstrued as repealing 

or affeotlng Section 2 of R. B. NO. 694, Chapter 315, 

Acts 1935, Forty-fourth Legislature, page 724. . . .* 

The population of Nuaces County. Texas, aooordlng 

to the 1930 Federal Census in 61,779. 

wConmlosloners* Court are courts Of 

llnlted jurlsdlotlon, in that their authorlty extends, only to matters pertaining to 
Honorable C. J. Wilde, PaFe 3 

the Ganoral welBfr6 of their respootlvo 

oountlas and that their powers nra only 

those expressly or lnpllodly oonierrad u?Oir 

t!+em by low, - that is, by the Constitution 

snd statutas of ,the state.* 11 Taxes Jurlsprudence 564-565. 

*The appolnt:cent of deputies, ctlof 

clerks’, or assistants by oartoln olfloera 

is ~poclflcolly authorized by the stetutes. 

Under the fianaral statutory law, corrnty 

offloers oomlne within tha provlalons of 

the ziarlzum fee bill are required to apply 

to th6 oot;l:5issioners'~courtffor authority 

to appoint deputies, asslstrtnts or olerks, 

end awh oourt may naka an order auth,orlzlng their appolntmont, dotermine the nunber to be appoln!ad, and fix the cozponsatlon to Abe paid them within oortnln prascribed limits. In no ease nay the oomslsaioaets' oourt or any member thereor 

atte.mpt to influence the appointment of 

any person as deputy, assistant or clerk in 

any office. Prior to the Bna-tmont of 

the zoneral statute county offloezs determined for tiiems~6lves tha qucstlon of empltiylng deputies, and made cont.racts for their 

oorjpansntlon, but now the State Cetorzinas 

tba necessity for e;nploylne thaui and their 

aumber ,aad oozpensatlon. 

"The authority thus conferred tipon 

the com.zlsslcners* oourt to aoslst in ths 

appolntzont of deputies can be exerolsad 

only in the ;Paaner presorlbed. If tho 

stotutory reyulroments are not compllad 

slth, the appolntzent of a deputy IS void, 

rend ha pap be ousted through quo warrant0 

prooaedln,~s at the instance of the State. . . ." 

Texas Jur.Ptprudenoe, Vol. 34. I 155, p* 602. 

*This provlslon manifests a pub110 

polloy to enpower oounty and preolnot Olfloera gonerally to solaot their Laputlcs and 

asSlst9ntS, and tc forbid the ComzAssicnera~ 

Col;rt frot attospting to lnfluonoe thorn in 

tho eeileotlon of tholr assistants.. 'The 

roason.fGr this polioy is that OffiOerS 

eleotad to dlsohargo pub110 trusts, end 

upon who% the respoaslblllty for tho proper 
Honorable C. J. Wilde, Pa&e 4 

per dlsoharne thereof rests, should be free 

to seleot persons of their own oholce to 

assist them." Neeper vs. Stewart, 66 S. E. (2d) 

812. 

The statutes do not provide for such offices as, 

vRepresent3tlves of the Cormnlssloners~ Court*. 

The Deputy Tax Assessors-Collectors are the 

deputies of the Tax Assessor-Collootor, responsible to 

their superior and enployor, the Tax Assessor-Collector, 

and are not "representatives of tha Co~nmlsslGnersf Court", 

.and are not responsible to the Connisslonerst Court. 

They may be dlsohor&ed by the Tax Assessor-Colleotor, 

lut not by the Com3&vsloners* Court. 

In answer to your quest&s, you are respect-' 

fully advised that it 1s the opinion of this departzient 

that there are no such offices atie?representatlves of the 

Comzlssloners* CourtH; that the Coznlssicners* Court 

has no authority to employ ciame either as Wrepresentstlves 

of the Coavlssloncrs* Court" or as "deputies of tho Tax 

Assessor-COlleotorW, regardless of whether such purported 

representatives of the CommloslGners* Court take an oath 

of off100 or not. 

You arc further respeotfully advised thet It la 

the opinion of this departslent that the Tax AssessorCollector of EJueces County, Texas, may apply to the 

Coinmissioners* Court for authority to appoint dcputlos, 

statIn the number he de3irea to appoint, the positions 

tG~he'~flllad, and the anou,nt to be paid each, which shall 

be presented in his svorn applloatlon to sold Covn&sloners* 

CGUrt, cs outlined in Article 8902, Revised Civil Statutes 

of Texas. The 3alary of the first assistant Gr ohlef 

deputy shall not exoeed $2.100.00 por annum and the salary 

of other deyutles, clerks or assistants shall not exceed 

$1,800.00, In your county, under Seation 3 of Artlole 

3902, Revfsed Civil Statute3 of Texas. 

You sre further respaotrully advlsod that it 

1s the opinion of this dcpartmtlht that the marinum solary 

a lecal deputy Tax Assessor-CoLIeotor, other than the 

flr3t aaslstant or ohlef deputy, may reoelve in one year 

in &,800.00. There is no provlslon made la the statutes 

for WovertiOe pay or salary". 
Honorable C..J. Wilde, Paea 5 

Trusting 

quofitlons, ue are 

that this sntlsfaotorl:y answers y&r 

Yours very truly 

ATTOSfsiP G'"?.RJ.L OF TZXAS 

I%. J. Fannlug 

Assistant 

APPROVEDAUG 12, 19% 

&u.u 

4lTORKEY GENEFU OF 'I%%@