-: .,, .. 

Ron. clalla wolf 

CountyAudlt&r 

Rowasdcounty 

Big Spring, Texas,, 

oplilion No. o-l338 

Re: Reganllese of the lew l e set out 

in Art. 1645a,Imy any oounty,when 

It ia deemed neaeeeerg by the Ccmmlsslonere' court and dietriot 

judge or judgea, appoint en Auditor 

and fix:Qlierlery and, if the 

comm1ealoners ' court iso dee Ire8 , 

may It direct euc@ Auditor to 

act also PB Purchislug Agent? 

Your request for an oplnlon on the above stated questti, together with other queetlone incidental thereto, ha8 been received by this 

depprtment . 

Your leet$er reads as follow: 

"I will appreciate your opinion on the fol.lowlng 

queetione: 

"Art. l@k% Vernon's Annotated Civil Statute8 

naya Impart: that all,~ountles having a population 

of not less than twenty four thmraadd one hundred 

aud twenty five (24,125) nor more than twetity four 

thousand one hundred ana fifty (24,150) acaordlng to 

the laatprecedlngF~deralCeneu8, and employing a 

County AMi+, eald County Atiltor in tiltion to 

the regular duties perfomed by him ae required by 

law,,ahpll aa% a.~ P+rohreing Agent for the county 

when 80 directed by the Comaieslonem Court of such 

county. 

~: "'&bee this mean that ip mah cemxty had a popu1pjlon of 24,12Lc or 26,151 thie law would not apply? 
Ron. Claud Wolf, Page 2 (04338) 

nArt. 1645s~3 says in 8ubstanoe that auy county 

having less chau $15,000,000 Fifteen Million dollars 

tax aluatiou and a population of not lesa than 

20,100 nor more thm 20,150 may employ an auditor 

t&m& Ccdmulselonere Court if sold Court demd:.euch 

atiitora setices necessary. 

*Does this mean that the populationwould have 

to be literallybetweentheae two figures lnorderfor 

this lew to apply, and that a aounty with a tax valuation of lose than $15,OOO,OOC cau not avail thmnselOaa 

of the earvicer of an auditor unless the population Is 

exactly b&wean 20,100 sud 20,150? 

"tit. 1646 mtya in su~tanaethatany county not 

enumerated in the precedlugArticle shalldetarmins 

that au auditor is a public neoeesity can through the 

Cdsslonere Court aud District Judge hve the services of such auditor, provided t&et at my time titer 

one year if in the opiniouof the District Judge the 

servloes are notaeceasary he may diecontinue same. 

'Qoee this mean that regardless of the law (~61 eet 

out in Art. 1645p any oouutymay when deemed necessary 

by the CommissIonera Court and Diatrlct Judge or Jdgea, 

mayappointen audltoroudfix his snlary,d that if 

the Comisslouers Court BO desires they may direct such 

auditor to act also aa Purchasing Agent?" 

In anewer to your firet sad second questions, apart from 

any oonslderation of tie constitutionelity of the etatutma mentioned 

by you, we'respeotfull$ advise thet the counties to which various 

statutes apply, according to population or to osseesed property valu;ltion, are fixed within certain bra&eta. As aaid in the case of Hall 

va. Bell county, 1.38 S.W. 180: 

~"Itmay be,as urged tithe argument, that there 

pee countiiea In the class to which the law Is made applicable, the~pepulotion of which very slightly exceed that 

of other counties which a?e without it; end that It aeenm 

unreasonable to meke a diecrlmlnation upon se slight a 

difference. To thla tht3 answer is the line muat be 

drawn m7ae where, f+nd that a similpr duty would probaMy 

result if the olaeslflcstlon werb mde upon any other .' 

b.%SlS. Exact equality in such mattera, however desirable, 

ie practically unattaiuable." 

We, therefore, reply to queetlone oue an8 two, a~ ~ontaiueb 

in mour letter, iu the effimative. However, may WC point out that we 

are not, in this opinion, pasaing upon the question of the constitutionality of the ata'mtes mentfoned by you. AS reflecting the views of this 
Hon. cma wolf, Page 3 (o-1338) 

departmnt on this question, pertaining to other similar statutes, 

we enclose her&with, for your infomatlon, a copy of en opinion to 

Hou. Frauk Wrl&ht, County Auditor, Ronham, Texas, by Ron. WILL J. 

