.~UNTIN. T=NxAN 78711 

December 3, 1973 

The Honorable Bill Lofland 

County Attorney 

Rockwall, Texas 75087 

Opinion No. H- 171 

Re: Procedure to be followed 

in payment of claims 

Dear Mr. Lofland: against counties 

Your letter requesting our opinion advises that Rockwall County has 

no auditor and, in the past, has followed the procedure of having bills filed 

with the County Clerk and submitted to the Commissioners Court for approval. If approved, a scrip orwarrant was issued by the County Clerk and 

presented the County Treasurer for payment. 

The questions you have submitted to us are: 

“What is the proper and legal administrative 

procedure to follow in Rockwall County, Texas, in 

the presentment and payment of bills and debts incurred 

by each of the county commissioner’s in the performance 

of their duties as commissioners?” 

“What is the proper and legal procedure to follow 

in Rockwall County, Texas, in the presentment and payment of all other bills and debts in the operation of the 

county business? ” 

Your request is prompted by a memorandum and a notice issued and 

published by the County Treasurer. The memorandum provides: 

“Each county treasurer shall keep a well-bound book in 

which he shall register all claims against his county in 

the Elder of presentation, and if more than one is presented 

at the same time he shall register them in the order of 

their date. He shall pay no such claim or any part thereof. 

nor shall the same. or any part thereof, be received by any 

p. 702 
. . 

The Honorable Bill Iafland, page 2 (H-171) 

officer in payment of any indebtedness to the county 

until it has been duly registered in accordance with 

the provisions of this title. All claims in each class 

shall be paid in the order in which they are registered. 

“In order to comply with the above statute, we wish to 

advise the office holders of Rockwall County that all 

claims and or bills will be registered inthe office of the 

County Treasurer on the date that such claims are received. No claims and or bills will be paid by the County 

Treasurer unless registered in accordance with this 

statute. If there are any questions please feel free to 

contact the County Treasurer’s office. This change will 

be effective Tuesday, September 11. 1973.” 

The notice, apparently mailed to persons and firms doing business 

with the county commissioners, provides: 

“The County Treasurers Office is making an effort to 

comply with the laws of our State. In order to comply with 

the law we need your co-operation. All claims, bills and 

accounts against Rockwall County must be registered in 

the Office’of the County Treasurer on the date received. 

“Please mail all your claims to the County Treasurer. 

This will simplify our new procedure and enable us to 

comply with the law concerning the County and your claim. 

“Please make sure that all invoices are signed by the person receiving the merchandise. This will expedite the 

processing of your claim. No claim will be paid unless 

it has been registered with the County Treasurer. ” 

Statutes having to do with the creation of the office of county treasurer 

and his functions and duties are contained in Title 36, Articlml703 to 1714, 

V. T. C. S. Those having to do with county finances, other than those relating 

to the county auditor, are found as Chapter 1 of Title 34, Articles 1607 to 

1644d. V. T. C. S. 

p. 783 
. . - 

The Honorable Bill Lofland, page 3 (H-171) 

In 1971, the Legislature expressly amended Article 1709 of the 

Statutea, defining the duties of the County Treasurer, and adopted whrt 

has been codified as Article 17090. V. T. C. S., dealing with the same 

subject matter. (Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., R.S., ch. 467, p. 1654). Although 

it did not expressly amend or repeal statutes ir Title 34, County Finances, 

the Act had the effect of gathering into one article all of the statutes bearing upon the functions and duties of the Treasurer. The caption of the 

Act is: 

“An Act amending Article 1709. Revised Civil 

Statutes of Texas, 1925, as amended, providing for 

the receiving, safekeeping and disbursing of all moneys 

belonging to the county by the County Treasurer; prescribing andclarifying the duties of the County Treasurer 

pertaining thereto; making said duties applicable to each 

County Treasurer of the State: making them chief custodians of county moneys and liable for any willful dereliction of duty or misuse of funds; pertaining to duties 

of other officers with responsibilities related totcounty 

money: providing a severability clause; pr0viding.a 

clarifying clause: and declaring an emergency. I’ 

Section 7 of the Act, the so-called “clarifying clause’.’ states: 

“The need to clarify the receiving. safekeeping and 

disbursing of county moneys and to prescribe the duties of 

County Treasurers in the handling of moneys belonging to 

the counties create an emergency. . . . ” 

Article 1709, as amended, provides that the County Treasurer, “as chief 

custodian of county finances” is to receive all moneys belonging to the county 

from all sources. is to keep an account for them. is to pay and apply or disburse them “in such manner as the Commissioners Court may require or 

direct. . . .‘I 

Section 2 of Article 1709a deals with the receipt of funds by the Treasurer. 

