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OFFICEOFTHEA-ITORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS AUSTIN

Honorable !ChmasL. Blanton, Jr. County At.torney ShackaHord County Albany, Texas 

# Dear Sk

Viehave reaeioed that S@.o$slrord +llowlng’~aestians:

ssionWs* Court”aatho~!ize

ay an ex-orfioio salary &otha

*5.~ f&it is the mxlmm ex-off&al0 salary the county can pay out of thk General Fundto the sheriff and the clerk where the fees of orfioe are not sufficient to pay the maximum allowed tm¶er Senate Bill no. 123~Hc?ncrableThomasLc Blanton, Jr., page 2

r 1; “6. canthe

the salary of the to $2,500.00? *7i, Canthe comdt3slonersb Court increase

county Treasurer rram $2,000,00

. COzmfssionersb Court oontloue to draw $300.00 per year for traveUlng expenses
. within the .oouuty heretorare authorized by Article 2350, Section 7, or are they limited by Iiouse Bill

. . ~84to travelling expenses lncurrbd outside of the oomty on official county busineeslW, .-’ &!tlcle 3899, V. A.. CLS.; Sec. (a), is as rollowsw

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I *’ *(a) - At the close of each month oi his tenure

6f office,’ each off.ioer namedherein whois cornpensited .on a ree basis shall make; as part of the report nowrequired by ,law, an itemized and sworn statement of all.the aotual~and necessary expensqs luaurred-by him in'the conduot or his office xmch ae.statlonery, atamps, teLephone, premiums oa oiflcla16t bonds lnoludingthe coat-of surety-bonds

. for his deputies, p~emlu21 oh.fire, burglary, theft, robbdry insurance proteatlng pub110fun.@, traoellng

‘expenses, and other necessary expenses; provided, that in addUilm-to the officer8 ’nametl herein, the. oounty freamr8k, c-ountyauditor, county-road commissioners, oouzity.school superintendant, and the iiide and animal inspector ~&all likewise makea report on the premluma,on> orrloiols* bonds, includlng ljhe cost or,surety bonde tar .angaeputles, and s&I premiumsshall be subject to payment,out of f;hafees of said office, as herein otherwise provided ro.~ the orricefa nam0.d;ana rovldea ruxther t&at if any of the officers so aas gnated are on P. a aala~y rather than a fee basis, thah all such bond.pr&nlumsfor officers ena their deput.ies shall be ~$4 from the General run&or the county. TheComnlsiioners’Court~oi. the county of the aherlrf*s reslaance may; upon the written aub sworn applicntion oi’ the sherllf stating the necess&ty the--efor, purchase equipment fox a
. Bureau of Criminal fdentiflcatlon suoh as oa&~as, fingorprlnt cards; lx&s, chemicals, mloroscopPs, radio and laboratory equipment, filing oards, filing cabinets, tear gas, enb other cqulpment in keeping wlt$ the system in use by the Departamen?

:Bonorablo Thmas L. Blenton, Jr., page 3

of Pub110Safety of this State or the %ltea States Deprtzxent of Jastice and/or Bureau of Crlmlnal Iasntiricatl0n. If such expenses be incurred in mnneotl~ c1t.h my particular case, such statemut shall nane such case. Such expense account shall be 6ubjcct tom

the audit-of~thc'county-audltor, l$ any. otherwise by the Comfssloners Court; end ii It appears thst any item.of such expense was not lnomred by sach oiflcer or-such item uas not a necessary expense of office, such ltea shall be by owh auditor or coort rejcoted, in Mch case the collections of such item my be adjudlcsted In .auy court **or** coxpetent jurleaictlon. The axouut of

‘salaries paid to assistants and deputies shall eleo be alesr~ shoun by such officer, giving the naxe, position, autlamountpaid each; and in no event. shall any officer showauk meater mount #ah actually-pald any such assistant or **depUty,** The .-ant of such expenses, together 14th the estzt of sslarles nald to assistants, damties. end clerks. shall be uald out of tha fees earnedby such officer. ibe Cmcussloners Court of the’ oounty 0r the 

## h3rirr*s residence my, apon the 

### tmlttenena sworn application of the sheriff stat- *the necessity t&efcir, allm oa&or CLoreautohloblles to be used by the 8hWiff in tha discharge of his official duties, which; if purchased by the County, shall be bought In the maruaerprescribed b,y **h3W fOP**  **ths pUm&S6**  **Of ~Upp&h?**  **a!Id pid**  **iOr OUc**  of the General Fundof the county, end they shall be and‘remain the property'oi the"ticuntyFTbe 'expense of maintenance, aepreciatlon, ana operation of +~ch.auto~obiles as maybe allowed, whether &urohasad.bythe county or ovmed.bg the shorlff or his deputies persoually, shall be paid for by the. sheriff auathe amount thareof. shall be reported by the sheriff, on the raport above mentioned, in the sase manneras herein prOVidt3dfor other QXpens6s.~ (Underscoring ours) Artlole 6869, V. A. C. S., provides, ln part, a .-. .Sl ...it in the o pinion or the

### caamlsslonora* court r98~ 0r 

### the shearif orfloe 

### art3not aufflclent to Justlip the peynfint of aalarlas or each deputies, the Commlaslonors* Court ehall have the powr to pay the.aame out of the General Fuud of aald oouuty.." : fn-our opinion Ho. 0-&32,-a copy .of v&l&i we heredth anolose,-we,-BeIda

'*In aonneotlon ~5th tie r028&0hgwt3 y~llt ti point Oat that lwvlen of '&tlols 6069,,nm.1im'a' Aunotated Clvll Statutes, that it le our opinion that the CQmnisslcners~ Court aanlegallypay the wlaxlea of degutg eherlfirr out of the Seneral fund .~ or the Oount,y,lr in the opinion ar tie cocmi~sion- .~t)rd court, ieeo or the sharl.fil*a 0rrl00 are not sutrioim to justiry the pay5cmt or the~.salariee. or such deputies. The salaxlea or Such deputlea areto.be determined da prqolded by.Mtlo&e 3902, Vt3xnon~s

Bnno*atad .ClvS+ t;atutes.* ,. .;, . it l&.&r ogLnlon that salaries of aaelstante or daputles in

Thereiore, in an&ax to your quastl'ons nos. 1 a&l 2, the oIark*e **orfloe** must be paid out o;r:th6 fees of otr+e.,aa provldsd..by Aztiole 3899, Sea. (a), supra4 'Ths.salar1es.o~ the asalstants'or deputies b the she~iw8~0frl00 nuijbe pa&d out.or th0 general rmd;lr ic the opinion or the ctm5z8810ner8~ court, tees of the sherlrr's office aka not sufSloient to juatlry payment 'of:

the 8ak%rlS8 or au&h deputies, a5 provided ln Arti& 6869, 7, 4. q. s. .soe al8o.oopies.0r~~.r+x oplnlona AoL$-&?+,~snd 0-5367, ooples of whloh we herewith &oloser

;.hxtlbleJf&, i&o; (a), quoted &W..s, m@3s lt &andatory’that the,S~pspaRet3B of-the, 0rfi00 Or the ofrlolals named thereinbe pald~out':of!i$aea or orfioe. ThorerOx, in aziaw~l: to your .thlrd queatlan, it 1s ouroplniox that the expelr,sa of the aherlW8 ofrloe ana automobile sxpense nlust be paid out or re08..0r0rrm.. It n1I.I begnotea, howevts,, ,that sold. Artlole 3399, Seo. (a), provides that the Ctxmnlea~onara~ Court map,uponwritten ana awornapplloatlon of the MmriPf atetinS the neceseltp therefor, allow ow or more~automobllas to beused by the aherlti in the dlsahwge of.his offlola5. autlae', ad sold autoxobllea maybe'purchased by the county tid pala far out or the general. fund, but the sxpen80 or nalntonanaa,’

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-. : 4Uitiable ThomasI.. .Blanton, Jr.,, page 5 - -.

depreolatlon; and operation or such automobiles must be paid t%,pttt 0s f01330r **0rfs08.** ,

we quote the 'rollowIng fraa our tiplnlon Eo. O-6592, in : !..I aaoopy of vbloh ha6 already bsen sent to your
_._ ,.-._-... l : . Yihe IIE&IIIO~ex-ofrlolo o ompens&lonwhich ‘imy
__~._ - ., be alloored ,sald Sheriff le eng -muawh%eh,..%hen-added

.- to other oompensatlon and 6x068s fees allowed to be, retailed by him under said Articl68 3883 and 3891, does not caua6 suoh officer to reoalve a total dampensatlon ln tzxoe68Of Three Thousand.&van Hundred snd Fifty Dollars ($3,750.00) per year. 2-nno event

. could th6 if938Or orrioe and ex~offlalo compegiatlon

retained by him exoeed the !naxQinxn of lkwi Thousand 'Seven Hundred.andFirty Dollars ($3,750.00). In

.,otherwords, the marlmum amount or 6ompensatlon rrqt any 6ouroe whloh .h6is allaed to retain oaunot 6x1 :.oeed Ttme ThoaSanaSeven ;HundreQ andW.fty Dollara IS3.750.00) per seari" ‘?’

. ~.'Theaam6statutes with .rmt0n06 to ocmpensatlon 0r sherdrf are applloable to .olerjcf?;~therefore, in ansuer to your roorthand rirth questlana, it la oux opinion that the cihertii and czerk maybe paid an ex-offiolo sal.arg...~fIh6~.waxlmtnn ex- @fioZo .oompensatlon which maybe -allowea4he sheriff or olark ieianp aurn

which, when addsd to other 0ompenaatlon and excess
. fees alllowed to be retained does not oauae euch OrflWr to re? 3.. eeive a~total oomp6nsatlon ~n~exoeas of Three ThousandSeven

- Hundreda+l Fifty DoUarEl..f$3,750.001.

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. drticle 3943 sets the maximum oompaneatlon oi the county treasurer in a ree ootmty at Q2,OOO;OO. Sine6 .mia
.~ artto was not anended by Senata Bl3.l 123,-your

# elxth

qtmstl6n la ausvreredin the. negative. See 0119 opinion XO. O-6588, a oopy of. rrhloh we have already s6nt you*

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- Artlola 2350(7), V. A. C. S, (Senate Bill 319, Chaptar 362, Acts 48th Legislature, 1943) reads_aa~rolloms:

9-1 all countleo of this stat6 having a~populetion of leas than txentg-flv6 thousand two hundred (25,200) according to the last &rocadlnS Federal .: Census, the Cozmlssioners Court of suoh oountles lo.

Honorable manas L, Dlanton, ax., #age 6

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# hereby authorize8

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allow eaoh Com~IssIonar the sun of not more than Tweuty-five ($25.00) Dollars ter monthfor. traveling expmea while on offlclal usluess In eald counties.* (i?allpS ours)

‘In our o&Ion No. O-6002, It was held:

“Said Art. 2350 (7) does mt authorize the .4bif&s8ion8r81 Court to pass 8 geheral~~order allowlng~the flat sumof nwmty4iva Dollats to each oormissloner each month for travolihg exp811ses:~ Such~ mm Is already available to each ocmissioner by*vI.r tue of the law provlded he actually Incurs such.&nouut as oontemplatcd by statute. He oaunot bg.oompensated Sor more than Buohamountincurred in auy oue monthbut nsy Incur less, andthe sctual amoqqtInoarred Is the crltsrlon which the Court must go by In Issuing Its~ order for compensation.” ’ &u*e Bill 84; Chapter 204, Aots 49th Legislature, 1945, pr~vitw.in part a8 roiiow8:

*Se&Ion la. The Cmlsaionercr Coart Iheaoh 3ythe ~aotusl travel-, oounty Is hereby authorized to PI Ing expeaaes Iuourrsd ad;Ile trai%iInR outsld~e ofttha eouhty on offIola1 oovnI$ business nevox~to exoeed &ree.llundrod Dollarc ($300) In any ok year ior saqh said offIolal.n (Eqhasls ours) House.DIll 84, supre, ‘doe’s not repeal or amend .ArtIcle 2350(7),, V. A. C; S., said article. Therefore, but It Is ~merelg ’ ounuiotivs .a?. In answer to your seventh quastlon, ItsIs the oplnlon oi this departmnt that’enoh cozmIssIoner Is entitled to Twenty-Five Dollars ($25.00) ,travelIng expense in the county fox. saoh Iconth, provided, -of oo~se, that suoh traveling expense is necessary and actually expendedby such oomlsgloaer during said monthwhile he Is on official buslness In the oounty. Moreover, the oomnlssIoners axe entitled to travelktg expense Incurred while traveling outside the county on oounty busInnessnever to exoeed Three HundredDollars ($300.00) In any one year as providad by ‘Ii. B. 84, supra. ..:Zlonorable ThomasL, Blanton, Jr,, page 

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I in&rpT We trust that we have aatisfaotorilg answered your
Your8 very truly 

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