Zion.x. PredOCH
Qounty Auditor
Oalreaton~cmlllty
galTe8ton.mxar
Dear slrt OQinbn Ho. O-3922
Rbt BeOtiOn 3 Of 3.B. 409,
49th Logielaturaia U-
oon8tltutional.
YorV rcrquost for o~ltaionhas boon reoelved and
~nf~lly 6onaid8rd by this bpartaent. m quoto from
yeur requoat as roUowat
“An AOt, dolrignated$onato Bill no. 469,
paseed at the Regular seesion of’the 49th
Logialatum WWI approved by the @overnor 0%
fun0 lOth, iou, efrootivoJanuary let, 19z;e.
I lno lo 80a 0Op yo f thfa la w,
*i!WOtiOtt
(IOf this Act, &WCYidaf~iOr th
ps~nunt of finea and feea in mledeaeanor oama,
jurt@diotlonaf whloh~is truutwred to tho
County Oowt of Oalniuton tmattty,and all finem
and foes paid to be doposited to the oredit of
the Road & Brldgo md. Thi.8@Mien further
providoo that tho t)oantytud@ and the GOtlnty
alsrk shall oaoh be allowed the mm of $$oo.OO
per annum, payable in nwnthly installments,to
be paid out of the Road & Bridge #und, ~4% 8anm
tq be addItiona& oompwnsationto tho pI(wcIQLuQ
now reooived by said offlolals out or the
Offioerst salary Bund. Prevision ir rurthor
mde for an additional deputy olerk,at a sal-
ary not to atoeod $l23.G0 per nontb, and tlzltt
~;lao to bo paid out of the Road & Bridp
.
*your opinLon ie reepeotfullyrequested
with seferenoe to my authority to sign uarrantr
for the extra ooapenaationto the offioia~m
named in view of the prorimlon in tho Qftlcerrt
BOIL.I. Prsdeold, pago 2
Salary L8w enaoted at the Seoond Galled
~eeion of the 44th Loglalatun, same
being Sonato Bill No. 6, Ghapter 443.
seotion 13 of tho Salary Law prmidor
for tho payment o? an anntml salary in
twolvo equal lnatallmentanot ?m exoeed
tho -0-t roooivod by the oifioorrrnamed
in ea ld8oation undrr la wslxirting AUgwt
24th. 1938. sootion 13, parograph (k), pro-
rldoa no Offioor ahall rsoeivo any ox-
oiiioio oomponsationwhere aald orrioem ia
ba8io.
on a fialar~~
-lsindlyadeu me with ref0rwl00 te
th0 above IL& ii th0 prori#iorkmin Senate
Bill NO. 469 aro not in oonfliot ulth the
oxi8tiag lawwhioh pro+i&oa ior their ooa-
pwutation.*
8atato till 469, 49th Legislatun of TBxao, r8adB
In part aa roilowrt
3, peg0 64 of tha ape0
of the ReqgularSeerion of the 43rd Lagiulaturot
1933, be and it ie hereby ammUle& M) a8 to
hereafter maa a0 roliomt
of the flroaland 3pooial Law6 of Texas L)rs-d
at the Regular gerritinof tho Sand Legi~1atQ.r~
rolatlng to and or~~rtingthe a~o~ty~Oa~ Of
QslvelrtonCounty at Lawn are hereby ropoaled,-
2. That the jurlrdlotion0r
-'t$49otlon
t GOWt of OdrOStOti Gouaty at LPW"
be
thsand it fa hereby.voatedin the Count CoUrti
"Gouh .
of c?alveetoncounty, ~eras, and all arri
ii
I and
process heretororo Issued by said *County Oourt
i
Eon. 11 Predeoki, Pwm 3
of (wlro#4oaCountyet Lnw and all writs
and procreesin misdemeanor oaaoa heretororo
issued by or out of the Dirtriot Court of
the Tenth.JudioialDietriOt of Texae be and
the wwi ark her@bg mado returnmblo to tho
GOUtlty court of Galreaton aounty, mxaa.
l'8eotlon S. at1 auma reoeired in pay-
men% of rzaimand too8 in all auoh mlodOmOanor
canoe, the jurirdiotionof whioh ie hereby
trawforred to the County Court of t%&rOeton
mi&Umnor’ caeoa a9d ,&Ml be in a
all salt&o* now being pal6 bo euoh offlosre
frcm %ha 6fticurt Salary Lund of said 6ounty.
The uountp lerk or wl?eston county &all
ha70 autho t to a point an additional D9 Utf
40* to &o .ubg mi8tMmoanor earat. &
paid a aalqy net to oxOoodOae Hundnd
rmllum per mm&h bf
mnty-fiva (#lerS.OO)
eaid oounty iron the ‘Road and Bridge Fund of
aeid County.'
=SOO~ 4, The hot, that tni8domwtMr
oatma %E DO*handled with more disg+Qah Una
more eoonormtaallyin the dounty Court and
the orowded oonditlon of tha oalondU Weate
an emorgenay and an imperativepublio iwoeewity
that the @nstitutional Rule roQufririgafi
bills to be reed on threa sO~esa1 daye b0 aua-
pendOd, and 9uah yule la 8uspended,and this
~0% ahd.1 trim effect and be in for00 rpara
MCI after January 1, 19&a, and it in ma
onaotcfd. (1
geotfon 28 of m*iole 5 of our Qtata ConstitUtioa,
grants authority to the legirlatureto inoroaS0, dimimioirb
528
Boa. I. Predeoki, Page 4
or ohango the oiril and oriminal jurisdiotionof oeunty
oourts by either looal or general law. Seotions 1 and ‘1
2 or the above quotea act are hhererorrmlia.
Bowowtr, seOti0n 3 0r the a0t pr0~fdlng ai-
tional oompsnsationfor the county clerk and county
judge, and providing for the appointmentof an addi-
tional deputy olerk and the payment of a salary to suoh
deputy, is oleerly unoonstitutionalas a looal or speoisl
law attempting to regulate the affairs of a oouaty and
where a general law aan be made apr.lioable.Almost ths
identioalprooodurewas condemned in the ease of ~uolos
vs. Harris County, 251 8. wo.569, affirmed by Buprems Court
in 269 S. W. 362. Also sao the oases of Altgelt VS.
Qutaeit, 189 9. w. 232, arfirmod by gupreao Court in
201 s. W. 400$ ward vs. Barrim county, 809 5. W. 9941
and tho rooont ease or Miller ot sl ~8~ 7~lpa8o county
150 8. w. (8d LOGO, ,.guprome Gourt of Texaa-opfaioa as*
livered by Ghl0r Justf00 Aloundsr).
you are therefore rospootfullyadvised that it
in the opinion or this departmentthst aeotion 3 of ,the
abate quoted act Is unoonstitutlonaland that you would
hare no authority to sign or approve warrant8 fox tho
items mentioned in said seation.
very tray yours