## THE A~TV~RNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUS.X.XN.

I'exal~78711 November 27, 1967

Hon. Robert S. Calvert OpinionNo. N-161 Comptroller of PublicAccounts State Capitol Re: Whether there is preAustin, Texas existing law for the payment of submitted claims 

### forperdiem, by a retired Justice of the Court of CivilAppeals, on an assignment for holding court in a District Court not covering the county of his resiDear Mr. Calvert: dence.

By recent letter to this officeyou have requested an opinion in regard to the abwe statedmatter. We quote, in part, fromyour letter as follows:

"Thisdepartmenthas received two claims for $25.00 per day under the prwisions 

### of Senate Bill 349,Acts of the 57th Legislature, Codified as Article 200a, R.C.S., Section 2a. Subsection (41, for a retired Justice of a Court of CivilAppeals, on an assignmentby the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court under Senate Bill 397,Acts of the 60th Legislature ,&o a District Court other t&an one including the county ofhis residenced "Thisquestion has arisen in this aepartment; Is there a pre-existing law for the payment of these claims as the Judge is not a retired District Judge?" Article 2OOa,Vernon's Civil Statutes, alsoknown as the Administrative JudicialAct, among other things, authorizes per diem expenditures for judges who are assigned to

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sit in other districts or counties. Subsection (4) of Section 2a of Article 2OOa, is quoted, in part, as follavs:

"

. . . judges who are required to hold court outside their own districts ana out of their awn counties under the provisions of this Act, shall receive a per diem of Twenty-five ($25.00)Dollars for each day, or fraction thereof,which they spend outside their said districts and countiee in the performance of their duties;
. . . .'I Article 2OOa, standing alone applies only to District Judges, and the Judge is a recent retired Court of Civil Ap- - peals Judge,Lsee Attorney General's OpinionNo. M-151 (1967)/, having retired on September 1, 1967,~ under the provisions of Article 622813,

Vernon's Civil Statutes, as amendedby Senate Bill 397,Acts 60th Legislature,Regulal:8eBsion;,1967,chapter 346, page 820. The amendmentwas effectiveJune 8, 1967.

Section 7 of Senate Bill 397 is quoted. in part, as follows:

”

. . . Anv oersonwho has retired under the Drwisions of this Judicial Retirement Act &t. 6228b.V.C.S./ mav elect inwriting addressed to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court within ninety (90)days after such retirement, orwithin ninety (90)clays after the effective date of this amended Section,wbichever is the later date, to continue as a iudicial officer, inwhich instance thev shall, with their own consent to each assignment,be subject to assisnmentbv the Chief Justice of the Surxeme Court to sit in anv court of this state of the same disnitv. or lesser, as that fromwhich thev retired, and if in a District Court, under the same rules as providedbv the presentAdministrative JudicialAct, &t. ZOOa,V.C.SJ and while so assigned, shall have all the powers of judges thereof.
. . .'I (Emphasisadded.)

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Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 3 (M-161)

The underlined portion of Section 7 clearly authorizes retired judges of the appellate courts, such as the judge in question, to sit as a district judge under the provisions ofArticle 200a,V.C.S.

ConstruingArticles 200a and 6228b. as amended, together, we are of the opinion that there is pre-existing statutory authority to pay the per diem claims as set out inyour opinion request. SUMMARY

Article 6228b,V.C.S., as amended,which authorizes retired appellate judges to serve as district judges, under the authority of Article ZOOa,V.C.S., authorizes payment of tiie per diem claims of a retired appellate judge under the facts as submitted. trulyyours,

z-w= C. MARTIN ',General

of ,Texas Preparedby James C. McCoy Assistant Attorney General APPRCVRD: OPINIONCOMMITTEE Hawthorne Phillips,Chairman Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman W. V. Geppert Arthur Sandlin Malcolm Quick Charles Rose A. J. CARUBBI, JR. Staff Legal Assistant

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