OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTlp4 

Honorable 0. A. Neal 

County Auditor 

El1la COunty 

Waxahaohie, Texae 

Ret Allowance 

date of Ootober 83, 

questions: 

department Is till 

bounty, the shsrirrfs 

esed by the county. 

ef the oplnlon that 

era, and the sheriff 

pend oonsiderable 

e rcr anothsr. 

8s to repair, or exohange for 

d buy one and oharge the 

e for the use of it, what 

matter? Would the oounty 

med by ths Comptroller*s Offioe that the 

a ocmpensated on an annual ealary basis. 

Or Artiols 3899, VeTnOn’s Annotated Cfvil 

, reeds In part as r0liopp8: 

“The Commissioners Court of .the oounty or the Sherlff~s 

resldenoe may, upon the written and sworn applioation of 

euoh ofrloer stating the neoesslty therefor, allow one or 

mOre automobiles to be use4.b the SheriiY’ in~ttu, discharge 

OS Orfiolal business, which, 9 f purohased‘& the count7 

shall be bought, in the nianner presoribed $- y law for the 

purohase bt supplies end paid for. out of the CIe,neral find 

of the oounty and they shall be reported and paid In the 

same manner as herein provided for other expenses. 
Honorable 0. A. Neal- Mqe 2 

nWhe,re the automobile or automobiles are owned by the 

Sherirt or his Deputies, they shall be allowed four (4#) 

cents for eaoh mile traveled in the disoharge of offlola 

business, whloh sum shall cover all expenses of tha malntenanoe, ~depreoiatlon and operation of suoh automobile. 

Suoh mileage shall be reported end paid In the same manner 

presoribed for other allowable expenses under %he provisions 

0r this seotlon. No automobile shall be allowed ‘for any 

Deputy Sheriff eroept those regularly employed in’ outside 

work. It shall be the diity of then County Auditor, ir eny, 

otherwise the Commissioners’ Court, to &eok the speedometer 

reading of each of said automobiles, owned by the oounty 

onoe eaoh month end to keep e publio reoord thereof; no 

automobile owned by the county shall be used for any private 

purpose .” 

In the light of that poriion of Seotlon b of’ Artiole 

3899 of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, whloh provides: 

“. . . The Commissioners’ Court of the County oi the 

Sheriff’s resldenoe mn~ upon the written end sworn epplloetlon of suoh orfloer, stating the neoesslty therefor, allow 

one or more eutomoblles to be ilsed~ bfr the Sheriff in the 

disoharge or oftiolel business. . . .* 

It is the opinion of this Department end you may be so 

advised that the statute vests with the Cormeisaioners’ Court the 

right end duty, in aoting upon the written end sworn epplloet ion 

of tba sherirr, to eieroise its administrative dlsoretion es to 

the necessity for snoh expenditure end euoh body may or may not 

allow., in pursuenoe of its delegated duties, one or more automoM;;isto be use! by the Sherifr in the disoharge or his orrloial 

It aooordinglJr follows, that in the event that the 

Commlailoners* ,Court, 52 the exerolse of its dlaoretion, round 

that there~ wee _8 nsoessl$y f’or the use of only ‘two automobiles 

by ths Sharlffts Department of Ellis County that said Commissionera’ 

Court would not be, as a matter of law, obligated to allow or 

approve additional expenditures for the use of other end additional 

automobiles by the Sheriff of said County in the disoherge of his 

offlolal duties. 

Truating,thet this will satisfactorily enswer your 

question, we remain 

Yours very truly 

APPROVED DEC.4, 1939 

(8) Gerald 0. Mann ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS APFRCWED 

opinion oommitte 

EC:AMIK BY -By BWB 

Edger Cele ohairman 

Assistant .’