($1200.00)per year.
OpinionNo. O-4776 of this departmentholds that the commissioners' court of sectorCounty,Texas, a fee county,having a populationof less than 20,000 inhabitantsaccordingto the last precedingFederalCensus,could not employa stenographerfor the county judge or the conmissionerscourt, This opinionholds howeverthat the ccmmissi~ners~ court of Ector County could au- thorizethe county judge of such countyto appointa clerk.
We encloseherewithcopies of OpinionsNos. o-1620,O-187& O-1930 and O-4776.
Subdivision(a) of Section13 of Article3912e, Vernon'sAnnotated Texas Civil Statutes,applicableto countieshaving a populationof 20,000in- habitantsor.moreand less than 190,000inhabitants,accordingto the last pre- cedingFederalCensus,is applicableto Bowie County,Texas, a countywithin the above populationbrackets,and said subdivisionreads as follows:
"The ccmmissionerslcourt may authorizethe employmentof a stenographerby the countyjudge and pay for such servicesout of the generalfund of the county to an amount not to exceed Twelve Hundred ($1200.00)Dollarsper year."
It is our opinionthat the only stenographerauthorizedby law for any Bowie County officialis the stenographerfor the county judge described in the next above quoted subdivision,No stenographercould be.employedby any county officialof Bowie County exceptfor the county judge. The sum of $1200.00per annum is the limit which could be paid to the Bowie CountyJudge's stenographer.It is also discretionary with the ccaunissioners' court of Bowie County as to whetherthey will authorizethe county judge to employ such steno- graph-. Hon. J. D. Looney,page 5 (O-5388)
It is our opinionthat it is discretionary with the commissioners' court as to whether it will authorizethe employmentof extra or additional deputies,assistantsand clerksfor the various countyofficialsduring the time the regulardeputies,assistantsand clerksmay be on vacations. In the absenceof authorizationof the canmissioners court as outlinedby Arti- cle~3902,V.A.C.S.,supra, such extra help could not be paid for from the Officers'Salary Fund of the county. On the other hand if properlyauthor- ized by the conanissioners~court under Article 3902, V.A.C.S.,supra, such additionaldeputies,clerksand assistantswould be entitledto be paid from the Officers'Salary Fund of your county.
Very truly yours,
ATTOEEEYGENE&U,OF TEEAS
By /s/ Wm. J. Fanning Wm. J, Fanning,Assistant
@PROVEDJUN 24, 19b3 /s/ Grover Sellers FIBSTASSISTANTATTOBliEYGEEERAL
&PlZOi'EDt OPINiON' C-TEE BP: BWB,.QIAIIWLN
Enclosures