R-413 

Oh?ICE OF 

‘mE .&TORmY (@NEW 

AUS~~.TEXAS~ 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

! 

June 20, 1947 

,i 

Hon. Perry L. Jones, 

County Attorney, 

Travis'County,. 

Austin, Texas 

: opinion WO.~V-270 

Re: Constitutionality of 

Ho Be 100, A&s 50th 

Legislature, 1947, 

relative to compensation of county treasDear Sir: urersD 

We reier..to your ~letter'of April 24, 

to this Departmentwhich is as follows: 

'Z _

1947, 

"The current Legislature has passed 

Rouse R.l.ll:INo.:lOO permitting 'the' Commls-' 

sioners!~,Sourt in *counties of Texas .hav-~ 

ing a population of more than ninety thousand (90,006). and less than one 'hundred 

;and/twelve thousand (112,000), accordi@ 

to the last preceding Federal Census;* to 

pay the County Treasurer up to thirty-six 

hundred ($3600.00) Dollars per year. 

"In smmuch as this is one-.or'the socalled ~Braoket.Bllls~, I amwriting; at 

the request ot the-~County Auditor; to &et - 

your opinlonas.to whether or not.thls Bill 

is ~constitutional~partlcularly iiL're&3kd fb 

the bra&at matter. I sm~enoloslng a aopyof House Bill No. lOOi" 

l%mpertinent.part or the Bill is ds'ic%lImeL.:.. . : . 

? x7: 

Weotion 1. ~Sectio+ 13, Subseotion . 

(a), Chapter 465, General and Speaial Laws, 

Party-fourth Legislature, Seoond Called ' 

Session, as ~,amended by House Blll~No.~l6l,- 

Regular Session, Eorty-sixth Legislature; 

as amended by Chapter 61, Acts, Forfy-seventh Legislature, is hereby amended to here- ! 

after read as follows: 
Hon. Perry L. Jones - Page 2 

"*(a) The Commissioners Court of 

the respective oounties of Texas having 

a po ulation of more than ninety thousand 

(90 too, and less than one hundred and 

twelve thousand (112,000), according to 

the last preceding Federal Census, are 

hereby authorized to fix the salary of 

the County Tfeasurer of the particular 

county at a sum not leas than Six Eundred 

Dollars ($600) per year, nor more then 

Thirty-six Hundred Dollars ($3600) per 

year.'* 

The provisions of Artid III of the Constitution applicable are as follows: 

"Sec. 56. The Legislature ahall 

mot, except as otherwise provided in 

this constitution, pasa any local or speaial law, authorizing: . c * 

Tteglllitillg the e2fai.m of a4ullties, 

aiths, towns, yards or sahool diatriets; 

Section X5 of Arttiele 3912s 5s ln.part as 

t0llOW*: 

'sec. 1s. The Comissionersf 

Court in countties having a population 

61 twenty thousand (20,000) imhebitants or more, end leas than'&e.&andrsd'and ninety thousend (1SO;OOD) inhabitants aocording to the lase preceding Federal Censns, is hereby authorized and it shall be its duty to fix 

the salaries of all the following 

named officers, to-wit: sheriff, aseessor~ and oolleofor of taxes, county 

@dge,.county attorney, including cplminal distriot attorneys and oounty attorneys who perform the duties of dlstrict attorneys, district clerk, county clerk, treasurer* hide and animal 

&nspector. Ea h f said offioera shall 

be paid lnmonzy L annual salary in 

twelve (3.2) equal instailments of not 

less than the total sum earned as compensation by him in his ofiioial oap- 
Hon. Perry L, Jones - Page 3 

acity for the fiscal year 1935, and not 

more than the maximum amount allowed 

such officer under laws existing on August 24, 1935; o o o" 

It will be noted that the ~bill in question 

is made applicable to those counties having a population of more than 90,000 and less than 112,000, Upon 

checking the population census-or each county of the. 

State, we find that at the present time there are four 

counties in the State having a population of more than' 

9OdOOO and less than 112,.000, to-wit: Travis, 111,053; 

Hidalgo, 106,059; McLennan, 101,898; and Nueoes, 92,- 

661, The population census further~reveala .that El 

Paso County has a population of 131 597, The general 

provisions of ally the statutes sett>he salaries 

of county treasurers in.countiea dth a p'opuletion of 

not less than 20,000 and not more than 190',000 inhabitants fixes a ~maximum salary or $2;006,0O:.perannum 

(Art, 39128, Sec. 13, and~~ArtlCle 394S, V.&S.); to-' 

gether with the 2% increatie'as'allowed by S, B; 12S~~~ 

Acts 49th Legislature; Sec. 13 of Article 39l2e, supra, 

Inasmuch as there is no other law governing the treasurer's salary which is applicable to El Paso County, 

said salary is governed by'the provisions of S8otion 

13 of Article 3912e, slipra, as amended in 1945;'and 

the maximum salary which the treasurer of El Paso County may reoeive is~$2,500,00, eventhough itspopulation is far in,exqass or that or .any county coming within the brac&et.oT & B,.lOO. L ~ 

The Bill further providesfor a minUsam 

salary of not less than $600 per annum, while the Gen8ralLaws (Art* 3912e, Sec. 13) sets ,minimum salaries 

of the county treasurers in ~oountlea w1th.a population 

of not lass than 20,000 nor more than 190,000 inhabib' 

tanta ht not less than the total sum earned aa'compensation by them ih their ofricial capacities for the 

riscal year 1935, Therefore, the Commissioners* ~Courts 

of the particular counties coming within the bracket 

of' the Pill can set the salaries of the county treasurer In their respective counties at a much leas aalary than provided for by Article 39128, Set, 13, even 

though the ceunty treasurer is serving in a county I 

whose population is~far in-excess of those counties 

wherein the minimum salary of the county treasurer is 
Hon. Perry L. 

not 18s~ than 

than $600 per 

Jones - Page 4 

that earned in 1935, and much greater 

annul+ 

The question for decision here is whether 

the classification is arbitrary and'unreasonable or 

whether the population of the counties ,8mbraC8d within the bill bears a reasonable or logical relationship to the question of the amount of work required 

of the county treasurer and the need for an increase 

in the annual .salary of Said officer. In other words, 

Vhether'the Legislature may legally classify these 

fourcounties and authorize the Commissioners1 Courts 

thereof to pay their respective county treasurers an 

annual salary of $3690.00 when El Paso County (a much 

larger county) is only authorized to pay its treasurer an annual salary not to exceed $2500.00 per annum. 

: In regard to local and special laws, the 

Texas Supreme Court In B8Xar County v. Tyimn, 97 S.W. 

2d 467, held void an act of the Legislature which 

fixed the compensation of.the county of%icers in COW+ 

ties of not less than 290,000 nor more than SlO,QOO 

at an amount less than offiaers in some counties 0r 

S5IEll.l8= ~OpUf~tkOll Could r808iV8. olie qUOt8 ‘from the 

opinion as follows: 

" a.. . the Legislature may Classify counties upon a basis or population 

ror the purpose or rixingcompen~tion 

o&county and precinct officers, 

ng SO the ClaSSiflCatiOn.mUSt. %%%ed 

UPOn a real distinCtiOn, and must not be‘ 

arbitrary or a d8ViC8 to give what is in 

'.subatance a local or special law the form 

0f.a general law. . . 

"*The rule is that a clasai~lcation 

cannot be adopted arbitrarily upon a 

ground which has no foundation In difference of .situation or ~circumstanc8s Of the 

municipalities placed in the different 

classes. There must be some reasonable 

relation between the Situation Of mUIliCipalitias reclassified and the purposes 

and object8 to be attained. ThBr8 mUBt be 

SOm8thillg.. . which in some reasonable 

degree accounts for the division into 

classes.' 
Hon. Perry L, Jones Page 5 

*In the 0488 of Clark v, Mtiey, 

93 Tex, 171, 54 5. W. 343,this Court recognized that substantial differenoes in populations of counties could be-made a basis 

or legislation fixing cornpen-Gtion 0r offioera, on the theory, as the-Court clearly 

recognieed, that the work devolvi upon an 

officer was in some degree proport "f onats to 

the population of the county. This has irequently been reoognixed by courts as creating a sufficient distinotion to justify a 

larger compensation for county ofricers In 

counties having a large population as co& 

pared with compensation to llks officers in 

counties having a small population, Conversely, we think It true that if the-islature ignoresthe obvious fact that the 

work of county orficera is proportionate to 

population and classifies oounties in such 

a way that the oompensatlon of Officers of 

a county having a large population is fixed 

far below the compensation allowed like of-~ 

ficers in small counties. such action amounts to fixing a classification which is 

bit 9 d hi h has no true relevance 

g th%&ewofcthe ls~lslation.n (Emphasis ours) 

It is readily apparent that H. B. No. 100 

authorizes payment of salaries to county treasur4ra'l.n 

fOUr COUnti greatly in exc8sa Of the.salary allowed 

the county treasurer of El Paso county, a county with a 

much larger population, under the general law in which 

all of such counties are embraced, Section 13 of Article 39128, suprae 

If this is not a local or special law, what 

reason can 

e 

4 assigned for holding.lt to be a generals 

law? Can 1 b8 said that the classification is reasonable and not arbitrary or that the olassifioatlon is 

real when it allows the County treasurers in COUnti Of 

a much-smaller population to receive a muah greater Calary than the county tre&surers in all the other counties 

having a population of at least 112,000 and hot more than 

190,000 (including El Paso County) and when also at the 

same time it allows the Commissioners* Courts of oounti4s 

having a much greater population to set the salaries of' 

the oounty treasurers in those counties coming within Its 

brackets as low as $600 per annum, a much less salary 

than may be allowedthe county treasurers under Section 

13 Of httC18 39128, SUpra, even though the county might 
Eon. Perry L. Jones - Page 6 

not have a population of-n~ore than 20,000 inhabitants? 

We think not. 

Therefore, in view of the foregoing, you 

are respeotfullq advised that it is the opinion of this 

Department..~that H. B. No. 100 is in contravention of 

Section 56 of drticle III of the Constitution and is a 

loo@1 or special la* and, therefore, is invalid and uncodatitutfonal in this respect. 

House Bill &To. 100, 50th Legislature, 

providing for the fixing of salaries of 

county trepreurers in counties having a populatfon.'betueen 90,000 and 112,000 ts nor 

oonstitutlo'm~, the olassIrieatlon being un-' 

reasonable~ and hot real.- Bexar Co. f, Tynan, 

97 5. 7, Ed 467. 

Very truly yours, 

BA*ArdjSl:WB 

By A&@ 

d ce Allen 

Assistant 

ATTORNEY GENEFlAL