May 10, 1972 

Non. George N. Rodriguez, Jr. Opinion NO. M- 11.24’ 

County Attorney 

El Paso County .Re: Constitutiona.lity. of Art.icle 

Boom 201, City-County Building 3912k, V.C.S., as a proper 

El Paso, Texas 79901 delegation of'legislative 

authority to the grievance 

committee to set ealariae 

Dear Mr. Rodriguez: of couslty offiaers. 

You have requeeted our opinion on the conetitutionality 

of Article 3912k, Vemon'e Civil Statutes, which creates in each 

county a salary grievance committee. Itm Sac. 2(d) reads a~ 

follows: 

*Any elected county or precinotofficer who 

ie aggrieved by the getting of his salary, ixpenees, or other allowance by the.coranirmsionere 

court may request a hearing before the committee. 

The request shall be'in writing, mhall state the 

manner in which he is aggrieved, and shall be 

delivered to the chairman of the comittee. The 

chairman shall announoe the tiaw, and plaza of the 

hearing, which rhall be within 30 day8 after receipt of the request. If, after a hearing, the 

committee by a vote of nix of ita voting me?2aere 

decidee to recoannend a change in the salary, expenses, or other allowance of the person requeeting 

the hearing, it shall prepare itr recommendation in 

writing and Beliver it to.the commhsioners court, 

which #hall coneider the recommendation at its 

next meeting. A written recommendation signed 

by all nine members and delivered to the commissioner8 court become effective without the 

action of the coxniaaionera court on the first 

day of the month following it8 delivery to the 

commierionera court." 

Article II, Section 1 of the Texan Constitution provides 

for the reparation of government into three departmente--legislative, 

executive and judicial--neither of which rhall exeroiae any power 

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Hon. George N. Rodriguez, Jr., page 1 (M-1124) 

properly attached to either of the others. Section 18 of Article 

V of the Texas Constitution provides for the creation of the Commissioners Court and further declares that the Court shall exercise 

such powers of jurisdiction over all county business as is conferred 

by this Constitution and the laws of the State or as may be thereafter prescribed. Section 44 of Article III of the Texas Constitution specifies that the Legislature shall provide by law for the 

compensation of all officers, servants, agents hnd public contractors 

not provided for in this Constitution. 

The validity of that portion of the adult probation and 

parole law authorizing the district judges to fix the salaries of 

probation officers, 

clerical, 

and such administrative, supervisory, stenographic, 

and other personnel as may be necessary to conduct investigations, supervise and rehabilitate probationers, and enforce the terms 

and conditions of probation was considered in'Commissioners Court of 

Lubbock County v. Martin, 471 S.W.Zd 100 (Tex.Civ.App. 1971, error 

ref. n.r.e., pending on motion for rehearing). 

validity of the statute the court stated: 

In upholding the 

"It is apparent that when Sec. 44 of Art. 

3 of our Constitution specified that 'The Legialature shall provide by law for the compensation 

of all officers, servants, agents and public contractors, not provided for in this Constitution, 

* * *I the duty of providing for compensation by 

law--in this case, the compensation of probation 

personnel--rests solely w'th the Legislature; 

but it ia also as apparent that there is no constitutional mandate that the specific amount, or 

U-I: yn;imum or maximum limits, be enumerateii in 

. That the fixing of the exact sum of 

compensation is a constitutional delegable right 

was established by our Supreme Court as early as 

1911 in the case of Terre11 v. Sparks, 104 Tex. 

191, 135 S.W. 519, and reiterated by both the 

majority and dissenting opinions in Dallas County 

v. Lively, 106 Tex. 364, 167 S.W. 219 (19141, and 

has not been modified since then. 

that Sec. 

The principle 

44 does not prevent the Legislature 

from empowering other authority to determine 

salaries was followed in Burkhart v- Brazoe River 

Harbor Nav. Diet. 

96 (Tex.Civ.App. 

of Brazoria County,,42 S.W.Zd 

--Galveston 1931, no writ) Andy 

in Wichita County v. Griffin, 284 S;W.Zd 253 

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. - 

Non. George N. Rodriguez, Jr., page 3 (M-1124) 

(Tex.Civ.App. --Fort Worth 1955, writ ref. 

n.r.e.). Since the probation needs and 

services in the various judicial districts 

of Texas, ranging from multi-judicial dietricts within a single county to one judicial 

district embracing as many as six counties, 

are of such character that the compensation 

and probation personnel must vary in the different districts, the Legislature wisely left 

the setting of the compensation and the number 

of personnel to the local authority. Dallas 

County v. Lively, aupra.* 

It is our opinion that the above holding is equally applicable to the constitutionality of Article 3912k, Vernon'e Civil 

Statutes. You are accordingly advised that the provisions of 

Article 3912k, Veron'e Civil Statutes, are constitutional. 

SUMMARY 

The provisions of Atticle 3912k, Vernon's 

Civil Statutea, oreating'a salary grievance 

committee in each aounty of the State are aonatitutional. 

Ve 79 truly yours, 

ey tinera of Texas 

Prepared by John Reeves 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, CoyChairman 

Bill Campbell 

Fisher Tyler 

John Banks 

Robert Lemena 

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. - 

Hon. George U. Rodriguez, Jr., page 4 (M-1124) 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLAWHITE 

First Aaaiatant 

I 

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