OFFICE OF THE AHORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN

lion.Charles 8. m1k4Xlaa, county iittorney 6an Augustine, Tsrne

tmar Sir:

seven raembora rponsora or t Dl8trlot No.1

9, or rxt1010 16, of our cQnBt1tot1on Off10~6 rlthln thle state 8hal.loaahr dutlea sf their offlowd until th8ir
auaoecmora shall be duly quallfled.* **It** ha8 been held that this prorlslon appliee to bhrrtruateee or 8 oonsoll6atJd aomd100.

sahool 

### dlstrfct. plalrm Comon Conrol. Sob001 Diet.
vs. Hayhurst, 182 6. W. (24 SSS, by the marillo Court Of civil. Appea1.s. 1

rn our 0p3.n on it wul6 ala0 ba 

### appllaable to trueteas or rural hi&h rohool flLtrlot8. I?romthe opinion in the @bore altard86110 m quoterHon. Charles S. Mohlllan,page 2

*under a generalpro~ialonor the Constltution,Vernon'sAnn. st. const. art. 15, % 17, *all oifieer8within thle State 6hall oontlnue to perform the duties or their 0rrioc.m untfl their 6uooe8sorsahall be duly quallfled.* m OMEtXuing thb provisionof the Constitution, in 34 Tex. Jur. 370, pare. 31, we rind thl6 laf%uagor The p~rp00e Of the OOll6titUtiollal and statutory

provlalonsrequiringorrlaers to hold over until their suoacimorm have qualtiled is to prevent vaaanolee ln offloe and a OOMOquent oeesatlon0r the fuaotlonsor gorernmont, The oonetltutlonal provision le self-exeoutlng, and, like the similarprovisionsla the statutw, it 1s mandatory. 

### under the Constitution an orrioer oaanot arbitrarilydivert himeli ?r the obligationMe authoz+lty to perrona tbe'dutissor hi6 

### orrloe until his 6uooo8eorquallile6;and even though he reslgm and bla re8ignatlonla aaseptod,the law operatesto aontlnuehim in orrloe until his nuooo6oorquallrlos.* * **"

As said in MoOhoe t6. Dlakap, 23 8. W. 404, *the pub110 neoeesltg for aontlnultyof ettialal tenure 1s not left to the aaprlae or.tW orfloeholdar." IO. the oases of Keen ~6. aeatherston,69 5. WC 9S3 (error

### roiussd), El Paso aad F. F. R. Car fs. **AnkeIfbemer, 17!3**  **8. a.**  1090, Rlaglins vs. City or Hempsteed, 193 

### fed. 596, it was hold that 

### under the above,~onstltutlona.I pro~lf4lon

an 

### orrioor~s rerignation does not beoonte

aiieatlreuntil the appolnt6mt and quallflaatlon of hi6 **6uootwaor. In**  iwlger **va. u,**  **S., 93**  **U. 8.**  **(199,** 23 L. Ea. 991, under a 6onat;itutlondl provlslon of xlll6ols almost ldentlaalwith our offa, tha Eluprama

Ceurt hold that the qualirloatlon

or a su~oessor

wa6 neoosmwy to the efteOtlreness or a resignation,

yroa the oplnlon of the Su come Court of South carollna in the cede or State was 

### f St oklay, 61 8. 15.



### au, we quoter
*The ramainingquestions proaentedby the petition and return all doDen4~ugon whatber a publia orrioor, who ha6 tendered his reslgaation uaoondltlonally, aaa withdraw the earn berore acoeptanooior what is the efteot of anHon. Charles6. MoMlllan,page 3

unconditional

resignation. on this question the authoritiesare not in acoord. There 1s a line of 'oasas.malntalnlng tha proposition that an uucondltlonal ro8ignatlontendered to the authority entitledto reoeire it aannot be withdrawn. Btate f. Fitts, 49 ml&l. 402; 6tate T. HauSE, 43 Ind. 105, 1.3 J&L Rep. 364; State ex rol. Klrtloy f. Auguetine,113 MO. 21, 20 6. W. 651, 35 ADI. 6t. Rep. 696; State Y. Clarke, 3 NOV. 566. on the ocher hand at ootmah law and la a great number of the Etates the doctrineprevail8that the resignationor a public ofrlcer is not aomplete until ~ltis either expresslyor by lnp1loatlonaccepted by the proper authorities. state Y. Clayton, 27 mm. rH2, 41 m. Rep. 418; Colonan t. Snada, 67 Va. 669, 13 S. g, 1481 State Y. Ferguson, 31 N. J. Law, 107; Van Orsdallv. Kazard, 3 Hill (I:;. Y.) 2431 EdwardsV. united Gticlteti, 103 13. 6:471, 26 I.. Ed. 314; Hoke Y. Henderson,15 W. C, 1, 25 Am. Doe. 679; 1 MUon, malo. **Corp.** (34 Ed.) 249. In the case of State t. Anoker; 2 Riafi.

Law, 245, thi6 rule wae applied to the resignationor oertain ofrloers**end** me&ore of a ohuroh, tho oourt saying: *The question is whether suoh a resignationhas b&n mado and acooptedaooording tc law, and in a way obligatoryoa all the parties to this eontrovers y
. To mcike

tt oo there must have been both a remlgnationounplalaoand an aooeptanoe of it on the pert of the aatlagand rosponalble governmentat the time.9 fn~the absenoo of

etatute this rule is euppcrtedby the better reaeonine and the greater weight oi authorftles, and ha8 boon adopted by the Supreme Court Or the Uhit9d 6tato6. E&war46 v. mite4 States, 103 U. 6. 4V1, 24 L. Ed 314, Until the tender

or 0rrer to resign f6 acceptedby the proper authority,18 oan be withdrawn. * * **

It. is ow: opinion that those trusteesriahing to do so may withdraw their attemptedro6lgnatlon8, slnoo no sucoemors &WW been appointed.

(jn xey 12, 1939, the Tax ~s6666or and ColleOtor or Rexar County tenderedhis written reelgnationtc the Cam-Eon. Charles 5. ~c~~illan, page 4

missioners'court of mxar county. on the followiI3g day, and before any action had been ta!cen on such resignation, he deliveredto the same body a written withdrawalof suoh reslgnatlon. In our OpinfonMO. O-555 we held that the withdrawalof the resignationwas effectiveand Rlaced the situationin the 831% conditiones it would have been lf the resl&nation

had never been tenderedto the Commiesioners ' court. We hand you herevrith a copy of that **opinion.** ,Should some of the trustees continue in their wish to resign they nay do so by tenderingtheir resignations to the remain- members **of** the Ward, vho would be empoveredto appoint their successors. cur opinion No. Q-2230; Clark YCJ. Wornell, 65 s. i. (2d) 360.

For sll praetloalpurposeswe believethe above sufficiently

answers your questions, nithout going into the problem as to what body or authoritycould accept such a group reslgnatlon and provide for 5uooessor8.

GleM R. LeViiS &3sistant