The Attorney General bf Texas 

August 20, 1980 

Honorable Ben Z. Grant, Chairman 

Judiciary Committee 

House of Representatives 

P. 0. Box 2910 

Austin, Texas 78769 

Dear Representative Grant: 

Opinion No. MW-230 

Re: Whether a schoolteacher may 

receive compensation for service 

as a member of a city council 

You inform us that two school teachers employed and paid by the 

Angleton Independent School District have been elected to the Argleton 

City Council. You ask whether it violates article XVI, section 40 ‘of ‘the 

Texas Constitution for these persons to receive payment for city council 

service. 

Thk office addressed a similar question in Attorney General Opinion 

Ii-6 (19731, which concluded that a junior college teacher paid by the State 

could serve as a member of the commissioners court only if he renounced his 

salary for service as a commissioner. This conclusion was based on the 

following language of article XVI, section 40: 

State employees op other individuals who receive 

all ap part of their compensation either directly or 

indirectly from funds of the State of Texas and who 

are not State officers, shall not be barred from 

serve as membq of the governing bodies of school 

districts, cities, towns, or other local governmental 

districts; provided, however, that su?h State 

employees or other individuals shall receive no salary 

for servirg es members of such governing bodies. 

Tex. Const., art. XVI, S40. The reason@ of Attorney General Opinion H-6 

is applicable to your question. A teacher k indirectly paid in part by the 

state, and may serve on a city council only if he receives no salary for the 

latter service. See ako Letter Advisory No. 29 0973). We note that your 

question and our response are limited to a city’s payment of salary to a city 

councilman, and neither the question nor the answer extends to any 

legitimate reimbursement of expenses. 

p. 731 
Honorable Ben 2. Grant, Chairman - Page Two (Mw-230) 

The district court decision in Hairgrove v. Pasadena Independent School District 

is not inconsistent with our answer to your question. Hairgrove v. Pasadena 

Independent School District, Cause No. 79-27154, District Court of Harris County, 

T29th Judicial District of Texas, Seotember 10, 1979. In that case a teacher emoloved 

by an independent school district was also a.salaried member of the Pasadena City 

Council. When the sdiool district became aware that he received compensation for 

serving on the city council, it withheld his salary. The teacher sued for back pay and 

won. The judgment stated that “Article 16, Section 40 does not empower P.I.S.D. to 

withhold Plaintiff’s school teacher salary.” Article XVI, section 40 bars the teacher 

from receiving compensation for his service on the governing body of a city but it does 

not affect his compensation for State employment as a teacher. Thus, the court 

considered a different question from the one you asked, and its decision does not 

affect our answer to your inquiry. 

SUMMARY 

Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution permits a 

school teacher paid from state funds to serve as a city council 

member only if he receives no compensation for the city council 

service. 

Very truly yours, // 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Susan Garrison 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMHTEE 

C. Robert Heath, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Walter Davis 

Susan Garrison 

Rick Gilpin 

Bruce Youngblood 

P- 732