OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Eonor6hle Starrsell Erpw3 

Distriot Attorimg 

LBcrLenntm County 

Waao, Texas 

51.8 with 

tlon and 

e Co5mloalanera 

Faeoond Gallad fT'soslon Of 

~glsldnim, where suoh otba8wl upm popillatlon under 

sq on Au@W Zb, 1935, On the 

pulablaxl of ml0 aounty, l ooording to the la& preueUing maeral Cansur~ protldod that the aoswlrsioner8 court0 Xn said 

countiae are sutharlzrd 00 fir the Mximum 

ar111ua1 salary ror the balanoe OS the iSsea 
iionorabl.3 Ctanoeli Rryan, Pa@3 2 

gear 1941 erter the el"feative .dato 5: this 

Act w the basis of the Federal Census of 

1940 end thereafter eooording to tho last 

preceding Federal Census; and declaring an 

saergenog. 

"Seation 1. The Commisslonsre Courts 

la e3.l oountles of Texas having a population 

of not less than one hundred thousand (100.000) 

and not more than one hundred and ninety thousend (190,000) lnhabltentk, eaaordlng to the 

lest preoeding~Federa1 Census, in fixing the 

: annual salary that shall be paid an orrioer 

maxed ln 4Seotlon 13 or Chapter 465 or the .4ots 

of the Seoond Called tiseion of the Forty-fourth 

Legislature, where suoh,orfloer's salary Is dets:mlnsd in oompllanoe with the laws whioh existed 

on August 2/+, 1935, aod 1s based upon populatlon, 

shall oomputs and rlx the salary or emoh or such 

oi:fiaerp et the me&num e+mount rhloh oould have 

bsieaa paid eeoh of suoh offloers under the laws 

ex$atlng on August 24, 1935, aooordlng to the 

~Federal Census of 1910 and thereafter aoooralag 

to the last preaedlng Federal Osnsua,; provided 

the Commlssioner& Courts in safd oountlea ere 

authorized to amend the present order of said 

Court rlxlng the zmiaum salary or said ofrloera 

Sor the fiscal year 1941 from and etter ths or‘-‘ 

rsothi date or thirr Aot for the balanoe 0r 80fa 

fisqal year, aooor&ng to the Federal Census oi 

1940, and themarter~ aoeordlng to the last preodlug Fqderal Cenqus.* 

8eation 13 of ahapter 65, Aotb or the Seoond called 

S+oslon, l&h Legislature, rererred to in the Bill, appears as 

Artlale 39120, 8eotion i.3, Vernon*8 Annotated Civil Statutes, 

ana preaarlbss thst the nalarles tor oounty ofiioeyn may b~"not 

more than the maximum amount alloWed suoh oiiloer~ tidrr lawu axlating oa Auguet 24, 1935." . . 

Artlole 3891, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, aa 

amendad in 1935, flxea the niatium ccaupensatlon ror dlstrlot 

and oouuty orrloors et &,750.00 ln oountles having between 

60,000 and 100,000 population and et $5.500.00 in counties having 
Ecrmrsble ?ahsell Erpsn, Prt6e 3 

between lCO,OCO end 150,000 population. 

In our Cplnion Ho. O-2582, aopy of which 1's enclosed 

herewith, wu held thct en Lncreaee in the populstlon ot e county 

as ahonn by the 1940 census iron below to above 100,000 populetlon did not ohange tha naxintum aala~ies whioh might be paid to 

the dirrtrlct, county and preoinct offloera of ouah aouuty a6 

preaozibod ty Zeation 13 of Articlo 39126. 

The purgoae end effect of House Bill No. 1079 la to 

make applloeble to Ar~ticles 3891 and 39120, Vernon’s Amotated 

Civil Ytatutea, ahsnges fa the population of aountles, as refl?oted by the 1940 and each aubsequant aensu6, uh1oh oone wlthia the 100,000 to 190,000 population braaket. ye ere sware,oS 

ho prov!~sion of the ytate or Federal Constitution6 which night 

be vloleted by this Act. Ye be.lieve the population bmaakot 16 

6ufflolently broad and based upon e rea6oneble alae6ifioetlon 

so ES not to of fend Artlole III, "aotion 56 ol'tha Texa6 Conetltution. Clark v. Pinley, 93 'ib~r. 171, 56 ?. 3. 343: C6Tinty 

of Bexer v. Tynan, 126 Tex. 223, 97 C. '5. (26) 467. In the 

lstter~uese the aourt said: 

lr* * * thle court reaognizrd that aubstential differences in populations ol'eountie6 could be laade a ba6i6 of legislations 

fixing aompensetion of offioers, on the theory, 

* * + that the WQtik devolving upon an ofiiaer 

wee in 6otm degree proportionate to the population of th0 aounty. * 

It 16, theretore, our opinion that Aouse Ml1 No. 1079 

16 oon6titutianal. 

AppROVRR MJG~9, 1941 

(dgned) Carald 0. I8666 

All'CRNRY -AL OF TEXAS 

YOU-6 Wry t2'd.y 

ATTCRNRY OESBRAI. OF TEXAS 

BY 

w6lt6r(?d 

h6i6t6ilt 

WRK:SE3 APPSiOVED 

OFIhiON 

COMbfITITF. 

BY B.W.B. 

CKAIMAN