E TT~WNETXT GENE
OF XAS

AusTliu 11. TEXAS

September 20, 1961

Mr. Dan Sullivan 1144 Oninion No. WW-+$&+ District Attorney 109th JudicialDistrict Andrews, Texas Re:

Dear Mr. Sullivan: Whether Andrews County can legally supplement the salary of the District Attorney for the 109th JudicialDistrict and related questions.

You have requested this

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. . . _ office for an opinion on the questions OS wnetner or not Anctrews County,Winkler County, and Crane County can legally supplement the salary of the District Attorney for the 109th JudicialDistrict, and, if so, to what extent can such counties legally supplement the salary of the District Attorney. In this same connectionyou raised the question of what effect, if any, results from the enactment of House Bill 758, Acts of the 57th Legislature,Regular Session, 1961, Chapter 502, page 1111.

Article 326k-24,Vernon's Civil Statutes,provides that:

"Section 1. The DistrictAttorney of the 109th JudicialDistrict shallbe compensated for his servicesby an annual salary in an amount not to exceed the salarypaid to the highest paid County Attorney of any county in the said 109th J udicial District. [Emphasisadded)

"Section 2. The CommissionersCourts of the counties comprising the 109th JudicialDistrict are hereby authorized to pay the supplement to the salarypaid the Distribt Attorney by the State in such amount that the total salarypaid such District Attorney shall not exceed the maximum prescribed in Section 1 of thisAct. (Emphasisadded)

"Section3. The supplemental salary to be paid the District Attorney of the 109th JudicialDistrictbv the CommissionersCourts of the counties comprising said District shall be paid on'a pro rata basis according to the population of each county listed in th 1 t precedingFederal Census." (Emphasiszdd:i)HonorableDan Sullivan,page 2 (WW-1444)

The provisions of Article 326k-24 clearly indicate that Andrews County,Winkler County, and Crane County, comprising the 109th JudicialDistrict, and acting through their respectiveCommissionersCourts, are authorized to supplement the salary of the DistrictAttorney of the 109th Judicial District.

However, this authorization to supplement the salary of the District Attorney of the 109th JudicialDistrict Is in turn limitedby the provisions of Article 326k-24. As a result of such limitations,the CommissionersCourts of Andrews County, Winkler County, and Crane County are only authorized to supplement the salary of the District Attorney of the 109th Judicial District, over and above the amount paid such District Attorney by the State, in an amount whereby the total salarypaid such DistrictAttorney shall not exceed the salarypaid to the highest paid County Attorney of any county comprising the 109th JudicialDistrict.

In addition, any such supplemental salarypaid to the DistrictAttorney of the 109th JudicialDistrict by the Commlssioners Courts of the counties comprising such JudicialDistrict shallbe paid by such counties on a pro rata basis according to the population of each county listed in the last precedingFederal Census.

House Bill 758, Acts 57th Legislature,Regular Session, 1961, Chapter 502, page 1111 provides in Section 1 that:

"In each county of the State of Texas having
a population of not less than thirteen thousand, three hundred and eighty (13,380)and not more than thirteen thousand, sevenhundred (13,700) according to the lastpreceding Federal Census, the county and district officials are to be compensated as determinedby the Commissioners Courts in an amount not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($lO,OOO),provided no salary shallbe set at a figure lower than that actuallypaid
on the effectivedate of this Act."

As both Andrews County (Pop. 13,450) and Winkler County (Pop. 13,652)would fall within the populationbracket set forth in House Bill 758, the provisions of House Bill 758 would be applicable to Andrews County and Winkler County. Consequently, neitherAndrews County nor Winkler County can compensate their county or district officials in an amount exceedingTen Thousand Dollars ($lO,OOO),unless at the effectivedate of House Bill 758 such county or district officialswere being compensated at a rate in excess of such amount, In which event, suchHonorable Dan Sullivan,page 3 (WW-1444)

salary shall not be set at a figure lower than that actually paid on the effectivedate of House Bill 758.

The effect of House Bill 758upon Article 326k-24 is to set the maximum compensationwhich couldbe paid to the County Attorney of Andrews County and Winkler County, and this in turn would bear upon the maximum supplementwhich could be paid to the District Attorney of the 109th JudicialDistrict by the counties comprising such JudicialDistrict.

SUMMARY

Andrews County, Winkler County, and Crane County may le,gally supplement the salary of the District Attorney of the 109th JudicialDistrict, but such supplement is limited to the extent that such DistrictAttorney's total salary cannot exceed the salarypaid to the highest paid County Attorney of any county comprising the 109th Judicial District. Since House Bill 758 sets the maximum compensationwhich can be paid county and district officials in Andrews County and Winkler County, such limitationwould affect the maximum supplementwhich couldbe paid the District Attorney of the 109th JudicialDistrict by the counties comprising such JudicialDistrict.

Yours very truly,

WILL WILSON Attorney General

PB:lgh/ds Pat Bailey Assistant

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Riley Eugene Fletcher J. C. Davis 3. T. Walker T. B. Wright
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.