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### GENERAL OFTEXAS

December 1, 1969

Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No.M-525 County Attorney Harris County Courthouse Re: Status of the duties and Houston, Texas 77002 responsibilities of theJudge of Juvenile Court No. 2 in relation to the Juvenile Dear Mr. Resweber: Hoard, Harris County. We are in receipt ofyour letter inwhich you ask the following two questions:

"1. Is theJudge of Juvenile Court **No.** 2ofHarris County amember of,the Juvenile Board of said County? "2. What are the rights, duties and obligations of Juvenile Court No. 2 concerning the Chief Juvenile Officer andwhat rights, duties and obligations does the judge of this court have onmatters before the Juvenile Board?" Your questions originate through the creation of Juvenile Court No. 2ofHarris County by Senate Bill No. 295,Acts 61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969, Chapter 673,page 1981,which is silent regarding membership on the Juvenile Board of Harris County orparticipation in the Board's meetings and decisions. The Harris County Juvenile Board was created by,virtue ofArticle 5139VV, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which reads inpart:"Section 1. The Juvenile Board of Harris County is established. 'Set, 2. The juvenile board consists of the county judge, the judge of the juvenile court, and the judges of the courts ofdomestic relations ofHarris County, and adistrict judge appointed bymajority vote of the district judges of Harris County.

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"Sec. 3. * * * "Sec. 4, * * * "Sec. 5. "(a) * * * "(b) *** "(c) At therequest of the judge of the juvenile court, the juvenile board shall investigate the operations of theprobation department and the county institutions for the care of neglected, dependent, anddelinquent children.
. . e "Sec. 6. The office of Chief Juvenile Probation Office ofHarris County is established. "Sec. 7. The judge of the juvenile court shall appoint the chief probation officer. The appointment is subject to the approval of the juvenile board. The judgemay remove the chief juvenile probation officer at any time subject to the approval of the Juvenile Board." S.B. 295provides, inpart, as follows:

"Section 1. The juvenile Courts No. 2and No. 3of Harris County are established. e . . "Sec. 2. *** "Sec. 3. The offices of judge of theJuvenile Court of Harris County No. 2and the judge of the Juvenile Court of Harris County No. 3are established. "Sec. 4. * * * "Sec. 5. * * * "Sec. 6. The governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint the first judges of theJuvenile Courts No. 2andNo. 3. The appointee to the Juvenile Court No. 2shall take office on September 1, 1969, and the appointee to theJuvenile Court No. 3 shall take office on January 1, 1971, Thenappointees serve until thenext general election and until a successor isduly elected and qualified, * * *It

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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 3, (M-525 )

From areading ofArticle 5139W, Senate Bill No. 295, and thehistory of these articles, it appears that they are inpara materia andmay be considered as one general subject although passed atdifferent times in different sessions of the-legislature, 53Tex. Jur. 2d 280, Statutes, Sec. 186;Attorney General's Opinion No. M-287 (1968);Duval Corp. v. Sadler, 407 S.W.Zd 493 (Tex.Sup, 196ii). The Legislative history of the juvenile court system in Harris County indicates that at the time ofpassage ofArticle 5139W, which created the juvenile board of Harris County, only one juvenile court existed. At all times subsequent to its enactment, an act should be given the samemeaning that ithad at the time ofpassage; Townsend v. Terrell; 118Tex. 463, 16 S.W.2d 1063 (1929). Chanced conditions. however. mav allow the courts to interpret that statute-to give effect to the intent of the Legislature as applied to the change. Wheeler v. Wheeler, 76Tex. 489, 13 S.W. 305 (1890). It is also the **duty** of a court in construing a statute tomake itworkable and toharmonize the language used. Bailey v. State, 284 S.W. 574 (Tex.Grim, 1926). And further, Section 4 ofArticle 10,R.C,S. states the following statutory rule of construction:

"4. The singular andplural number shall each include the other, unless otherwise expressly provided." Article 10 (formerArt. 5502, R.C.S. 1911) requires that aword in the sinaular also includes theulural of thatword, e.g., "railroad" encompasses "railroads.' International-Great Northern R. Co. v. Railroad Commission of Texas, 281 S.W. 1084 (Tex.Civ. App. 1926, error ref.); cert. den., 275US 503, 48 S.Ct. 155, 72L.Ed. 395. It is our opinion that theword "judge" wherever used inArticle 5139W encompasses theplural word, "judges," when used in reference to the judge of the juvenile court ofHarris County. It is evident that the intent of the Legislature inproviding formembership on the Juvenile Board of Harris County was to include all judges of courts primarily responsibile or concerned with children and domestic relations. The rights, duties and obligations of the judges of all juvenile courts in Harris County sitting upon the Juvenile Board would be coextensive and equal, when

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tried under the right Legislative "intendment," Headless v. Fryer, 208 S.W. 213 (Tex.Civ.App. 1919,writ dismissed). Consequently, the juvenile board of Harris County is composed of the judges of the juvenile courts. The appointment and removal of the chief juvenile probation officer ismade by the judges of the juvenile courts, subject to the approval of theboard: at the request of the judges of the juvenile courts theboard shallmake investigations. SUMMARY

The judge of Juvenile Court NO, 2is a member of the juvenile board of Harris County, Texas, and the rights, duties, and obligations of the judges of Juvenile Court No. 2are coextensive and equal to that of the judge of Juvenile Court No. 1of HarriACounty, Texas.

C.MARTIN ey General of Texas Prepared by Bennie W. Bock, II Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Kerns Taylor, Chairman George Kelton, Vice-Chairman Sarah E. Phillips Louis Neumann R. D. Green Bill Corbusier MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Legal Assistant NOIA WHITE First Assistant

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