E GENERAL 

OF EWAS 

Honorable Walker Carson 

County Attorney 

Hudspe th County 

Sierra Blanca, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-6151 

Re: Whether a person holding the 

office of County Commissioner 

is required by law to be a 

property taxpayer. 

Your letter of August 7, 1944, requesting the opinion 

of this department on the questions stated therein, is, in part, 

as follows: 

“1 should like an opinion of your department on the 

following question,: 

“fIs a person holding the offloe of County Commissioner required by law to be a property taxpayer?’ 

“In briefing this question, I have been unable to 

find any law requiring a person to be a property taxpayer 

of the County or State in order to qualify for the office 

of County Commissioner. 

“In the absence of any statute to such effect, it is 

my opinion that a person is not required to be a property 

taxpayer to hold the office of County Commissioner.” 

We thank you for briefing the question submitted end 

agree with the opinion expressed by you. 

Section 18, Article 6, of the State Constitution, 

provides in part: 

‘1. . . . .Eaoh county shall in like manner be divided 

into four commissioners precincts ln each of which there 

shall be elebted by the qualified voters thereof one county 

commissioner, who shall hold his office for two years and 

until his sucaessor shall be cleated and qualified. The 

county commissioners so chosen, with the county judge as 

presiding officer, shall compose the county commisaionersF 

court which shall exercise auoh powers and jurisdiction 

over all county business, as is conferred by this Consti- 
-.. -.-. 

Hon. Walker Carson, page 2, O-6151 

tution and the laws of the State, or as may be hereafter 

prescribed." 

Article 2339, 

reads as follows: 

Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

"Each county shall be divided into four commissionersf 

precincts, and one commissioner shall be elected biannually 

in each precinct, and each commissioner shall hold his 4 

office for two years." 

provides: 

Article 2340, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

"Before entering upon the duties of their office, the 

county judge and each commissioner shall take the official 

oath, and shall also take a written oath that he will not 

be directly or indirectly interested in any contract with, 

or claim against, the county in which he resides, except 

such warrants as may Issue to him as fees of office. Each 

commissioner shall execute a bond to be approved by the 

county judge in the sum of three thousand dollars, payable 

to the county treasurer, conditioned for the faithful 

performance of the duties of his office, that he will pay 

over to his comty all moneys illegally paid to him out of 

the county funds, as voluntary payments or otherwise, and 

that he will not vote or give his consent to pay out 

county funds except for lawful purposes." 

Article 2927, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

provides: 

5To person shall be eligible to any State, County, 

precinct or municipal office in this State, unless he 

shall be eligible to hold office under the Constitution 

of this State, and unless he shall have resided in this 

State for a period of twelve months and six months in the 

county, precinct or municipality, in which he offers himself as a candidate, next preceding any general or special 

election, and shall have been an actual bona fide citizen 

of said county, precinct or municipality for more than six 

months. No person ineligible to hold office shall ever 

have his name placed upon the ballot at any general or 

special election, or at any primary election where 

candidates are selected under the primary election laws 

of this State; and no such ineligible candidate shall 

ever be voted upon, nor have votes counted for him, at 

any such general, special or primary election." 

Generally speaking, eligibility to office belongs 

equally to aL1 persons not excluded by the Constitution or 

statutes, and not exclusively or specifically to persons enjoy- 
_ -. ~.-‘- Cr_ 

Hon. Walker Carson, page 3, O-6151 

ing the right of suffrage; and disability to hold office is not 

to be imposed on any citizen except under authority given by 

law. The Legislature may not change or add to qualifications 

for an office, nor take away disqualifications, that are 

prescribed by the Constitution. After a careful search, we 

have been unable to find any constitutional or statutory provision requiring a county commissioner to be a property taxpayer in order to qualify as a county commissioner. Therefore, 

you are respectfully advised that it is the opinion of this 

department, that a county commissioner is not required by law 

to be a property taxpayer, in order to qualify aa a county 

commissioner. Stated another way, if a county commissioner is 

otherwise qualified under the statutes and Constitution, he is 

eligible to hold the office of county commissioner whether he 

is a property taxpayer or not. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORFTFX GENERAL OF TEXAS 

s/ Ardell Williams 

BY 

APPROVED AUGUST 16, 1944 

s/ Gee, P. Blackburn 

ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL-OF TEXAS 

Ardell Williams 

Assistant 

APPROVED Opinion Committee 

By BWB, Chairman 

AW:rt/ct