The Attorney General of Texas 

November 28, 1977 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General 

Honorable Felipe Reyna 

District Attorney 

3rd Floor, McLennan County 

Courthouse 

Waco, Texas 76701 

Dear Mr. Reyna: 

Opinion No. H-1097 

Re: Fees of county 

clerks and recorders. 

You have requested our opinion regarding certain fees 

related to commitment proceedings for the mentally ill. 

Senate Bill 184, Acts 1977, 65th Leg., ch. 291, at 767, 

enacted in the recent regular session of the Legislature, 

amended article 3930(b), V.T.C.S. Section lB(1) (a) (v) of 

the amended statute provides: 

For mentally ill: Total costs for all 

services listed in Article 5547-13, Article 

5547-14 and Article 5547-15, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes of Texas, shall be in the 

amount of . . . . . . . . . . . . .$40.00 

You ask whether this statute is constitutional and eliminates 

the county judge's discretion to allow compensation under 

article 5547-15, V.T.C.S. Articles 5547-13, 5547-14 and 

5547-15, part of the Mental Health Code, state: 

Upon the request of the county judge, 

the county attorney or the district attorney 

in counties having no county attorney shall 

represent the State in commitment hearings 

under this Code. 

V.T.C.S. art. 5547-13. 

(a) The county of legal residence of the 

patient shall pay the costs of Temporary 

Hospitalization, Indefinite Commitment and 

Re-examination and Hearing proceedings, including attorneys' fees and physicians' 

examination fees, and expenses of transportation to a State mental hospital or to an 

agency of the United States. 

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Honorable Felipe Reyna - Page 2 (H-1097) 

(b) For the amounts of these costs actually paid, the county is entitled to reimbursement by the patient or any person 

or estate liable for his support in a 

State hospital. 

(c) Unless the patient or someone responsible for him is able to do so, the 

State shall pay the cost of transportation home of a discharged patient and the 

return of a patient absent without authority. 

(d) Neither the county nor the State 

shall pay any costs for a patient conunitted to a private hospital. 

V.T.C.S. art. 5547-14. 

The county judge may allow reasonable 

compensation to attorneys and physicians 

appointed by him under this Code, provided 

that any compensation he allows to an 

attorney is not less than $25. The compensation paid shall be taxed as costs in 

case. 

V.T.C.S. art. 5547-15. 

The relevant portion of article 3930(b) was first enacted 

in 1967. Another section of the same bill expressly repealed 

articles 5547-13 through 5547-15 to the extent of conflict only. 

Acts 1967, 60th Leg., ch. 680, at 1788. In Attorney General 

Opinion M-135 (1967), this office held that the provision purporting to repeal articles 5547-13, 5547-14, and 5547-15, violated article 3, section 35 of the Texas Constitution, in that 

the title of the bill gave no notice of an attempt to repeal 

those statutes. 

Even though the title of Senate Bill 184 purports only to 

"amend article . . . 3930(b)," we need not determine whether 

Attorney General Opinion M-135 was correct, because Senate Bill 

184 is an amendatory act. The Supreme Court has declared: 

With amendatory bills, it is settled 

that reference to the act or section to 

be amended is adequate, as long as the 

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Honorable Felipe Reyna - Page 3 (H-1097) 

subject matter of the amendment is germane or reasonably related to the content 

of the original act. 

. . . It is not necessary that the 

caption of an amendatory bill apprise the 

reader of the precise effects of the body 

of the bill, so long as the general subject of the amending bill is disclosed. 

Smith v. Davis, 426 S.W.Zd 827, 833 (Tex. 1968). In the present 

instance, the "subject matter of the amendment" at issue is 

phrased in language identical to that of the original act. 

It is therefore unnecessary to ascertain whether the version 

of article 3930(b) enacted in 1967 met constitutional requirements: 

It would be anomalous to say that the caption of an amendatory act meeting the requirements of the Constitution, and hence 

carrying notice to those affected thereby, 

would nonetheless be invalidated because 

of possible infirmities in past legislative enactments. 

State v. Smith, 434 S.W.Zd 342, 348 (Tex. 1968). 

Article 3930(b), section 1 B (1) (a) sets the clerk's fee 

in "each original cause or action in a Probate Court . . . due 

and payable and to be paid by the party . . . initiating said 

cause . . . .II In an action involving a mentally ill person, 

the clerk's total fee for services in connection with proceeding under articles 5547-13 through 5547-15 is set at $40.00. 

V.T.C.S. art 3930(b), 9 1 B (1) (a)(v). Article 3930(b) thus 

limits the amount that may be charged for filing a petition, 

issuing notices, administering oaths, and performing all other 

clerical duties in connection with the kinds of commitment 

listed in article 5547-14. If the county judge allows compensation to an appointed attorney or physician under article 

5547-15, it is taxed as costs in the case, and the clerk has 

certain duties with respect to collecting it. See Tex. R. 

Civ. P. 129, 130. Article 3930(b), section 1 BTf) (a)(v) does 

not attempt to repeal the provisions of the Mental Health Code 

regarding payment of attorneys' fees, physicians' fees, and 

transportation costs. Since these fees are not paid to the 

clerk, they are unaffected by article 3930(b). 

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Honorable Felipe Reyna - Page 4 (H-1097) 

SUMMARY 

That part of article 3930(b) which limits 

to $40.00 the total costs payable to the 

county clerk for clerical services relating 

to commitment proceedings for the mentally 

ill does not purport to repeal and is not 

in conflict with articles 5547-13, 5547-14 

and 5547-15, V.T.C.S. 

Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

DAVID MAKENDALL, 

C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

jst 

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