Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-03
COUNTY OFFICERS FEES.


The following opinion of Attorney-General
Hart as to the effect of the new Constitution
upon special fee and salary laws passed before
its adoption, and as to the extent of the
power of Boards of Supervisors in fixing the
compensation of county and township Off
GERS, will be of interest to county officers
AMI Supervisors throughout the State, as
large numbers OF letters are constantly being
received by the Attorney General upon the
subject:
SACRAMENTO. July 9, 1880.
James Branham, Esq, District Attorney
of I4aSsen county-Dear Sir Your letter of
the l4th ult, is now before me, and in reply
beg leave to say that the inquiry contained in
that letter involves two questions, both of
which, being matters about which there has
been no judicial determination, are somewhat
difficult of solution. The officers Of your
county, as appears from your letter, have
hitherto acted under special fee and salary
law, and the Legislature at its last session did
not repeal that law. The question is as to
the proper construction to be given to SUBJ
division q of Section 40f6 of the Political Code,
as amended at the lastsession of the Legislature,
which provides that the Board of Supervis-
ors shall have power to fix the compensa-
ton of all county and township officers not
otherwise paid" IL constituting that section
it will not do to eliminate from the section
or totally disregard the words mot other
wise paid, +" for those words operate to limit
the power of the Board, and the only ques-
ton is as to the meaning of those words.
To me it is evident that the Legislature never
intended by this provision to give to the
Board of Supervisors of county the power
to practically repeal an Act of the Legisla-
ture by providing for officers p compensation
different from that which the statute pre-
scribes. By the words not otherwise paid
it is evidently meant to limit the power
of the Board to those cases where the Lsgis-
lature has not provided means of payment,
or, in other words, where the compensation
and its mode of payment has not been fixed
by the statute. The provision was adopted
out of an abundance of caution, aud IN view
of the entire change in our organic system
recently made, in order that oversight
should occur in adapting the laws to the new
system there would be some means left by
which all omitted officer, or officers :" not
otherwise paid, might be provided for. |
am therefore of the opinion that your Board
of Supervisors has no power to fix the COM
pensation of any county or township officer
whose compensation is now fixed by statute.
Such being the case it only remains to be
determined whether or not your special fee
aud salary law was repealed by the Constltu-
ton. The only provision of the Constitution
with which special fee and salary laws have
been claimed to be inconsistent is Section %
of Article ". That sectioE provides that
the Legislature "shall not pass local or
special laws affecting the fees or salary Of
any officer. 1t does not provide that all
local and special laws previously passed upon
that subject are repealed. 1t simply pre-
scribes what the Legislature may do in the
future, and in nay opinion operates only as a
limitation or restriction upon future local or
special legislation. In order to be inconsist-
ent with that provision within the meaning
aud intent of Section l of Article xxi. of
the Constitution it is my opinion that it
would be necessary that the law should
undertake to authorize that which that
section prohibits, that is, that it should
provide that those things might be done
by the Legislature which the Constitution
says that the Legislature shall not do. 1t is
my opinion that your special law is rot re-
pealed by the provisions of the Constitution
above named, and if it has not been other
wise repealed, that the Board of Supervisors
of your county have no power to fix the COM
pensation of any officer whose fees and salary
are fixed by that or any other existing stat
ute | have the honor to be, yours respect
fully, A L. HART, Attorney General.