OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
HonorableYalker Carrron
Cogaty Attorney IiudepethCounty
Warra Bluma. +exa*
Dear Sir:
y under iaote
Into tho offioa ln
0 hia office fmm
tb very little fee6 edng in,
r having eolleotea all ooaeirr-
raaete before ho went QUO,or
salonerrv Courtb, in tier of tie88
e8lreo to allow tho slurliT a 8alarf
for ,ex-offioio mr110~8, an4 ha6 reque8ted me to ob-
tain 'anopinion rrom four office a8 to the 18gallty.
The feea and ~X~WMI feea ~1 tbie of'fioebars far
IB~WIX~ year8 reaohd the mxlmue au0-a ondex
hrtmaa ~8635*ad swi, ana ei0e88 r8s8 hare t34308
returned to the county, ot the ecd OS the yeer. * * **
You further atate that by the end ot the yea the
amount of raeo oclleetedby the office ~111 probablf sroeed tha
mxinum but not untll arts Ootober, and that ior the rlrat ati
months they hasteamuntx? to lees tbran0~00.00. The Qaaraiaalon-
era' Court wm.aBIlikr to allow oompem3.&loaSor ax-4ffieio aerv-
ioas not to 6xaeed $1,000.
Under the above etatsb raat8, you r*qu%LitOW opti-
ion aa to whether the CoPmissionera'Court may legelly allew
the payment 0r oompeneationr0r sx-ofsio~o a6nlaea to the oi-
rieu in thin tnatanoe.
ArtioLe SBS3, Vernoa*a Annotated Cir%l Statutea,
pr5v1ars aa iollew*r
‘“ifhe ConnrLaaiomra~Court ia hereby iIebmre4
rrolp allowl* iwmpensatlonfor epofifolo aenl~~a
se agusty offieirla when the wwf+nafitio~-a er**aa
tees which thry sra ailme k, xatah ~a#ioUn&eh
tha asdmum prottad r0r in thi8 ehaptes. In maea
where the c+Mqenaatlonaad exeeea feea *B&ah tba
officer8 are all0wOd to xetab ohall not paoh, the
mmlmwa pmvtdea ror in this ohapta, tBr Qcmula-
aionera* aotm asall allow bcnapenaatiaa fop 4sx-offtoi6
lsmLw8 when, in their JutQsoitt,~ auoh aoxpoaaetfon
i8 n8868itaxy,proriaad,auoa 00qnmetIan to* ox
offlsln senlaoa all&w4 ah&l& net inWeaae the Ooa-
pcmaation or the official bomk4 aha mum of ew-
psnaation and oxoeoa feea allowed to~be rehalacidby
him antler this chapter, Pmvlded, hWeV&, ,thr 6X
offiale herein authoris ahall ?m allare only after
ln qpptmtunlty rcw P pub110 heuarfngeMI sllrjr upen the
8fUxmatite wite of at hart threm aedera Of th0
aesnala~i~owra' oourt.*
%%e pmhlbitiim a @ a in8t lllewfag aerp*nBclfl,oa fOP
en-offtol~ rmiae8 to county offi6tpl* soatafned in the &we
ltatnte boaoma iffedtivcr only ~%hoa thr eempeaeefionen4 eI-
aeaa feea whloh they axe allowed tar .retalnabd.~ Mach t&e
rParimU &WOridedfef in thia ohrsptaT.*
In ems11 oomfle8, where the offioera are oompea-
rated en a fee boalo, rash a8 your8, a oouatp offlaer oanmot
buteW* Uaoil near the olow 0r the ri8cal year whether hi*
fee8 of offioe will be auffloient,after all lawful 8xp8mm8
have beon deducted, to mke the maximum salary allowed tc~be
retained by him. tlowarer, the offfoer, for lnatenoe the sherirr,
has been ronderlng to the county lx-ofiloi~ servloes trolp t&,
wry beginnlns of the year, therefore, it i8 the aomoa and
lawful praatloe r0r oonrPf8alooera* owarts, upon applioatloa
of oountl offloerr, to fir thrlr reapsotlre ex-offloio eaapon-
8atlon in ;Iamary for the entire current year. But where this
Proaedum 18 riotfollowed or rhea a0 8uoh oompeaaationhaa at
euoh a tti been fixed for a&~ officer, or haa be- i&x@ xor
80~~ offleaa bat not Sor all, it 1s legal far the awwaiaaio~ra~
OOUlTt at a later tlati to fti such otxapeu~tf~, u Q& thefr
Witmont such ooazxmmtlaa is neoesaary, rar theeoflioera
wha hew not ?wm theretcmre allowed aaoh oompenemtion.
Opinion Ao. 84M9, a oopy oi whiah la hemlth e.noloaeU.
It appaara ~fror J~UF letter that no order has here-
tofore been mad@by the ~daalo~ero* aeart of four uouatt
with nf brenoe to ex-offiolo eoagenaatlon ‘to tba ohexit? for
the aurrent year, therafore that orrlasr htaa not been paid any
auah ottqpenaatloa for aa part of the ourrent T-P. Vnodrrthe?*
faota, JOP are adtlaed .t L t the aazmdaalon*ra* court, upon a
plloation by the sheriff, aad upen 00 lianae with Art1ola &es.
nay enter an owlor gmnting th4 um~ Y w thin the rtatatory llait
tl%otl by Art. %%.
You are'rarther alvise that, un4lerfbhoSoalia Hated.
in the lostant oaee, the eOm8lS8lOner8' 0
Ita~arderretroaatlveto SanUary 1, 194S.
lQ6 %x88 564, 16T 8. 1. 810, ,/ OT
aa order allowin oompcuu4tlonfor thb resrrfaiW
part of this year. If tke&er la ma&8 retroaotireto ~afM&aF~ 1,
tb ~hr~ff fraythan bo issued a warrant rer tha month8 that
hwe elapsed since that bat*. Honever., ii tha ordor is pros-
peatite and oaly ror the rmaiaber 02 the Yea*, tb roarinrrrp
b 8p a id th eeheriff oannot lx o a ed
fo r a w o ne
(1 008, beaaaSe &tiale MS54 @pr@fiieaq m-
ia the MXISUVA amount that may be d&Owed a
ohfliff p* *mw *a eompnaatloa for ex-erilols aenloea- ft
fellow* that wh*re lao& ~rpeaaatloa 18 allow& for al tW@
l*a# tw QM pm the fuu aompenaatlon for one mar MY @nlY
b0 proporti0n8.u~auowd.
In view of the facto in the inattintease, me
i,n&dvanoe ex-offi~locoqensation to g akeriff wiw a~u%vBepanrntly
~aba the nerximm corngenaatlon allowed by law to be retained by
him for that yesrr,aralualv~al the ex-oriloio eompenaation paid
hkP bl the county, that if bso&ar hia duty to return the amount
of ex-oitiaio oompenaationao reoeived to tha ownty, and, upon
hia teilure to do ao. the oounty bad a oauaa of aotlon agr.inst
h&an&ah$a bondamen-forMS an&u& ao unlorwfully ratal&.
8rrant Co nty. et al. v. tbllia. et al.76 8. W.
(84) 198,‘amor dia~aaed.
ihi8re enaloslng 8 oopy of our Opinion Bo. O-4500,
\ which wa d2sousaed (Ialsll8r qaeatlon and reaobed the aame
~~~lualanexpraeaad in thla opinion.
Your0 very traly,
E. R. 3imwna
Asalatant