R-247
Hon. Jep S. Fuller Opinion No. V-117
County Attorney
Jefferson County Re: Legality of a school trus-
Beaumont, Texas tee’s nephew’s wife being
employed as teacher in the
school under the Nepotism
Statute.
Dear Sir:
You request an opinion from this department upon the
above subject matter in the following statement:
“One of the Board members of the Port Arthur
Independent School District, Mr. C. T. Weatherall,
has asked that I get a ruling on one of his problems
to see if it is in conflict with the Nepotism laws.
You may know Mr. Weatherall. He is Vice Presi-
dent in the First National Bank here in Port Arthur.
“He was elected to membership on the Board
of Education for a three year term in April, 1946.
Last Fall, probably in October or November, his
nephew married one of our school teachers. This
nephew is the son of his brother. Of course the
nephew’s wife is not related by blood in any degree.
Of course this situation did not exist when Mr. Wea-
therall was elected to the Board, but he would like
to have the matter straightened out before beginning
another school year.”
Article 432 of the Penal Code commonly known as the
Anti-Nepotism Statute is as follows:
‘No officer of this State or any officer of any
district, county, city, precinct, school district, or
other municipal subdivision of this State, or any of-
ficer or member of any State, district, county, city,
school district or other municipal board, or judge of
any court, created by or under authority of any gen-
eral or special law of this State, or any member of
the Legislature, shall appoint, or vote for, or con-
firm the appointment to any office, position, clerk-
ship, employment or duty, of any person related
Hon. Jep S. Fuller, Page 2 Opinion No. V-l!7
, within the second degree by affinity or within tha
third degree by conaangSrft$ tothe psrsoa IQ sp-
pointing o,i # ve@t%g, e? to aaty other member of
&ny such board. ths Legislature, or court of whibh
such person so appointing or voting may be a memb
ber, when the salary, fees, or compensation of such
appointee is to be paid for,~directly or mdirectly,
out’of or f,rom publis funds Q$ fees of office of any
:i,,
kind or character whatsaever~,” *
.. .t
The rule, for determining affinity relationship was stated
~,,’ by this department in Opinion No. O-7516:
At common law, the term has been vari-
6.
. . .
ously .deflned as the connection existing in conse-
quence of marriage between each of the married
persons and the kindred of,the other; the cotulec-
tion formed by marriage which places the husband
in ‘the same degme to ule blodd relations of the
.
wife as that in which she herself stands towards
them and gives the wife the same connection with
the blood r&t&a of *a hugband, .the relation con-
tracted hr ,mar?siage I&wee& a hushand and his
wife’s kif&&!e# M betwee@, a wtie ~&ad her hua-
band’s kindrbi$ in~eontrcdis~$in&ion from conaan-
gum&y, or rclbtion by blood; the retationship which
brise,s by marriage between one of. the parties and
the blood relations of the other; the fSe which arisas
from~the marriagei betwqen %e hueband and the blood
relations of the. wife, land between the wife and the
blood relations of the hugbar&’
The trustee, Mr, Weatherall, .is not related by blood to.
his nephew’s wife; He $s, how4v4ri r,elated 3a her by affinity within
the second degree hechu.se hs is fhc bkood relative of his nephew.
Therefore, under the rule above pronounced,lhe is related by af-
finity to his nephew’s wife within the second de,gree and the situs-
tion comes within the prohibition of the Nepotism Statute.
A s.ohool truote~a of Post, &$tur Independent
School District is related by affinity wfthin the set-
cond degree to a teacher who is his nephew’s wife,
within the Anti-Nepotism law -- Article 432 of the
Penal Code.
Yours very truly,
APPROVED ATTGRNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
OF TEXAS Assistant ’
OS: lh: sl
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