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April 30, 1952

Hon. William H. Davis OpinionNo, V-1451 County Attorney Williamson County Re: Authority of the comGeorgetown,Texas missioners' court to furnish at county expense necessary books and stationery for justices of the peace compensated on a fee Dear Sir: basis.

You have requested an opinion on the following question:

Does the Commissioners'Court have authority to furnish the justicesof the peace such books and stationeryas are necessary in the performance of their duties at the expense of the county, or must they be paid out of the fees of office of the j,ustices of the peace?

You state in your request that the justices of the peace of Williamson County are compensated on a fee basis.

Subdivision (a) of Article 3899,V.C.S., provides in part:

"At the close of eachmonth of his tenure of office, each officernamed hereinwho is compensated on a fee basis shall make. as a Dart of the reoort now reaulred by law, an itemizedand sworn statement of all the actual and necessary expenses incurred by him in the conduct of his office such as stationery, stamps, telephone,premlums on officialslbonds including the cost of suretybonds for his deputies,premium on fire, burglary, theft, robbery insurance protectingp,ublic funds, traveling expenses, and othernecessary expenses; D D DThe amount of such expenses, togetherwiTtheHon. William H. Davis, page 2 (v-1451)

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of salariespaid to assistants,deputies and clerks, shall be paid o,ut of the fees earned by such officer." (Emphasis added.)
Article 3899b,V.C.S., provides in part: f, o o
. such books and stationeryas are necessary in the performance of their duties shall also be f,urnished Justices of the Peace by said CommissionersCo,urt. Provided all purchasesherein must be approved by the CommissionersCourt, and must be made under the provisionsof Article 1659,Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925."

In 2 Sutherland, StatutoryConstruction (3rdEd. 1943) 541, we find the following:

"Generaland special acts may be in pari materia. If so, they should be construed together. Where one statute deals with a subject in general terms, and another dealswith a part of the same subject in a more detailedway, the two shouldbe harmonized if possiblebut if there is any conflict, the latterwill prevail,regardless of whether itwas passedprior to the general statute,unless it appears that the legislature intendedto make the general act controlling." Also, in Townsend v. Terrell, 118Tex. 463, 16 S.W.2d 1063; 1064 (1929),the court said:

1, *

. It is onlywhere acts are so inconsistentas to be irreconcilablethat a repeal by implicationwill be indulged. If there exists such conflict, then there is a presumption of the intention to repeal all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the clear intention of the last act. This isnecessarily truewhere both acts cannot stand as valid enactments.
"Thisrule of constructionhas found frequent and apt ill,ustration where one of the supposedly conflicting statuteswas general in its terms and the other specific.Hon. William H. Davis, page 3 (V-1451)

In such a case it is universallyheld that the specific statutemore clearly evidences the intentionof the Legislature than the general one, and therefore that itwill cdntrol. In such a case both statutesare permitted to stand - the general one applicable to all cases except the particularone embraced in the specific statute. O D *'

See also Sam Bassett Lbr. Co. v. City of Houston, 145 Tex. 492, 198 v. Laughlin, 147 Tex. S.W.2d 879 (1947);Canales 169, 214 S.W.2d 451 (19483 State v. Mauritz-Wells 238 (1943)0 Co., 141 Tex. 634, 175 S.W.2d

Subdivision (a) of Article 3899 requires county and precinct officers on a fee basis to make a monthly itemizationof expense incurredby the officer before the enumeratedexpenses contained thereinwill be allowed. Pierson, Justice of the Peace v. Galveston County 131 S.W.2d 27 (Tex,Civ. App. 1939). This article furiher provides that 'such expenses shall be paid out of the fees earnedby such officer{," while Article 3899b authorizes 'booksand stationery to be furnished justicesof the peace by the commissioners' court at county expense.

Inasmuch as the relevant portion of Article 3899b is specific in nature applying to certain supplies of the justicesof the peace and more clearly evidences the intention of the Legislature than the general provisions found in subdivision (a) of Article 3899 applying to all expenses of co,unty and precinct officers, and sinceArticle 3899b is the latest expression of the Legislature on the subject (reenacted in 1945 wascomparedwith Article 3899, last enacted in 194lj, it is our opinion that the specific provision of Article 3899b will prevail.

Therefore,we agreewith your conclusion that the commissioners'court of Williamson County is authorized to furnish books and stationery to justicesof the peace at co,unty expense as provided by Article 3899b.Hon. WilliamH. Davis, page 4 (v-1451)

SUMMARY
Justices of the peace compensated on a fee basis may be furnishedbooks and stationery at county expense. Article 3899b, V.C.S.

Yours very truly,

APPROVED: PRICEDANIEL Attorney General J. C. Davis, Jr. County Affairs Division
Mary K. Wall Reviewing Assistant
Charles D. Mathews First Assistant B*ev* Assistant

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