Section 3 has to do with their safekeeping. Section 4 deals with the disbursep. 784 
. . 

The Honorable Bill Lofland, page 4 (H-171) 

ment of county fundr. It provides generally that the County Treasurer 

“shall disburse all moneys belonging to the county, for whatever purpose 

they may be claimed, and shall pay and apply the same as required by law. 

No money shall be expended or withdrawn from tire county treasury except 

by checks or warrants drawn on the county . . . .‘I The detailed provisions 

of 54 are: 

(a) The treasurer is required to enter’leach 

claim”in a bound register stating the class, the name 

of the payee and the number of the claim. 

(b) The treasurer may pay no claim until it has 

been duly registered and all claims in each class are 

to be paid in the order in which they are registered. 

Section 4(c) applies to counties having a county auditor and is not 

applicable to RockwallCounty. 

Section~4(d) deals with warrants and requires the treasurer, upon 

presentation to him of “any warrant, check, voucher or order drawn by the 

proper authority” if there are sufficient funds to pay the warrant in the 

account against which it is drawn. to endorse upon it his order to pay it. 

The first paragraph of the memorandum issued by your County Treasurer 

is Article 1625, V. T. C. S., verbatim. And see Article 1709a. 5 4(b). 

The notice which we have quoted above would indicate that the County 

Treasurer interprets the statutory language to mean that he is toregister 

claims, bills and accounts before they have been approved by any other county 

officer. 

We believe that he has misconstrued the statutory language. Article 

1713, V. T.C.S., provides that the County Treasurer shall not pay any money 

out of the County Treasury except i4 pursuance of a certificate or warrant 

“from some officer authorized by law to issue the same.” It is our opinion 

that the Treasurer as stated in Article 1709, as amended in 1971, is a custodian. 

He is to receive moneys belonging to the County, to keep and account for them. 

and to disburse them “in such manner as the Commissioners Court may require 

p. 785 
. . 

. 

The Honorable Bill Lofland, page 5 (H-171) 

or direct. ” The duties imposed upon the Treasurer by this Article and 

others we have cited herein, are, in our opinion, ministerial only and 

require the exercise of no discretion. 

The County Commissioners and their court, on the other hand, are 

given the express authority and duty to “[a]udit and settle all accounts against 

the county and direct their payment. ” Article 2351, Q 10, V. T. C. S. Without 

the approval of the County Commissioners, the issuance d a county warrant 

is in violation of the statutory duties of the Treasurer. Padgett v. Young 

County, 204 S. W. 1046 (Tex. Civ. App., Ft. Worth, 1918, err.dis’m., 229 

S. W. 459 (Tex. 1921); Gussett v. Nueces County, 235 S.W. 857 (Tex. 1921); 

Denman v. Coffee, 91 S. W. 800 (Tex. Civ.App., 1906). 

It is our opinion, therefore, that the proper procedure to be followed 

with all claims against the county, other than jury scrip and scrip issued for 

feeding jurors (see Article 2122, V. T. C.S.) is for any claim, bill or account 

for any expense or indebtedness of the camty to be submitted to the Commissioners Court for its approval. If it is approved, a warrant should be drawn 

by the county clerk and submitted to the County Treasurer for his endorsement (Article 25541. It is at that time that claims should be placed upon the 

register maintained by the County Treasurer in the order of their date. 

SUMMARY 

The County Treasurer is a custodian of funds and 

has no authority to approve or disapprove claims presented 

for payment. A claim. approved by the proper county authorities, when presented to the Treasurer, should be registered 

and paid according to date. If funds are unavailable, claims 

should be paid in the order in which they are registered as 

funds do become available. 

Very truly yours, 

JOHN L, HILL 

Attorney General of Texas 

p. 786 
. . . . 

The Honorable Bill Lofland. page 6 (H-171) 

APPROVED: 

DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 787