OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

uonorable ropr Somy 

county AttorAay 

?ottw county 

marlllo, Tsxar 

mar sir: 

otoa r0r 8 porlod 

ed ln your lottrr of 

8n OpiAiOA tr'on thf8 

0 r01108in~ paragraph: 

2, a0ri80a civil 8tOtut0r, lees, 88 

YOU rd@r iA fOUr lOttOre rO8d8 i~ p8~% 

er 8ny aimm, oounty or preolnot 

1 require tbo sorvlooe OS a0puti08, 

8aahtOAte Or Oh&@ iA the pSl'iO~AO0 Or hi8 

dUtiOa he mill Apply t0 the COUAtY COAA~C~~OAOTIS' 

CoUrt Of hi8 OOUAt~ for suthorlty t0 ‘~~$At~~Il~b 

aaputler arrlatants or olorks, 

8ppiit38thA th8 AOAbOr AOdd, th8 t%OA tO b0 

‘tilled 8Ad the amount to bo paid. Said 8~$liOOtiOA 

rtmll be rooompaAird by a statement rhowlng thr 
, 

146 

BOA. Tom s0.y. i’aee 2. 

probable reoeIpt8 frown feel, 00m18@1oa~ and OOApeaaetlo~ to be oolleoted by said offloe during 

the tisoal Jeer and the probablo dfsbursements 

vhloh shall lnolude ell l alarles and oxpenaes or 

said 0rri00; and e.ald oourt shall make It8 order 

authorIziA2 the appolntzent of suoh deputlee, Sa818taatS and olerks and flX the oomponsstloa to 

be peld them within the 1Imltatlonr: hsrsla preeorlbed and deter&n8 the number to be appointed 

as in the diaorstlon of said court ASy be proper; 

provided that In no cake ehell the Coni~l~slooero~ 

Court or any member thereof attempt to lafluenoe 

the ap~olntneat 0r any person as deputy, asclstant 

or olark la any orrloe. Upon the entry or suoh 

order the orrloert applylae for suoh a6Si8t&ntS, 

deputies or olarke shall be authorized to appoint 

then; provided that mid oonpea~.etloa shell not 

exoeea the marlmum amourt hereinafter Pet out. 

Tho OOAptiaSStiOa vhlch say be allowed to t.he deputies, erslctants or olerks above named ror their 

servloes shall be a rassonable one, not to eroeed 

the r0110Piinf. ar;iounta: . ..a ~' 

3-e are unable to find any statute deallag with the 

Subj60t of vacations fmow oounty ofrlolalr. The P.~JZO 1s 

true of Ceputles, aseI6taatr or other rocular employees 

authorized to perrorn tsrvlce8 under the prlaclpal of any 

pub110 offloe, nlth the sxoeptlon of Art1016 1583b, Penal 

Code 0r Texas, 1925, which provides that every regularly 

Ssslened jellor, jail Euara, or Jail matron at eny oollnty 

$a11 la any olty of aore thorn treaty-five thousand (25,000) 

inhabitants eh~ll be allwed fifteen (15) day8 vacation 

la each year tith pay, adt more than two (2) tmmbera to 

be on vaoatioa St the same tIzie. 

COJUQ .sdoaerb Courts ara oourtb of geniral- jarlsdlotlon when a !tlw within the sphere of the povers and 

duties oonrerr Id u:oa them, hOwever, they Sre OoUrts of 

1iElted jurled .otion in that their authority oxteade oaly 

to mttere per ;alalw to the general welfare of their cmpeotlve oouatl :B SAd thiit their pawors me only those exprossly or lmplledl r conferred upon thezn by law -- that is, by 

the Conetltuti #A end Btatutes of the 2tSte. 11 Tex. Jur. 

para. 37, P. 5 H. 
147 

Boa. Taa Seey, Page 3. 

The law Lop0808 up o n l eoh l leotlvo OfiiOi81 0s 

8 OouAty oertaIa duties oonaeoted with his orfloe rhloh 

ho 18 obligated to relthfull~ dlsolmrgo ma perform. He 

is rospoaslblo ror oerteln cots 0r his deputlor~ l Aa iA 

ths rutter of atteadl~ to 6na performing tho dot108 0r 

his Otfioe, tho l.r holds him rospoaslble. &f.ay duties 

ooaaeoted dth 6 pub110 offloo must aeoosserlly be perrormod’ by olerieal workers OAa rsaistanta, who eoaseqaently 

p8rfOCPI their duties solsl~ under the dlreotloa of the 

prlnolpsl in orrlae. Xs9eaIell~ 18 this true uhere their 

dutIo8 are not reguleted by stetute. 

The status of the verIous daputles, assistants 

or clerks, 08 provided ln the l bove-quoted statuto, era 

varied. 8herlfi deputies, ooastablo deputies and 011 

oooaty olerk deputies ore oonslderea pub110 orrloers. In 

6 true seass, they psrrorm ~ove~ramental runotioa8, end 

where their duties ore not prescrlbod or replated br 

statute, they perform a pub110 servios, 8hsrlng tho rosponsiblllty of offloe with tholr prlnolpal. Suoh orrloers 

stand on a rooting different rrom mere oouaty unployess-- 

tho semloes and sn?plo)ment of the tormsr being authorized 

br lsw, the latter being based upon oontrcrot with ths OOCImlssloaer6 oourt. 

An ezsmlnatloa oi the aotr Of the various legls1atur.s ror sevsral years pdst discloses that the geaoral 

appropriation bill prorlsloas, as 8rr00tiag State employees, 

pomlt twelve (12) working day vaoatlons, when agreed to 

betveen tho off18161 end hi8 eaPlo~ee8. It It can be sold 

that the StOt0 ha8 OaOpt0a 6 $'01:0y Of .llOWiA& paid V.O.- 

tioas, a law whleh requires a pub110 offioer to 6erve a 

year before being alloued.saoh vao8tioa wotild, IA our oplaIo~, 

oontrsveae suoh deolared polley, deprlvlne tho government 

of hotter and more erfloleat servloe, whloh 18 the only 

priasiplo upon vhloh saoh vaeetIoa8 000 bo 8a8talned. 

Suoh satters of general offlee rOUtlaO or mode in 

which 6 pub110 orrlaer, with the help Of hla 6uthOris8d deputies, asslstanta aad olerks, perfornrs the duties of hle 

oitloa, where not reguletsa by stetnte, 8re not vestoa IA 

the oomIssloners oourt. Xe 0aaAOt help but view the astter or regal.tioa or hours end vaaatloas of pub110 OfSlOsrS 

In 011 governmental and polltloal unlta OS the goveramat 

OS being solely ono of ereoutIvo or ad5iAistrativo dlsoret:OA, rubjeot to be wlthdram or eontrolled by tbe LWISlOturo. 
- . 

1.48 

son. Tan Seq. Peg8 4. 

Veoetlons am olosely Idontlflod with geaerel 

~~l;;stretlve powers vested la the bolder of a pub110 

. The only prlnolple upon whloh vacetloas are permIttod, lasofer es 6 deolared polloy of the q,overnment 

would l utborlzo semo ‘appesre grounded on a settled polioy 

of employees or pub110 ofrlcers eaterlag Into ea agreen0At with their dOpart8mntel or Off108 hoed, under the 

lrttor(s supenlslon end dlreotlon. 

As vaoatloas dlreotly effect the discharging 

or the duties of a pertloular offloe, the responslbllIty 

ror whloh ropores in the prlacIpal of such offloe, the 

comnIssloners Court, bclng -aowlse charged with such responslblllty, would not be authorized, in the absence of lsglsletlvo authority, to 68same control and attempt to regulet8 the some. 

It la, therefore, the oplnloa of this deportment 

that the oommlssloners oourt of a county does not hate the 

authority to peas an order providing that no vacatloas 

with pay shell be ellowed en7 employees of the county or 

deputies or assistants or county orrloers until and unless 

suoh persons have been employed for a period of oar year. 

guoh order, belae beyond the soope of power and authority 

vested in the Commls~loaers court, la ultra wires and void. 

Trusting tbe above easwers your request, we ore 

Yours verr truly 

ATTOFUIEYG~IJAf~~TXAS 

J. f klag 

Aa latent