March 6, 1952 

Hon. Sam #. Davis Opinion No. V-1415 

Mstrict Attorney 

Houston 2, Texas Re: Authority of the commissioners’ court to expend 

county funds to pay expenses for members of the 

county juvenile department 

to attend a national conference of juvenile agenDear Sir: ties. 

You have reauested an ovinlon of this office with regard to the authority- for 

the expenzes of members of the county 

partment . . . while attending State 

meetings of Institutes or Conventions, 

direct bearing on juvenile problems. 

payment of 

juvenile deor National 

which have a 

It was held in Attorney General’s Opinion 

0-810 (1939) that Article 3899, V.C.S., providing 

for payment of “all reasonable expenses necessary in 

the proper and legal conduct” of various district and 

county offices did not include expenses incurred by 

the various officers in attending their respective 

officers ’ conventions. In this opinion it was said: 

?ie are unable to find any statutory 

authority authorizing the commissioners’ 

court to pay the expenses of the above named 

officers to their respective officers’ conventions, and though reasonable in amount, 

under the statutes referred to, such expenses would not under the authorities cited 

be ‘necessary in the proper and legal conduct of their respective offices.’ 

This opinion has been repeatedly followed 

in subsequent opinions which hold that a county cannot, in the absence of statutory authority, pay the 

expenses incurred by an officer while attending a 

~~~~e,;"'~;27"5t~~4~~n'OO-~~gti 

O-2117 (1940), O-4483 

o-6920’(1946), and v-?% (1948 

1943), O-6599 (194'j), 
Hon. Sam W. Davis, page 2 (V-1415) 

In Attorney General's Opinion O-5275 (1943), 

a question almost Identical to that presented in your 

inquiry was asked by the county auditor of Tarrant 

county. It was there held that the commissioners' 

court of Tarrant County was not authorized to expend 

county funds for the purpose of paying expenses of 

the members of the Tarrant County juvenile department in attending national conventions of juvenile 

agencies. This holding was based upon a lack of statutory authority for such an expenditure. 

The statute involved in Opinion O-5275 was 

Article 5142b, V.C.S. The statute here involved is 

Article 5142a, V.C.S., but we are unable to find any 

difference in statutory language which would permit 

the payment of such expenses to members of the probation department of Harris County. It is therefore 

our opinion that Opinion O-5275 is applicable to your 

question. 

In view of the foregoing, we agree with 

your conclusion that the commissioners' court has no 

authority to defray the expenses of members of the 

probation department of Harris County in attending 

national conventions of juvenile agencies. 

SUMMARY 

The Legislature has not granted the 

commissioners' court of Harris County the 

authority to defray expenses of the probation department of Harris County in attending national conventions of juvenile agencies. 

Yours very truly, 

APPROVZD: 

J. C. Davis, Jr. 

County Affairs Mvlsion 

PRICE DARIIEL 

Attorney General 

E. Jacobson 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D. Mathews 

First Assistant 

By&eeF 

Assistant 

JR:mh