OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Eionorabla8. T. Ualters
County Auditor
smith county
Tyler, TexaI)
Dear Sfr:
Your repuert r0r 0p
carefullyoonaideredby thle
your request aa follOwa:
th County are oompensat-
ema Snlary Iat.
Texas ZIOFany county &all be abarged with or
pay to any of the officers 80 compensated,any
fee or oommia~lon for the performanoe of any
or all of the duties of their offioes but auoh
offloers shall rt?OeiQe eald salary in lieu of
all other fees, oo4nmlrsions or oompen8ation
whlah they would othervisebe authoriced to
1
Honorable B. T. Valtera, page 2
retain; provided, houevec, that the assessor
and oolleotor of taxes shall oontinue to ool-
loot end retain for the benefit of the Offioera'
Salary Fund or funds hereinafterprovided for
all fees and oommlraionavhlch he is authorized
under l&u to oolleat; and it shall be hla duty
to aoaount for and to pay all au& monies re-
aeived by him into the fund created and movld-
Seation 5 of Artiole 59l2e, Vernon’s Annotated Texas
Civil Statutea, reads 1x1part a8 follouar
"It shall be the duty of all orfi$era to
oharm and eolleat in the mnner authorlred
Y lav all fees and oo~~~A#Slo~.vhlohare per-
mlttsd by lav to be assessed and aolleoted for
wmfomned b? them.
all offlalal ler via e As
end uhen muah fee8 are colleated they alaall
be deDo#ited In the Offlaeral SalAry Fun& or
funda provided in thla Aat. . . .”
Artiole 5561, Revised Civil Qtatutee of Te%aa, reada
as followa:
“Offlaer.a and jury fees. In auoh aaaea the
offiaera ahell be allowed the same fees aa are
now alloued for alallar aervloea performed in
miadeamnor oaaea end the jurors ahall eaah be
allowed a fee of One ($1.00) Doller, to be paid
out of the estate of the defendant, If he have
an estate, othervise by the aotmty on aoaounta
approved by the aounty judge." (This utiole
appeara in the chapter relating to lunacy prooeed-
inga and ia the uosta allowed offiaera and jurora
in lunaoy prweedlnga. The fees allowed the of-
ficers in luneoy oaaea are tued as aoata In the
oatbe.
)
Honorable B. t. Waltera, pa(&e3
Lunaoy prooeedlngaare of a aivil, and are not of
a arlmlnal nature - inaanltq ia not a orlmet in aontra-
diattnotionit la a dlaeaae - White vs. lfhlte,196 S. Y.
508 (sup. ct. or Tex.).
A lunroy proaeeding la a olvil, and not queal orl-
mlnal, proceeding. Bx Part6 Singleton, Court of Crlmlnal Ap-
peals, 141 s. Y. 123.
In Oplnlon lo. O-259, thla departmentheld, (UOA&
other thhga, that a lunaay proeeedlng vaa a alvil oases
that the fees due a aounty clerk in lunao7 aaaea~~aoata
, in a civil oaaei that if the defendant in lunacy had no ea-
tate the alork ahould oolleot hlr aoata in the aaae from
the aount7 from the general fund0s the oount7 and alnee
the alerkwu opesatlng under the Offlaera* Salary Uvhe
should plaoe luoh pqment of aorta into the Offiaera' 8alar7
Fund 0s the aount7. Thla Ye tblnk auffloientil7 enavers 7our
question with refereaae to the aount7 olerk and Ye enaloae
herevith a aopf 0s Opinion MO. O-259.
It rouowa andit Is our rwa8r opinionthat the
samerule vould lppl7 to the oounty attonoy of slith Couu-
t7*
UJFtdb
Enoloaure
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion