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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT



### The Honorable Robert Vititow Rains County Attorney Post Office Box 1075 Emory, Texas 75440

Dear Mr. Vititow: May 29,2012 Opinion No. GA-0941 Re: Whether, under section 775.034, Health and Safety Code, a county commissioners court may meet to vote on the appointment of a member of the governing board of an emergency services district prior to January 1 of the year in which the appointment takes effect (RQ-1027-GA)

You ask whether, undertheterms ofsection 775.034ofthe Healthand SafetyCode, acounty commissioners court may meet to vote on the appointment ofa member ofthe governing board of an emergency services district prior to January 1ofthe year in which the appointment takes effect. I 

### Section 775.034 ofthe Health and Safety Code provides, in relevant part: (a) The commissioners court of a county in which a singlecounty [emergency services] district is located shall appoint a fivemember board ofemergency services commissioners to serve as the district's governing body
....
(c) After the votes are canvassed and the commissioners court enters the order creating the district, the commissioners court shall appoint the initial emergency services commissioners to serve until January 1 ofthe year following the district election
.... (d) On January 1ofeachyear, the commissioners court shall appoint asuccessorfor each emergency services commissionerwhose term has expired.

ISee Letter from Honorable Robert Vititow, Rains Cnty. Au'y, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (Dec. 7, 2011), http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opin ("Request Letter").The Honorable Robert Vititow

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TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 775.034(a), (c), (d) (West 2010). You question whether subsection (d) requires the appointmentofan emergency services commissionerpreciselyonJanuary 1, or, in the alternative, whether the county commissioners court may make the appointment on a prior date for the term that begins on January 1. Subsection (c) ofsection 775.034 does make clear that the 

### term ofthe office at issue begins on January 1. 

### Id. § 775.034(c). Butthe statute does not state the consequences of a failure to hold a vote to appoint on the precise date ofJanuary 1. 

### See id. The date ofthe 

### vote is not a matter of statutory consideration. The statute's only concern is the date of

### appointment. As a consequence, we read subsection (d) to require onlythat, regardless ofthe date on which the commissioners court 

### meets to vote on the appointment at issue, the actual 

### appointment shall take place on January 1. 

### See id. § 77S.034(d). Wetake note oftheincontrovertible fact that January 1is a legal holiday on which governmental bodies are invariably closed. TEX. GOV'T CODEANN. §§ 662.003(a)(l) (West 2004) (January 1 is a national holiday), 662.021 (a national holiday is a "legal holiday"), 662.022 (recognizing that a public office ofthis state may be closed on a legal holiday)? In addition, to disallow prior to January 1 a meeting to vote on the appointment to an office whose term 

### begins on that date would necessarily result in the appointee's failure to begin her term until a later time. Any appointee must be notified ofthe appointment, determine whether to accept the appointment, notify the commissioners courtofherdecision, take the oath ofoffice, andprepare to begin the exercise ofherduties. Wedo notbelievethatthe Legislature intended to prescribe such a rushed process. 

### See Carreras v. 

### Marroquin, 339 S.W.3d 68, 73 (Tex. 2011) (stating courts will "interpret statutes to avoid an absurd result"). We conclude that a county commissioners court may meet to vote on the appointment of a member ofthe governing board ofan emergency services district on a date prior to January 1 ofthe yearin whichthe appointmenttakes effect. Becausewe answeryourfirst question in theaffirmative, we need not address your second question.

2January 1is a legal holiday in Rains County. Tel. conversations with MistyJohnson, Legal Assistant to Rains Cnty. Att'y and Kathy Lucas, Assistant to Rains Cnty. Judge (Mar. 14,2012).

### The Honorable Robert Vititow

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### SUMMARY A county commissioners court may meet to vote on the appointment of a member of the governing board of an emergency services district on a date prior to January 1 ofthe year in which the appointment takes effect.

DANIEL T. HODGE First Assistant Attorney General JAMES D. BLACKLOCK Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel JASON BOATRIGHT Chair, Opinion Committee Rick Gilpin Very truly yours,

Attorney General ofTexas

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee