AusTlov 11. TEXAS

FVILL WII-SON **A ’** **XTORNEY CENERAL**  December 21, 1359

Honorable 3ocg Crouch Crimjnal DietrictAttorney Tarrant County **Cwrt** Hcuse Fort Worth; Texar

_ ' '+Opinion No. V'd-765

,Re:

.-.

:y Dear Mr. Crouch: :. Since the enactment 'of Articles 1665 and 1666a, Vernon'sCZ.vi.1

Statutes, are Commissjnners' Courts and County Treasurers in countieswith a population inexcess of 2.25,ooo required to comply with the provisionsof Articles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Vernon's Civil St,atutea? .~ Your opinion.pbquelt present8the. following’queeSince the enactmentof Articles 1665 and 1666a, Vernon's Civ:l Statutes,are Commissioners'

Courts and County Treasurers in count&eswith a populationin excess of 2Pj,OOO requlred to cam lg with the vjsipns of ¶M~Lclis16~e fo9 1635 and 1 36,

% Vernon's Clvfl Statutea?
In 1897, Articles. 1634, 1635 and 1636, V@rnon'(s Civil Statutes, were enacted by the Legls&ature,setting out-some of the dutleb of the County Treasurerrelating. to county finances, They read as follows:
'

"Art. 1634. TM cCunty treasurer shall 4

_.; keep accuratedetakled accOunts showing all

the transactionaof hi8 offSc8. And~.allwarrants by him aaid off shall be ouhched at' the

'. tame he- pays them;‘ and the vouchera re1atin.g to and accomnanyiageach report shall bee Jented to the commlseionerscourt w/Ch CRe COPrespondingreport, when 8aj.d court shall comgare the voucherswith the report, and allHon. Doug Crouch, page 2 (W-765)

proper vouchers shall be allowed and the .treasurer

creditedwith the amount thcre**Of** .'I (Emphasisours).
"Art. 1635. When a claim presentedas a voucher has been found by the court to be correct, the court shall cause the same to be canceled.by

writing or stamping upon the fact1 thereof the word, 'canceled,' and the clerk shall attest the same by his official signature."
If1 So in erxolledbill. Should l probablyread 'face'."
"Art. 1636. When the commissioners court has comparedand examined the quarterly report of the treasurer,and found the same correct, it shall cause an order to be entered upon the minutes of the court, stating the approval thereof, and reciting separately the amount receivedand paid out 09 each fund by the treasurer since the preceding treasurer'squarterlyreport, and the balance of such fund, if any, 'remaining in the treasurer'shands and the'court shall

. ~ cause the proper credit to be made in the accounts of the treasurer, in accordance with said order. Said court shall actually inspect and count all the actual.cashand assets in the hands of the treasurerbelonging to the county at the time of the examination of his said report. Prior to the.adjournmentof each regular term of the court, the county judge and each commissionershall make affidavit that the requirementsof this article have been in all things fully complied with by them at said term of said court, and that the cash and other &$8&S mentioned In said county trei)swer’s quarterly, report made by said treasurer to said court, and held by him for the county, have been fully Inspectedand counted by them giving the amount of said money and other assets In his hands. Such affidavits shall be filed with the county clerk and recorded in the minutes of said.

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..:

. ...*

. Hon.Doug Crouch, page 3 lm-765)

court the term at which the same were filed; and the same shall be published in some newspaper publishedi.nthe county If there be a newspaperpublishedin the county, for one time." (Emphasisours).

. In the year 1905.,

the office of the County Audltor~ was .oreated'by

the.Leglslature

and Articles 1665 and 1666a,Vernon's Civil Statutes,were enacted setting out.-; the dut~ies

of the County Auditor;Article 1665 was%mended by Actsof the 54th Legislature, Re ular Seccion;~lg55, Chapter 414, Page 1117, and Article 16 6a was amended:by t House Bill 240, Acts of the 49th Legislature,1945, Chapter 65, Page 93. As amended, they read as follows:~

"Art: 1665: The.CountyAuditor shall make monthly.andannual reports to the CommissionersCourt and District, Judge or ~Distrlct Judges of his,&unty setting forth all the facts of Interestand showing the aggre- 1. -' gate amotints

received and disbursed .out of each fund, the condition of each account on the.,books, : the amounts of county, dlstrlc‘t and.schoolfunds .ondeposit In the County DeposjLtory;.showlng ~' ..further

the amount of bonded and other Indebtedness of the county, togetherwith such;other ~lnformation$'nd

suggestions

as he may deem proper or <h&t said Commissioners Co&, or District Judge or District Judges may require. Said annual report shall.bemade to'lnclydeall. transactions

during ,the

year ending.December 31st.of each year and shall be completedand ."'~ .' Piled at a regular&or special term..ofthe~ Con& "' daiaelonere

Court in the followingAprll,.and ~coplesof.

such report.s

shall be'filedylth the Metrict .Judge

or District Judgesof said county.,.. Bach time an annual audit isdelivered to the i ,. " Commiaaioners,Court an& the Districts

Judge or ' ,,~ District Judg,es,

as the case may be, the'county Auditor shallsend a report to the .bond.ingcompany of each district, county or precinct officer '~ showing the condition of that particularoffice. As amended Acts 1955, 54th Leg., p. 1117, ch. 414, g 3."
"Art. 1666a. The~CountyAuditor in allHon. Doug Crouch, page 4 (WW-765)

.

.

. countieshaving a populat,ion In excess of two hundred and twenty-fivethousand (S?j,OOO) as shown by the last precedingor any future United States Censes shall serve as the budget officer for the Commissioners Courts In each county, and on or immediately after Janumy 1st of each year he shall prepare a budget to cover all proposed expenditures of the county governmentfor the current fiscal and calendar year. . :
.

“The County-Auditor shall make to the.CommissionersCourt not less than monthly a complete report showing the financial .conditlon of the oounty. Said report shall be In such form as may be prescribed, by said County Auditor and shall set forth all facts of Interestconcerning the financial conditionof the county and shall containa .consolidated balance sheet. The re- ‘portshall contain a complete statementof the balanceson hand at the beginningand cIo$e of the month and the aggregatereceipts to and aggregate disbursements. from each fund, the transfers to and from each fund, the bonded warrant Indebtedness

with the rates of Interestdue thereon,a summarizedbudget statementshowing f&r each officer, department,or institution budgetedthe expenses paid from the budget during t.he month and for the period of the fiscal years Inclusiveof the month~forwhich said report IS made, also the encumbrances against sald.budgeta, and the amounts available for further expendltures, togetherwith such other information a8 such officer ma8 deem necessaryto reflect the true conditionof the finances of such county or the Commissioners Court thereof may require. The County Auditor shall publish once in a daily newspaperpublished In said county,a condensed copy of said report showing the conditionof funds and budgets togetherwith such recommendations as he may deem desirable.
“In the preparationof the budget, the County Auditor shall have authority to require of any district, county, or .precinct officer of the county scch information as may be- .

Don. Day) Crouch, page 5 (WI?-765)

necessary~

to properly PPCpare the budget.‘I
You will note that Article 

### 1636, Vcrnon’a’C%vll Stetutes,,

requires the Commissi,onerd’ Court to exam.We the quarterlyreport of the County Treasurerand, if found correct,.

to enter an Order to that effect on the minutes of the Court, swear’ to the fact of such examinatjon, and publish such affidavit in a newspaper in the county. Article 1634; Vernon’s Civil Statutes,.’ requiresthe Treasurer to present all vouchersrelating to the report to the CommUsioners Court and the Court must compare

a vouchePawith the report. After the law creating the office of County Auditor was passedand his duties set forth, and particularly his duties as set out in Article. 1665. and 1666a, Vernon ’ 8 Civil Statutes,the-CountyAuditor,who has authorityt@ employ as many d,eputles as his needs require, 54 directed to do the same thing with respect to the aCCourM of the

. County Treasureras are requfred of the Commissioners Court in Articles 1634, 1635 and 

### 1636,Vernon’sCivil. Statutes,even to the requ~irement hat the report be published In a ‘newspaper except that.

the report ‘of.

the auditor shall be made monthly Instead of quart,erl.y 88ln the case of County Treasurers. .c .I.
that : It is a wel~l-settled rule of statutoryconstfuct$on 1

‘I

. .)

. . statutes In m materla and relating to the same subject .are~ to be taken l and construed togetheri~because It is to be inferredthat they had one object In view; and were intended to be consideredas c.onetSttitlng one entire and harmoniouseystem. But when the new statute In ltse.lf comprehendsthe entire eubject and creates a new, entire and independent system respecting that subject-matter, It is unlversall~y

held to repeal and Supersedeall previous systems and laws respectingthe same subject-matter.

. . . court) i (Dmbhhasis supplied by 

### ..J

II

. ‘If a subsequent’statute be not repuS& In all its provisionsto a prior one, yet, If the latter statute was clearly Intendedto prescribe. the only rules whichHon.'DougCrouch, 'page 6 W-765)

should govern, It repeals the prior one.' ' (3 How. U.S. II., 636.) So a s,ubsequent statute revising the subjectmatter of a former one, and evidentlyintendedas a substitutefor it3 ~although it containsno expresswords to that effect, must operate to repeal the former to .theextent to which Its provisions

are revised and su plied. Bryan v. Sundberg,5 Tex. 418, 42 E . . .'I

. The duties of the,County Auditor asset out in Articles 1665 and 166Sa,Vernon's Civil Statutes, of very recent date comparedwith Articles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Vernon'sCivil Statutes,are a comprehensive set of .rules

prescribedby the Legislatureconcerning the county budget and county financialreports. and, in our.opinion,is the only set of rules intended by the Legislature to have effect regarding these subjects in countieswith a populationin excess of 225,000. When Articles 1634, 163.5 and 1636, Vernon"s CivilStatuteswere passed in 1897, these rules were adequate in dealingwith county finances,but as our populaticn increas,ed

and many of our countiesgrew in population and. wealth, the necessityof a more efficient,comprehensive system in handling county financesbecame obvious

. Consequently, the. position of County Auditor wa8 created forthe larger countiesand Articles 1665 and 1666a,Vernon's Civil Statutes,were enacted.

. . As can be readily ascertained,it wou~ld be a duplication of effort to make it mandatory for the counties with County Auditors and County Treasurersto comply with both&s of statutesand; in those countieswith a large population,

the task of complyingwith Article 1634, Vernon'sCivil Statutes,and Article 1636, Vernon's Civil Statutes,

would not be practicaland would require the full time of one or more members bf the Commissioners' Ceurt if the letter of the law were carried cut. As stated in 36 TexasJurisprudence,page 173, Statutes, Section 91:
"An importantrule to be observed in statutoryinterpretation is that an act should be given a fair, rational, reasonable and sensible construction, consideringitsHon. Doug Crouch, Page 7 (w-765)

languageand subject-matter, and with a view to accomplishing t;e legislative

Intent and purpose. . . . To give effect to both sets of statutes In this case would not be reasonable.
In view of the above, we are of the opinion that it was the intent of the Legislaturefor Articles 1665 and. 1666a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, to supersedeArticles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Vernon's Civil Statutes, insofar as they pertain to countieswith a populationin excess of 225,000.

.After

the office of County Auditorwas created and Article‘ 1665 and Article. 1666a,Vernon's Clvil~ Statutes,were ! passed,a new, entire and independent *~ system of rules and lawa were.passed relative to the county lsudget and county financialreports in countieswith- a popu- '\ lation in excess of,ZT!5,OOO, thereby supersedi2 and repealingArticles 1634, 1635 and 1 36, Vernon'sCivil Statutes, insofar as. said articles gertained.to such counties. Very truly **370~1-8,**



## oPm10~ CO~~MIWEE W,. V..Geppert,

Chalrman : J. C. Davis, Jr. GordonC. Cass Thomas Burrus Bob Eric Shannon
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Leonard Passmore