Honorable Roland Bogd

County Attorney Collin County McKinney, Texas

Dear Sir: Attention Mr. flwight Whitwell
Opinion No. O-2332 Iie: Should fees of officers ba deposited with the county depository each day instead of every thirty days?

Your recent .request for anopinion of this department on the above stated ouesticn has been received.

Your letter reads, in part, as follows:

"Our local county depository has madethe contention that all fees of officers should be deposited with them as they are collected by the officer instead of the officer waiting until the end of each month andfiling his report andmaking his remittance to the uounty Auditor whc;Fn deposits the fees in the county depository. other words, the depository wants this money deposited with themeach day instead of waiting 30 dayst
"In this connecticn I call your ottenticn to Art. 3912E of the Civil Statutes, Subsection 5, which provides that it shculd be the duty cf all officers to charge andcollect in the-manner authorized by law all fees andcommissions which are permitted by law to be assessed andcollected for all official service performed by them: as andwhen such fees are collected they shall be depcsited in the officers salary fund. In the samearticle, subsection 0, the statute says that officers receiving
anannual salary as compensation for their servicesHonorable Roland Soyd, page 2O-2332

shall onor before the 5th day of each month file with the County Auditor on forms prescribed by him adetailed report of all fees collected by him during the proceeding month and shall forthwith pay into the officers’ salary fund for his office all fees collected by himduring said month.

“Also in Subsection Pof the sune statute we find this language: lWhere any officer receives
asrlary payable from the salary fund created for such officer, all fees, commissions andother compensation received byhim in his official capacity shall be byhimdeposited andpaid monthly
or oftener into the salary fund created for such officer and such remittance shall be accompanied by his report thereof.

“These last two above quoted provisions appear to apply only to counties in excess of 190,000 population as shown in Section 19 of the act. If our conclusion onthat is corr.err,t then the only language applying to our county would be the language first quoted above from section 5 andthis apparently couId be construed to meanthat the officer would have to report andpay their fees each day.

“Our officers have been filing the monthly report andremittance sE stemunder the supervision anddirection of our ounty Auditor. **We**donot find any court decisions under this statute upon this question and are therefore unable to furnish
lbrief of the matter, but it occurs to us that in
asmuchas the County depository is only entitled to have all county funds deposited with it that the question to be decidid is whether or not officers fees under the present salary set-up become county funds immediately upon being collected or whether they only become county funds at the end of a30 day period whenthe officer reports the collections to the auditor..”

Sections 4 and5of article 3912e, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, reads as follows:

“Sec. 

## 4. In all counties of this State containing apopulation of less than onhundred and ninety thousand (190,000) inhabitants according to the last preceding Federal Census wherein the countyHoncrable Roland hoyd, page 3O-2332

or precinct officers are compensated on asalary basis under the provieions of this act, there shall be created afund to,be known as the ‘Officerat SalaryFundof County, Texas. ) Such fund shall **be**.Jceptsoparnte andapart from all other county funds, andshnll beheld anddiajwrsed for the pur- :_-.pose of paying the salaries of officers andthe salaries of deputies, assistants andclerks of officers who-are drawing asalary.from said fund under the provisions of tLir;ilr;Act, andto pay the authorized expenses of,thier offices. Such fundsshall be deposited in the county depository andshall be protected to the sameextend as other county funds.

"Sec. .5. It shall be the duty of sll officers to charge and collect in the manner authorized by law all fees andcommissions which are permitted by law to be assessed and collected for all official service

_performed by them. As and.when such fees are co lected

_ they'.shall be deposited in the Officers~ Salary ~&d
or funds provided in this Act. In event the k!ominiaaloners' Court finds that the failure to collect any fee or commission was due to neglect on the part of the officer charged with the responsibility of collecting same, the amount of such fee or commission ahrll, be deducted from the sa&ry of such officer. Before any such deduction is made, the Commissionerst Court shnll furnish such ofi'icer with anitemized - statement cf the un#Nected fees with which his account is tobechar$edi and shall notify such officer of the time and qirce for ahearing cn same, to determine whether such officer wi$:,guil~jy"?fi,::~~~gli~ence, which time for he*fing shall be at leastten days subsequent to the dste of notice. Unless m officer is charged by lavvwith the responsibility of collecting fees, the Commissioners' Court shall not in any event makeany deductions from the authorized salary of such officer."

Thetwoprovisions of Article 3912i, quoted above, apply to all counties containing apopulation of less than 190,000 inhabitants according to the last preceding Federal census, wherein the county officers are compensated on a salary basis. Collin County has apopulation of 46,180 inhab'ftants according to the last preceding Federal census, and the county officials are compensated on anannual salary basis therefoae, the above quoted provisions would be appiic(LbWto said county.
Inview of the foregoing statutes, you are respect-Honorabla Roland fioyd, page 4 O-2332

fully advised that it is the opinion of this department that whenacounty has selacted.&?@ounty depository in,the manner required by law, all moniss collected byvarious county of? ficials, should, as andwhencollected, be deposited in the variousfunds to which they,ri@#ul~ly belong, in the county depository.

APPRPPDyl$U&O 

### 1940

ATTORNEY'GENERAL OFTEXAS

APPROVEDOPINIONCOMMITTEE BYBWF, CHAIRMAN