Court Opinion

ID: 4138709
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2017-02-18 02:39:30.48664+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:31:43.906515
License: Public Domain

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                                     February 5, 1947

         Hon. T. M. Trimble, First Assistant
         State Superintendent of Public Instruction
         Department of Education
         Austin, Texas           A. 0. Opinion No. V-63

                       ,              He:   County Commissioner, au-
                                            thority to serve as trus-          ,
                                            tee of independent school
  id                                        district.
 .?      Dear Sir:
                     We refer ~you to your letter of recent date
           wherein you requested an opinion of this department eon
   - r.i   theYfollowing submitted question:
                                          _
       -- .,
-:                   May a County Commissioner serve at
                the same time as trustee of-an independent
                school district?
                   Article XVI, Section 40, Constitution of Texas,
         reads as follows:
                     "No person shall hold or exercise, at
              : the same time, more than one civil office of
                emolument, except that of . . . county commis-
                si0ni.w . . . I*
                   Dual office holding is expressly forbidden by
         Section 4O;Article XVI of the Constitution where both
         offices are civil offices of emolument. Dual office hold-
         ing is forbidden to an extent at.least by Section 33 of
         Article XVI wherein the accounting'officers of the State
         are forbidden to issue or pay a warrant upon the Treas-
         urer for the paymentsof salary or compensation to a
         civil officer, who at the same time holds another of-
         fice of honor. trust, or profit under the United States
         or the State of Texas.
                    The Constitutional prohibition against the
          holding of more than ~ohe office of emolument (Article
          XVI, Section 40) isinapplicable to the question;under
          consideration     for tvio reasons:     (1) The office    of Coun-
          ty Cmmissiocei       i; expressly   excepted;    (2)   As the
          trustee    serves without    compensation,    his is not an
     Hon.   T. M. Trimble, Page ,2,~v-6)

     office of emolument. State v. Martin, 51 S. W. (2d)
     815; Attorney General Opinion o-3308. And since
     neither a County Commissioner nor a trustee of an in- .
     dependent school district are officers  to be paid out
     .of the State Treasury, we do not believe Article XVI,
     Section 33 of the Texas Constitution is violated un-
     der the facts submitted. Attorney General Opinion Ro.
     O-3308 and O-3352.
               Bowever, it is aiso a fundamental rule'of law
     that one person may not hold at one time two offices,
     the duties of which are incompatlble~,and this princi@s
     applies nhether or notthe office is.named in the excep-
     tion contained in Article.XVI, Section 40, Bieacourt V.
     Parker, 27 Texas 558; State v. Br~inkerhoff,,66Texas 45;
     Thomas v. Abernathy Countg~Line Independent School Dis-
.-   trict; 290 3. W; 152; Attorney General Opinions Numbers
     O-4957 and O-5145. -'Pruitt-v.Glen Rose Independent
     School District, 84 S. W. (Zd) 1004.
               This principle ef flaw, incompatibility of of-
     !&es, is expressed clearly-.in22 R. Ct L. 414, par. 56;
     we quota from Knuckles v. Eoard of Educationof Bell.
     County, (IZentucky)114 3. W. (2d) 511, at page 514.,as
     follows:
                 "One of the most important tests as to
            whether offices are -incompatibleis found in
            the principle that.the incompatibility is rec-
            ognized whenever one is subordinate to the oth-
            er in some ofits important and principal duties,
            or iS subject to supervision by the other, or
            where a contrarity and antagonism would result
            in the attempt by one person to discharge the
            duties of both. Under this