OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable H. A. Hodges 

County Auditor 

WilliaGmcm County 

&eorgetown, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. 0 

the Trust Punde of the 

t GlekFm a joinb fund and to 

eponltolyseleoted by the Co+ 

or does the Comisslonera 

ion of dividing the Suds 

e than.one Depository, that is 

funds in one and the District 

thsr Depository*? 

*The Conmissioners Court has failed for the 

past few years to receive any 'oida Trot: the Banks 

or Pirms to act r:s a County De!msitorg, yet the 

advertisement Par bids ia placed hs the law 

direots, therefore it is divided antong thirteen 

Sank8 within the County on the basis of capital 
Honorable R. A. hodgas, Page 2 

stock and surplus, but the Trust Yunds of the 

County and Xstriot Clerk hare been considered 

as a joint fund and one Bank eeleoted as a Depository for ssme. Xhen the County Depositories ware selected on yeb. 10th. 1941 there 

was some contention from the Bankers as to the 

division of the Trust Funds on the ssme basis 

as the regular County yunds, so the seleoting of a depository was postponed for these 

speolal funds until an opinion ma recaivsd 

rrom your department. 

*I have always been of the opinion, as has 

the Commissioners* Court, that this speoial 

fund was a joint fund and the Court did not 

have any authority for dividing it in auy man-' 

nor, but must place it altogether in one Depository. I shall greatly appreoiate having 

your opinion relative to this at your very 

earliest oonvenlenoe." 

Artiole 2558a, Vernon*8 Annotated Civil Statutes, 

referred to in your letter, reads in part as follourer 

YSsotion 1. The Commissioners Court of 

eaoh oounty is authorized and required at the 

February tera thereor next follotig each 

general eleotlon to reoeivs applioations fram 

any banking corporation, asaooiatlon or individual banker in suah county as may desire 

to be selected asa depository for Trust Funds 

lnztpossession of the County and District Clerks. 

Said applications shall be filed with the 

County Clerk on/or before ten o'olook a.m. 

on the rlrst day of the term of Court at whioh 

said applioations are to be reoeived. Said 

application shall be aooompanied by a certifled oheok ror not less than one-half of one 

per cent of the average daily balances of the 

anwunt;of'Trust Funds in the possession of the 

Clerks during, the preoeding calendar year whiah 

amount shall be determined by the County 

Clerk on/or before ten (10) ,iays before the 

applioations herein provided for are required 

to be filed, and a certified oheok accompanying 
\ ’ 

, 

Honorable Hl A. Hodges, Page 3 

the applioation as herein provided for in the 

amount 80 determined by the County Clerk shall 

be sUYicient oomplianoe with this provision, 

which oertiried oheok shall be a guarantee of 

the good faith on the part of the applioant, 

and that if his application is aocepted the 

bond hereinafter provided for will be entered 

into. Upon the failure of the banking oorporetion, assooiation or individual banker 

that may be eeleotsd as such depository, to 

give the bond required by law, the amount of 

suoh certirled cheok shall go to the oounty as 

liquidated damages, and the oounty shall seleot 

another depository aa hereinafter provided. 

In the event any applloation shall not be 

accepted, the certified cheok aoooapanying 

the same shall be returned. The oheok of 

the applioant whose application is accepted 

shall be returned when hi6 bond is filed and 

approved by the Commissioners Court and not 

until such bond is filed and approved. It 

shall not be necessary for the oounty to advertise or give notice that applications will 

be rsoelved aa provided by this Statute. 

Y300. 2. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners Court at ten o*olook aim. on the 

first day ot.each term at which applioations 

are required to be received to enter said 

applioatlons on the minutes of the Court and 

to select a depository for the Trust .Punds 

in the possession of County and Distrlot Clerks. 

"Sec. 3. Within thirty (30) days after 

the selection of such depository, It shall be 

the duty of the banking corporation, association, or individual banker so seleoted to qualify 

in the same manner ae now provided by law for 

the qualification of county depositories. 

Yieo. 4: As soon as said depository has 

qualified as provided by law and has been approved by the Commissioners Court, said Court 

shall make and enter an order upon the minutes, 
Honorable E. A. -Badges, Page k 

designating suoh banking corporation, association, or individual banker as County Depository for Trust Funds until the designation and 

qualification of a successor, and thereupon 

it shall be the duty of the County and Xstrict 

Clerks of such oounty to deposit all Trust 

yunds in their possession with said~depository 

in the mauner hereinafter provided; provided 

in the event, a new depository has not been 

selected and qusliried by April 15th succeeding 

the term of Court at which a depository is required to be seleoted as required by this Act, 

then the term of such depository shall end 

and all Trust Funds due or on deposit shall 

be paid to the Clerk in hose nane the account 

is carried. 

r 

"Sec. 5. Ii for any reason there shall 

be submitt%d no application by any banking 

corporation, assooiation or individual banker 

in the county, or in case there shall be no 

application for the entire amount of Trust 

Funds, or in the event all applications submitted have been rejected by the Commissioners 

Court, or in the event a depository selected 

has failed to qualify, or in the event that 

the depository shall become insolvent, or in 

the event a new depository has been selected on 

amount of the failure of the regular depository 

to execute a new bond as hereinafter provided, 

then in either event, the Conmcissionere Court 

shall advertise for applications from any 

banking corporation, association, or individual banker within the State of ?exas, and 

may select a depository, which depository 

shall qualif'y in the manner above provided. 

Notice of the selection of a depository as 

provided by tNs Act shall be published once 

each week for tuo (2) successive weeks in a 

newspaper of general circulation within the 

county, if there be such newspaper. If 

there is no newspaper published in the county, 

then the same shall be posted at the courthouse for said period. In the disaretion 

of the Commissioners Court said notice nay 

also be published in any newspaper out&ads 
\ ’ 

Donorable il. A. Hodges, Page 5 

of the county for the same length of time. 

*sec. 6. It shall be the duty OS the 

depository to provide for the payment at the 

county seat of the county upon presentment 

all checks drawn by the County or District 

Clerk upon the funds deposited in the name 

of such Clerk es long es such funds shall 

be in the possession of the depository subject 

to such checks. For every failure to pay 

such check at such county seat upon presentment, said depository shall forfeit and pay 

to the holder of such checlks ten per cent 

(lO'$) of the amount thereof. 

Vet. 7. If any depository selected by 

the Commissioners Court be not located at the 

seat of such county, said depository shall 

file with the County Clerk of such county, s 

statement designating the place at said 

county seat where, and the person, firm or 

corporation by whom, all the deposits may be 

received from the Clerks for such depository, 

and where and by whom in said county seat all 

oheoks drawn on such depository will be paid 

and such depository shall cause every check 

to be paid upon presentation at the place 

so designated so long as the said depo&ory 

has sufficient funds to the credit of such 

funds applicable to their payment. 

(I " . . . 

After oarerully considering the provisions of Article 2558a, quoted above, !~e are of the opinion that the Commissioners' Court is authorized and required to select only 

one dSpOSitOFy for trust funds in possession of the County 

and District Clerks. Therefore, the question as above 

stated is respectfully answered in the negative. 

Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry, we are 

Yours very truly 

AW:GO 

.,“V 

.;rdell :lilliam C0MM”Wi.C