R-614 

THEA~TORNEYGENEFZAL 

OF‘TEXAS 

August 19, 1947 

Hon. Elmer H. Parish 

District Attorney 

Wichita County 

Wichita Falls, Texas 

Opinion No, V-352 

" Re: Authority of a 

ifffs deputies 

sheror a 

Veterans' County Service Officer to retain 

compensation paid by 

Veterans' Administration for transporting 

mental patients to Veterans' Hospital in a 

county-owned automobile. 

Dear Sir: 

de refer to your letter of June 20, 1947, in 

which you submit the following0 

. . 

TWe would like an opinion from your deoartment'asto whether the money paid bry the Veterans' 

Administration to deputy sheriffs and Veteran 

County Service office for attendant's fee and 

mileage in tranrporting patients to the Veteran's 

Hospital at Waco; Texas, is county funds and 

&&d be turned over to the proper county offi0 

"Deputy sheriffs in Wichfta County, Texas, 

are paid a fixed monthly salary from the officers 

salary fund of the county. They are furnished 

automobiles by the county, and all expenses of 

operation of the cars are paid for by the county. 

All necessary traveling exnenses of the deputy 

sheriffs are paid out of the General Fund of the 

county. 

Wichita County haa employed a Veterane 

County Service Officer as provided by A*. 5799, 

He is paid a salary by the county, and the above 

article provides that all necessary t;.rv;ii;Etexpenses shall be paid by the county. ' 

furnished an automobile.by the county. 
Hon. Elmer B, Parish - Page 2, V-352 

“On February 4 1947, deputy sheriff Martin 

Doyle was paid $18.b by the veterans admlnistration for mileage and attendant ‘9 fee in transporting Johnnie B. Fields to the Veterans Aaminlstratlon in the county car and the couatg paid all 

expenses. On March 19, 1947, Deputy Sheriff B. 

0. Whisnand uau paid $18.86 by the V, A, for mileage and attendant Is fee in traaaport Lng Frank C. 

ltovan to the V. A, Hospital, and Veteran’s County 

Sarvice Officer Jack Deaton was paid $6.50 by the 

V. A0 as a second,attendant. 

wAltogether eight patiaats have been tranaported to the Veterans Administration Hospital 

at Waco, Texas, aa mental patient% by either one 

deputy sheriff and the Veterans County Service 

Officer or by two deputy sheriffs. All expenses 

of the deputy aheriffa are paid by the county. 

When the Veterans County Service Officer assists 

in transporting a pat lent, he travels in the 

same 

WJS 

county car aa the aeputJ sheriff, but he 

his own expeaaea. 

vOur quaetiona are: 

~“1 .Should deputy ,aheriff% turn into the 

county the money received by them from the Veteran% Administration as mileage and atbendaat’a fee 

for transporting mental patients to the Veterans 

Adainistratlon Hospital in a county car vhere all 

expenses are paid by the county? 

“2 . Should the Veterans County Service Officer turn into the county money received by him 

from the Veterans Administration as mileage 

and attendant’s fee for transporting mental patlenta to the Veterans Admlnlstratlon Hospital 

vhsre he pays his own expenses, but travels with 

a deputy sheriff in a county car operated at 

county axpen%e?” 

: 

We are assuming that the sheriff’s deputies 

were acting under authority of a warrant issued ‘to 

the sheriff or to some other suitable person directing 

him to conveyt= Fan of unsound mind to the hoapita1 designated in such warrant, which warrant shall ~.: 

also prescribe the number of guards allowed, not to 

exceed tvo’ aa provided in Article 5557 of Vernon ‘a 

, 

:.,, 

.’ 

.: 
. . 

Hon. Elmer H, Parish - Page 3$ V-352 

Cvfl Statutes. Otherwise the acts indicated in your 

inquiry constitute unlawful use of a county-owned automobile and unauthorized consumption of time of officera 

paid for by the county. (Emphasis added) 

The Constitution fixes the compensation of 

certain officers and authorizea the Legislature to provide by law for the compensation of all other officers 

and servants. The rule of decision in Texas is that 

"an officer may not claim or reach any money without a 

law authorizing him to do so, and clearly fixing the 

amount to which he is entitled." Binford vsO Robinson 

244 S.~W, 807; McLennan County vs. Boggess 137 S,W. 346; 

Crosby County Cattle Co. vs, McDermott, 281 S.W. 293. 

Duclos vss Harris County, 291 S,W, 611, affirmed, 298 

sow. 417. 

Article 31% V. C, S, provides for compensation for conveying patients to asylums, the pertinent 

part of which is: 

Yl'he expenseo of conveying all public patients 

to the asylum shall be borne by the counties respectively, from which they are sent; and said 

counties shall pay the same upon the sworn account 

of the officer or person performing such service, 

showing in detail the actual expenses incurred in 

the transportation. In case any public patient is 

possessed of property sufficient for the purpose 

or any person legally liable for his support is EO 

possessed of property, the county paying the expenses of such transportation shall be entitled to 

reimbursement out of the estate of the lunatic. o o ." 

Article 3188 of said Statutes authorizes such 

transportation to the United States Veterans' Administration Hospitals, When a county furnishessuch services, it may seek reimburaement from the veteran's estate. The rules of the Veterans Administration provfde 

for payment by it of expenses of such transportation 

to protect the veteran and his estate, Hence the money 

should be turned over to the county so that such estate 

will be protected; i.e., the county's claim will be 

satisfied. 

Both of the deputies were full time employees 

of Wichita County, on a salary basis, engaged in the 

performance of the duties for which they were employed, 
Hon. Elmer H, Parish - Page 4, V-352 

and used a county-owned automobile, Zack of them was 

authorized to receive actual expenses from the County, 

in addition to his aslary, as provided by $a%!, and no 

mace. Therefore, In view of the foregoing, it is the 

opinion of this Department that any expense money POceived by the deputies from the Veterans" Adminlstration should be paid Into the County Treasury by them. 

Opinion No. O-3198, by a former Attorney @enera1 pertains to the compensation of sheriffs for conveying lunacy patients to State Hospitals,. We enclose 

a copy of the opinion for your information, 

Veterans County Service Office Is created by 

Article 5798a-2, Section 1, of Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

which provides, in part: 

"When the Commissioners8 Court of a county shall determlne that such an office is a 

public necessity a 0 0 it shall bg a majority, 

vote of the full membership thereof, maintain 

and operate such an office and shall appoint 

a Veteran"s County Service Officer b D . Such 

Veterans County Service Officer . 0 . shall 

receive a salary fixed by the County Commlssioners' Court s (j 0 and travel expense of 

such Veterans County Service Officer o + q 

and all salaries of the personnel of such office and other expenses of such office shall 

be pai! on order of the Commissioners' Court 

. 0 . 

The duties of a Veterans County Service Officer 

are prescribed in Section 3 of said Article as follows: 

"The duty of the Veterans County Service 

Officer and/or the Assistant Veterans County 

Service Officer shall be to aid all resldeuts 

of the county and/or counties providing for 

such officers who served In the military, 

neval or other armed forces or nurses corps 

of the United States during any war or peacetime enlistment, and/or veterans and/or OPphans and/or dependents in preparing, submitting and presenting any claim against the 

United States or any state, for oompensatFoa, 

hospltalizatlon, insurance or other Item or 

benefits to which they may be entitled under 

the existing laws of the United States, or of 
&a. Elmer B. Parish - Page 5, V-352 

any state, or such laws as may hereafter be 

enacted, pertinent thereto. It shall also 

be their duty to defeat all unjust claims 

that may come to their attention. Ro fees, 

either directly or Indirectly, for any service rendered by such Veterans County Service Officer and/or Assistant Veterans County Service Officer shall be charged of applicant, nor shall they permit the payment 

of any fee by applicant to any third person 

for services that might be rendered by them, 

nor seek to influence the execution of a 

power of an attorney to one national service organization over that of another. ” 

We are of the opinion that the language “presenting any claim against the United States or any State, 

for compensation, hospitalization, insurance or other 

items OP benefits to which they ma$ be entitled under 

existing laws of the Unlted States does not include accompanying a veteraa to a Veterans Hospital by a Veterans County Service Officer. Therefore, Article 5798a-2 

imposes no duty upon a Veterans County Service Officer 

to accompany an insane veteran to a hospital. 

If the Veterans County Service Officer went 

as a guard or attendant pursuant to Article 5557,,then 

the county is liable for actual expense iacurred by 

such guard or attendant in conveying such person to a 

Veterans t Hospital. In the latter event, the expense 

money received from the Veterans Administration by the 

guard should be paid into the County Treasury. 

SUMMARY 

Money received from Veterans Administraiion by deputies in the off ice of Sheriff 

of Wichita County for services rendered by them 

in transferring a mentally unsound person to a 

Veterans Hospital in an automobile owned by 

Wichita County, while their deputies are engaged 

in full-time employment by Wichita County on a 

salary basis, should be paid over to the County. 

2. If a Veterans County Service Officer 

accompanied a mentally unsound person to a 

Veterans’ Hospital as a guard, pursuant to 

Article 5557 V. C. S., Wichita County Is liable 
Eon. Elmer H. Parish - Page 6, V-352 

to s&h officer for actual expenses paid by 

him, and the money paid to him by the Veterans* Administration for such service belongs 

to said county. 

Very truly yours, 

ATTORNEY WHERAL OF TXXAS 

UTWcet:jrmrj