Fanning, Aselstaut Attorney General. 

With reference to your third question, above stated, we 

would point out that Articles 1646 and 1647, Revised Civil Statutes 

1925, ae emended, plvvi&e that thoae couutles who are not ell@ble 

la have a County Auditor because of the lack of the necessary populathou, or the required tax valuation, might have the beueflt of the 

services of a County Auditor, upon ccmpliszu:ewlththe procedure thereIn outlined whereby such cm be done. 

The salary of such AudItor, however, le not fixed by the 

comtissloners~ court and/or by the dletrict judge or JU&XJ, imt Is 

fixed by the plain provlsloua of Artiole 1645. In that article 

is fouud a yard stick by which every mch County Auditor% eelary 

may be detemlned, to-wit, $125.00 for each One Wllion Dollare, or 

major portion thereof on the aeaessed valuation, to be computed from 

the last approved tax roll. For your assi&auca, we are eucloeiug P 

copy of the exhaustive opinion of Ebn. Rmce W. Rrymt to Eou. A. W. 

Emery, Couaty~Attorney, lacogdochea, Texas, under date of May 19, 

1939, ae reflecting the opinion of t&La admlnl6tration touching thle 

question. 

You then ask if, under Artiolee 1646 and 1647, suoh 

appolutddCountyAuditor caube dlreoted to act also lntheoapaclty 

Of Plmhaslng Agent of the county. 

The powere aud dutlea of a County AudWiur are variouely defined in Article 1651tw0ugh Article 1676, inclueive, Revised civil 

Stat&es 1525~aud men&mute thereto. Nowhere lathe Amlitor authorized 

to act aa Pmchaslng Agent under the Texas statutes. 

Itcaubepresumedthatthe office of Purchaeing Agent, and 

the duties incident thereto, ie a dietluct capacity, not embrace& within 

the general statutea pertaining to the office of County Aulltcm. The 

LegiSlatum has &ealt separably with such ln Article 1645-1, m to 

certain couutlee, stlpulatlng that "ip addition -- to the regular dutlee 

performed b U ae required & law, 

4 -- 

ehsll act as Purchaelng Agent for 

the county, and hau provlde~I foZn eddltlonal eamy incident to the 

County Auditor actlmg aa such. Furthsmore, Article 1646 contalm this 

provleloa~: 

When the oommleaioners~ court of a county, not 

mentioned aud anumerated in the preceding article shall 

detemlne that en Amlltor la a public necessity in the 

dispatch of the county buelness, and shall enter an order upou the minutes of said court fully setting out 

the reaeone ml laecesaity of an Auditor, end shall cause 
r&n. Cleud Wolf, Paere 4 (O-1338) 

eald~Audltor, to bk ctr&lf3ed.$o thb d18trbuki $u%ges having 

jurisdlotlon lu the county, eald judgee shall, If euch 

reaeon be coueidered good aud sufficient, appoint a county 

Auditor es provided In the suocecding article, who -- ahell 

guallfy snd perform all the duties required of County Auditore by the ge of thisState." -- -- 

which "lews of this state", above referred to, do not include the dutlea of a Purchaeing Agent. 

Therefore, the duty of aotlng ae Purohaeing Agent not beiug 

prescribed by law, lncldent to the office of County Auditor, mud no oddlMona1 compensation being allowable therefor, you are reapeotfully advised 

that it is the opinion of this department that a County Auditor, appointed 

under Articles 1646 and 1647, could not be'direoted to.eet aleo In the 

capacity of Purchasing #gent for the county. 

Truetlng that the foregoing amwere your luquiry,we remain, 

Yours very truly, 

BY Wm.J.Fauuing /e 

Wm. J. Fanolug 

Aselstant 

WJF:AW 

APIBXED mP18, lg39 

Gerald Mann /a 

A'M'ORNEYGENEBALOFTEXAS 

APPROVED 

OPRiIOIy 

conwm 

BY EWC 

0h01nu0n