.’ 

Honorable Ereston Smith 

Governor of Texas 

Capitol Building 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. M-505 

Re: Construction of House Bill 

895, Acts of the 6lst Legislature, Regular Session, 

Dear Governor Smith: 

Chapter 812, page 2425, relating to the Texas Civil 

Judicial Council. 

Your request for an opinion asks the following questions relating to terms of office of members of the Texas 

Civil Judicial Council: 

,. . "1 . Does Section 2, in providing for four 

(4) year terms for two Justices of the Courts of 

Civil Appeals and two presiding judges of the 

administrative judicial districts violate Article 

16, Section 30 of the Texas Constitution? 

"2. If so, are the above four (4) year terms 

authorized by Article 16, Section 30a of the Texas 

Constitution? 

“3. If there is a conflict with either of 

the above Constitutional provisions, may the 

above appointlve members of the Civil Judicial 

COunCil be aDDOinted for two 

the authority-of Article 16, 

Constitution." 

Section 2 of House Bill 895, Acts of the 61z.t #Legislature, Regular Session, Ch. 812, P. 2425, amends Section 3 of 

Article 2328a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, so as to provide in part 

as follows: 

"Sec. 3. The ex officio members of the 

Council shall consist of the following: (1) 

the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, 

who shall remain a member as long aa he holds 

-2421- 
Hon. Preston Smith, page 2 (~-505) 

the position of Chief Justice; (2) two Justices 

of the Courts of Civil Appeals, to be designated 

by the Governor for overlapping four-year terms, 

one to be designated in January, 1971, for a 

four-year term and one to be designated in 

January, 1973, for a four-year term with the 

replacement in each case to be designated by 

the Governcr in January of odd-numbered years; 

(3) two presiding judges of the administrative 

judicial districts, to be designated by the Governor for four-year terms, one to be designated 

in January, 1971, for a four-year term and one 

to be designated in January, 1973, for a fouryear term, with the replacement in each case to 

be designated by the Governor in January of oddnumbered years; (4) the Chairman and the Immediate 

past Chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee; 

and (5) the Chairman and the immediate past Chairman 

of the House Judiciary Committee. . . .' 

Ex-officio members of a board do not hold separate 

and distinct offices. Rather, the same constitutes additional 

duties Imposed upon an officeholder. 

S-94 (1953) and M-47 (1967). 

Attorney General's Opinions 

(1953), it Is stated: 

In Attorney General's Opinion S-94 

"The ex-officio duties of the members of the 

Texas Highway Commission are additional duties required to be performed by such officers without additional compensation. Therefore, acts of the exofficio members of the Board of Directors of the 

Texas Turnpike Authority are by virtue of the duties 

imposed on Highway Commissioners. The act does not 

create a separate and distinct office Insofar as it 

applies to such members, and Sections 33 and 40 of 

Article XVI of the Constitution of Texas have no application. Jones v. Alexander, 122 Tex. 328, 59 

S.W.2d 1080 (1933); Eucaline Medicine Co. v. Standard 

Investment Co., 25 S.W.2d 2% Tex.Clv.App. error ref., 

1930) Irwin v. State, 147 Tex.Crim. 6, 177 S.W.2d 

970 (i944). Therefore, the performance of such exofficio duties would not violate the provisions of 

Sections 33 and 40 of Article XVI of the Constitution 

of Texas. 

"The Constitutional oath required of the exofficio Directors of the Texas Turnpike Authority 

is the same oath that such Highway Commissioners 

have already taken. Therefore, It would be a 

meaningless thing to require them to again take 

the same oath upon assuming their additional 

duties. Furthermore, as stated above the members 

of the Texas Highway Commission hold only one office." 

-2422- 
Hon. Preston Smith, page 3 (M-505) 

The same principle applies to the ex-officio members 

of the Texas Civil Judicial Council. Therefore, in answer to 

your first and second questions, their term of office is not 

governed by the provisions of Section 30 or 30a of Article 

XVI of the Constitution of Texas for the reason that the same 

is not a separate and distinct office. 

In answer to your third question, Section 4 of 

Article 2328a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, as amended by House 

Bill 895, supra, provides in part: 

"Sec. 4. The appolntive members of the 

Council shall consist of nine resident citizens 

of the State of Texas, seven of whom shall be 

members of the State Bar of Texas and two of 

whom shall be persons not licensed to practice 

law, including at least one who is by profession 

a journalist. The Governor of Texas shall select 

the appointive members of the Council for sixyear overlapping terms, three to be appointed 

to serve until July 1, i975, three to serve until 

July 1, 1977, and three to serve until July 1, 

1979, and thereafter their successors shall be 

appointed for terms of six years; provided that 

appointive members of the Council holding office 

on the effective date cf this Act shall continue 

in office for the balance of the term to which 

they were appointed, and their successors shall 

be selected in the manner and for the term herein 

provided. Vacancies in the appointive membership 

of the Council shall be filled by appoint?ent Of 

the Governor for the unexpired term only. 

Section 30 of Article XVI of the Constitution of 

Texas provides that the duration of all offices not fixed by 

this Constitution shall never exceed two years. Section 30a 

of Article XVI of the Constitution of Texas provides: 

"The Legislature may provide by law that the 

members of the Board of Regents of the State 

University and boards of trustees or managers of 

the educational, eleemosynary, and penal institutions of the State, and such boards as have been, 

or mav hereafter be established by law, may hold 

their'respective offices for the term of six (6) 

years, one-third of the members of such boards 

to be elected or appointed every two (2) years 

-2423- 
Hon. Preston Smith, page 4 (M-505) 

in such manner as the Legislature may determine; 

vacancies in such offices to be filled as may be 

provided by law, and the Legislature shall enact 

suitable laws to give effect to this section." 

It is noted that Section 4 of Article 2328a as amended 

by House Bill 895 states that the appointive members of the 

Council shall consist of nine resident citizens who hold their 

respective offices for a term of six years, one-third of the 

members to be appointed every two years, to wit: until July 

1, 1975, July 1, 1977 and July 1, 1979. Therefore, Section 4 

complies with the provisions of Section 30a of Article XVI 

of the Constitution of Texas. 

SUMMARY 

The ex-officio members of the Texas Civil 

Judicial Council do not hold separate and distinct 

offices and therefore their terms are not governed 

by the provisions of Sections 30 and 30a of Article 

XVI of the Constitution of Texas. The appointive 

members of the Council serve for a term of six 

years, one-third of the members to be appointed 

every two years. The term of office of such appointive members therefore complies with Section 

30a of Article XVI of the CoTtitution of Texas. 

Prepared by John Reeves 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Kelton, Vice-Chairman 

Harold Kennedy 

Houghton Brownlee, Jr. 

Sarah E. Phillips 

Bill Corbusier 

Jack Dil:ard 

-2424- 
Hon. Preston Smith, page 5 (M-505) 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

-2425-