OFFICE OF THE A?TORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Bon. (kargs H. Shep~aml 

CoBlptroller Of Pub110 kcoounts 

Austin, 'bra8 

opinion Ro. O-2002 

met b%lximum 0 

?a orricio oomp 

a been rsoelred and 

iv0 quote rr0m 

orCollm3tor to gou 

rhloh you sncloss 

tion under 

o the Sheriff, 

l-8' court tar 

68 or ad 00urt 

~a1 0x-0rf i0i0 

e Jaonthly Be) authora amount wa8 paid 

Xn other words 

lowed under brt. 25891, but in figuring ths marlmum re68 the auaitw for the county 00ntsmIs 
Hon. George FL L:hepperd, E'age 2 

distriot and county court, servlnp all eleotiona notices, etc. as ex officio salery and 

paid out of the 7snerel fund of the county 

should be figured in along vilth the other fees 

or office in oarputlng the raxlmum rees or 

.$3000.00 rrhloh ;rt. 30EZi and art. 3891 authorizes him to receive. Put the Eherllt, Tax 

Assessor and Collector contends thet this 

$1000.00 as ax olfloio salary allowed him 

under Art. 3934 for performing the duties 

speolrled under said article as sherirr should 

not be sdded in as a part of the fees authorioed under art. 3883 and 3891. In other words 

he ccntends that he should reoelve the $1000.00 

aa ex officio salary as sherlfl, since it was 

allcsved by the oommiesioners court, End also 

the $3000.00 of raxlmum fees allowed under 

Artlolo 3883 icr aasesslnfi, and oolleotlng. 

Sheriff, Tax ~aeessor-Colleotor in surrounding 

counties under 25,000 populaticn aro receiving 

the j1000.00 ex officio, besides xmrlmum fees 

for collecting and assessing as ccntended by 

this orflce.* 

Seotlon I0 of krtlole 8 of the Texas Constitution 

reads as follovfe: 

"The sheriff of eaoh county, in addition 

to his other duties, shall be the ac6essor and 

collector of taxes therefor; but, in oountles 

having ten thousand (10,000) or more inhebl- 

,tants, to be determined by the last preoeding 

census of the ;inited Yt.ates, an assessor and 

collector for taxes shall be elected to hold 

ofrice for two (2) years, and until his suooessor shall be elected and qualified." 

Article 7246, Revised Civil Statutes, reads as 

follows: 

*In eaah county having less than ten 

thousand (10,000) inhabitants, the sherlrf 

of such county shell be the assessor and 

collector or taxes, and shall have and exercise all the rights, powers snd privileges, 
Ron, George I?. Sheppard, Page 3 

be subjeot to all the requirements and restrictions, and perform all the duties lmposed by law upon cIsscmmrs and collectors; 

and he shall also glra the same bonds required of a collector of taxes elected." 

Artlols 3883, Revised Civil Statutes, reads 

In part as follonsr 

%xospt as otherwise provided in thle 

act, the annual roes that may be retained 

by Rrsoinot, oountg and dlstrlot orflcers 

mentioned in this article shall be as follows: 

*I. xn 00~tie8 00ntddng ttdentprir68 

(25,000) thousand or less lnhabltsnt8: 

County Judge, Mstrlot or Criminal Dlstrlot 

Attorney, Sherlrr, County Clerk, County Attorney, Mstrlat Clerk, Tax Collector, Tax 

AsBeseor, or the Assessor, or the Astaetmor 

and Gol.leotor of Taxes, Twenty-four Eundred 

(1)24G@.GO) Uollars eaoh; Justice or the 

X'eaoe and Constable, helve hundred ($12OO.OG) 

Dollars each." 

Artlole 21691, Revised Civil Statutes, reads in 

part a8 r0ihm: 

*Each uffioer named In this ahapter 

shall first out of the eurrent feeo of his 

offlae pay or be paid the mount allomsd 

him under the pro~lsl~~~? of Artiole 3823, 

together with the salarlee of his assistants 

t nd d~pUti%8, an@ authorized expenses under 

Artiale 3899, and the mount necessary to 

aover costs of premium on whatever surety 

bond nay be required by law. If th4 arrant 

fees of euoh orrfo~ oolleoted in any yeas 

be more than the amount: needed to pay the 

amounts above speelried, same shall be deemed 

8x0~1s~ fees, and shall be disposed of in the 

manner hereinafter f;rovidsd: 
390 

Hon. oeorge B. Shepprd, Page 4 

*Id counties oontalning twenty-five 

thousand (ZS,OC*O) or leas inhabitants, Matrict and County officers named herein shall 

retain one-third of such esoess tees until 

auoh one-third, together with the amouute 

apeoifled in Atilole 3883, alEounto to Three 

Thousand Dollars ($3000). Preainot oifioers 

shall retsin one-third until such one-third, 

together with the account spsclfiad in Artiole 

3889, amounts to fourtan Hundred Dollars 

($1400 1. 

9 . . . . 

Vhe compensations, llmltatlons and marimuus herein fixed in this Aot ior ottloers 

shall lnalude end apply to 811 otiioers mentioned herein in aaoh and every county of thle 

State, and it 1s hereby declared to be the 

IntentIon or the Legislature that ~the provisiona af this Aat shall apply to each or said 

oiiioers, aad any special or general law inaonslstent with the provisions hereof Is 

hereby expressly repealed in so rar as the 

me my be Inconsistent with this sot, 

The compensation, llmltations and tvarlmum8 herein fixed shall also apply to all 

fees and co=pensatlon whatsoever oolleated 

hy said orfieers in their orricial oapaaltp,' 

whether accountable as fees or orrloe under 

t.he present law, and any law, general or 

speofal, to the contrary is hereby expressly 

repealed. The only kind and aharaoter of 

compensation exempt from the g~~~isions ol' 

this Act shall be rewards received by Sheriffs 

ror apprehension of crimluals or fugitives 

irolE justlae and ror the reooverp of stolen 

groserty,.and ~sroneya reaelved by county judges 

aud justices of the peaoe tor perromlng marriage 

oerauionles, which sum shall not be acaountable 

for and not required to be reported as fees OP 

orrice.* 
391 

Hon. George H. Sheppard, Page 5 

tilcle 5895, Tevlsed Civil Statutes, reads 

as r0il0wt3: 

satlon for dx orficio aenioes when, in their 

judgment, such aontpensatlon is neee6sary, provfded. suoh oomeneatfon r0r e2 0frici0 aeryloea~allowed a&all not Increams the owpaasation or the oiiiclal beyond the marlmuf# 

of ompenaation and exoem fee6 allowed~$o be 

retained by hia under tbi h pt P ~ldd 

however. the ex officio h% a~dorl~e~ shall 

ii allowed only after in op+tunltf for a 

public hearing and only upon the effinnatlve 

vote of at leaat three members of the acealeslonere * aourt. m (undetsoorlng oura) 

Art&la S92%, Revised Civil Statutes, reads a8 

*Sheriffa shall alrro reeelve the tollowlag aonqmmationat 

*l. For all prooess iscrued from the 

Supmxw Court or dourts.oi Civil Appeals and 

served by theai, the same rees a8 are allowed 

them ror slatilar seryioe upcm prooesa issued 

from the dlstrlat court. 

"I?, For stamaoaing jurcea in district and 

corliit'g'eourt13, serving all deation notloea, 

notloee to overaeera OS roads and doing all 

other publio business sot otherwise provided 

for, not ezeeedlng one thousand dollars per 

annum to.be fixed by the ocmml8elonera* oourt 
392 

Zen. Qeor&e R. Sheppard, Page 6 

at the,sane time other ex oifiolo ealaries 

are fined. and to be paid out of the aenarel 

funds of the county: -rovided. that no such 

Sheriff who had reoel!~db~~lary 

ex officio salary sha 

allowed by law.* [underscoring ours) 

This department has repeatedly held that the 

offioe Of Sherlfi ena Tax GoUeotor in oounties having 

a population of less than lO$NO Inhabitants is one lnseparable ortlce under the Constitution. See oplnlon 

Xo. 1715, dated Uaroh 2, 1917, written by Hon. 0. '19. 

Taylor and Hon. C. 1:. Cureton, Awietante dttotiey General, 

moorded in Vol. 49, Page 12, Reaords of the Attorney 

Oeneml of Texas. 

Thin department baa repeatedly held that In 

counties having a population OS less tha,n 10,000 lnhabltents when, the offloe of Sheriff-Tax %aeeeaor-Colleotor 

Is combined In one offloe and held bye One officer that 

said officer la entitled to retain only one marlmum 

salary and is not entitled to three UBX~IINUW. See opinion 

of thle department, dated June 29, 1956, written by Eon. 

Joe J. Alsup, Assistant d-ttorney General, and reoorded 

In Vol. 372, page 458, Letter Opinions of the Attorney 

General of Teras. 

The aase oi $errant County vs. %lth (CIT. App.- 

BYit or Error rerueed) ;Bl SW 26 559, holds that a eherlrr 

who had already earned the m.axtium oomp8n8atlon allowed 

by law was required to return amount aolleated as ex 

offlalo oapensatlon, although such ~UIQ had been ordersd 

paid by eontnlesloners~ oovrt. Vi% qUOt8 iTOm said OaS8 

as followsr 

"The Sheriff was paid in advknoe In 

192S by the conw&ealonerat court $300 as 

%I 0rri0i0 reef8 for summoning jurors. R.S. 

Al-t. 3934. That year he mde h%s max5mus1 

oompensation or $6000 exolu6Llve of that 

$800. In such event it was his duty, under 

suoh above statute, to return the $SOO to 

the county. He did not do so. This holding 
393 

Ron. George B. Sheppard, Page 7 

does not amount to setting aside the Judgment Gf the oomnissioner6~ oourt whioh ordered the $000 paid. Me a86ume that judgvient 

t7 be valid. By the SUb6OqUent @vents), towit, the collection otherwise and thereafter 

of the maximum pay, IQ. <h beoame obligated to return that 1110ney.~ 

You are respeotrullg adviaed that it is the 

o inion of this department that the sum of Three ThoUsand 

(%SOOO.OO). Collars i6 the maximum amount that the SheriffTax A6seSaOr~OlleCtOr or Crane County is allowed to rotaia for the year 1939 Under the faots et&ad in your 

latter. The sherlfr would not be entitled to any ex 

affiaio salary in suoh inatande but if ft had been pald 

to him he would be required to rettlrn it to the oounty. 

Any and all 6m6 In exoess of #SOOO.OO rsosived by the 

6heriff should be returned to the county. 

Trusting that thie sati6faatorily anBwer8 yOaUr 

inquiry, we are 

Very truly yours 

A!lT’OW-RAlOFTBXdS _ 

APPROVECMAR 22, 1340 

---+-Md 

ATTORNEY GEWERAL OB TEXAS