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 ofmarkingossor-Colleod the taking of y Tax kaaessnrs by lolatlon ai Sootion farring tc oountles

00.00per annum?

**d your**  answer to **QUr?StiOn** number 1 the employees **did** not teke an

T3. Would the paynent for ovortlme to e1pployoeawho sra drawing themaxlmm 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:HonorableC. 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 dutieshe shall apply to the County Covmlsslcnars* Court of his county for authority to appoint euch deputies,assistants or olerks, statingby 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 oolleotedby said officedurin3 the fiscal year and the probable disbursements whloh shall lnolude all salariesand oxponsas of said oftloe; andsaid court shallmake its order nuthorlzlngthe appointmentof such deputfes, assistants and clerks and fir the compensation to bepaid the.m

within the llmitat6onsherein prescribed and determine the nuzbor to be appolnted as inthe dlscretlcn of said courtmay 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 shallbe authorized to appoint them; provided that said compensation shallnot exceed themaxlmun amount heroinafter set out. The oompensatlonwhich may be allowed to the deputies, as?istants or clerks above named for their services. shallbe a reasonable one not to exceed the iollowlng amounts:

. . . . (Underscoringours)

Yn countieshaving 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 ($2100.00)Dollars per annum; other assistants, 8e2uties or clerks not to exoeedEighteen Iiundrod ($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-fourthLegislature,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 toHonorable C. J. Wilde, PaFe 3

the GanoralwelBfr6 of their respootlvo oountlas and that their powers nra only those expressly or lnpllodly oonierradu?Oir t!+em by low, - that is, by the Constitution snd statutas of ,thestate.* 11 Taxes Jurlsprudence 564-565.
*The appolnt:cent

of deputies, ctlof clerks’, or assistants by oartoln olfloera is ~poclflcollyauthorized by the stetutes. Under the fianaralstatutory law, corrnty offloers oomlne within tha provlalons of the ziarlzumfee 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 toAbepaid themwithin oortnln prascribed limits. In no easenay 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 offloezsdetermined for tiiems~6lves tha qucstlon of empltiylng deputies, and made cont.racts for their oorjpansntlon,

but now the State Cetorzinas tba necessity for e;nploylnethaui and their aumber ,aadoozpensatlon.
"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 hapap be ousted through quo warrant0 prooaedln,~s

at the instance of the State.

. . ." Texas Jur.Ptprudenoe, Vol. 34. I 155, p* 602.
*Thisprovlslonmanifests a pub110 polloy to enpower oounty and preolnot Olfloera gonerally to solaot their Laputlcs and asSlst9ntS, and tc forbid the ComzAssicnera~ Col;rtfrot attospting to lnfluonoe thornin 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 properHonorable C. J. Wilde, Pa&e 4

per dlsoharne thereof rests, should be free to seleotpersons of their own oholce to assist them." Neeper vs. Stewart, 66 S. E. (2d) 812.
The statutesdo not provide for such offices as, vRepresent3tlvesof the Cormnlssloners~ Court*.
The Deputy Tax Assessors-Collectorsare the deputies of the Tax Assessor-Collootor, responsible to their superiorand enployor, the Tax Assessor-Collector, and are not "representativesof tha Co~nmlsslGnersf Court", .andare not responsible to the ConnisslonerstCourt. They may be dlsohor&edby 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 representativesof the CommloslGners* Court take an oath of off100 or not.

You arc further respeotfully advised thet It la the opinion of this departslentthat the Tax AssessorCollector of EJueces County, Texas, may apply to the Coinmissioners*

Court for authority to appointdcputlos, statIn the number he de3irea to appoint, the positions tG~he'~flllad,

and the anou,ntto be paid each, which shall be presented in his svorn applloatlon to sold Covn&sloners* CGUrt, cs outlined inArticle 8902, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas. The 3alary of the first assistant Gr ohlef deputy shallnot exoeed $2.100.00 por annum and the salary of other deyutles, clerks or assistants shallnot 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 thisdcpartmtlhtthat the marinum solary a lecal deputyTax Assessor-CoLIeotor, other than the flr3t aaslstant or ohlef deputy,may reoelve in one year in &,800.00. There is no provlslonmade la the statutes for WovertiOepay or salary".

### HonorableC..J.Wilde,Paea 5

Trusting quofitlons,

ue are thatthissntlsfaotorl:y answersy&r

Yoursverytruly
ATTOSfsiP



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OFTZXAS

I%. J. Fannlug Assistant

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