E ORNEY GENE 

OF EXAS 

Honorable James M, Cotten 

Chairman, Committee on Appropriations 

House of Representatives 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. W-1046 

Re: Whether any members of the 

Legislature are entitled to 

a portion of the annual salary for the period from the 

effective date of Section 24 

of Article III of the Texas 

Constitution to the convening 

of the 57th Legislature, and 

Mr. Cotten: related questions. 

You have requested an opinion on the following 

questions: 

"1, Are any members of the Legislature 

entitled to a portion of the annual salary for 

the period from the effective date of the amendment to the convening of the 57th Legislature? 

“2. If the answer to the first question 

above is in the affirmative, is enabling legislation necessary to provide for these salaries, 

or will an appropriation for these salaries in 

the general appropriation bill of the 57th 

session be sufficient? 

“3. If the answer to the first question 

is in the affirmative, which members of the Leglslature are entitled to the salary payment, the 

hold-over members whose terms of office expired, 

under the Constitution, at the date of the electfon of their successor but who under the provisions of the Constftution held over in office 

until their successors qualified, or the members 

newly elected In the the November 1960 election? 
I. 

Honorable James M. Cotten, page 2 (~~-1046) 

"4, If the answer to question (3) is 

the newly elected members, is it necessary 

that they have qualiffed fop office by taking 

the constitutional oath during the period 

from the effectfve date of the amendment to 

the convening of the 57th Legislature?" 

Section 24 of Artfcle III of the Constitution of Texas, 

as amended at the General Election held on November 8th, 

1960, provides as follows: 

"Members of the Legislature shall receive 

from the Public Treasury an annual salary of 

not exceedin 

($4, 8 

Four Thousand, E ight Hundred 

Dollars 0O)'per year and a per diem of not 

exceeding Twelve Dollars ($12 

first one hundred and twenty 1 

per day for the 

120) days only 

of each Regular Session and for thirty (30) 

days of each Special Sessfon of the Legislature. 

No Regular Sessfon shall be of longer duration 

than one hundred and forty (140) days. 

"In addftion to the per diem the Members 

of each House shall be entftled to mileage in 

going to and returning from the seat of government, which mile% e shall not exceed Two Dollars 

and Fifty Cents ( $ 2,5O) for every twenty-five 

(25) miles, the distance to be computed hy the 

nearest and most direct route of travel, from a 

table af dfstances prepared by the Comptroller 

to each county seat now or hereafter to be 

established; no Member to be entftled to mileage 

for an 

one (1 "I 

extra Sessfon that may be called within 

day after the adjournment of the Regular 

or Called Session." (Emphasis added). 

It is noted that the underlIned portion of the abovequoted constitutional amendment makes it mandatory that 

members of the Legislature receive an annual salary. Therefore, in answer to your first question, you are advised 

that members of the Legislature are entitled to an annual 

salary beginning at the effectfve date of the amendment 

(November 25, 1960, the date of the canvassing of the 

returns of the General Electfon held on November 8, 1960). 

We assume by your second question that you desire to 

know whether the provisions of Section 24 of Article III, 
Honorable James M. Cotten, page 3 (~~-1046) 

as amended, constitute pre-exfstfng law, authorizing the 

Legfslature to make an appropriation for the payment of 

the annual salary provfded therein. Since the constitutional amendment speciffcally states that members of the 

Legfslature shall recefve from the public treasury an 

annual salary of not exceeding $4,800 per year, you are 

advised that such language constitutes pre-existfng law 

authorizing an appropriation by the 57th Legislature for 

the payment of such annual salary. 

An answer to your thfrd and fourth questions depends 

on the date that an indfvfdual qualified as a member of 

the Legfslature, In other words, ff an indfvldual member 

of the 57th Legfslature qualffied prior to canvassfn of 

the returns of the electfon held on November 8th, 19 8 0, 

he would be entftled to the compensation provfded fn Section 

24 of Article III, as amended, until hfs successor qualifies for office. On the other hand, if an fndividual member 

did not qualffy untfl some date subsequent to the canvassing of the returns of the General Electfon held on November 

8th, 1960, h%s predecessor in office would be entftled to 

the compensatfon provided for fn Sectfon 24 of Article III 

of the Constftutfon of Texas, as amended, until such time 

as the successor of such fndfvfdual had qualiffed. 

You are, theref or,e# advfsed Sn answer to questions 

Nos. 3 and 4# a newly eleoted member of the Legfslature who 

d%d not qualffy until the convenfng of the 57th Legislature 

would not be entftled to the constftutfonal salary prior to 

the date of h%s qualfffcation, but the hold-over member whom 

the newly elected member succeeded would be entitled to the 

constitutional salary prior to the date his successor qualified, 

Summarizing OUP holding herefn, you are advised that 

members of the Legfslature are entitled to the constitutional 

salary, per d%em and expenses provfded therein, from the effective date of the amendment adopted at the electfon held 

on November oth, 1960 (to-wft: November 25, 1960, the date 

of the canvassing of the returns). Newly elected members 

are entftled to the constftutfonal salary when they qualify 

for office and may not receive the constitutional salary 

for any oeriod of time pr%or to the date they qualify for 

offfce. Sold-over members are entftled to the constitutional salary from the date of the canvassfng of the returns 
Honorable James M. Cotten, page 4 (~~-1046) 

of the General Electfonheld on Novembers 8,. 1960. .MembOrs 

of .the Legislature who were not re-elected to oriloe will 

receive the constitutional Salary from the date of the 

canvaasln 

8 

of the returns of the General Eleotlon of 

November th, 1960, to the date that the newly elected 

member qualifies for office, 

SUMNARY 

Seotion 24 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas, as amended at the General 

Election held November 8th, 196C,,oonstltutee pre-existing law, authorizing the 

Legislature to appropriate money for the 

purpose of payfng the compensation and 

expenses provided therein to qualified 

members and it Is not necessary that any 

enabling legislation other than an appropriation be enacted, 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

John Reeves 

Assistant 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Henry G.'B+aSwell 

C. Dean Davis 

Edward A. Cazares 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore