Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable A. P. ?restwood County faUltor &ii2 .cGzz Dear Sirr opinion O-190 lie:Whether tSO.00 allowe 60 County 5uperlntendentsfor expewes under Artiole 8700, Hevine Civil Statutes, 1988,ooven only traveling and oar expeano, or both traveling lrpenae and oftloe expense. your roquent r0r an opinion rr0rn this depert- mant by latter of Yay 16, read8 am follow: *iteieringto Artiale BOO0 LC.9. 1QSS relative to Salary bnd Rxperme ellowed Gnmty superintendent. me county superintendent0r smith county ia allowed rm the State end County Atailable tiU fSO.00 per month for expwaes. WCll you please give m8 a rul- .$nguhether or not thlr,ooveml o travellug and bar expeaae of dose "'it oover o ffio slxpeme ae wall.' Artiole e700, Berind civil Statutes of 198% xhloh 6ekmlne8 the anausl salary to be paid the CoUaty Buparlnteadsnt8,band on the 8oholastlo poplatlon of their rupeative eountlbs, oontains the following ralo- rant pxwinlous pertaining60 the expensea or the County Superlntendentsr Inmakingthe annual Honorabh A. P. Prertuood,May es, 1939, Page Q sohoole, the oounty sohool trustees shall el8o make an annual ellowanor out ot the State a.d county arell- able funds for mlary and expenses 0r the orrioe or the oountp superln- tendent, end the same ah~llbe pm- rated to the eohoola OaaIng under the supervisionor the oounty sohool map- erlntendent. . .The oounty board of trustee6 may make auoh rurther prori- slon ea it deem neoe,saaryror orrloe and traveling 'expense8ior the county maperlntendentand any aeslstant hs may hare; provided that erpenbiturea ror orrloe and traveling expenses ahall not exoeed three hundred dol- lars per mama, and the county board of trustees amy make 9rovlslon for the *aploymentof a oompetent ataaist- ant ior the county superintendentwho shall, %n addition to Us other du- ties, aot aa attendanceorrioer; . . .* The ftetlaedCivil Statute8 or 1911, &W.ole Z9S8, hot8 Or 1907, oontalned the follOwi.ugprovlalonr -. . .that the county ruperintendent ahall be allowed eny sum not to ex- oeeQ One Hundred Dollars per year ror stsmpi,,8tatlonary,expressage and prlntlngta be paid by the Camnlaalon- em* Court out or the oounty general fund. . .” &IOtraveling experue wao thus allowed, and auoh expense of orfioe was rertrloteato suoh olseslrlOatlons89 rlmllar to the ltmms Hated. By the Aot@ of 1920, Third Called Seaalon, Chapter 67, the Legislatureevidently seeing that this $100.00 per year lxpeuee WM Inadequate,+d that the County superintenawt wan put to quite an expeziseln going frm oae lohool to another In hia oouuty, amended Art1014 E7SS Retimed CIrIl Statutes, 1911, making auoh expense proviaions read substantiallythe mama as nov appear in the Aot8 or 1923, our present Article 8700, Revised Civil Statutes, 192S. . . Honorable A. P. ?restwood,May 83, 1939, Page b It will be noted that sinoe the amendment aa oolltalnedla Artlole Q700,.to the Aots of 1907, Artlol~ BIZR) Rmiaed Clrll Statutes, 1911, the aounty tntateea are dlreoted to m&e an annual allowanoe out 0r thm State and oounty available nulls for salary and expenses or the orrio 0r tba County Superintendent. TboLegla- la&U% no doubt intended for the vmrds "expenaea"otthe offloeW to be siren a liberal and broad meaning. It does not appear, hover, that ths Loglelature intended to ~oontlneauoh srponse to traveling expense, or to re- atriot suoh expenseto thoee ltuus formerly enumerated, ltrlotly speakinfgf~e~4-;y~ht~ $Ggyswe stsmpe and the 1 aoastrue the antlre'Aotto allow reaaonebleand neoia- lary expenses inaurre4 in the legal and proper~~oonbot of the ofrloe or County Superlntenden$. Thie TIOW i8 6upported also by the provlelon in the atatuta which liepitsthe amount of 8uoh expendituresmade by the Cou&ty Superintendent,end with any aeellrtant., if any, whloh provides 9hat expenditureafor offloe and trav- ellng expenses shall not axoeed Three Hundred-%llara,* . . . (undemoor6 ours). Our attention is also Oe.lledto the followlug *orda of the Oaptlon of the bill enaotea in 1980 at the Third Called Sea81on,Chapter 37, whioh reed: "An Aot to ameod Xrtiole Q7SS8,. . . relating,60 the nliwles or said OQUXI~JSuperintendents of pub110 in- ltruotlon, lnoreaalngthe aalariea or aald county Superlntendente,pm- tiding for QfriOe aad tmTeli!I& OX- pansem;...W We think the language oontalned in Art1010 Q900 1s oloar as to the llmlt that 0811be set aalde by the county trustees and expended by the County Superin- tend&,, whether suoh OOTem stationary aa stumps or lxponmesof tmTo1, or uhether he has an assistant or notr Reading the Aot as b whole, lt is evidentthat tha pmrlalon llaltlng expenditureato Three Hundred Dollar8per mmuo fbr otfloe and travellng.expenaea, ap- plies to the term ~expeuaea or the orrloe or the county without dlstlngulkhlngbatrrsen exponw Superint.and.uW laourred while tMTeliI@ and purely OfZioe expense, It la, therefore, the oplnlon or this depart- meut that any mm, not to oxoeed Three Hundred Dollars Honorable A. P. Prestuood,Xay 2.5,1939, Page 4 per annum, ellowod ES lxponaes under the prorlelonaof Ar- tiole 8700, devised Civil Statutes, 1925, would oovmr and lnolude both tmTelbg and oirloe expense. Trusting the ebOTe ammra your question, we re- Mill Yours Tery truly BY APPROVED: