0 AS 

AUST!IN nn.T~xas 

September 18, 1951. 

5. Calvert 

of Public Accounts 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion Bo. V-1286.. 

Be: Compensation of members of the 

judiciary for the fir'st six days 

of September 195'l, in the light 

of House Bili 426 and-senate 

Dear Sir: 

Bi,lls 79* 116 and 467, Acts 52na 

~Leg,, B.S. 19!5. 

Your request for an opinion reads, in part, as 

followst 

"Senate Bill go. 116, Acts of the 52nd 

Legislature provides for, with exceptions, 

the suspensjon of statutory salary of State 

sffkzials and employees. 

**Senate Bill Bo. 79 changes the statutory compensation of the members of t'he,Supreme ,Court Court of Civil Appeals, and 

District J&es. 

OH. B. No. 426, the biennial ,appropriation bill provides for salary increases for 

state off 1 cers and employees in excess of the 

amount set in the Legislative enactment which 

created the positions. 

!!Senate,Bill Bo. 467,a~ppropriates funds 

to suppJ.ement amounts appropriated to the Judiciary of this State for the purpose of pay- 

;? the amounts provided in Senate Bill Bo. 

. 

UAn examination of Senate Blll,Bos. 79, 

116, and 467 reveals they were passed by a 

viva vote vote. 
Hon. Robert S, Calvert, Page 2 (V-1286) 

“QUE@IOBI: 1, When do Senate Bill Ros. 

799 116; and 467 become effective? 

2. If you hold they become 

effective 90 days after adjournment, what 

rate of compensation would be paid the 

persons involved between August 31p 1951p 

and the date the bills become,effective? 

Senate Bill 79 passed the,Senate April 30 

19519 by a"viva vote vote and'passed‘the House May 17, 

1951, by a vote of 105 

Leg., R.S. 195l, ch. 38 z 

eas and 29 nays. Acts 52 

19$l 

p.a 669, Senate Bill11 F 

ed the Senate May 22 

pas~sed the House Ju& 6 

by a viva vote vote and 

pass14% by a vote of 110 yeas and 

1 nay. Acts 52na Leg,, 'RsS. 1951 ch, 455 .p. 811. Senate Bill 467 passed the Senate Mai 29, 19d, by a viva 

iwce vote and passed the House June 7, 1951, by a vote of 

100 yeas and 19 nays0 Acts 52na Leg., R~S, 195l ch. 477, 

y;,$52- The Fifty-second Legislature adjourned june 8, 

. Because these bills did not receive the necessary 

two-thirds vote to make them immediately effective, the 

anwer to your first question is that each of these Acts 

became effective September Y9 195l, ninety days after aajournment of the Legislature. Tex.. Coast. Arta III, Sec. 

39. 

With respect to your second question: Since 

none of these Acts became effective until September 7, 

1951, we must look to other statutes and appropriations 

to determine the rate of compensation of members of the 

judiciary mentioned in Senate Bill 79 and Senate Bill 467 

for the first six days of the biennium beginning September 

1, 199;10 

Article 6819a-6$ Vernon"s Civil Statutes eodified from House Bill 207, Acts 5lst Leg., R.S. 1944, ch. 

328, pa 614, provides: 

"From and after August 31, 1949: 

*(a) The Justices of the supreme Court 

of the State of Texas and the Judges of the 

Court of Crimin&bl Appeals and Commissioners 

of the State of Texas shall each be aid an 

annual salary of Twelve Thousand Do1 E ars 

(al29000) 5 
pan. Robert ,S* Calvsrt, Page 3 (Y-1286) 

R(b) The Justices of the several Courts 

Of Civil Appeals of the @tata of Texas s4,&& 

each be paid- an amnual salary of Ten Thourand 

Dollars ()l@,OOq)i 

“(a) The Judges of the several Bistriat 

Court’s OS the State of Texas ana of the, ~x$Dlnal District Courts of this State shall each 

be paid an annual salary of,Sevem Thousand 

Dollar s ( W@JOl i 

,!!(d) The salaries of all the Justisrr 

ana ,Judgis in this Seation shall be paSa ir 

equal mcimthly Installments; 

Y(e) Each District Jaage in this State 

shall be paid an anmual salary of, Seven Thousand D01lam ()7,W) from State funds; protided that no District,: Jaags shall receive as 

supplemental pay thereto f&%x any county fund8 

a sum in excess of Ttienty-nine hundred DelItars@ per annum for services rendered a8 

a~member o 1 a Juvenile Boar&* 

The compensation of men$ers of the Supreao 

Wurt, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Commissioners 

to the Court of Criminal Appeals, members of the Courts 

of Civil Appeals ana the jaag06 0r the Mstrtct cmrts 

f@r the first six days of the bienni beginming Septrmbar 1 1951, is 

from ghe a 

overned by Articlr a 19a-6 to be pald 

atiom to the jadiaiary con{ained in 

the genera appropriation bill (Art. 1~ See. 1 H.B. 

426 Bats 52na Lag R&L 19!Xlil, ah. 491, pa I248 

& 

at PO’ 

l23i), which, af c&sr, became effective ,$eptem (IF 1, 

19!jl. 

an ana after ,Septrmbm 7, 1951, the compeneatlon of members of the reqi~ctlve oonrts and of the Colamissioners to the Court of ,Crimlnal Appeals is severned 

by Senate Bill 79 and is to be paid fram the ap ropriatio&s to the judiciary in the general approprta a ion bill 

and the supplemental appropriation contained in Senate 

Bill 46 Senate Bill 11.6 which suspends aertain sdary sta ?* utes does not appiy to Senate Bill 79, bieausr 

It is clear &at the Legislature ~intended that Senate 

Bill 79 would gsver’n the salaries of the res activd gemhers of the judiciary and that Senate fill 1 P 6 wedid ap- 

;;zwto all other officers and employees with+ its pur- 

. Although Senate Bill 79 was first enacted, it is 
Iion. Robert SW Calvert, Page 4 (v-1286) 

to be regarded, as an exception to Senate Bill 116. 

145 Tex.~ 142, 196 s.W.2a 82 (1946) 

inea not only by the rules ~WAOUIWM 

in the decision In the 

fact that Senate Bill 

supplement'the 

ed in Article I 

Senate May 29, 

day before the 

appropriation 

acted deliberately and purposefully and not to have intend&an absurd or useless thing. Soutwtern Gas & 

lc Co. v. st&Q 190 s.w.2a 132 (Tex.CiV.App. 

affd. 

42, 245, Statutes: Sets. , D 

145 Tex, 24 193 S.y$;d f;E, 1946); 39 Tex. 

ber 

Therefore, for the first six days of Septem19$1, the salaries of members of the judiciary 

wili be one-fifth of the monthly salary provided in Ar- 

,tlcle 6819a-6 and Article I of House Bill 426; and for 

the remainder of the month, the salaries will be fourfifths of the increased monthly salary fixed by Senate 

Bill 79. 

The salary of each member of the judlciary for the first six days of September 

1951, will be one-fifth of his' monthly sakry 

as provided in Article 6819a-6, V.C.S. ana in 

Article I of House Bill 426, Acts 52na Leg. 

R.S. 1951, ch. 499, p* 1228, at p. l23li ani 

for the remainder of that month, his sa ary 

will be four-fifths of the increased monthly 

salary as fixed by Senate Bill 79, Acts 52nd 

Leg. R.S. 1951, ch. 386, p* 669 payable out 

of the appropriations contained in Article I 

of House Bill 426 and Senate Bill 467, Acts 

52nd Leg., R.S. 195l, ch. 477, p. 852. 

APPROVED: 

c. K. Richards 

Trial and Appellate Division 

Everett Hutchinson 

Executive Assistant 

Price Daniel 

Attorney General 

BWR:wb 

Yours very truly, 

PRICE DANIEL 

Attorney General 

/54Luuza/$3""ofi 

BY 

Bruce W. Bryant 

Assistant 

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