95
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Eonorablo Luther C. Johnrton
Qountr Attorney
AlaorBoa county
Falortlnr, Taar
Dear Sir+‘--
iroionerr*
oon~uao-
lo, to lp -
ii0 0r ti00f
e5gloy a ngular
file oiricer to
State regrlsting
or vahlolir
~LdSbldlOlt
a54 Artlol*l~
'8 Annotated Civil Statutrcl,
sr8 Court o? uah oountf,
ction with the @,rriif, aa
than two (8) regular depot i 88,
vto (8) rbditional drputlrm ror
r to db balb regular deputies,
ounty trarrio ofiioerr to on-
y(;larn of thl8 State rogulet-
80 or tht rub% bijPlrrafr br notor
rehiol88. Sal& dsputier rhall br, ‘MWiOr@t
pnotloablo, aotorogole rfdsrr, 8ml 8hrll b8
Th6y 8hal1 give bon6 rab t&k. Oath
of oiflb as Other deputier, ThaY SW be
dismirmd eoa arrvlor on rrgucrrt or th@ Shor-
1st wjenrvrr approved by thm C~Bdon~rg
i 1
Iionorablb Luther C. John&on, pag8 L
OOott, Of by said Court On it8 OUQ ititibtit8,
rhumver their lenlorr am no longor wodod
or ha+8 not br8a ratlrfaotory. The oomnl88lon-
US hUTt rhall tix t:;8ir OOEip8liMtiOZi prior to
their 8.bOtiOn, and Say prorid. at th8 lXp8n8,
. Th@ WY Of Sbid dO~Uth8 8hdll irot
br 1nOludOd in the 8cttlOment8 0t the Sharltt
Inlo o o untl4for the ferr or offlae. For the
PurQW5C, of thf8 law, the Con5i8rloner8 Court8
oi oouotier whole iWId8 from the rotor reglotra-
tion tear provided heroin aumauntto Thl,rtf
Thou8and Dollara (#SC 000) or ov8r, MI ~88
R io lt~oeOdi4 fiV0 (6f POT OWtt Of raid fWid8t
Utd IlOt t0 0X080& 8OV8a and one-half (9&) per
obnt Ot aoh fund8 in OOUBtiO8 rocrlrlng a
h88rr amoMt from ruoh rrgiatratlon. Said
dOpUtir8 8hall at au time8 000 OTat8 with
the olioe drpartmnt oi @aoh oPty or town
tit J a th* eountr, in the enioroonmnt of raid
tTJfi0 law8 therain &rid in all Oth@r part8
of the County, and 8ha11right have thr 8am
an& duty to arrmt violator8 of all law8 a8
other Deputy Sh@rlff@ hf~ve.~ (Underroorlng.
Ow8)
Artlola 6699a read8 a8 ronon:
"Deputler 8hall bo peld a 8tiarr out of
thr %*BOTd 8ouaty fund no tto lxo~od oa* hua-
dlW6 lBd tittt (t.lf#) dollar8 POT BiOBth, the
raluy to ba fixsd br the 000PLi88iOnOr8’ oourt,
u14 in lddltlotheroto n the oommirrionerr’
oourt ia herobf luthorlaod to,Tgrorldr at the
lxQoa80 of thr oounty 8uoh nOO888Ur \111iiO&?Ii8,
eap8 and badgrr, 8uOh badgO t0 be Dot 1088
than two inoh. by thro. inoh. in d%iWWion8,
and other neorrrar~ lqulpniont, to iBOlude a notor-
eyole and it8 msint~abnor, a8 i8 arOMMW iOr
thm to birohmgo their dutle8, ThO 8tiRrl.8
paid to said doputler aotlng as 8uoh bl@W
offioer rhall be pal6 d~irsot to raid d*pUth8
br tha oonml~elonorm’ oourt, and 8uoh mlarie8
8htil be independent or any ralarr or ior paid
I: . 9
;-
Eonor6blm Luther C. Johnrtoa, pago 5
to the rhrrlf? and all O? hl8 dOpUtl@8 not 80
lotlng a8 highwar orrloerr, and the rherlir
rhall not be required to aooouat ior the ral-
ui@S provldcd iOr herrin aa ?0@8 of oitloo or
a8 SalarY to thr 8hOTii? of hi8 other demtlar.
&oh 46titier UI are wovldrd for herelne8haU
'be appointad by the oommlrelonmrr~~oourt md 6s
dovutlrrd by oithu the rhari?? or any oonstabla
of tha oounty in whloh thou are appointrdi and
no other ofriaers ohall make arrelts ln thlr
bate for vlolatioa of law8 rvlatlns to high-
way8 now in rffeot in thlr State. Such doputlrs
a8 ~rovldrd ? h i fill t all tlma when
in tho prr?o~fIatitr~?at~eIfr dttlcr wear e ?ull
unlioriwlth 8 osp rnd badge, the bsd@ to bb
di8Fhpd on the outride OS the uniiorm in a
OOnlpiOUOU8 QhCO. Such O??lcerr 8kiall r6.zaln
I
in Md UpoIl th6 highrar, 6ad 6t 6l.l t&l68 pa-
trol the 8am while in the per?onriimor of their
dutlO8, oaly 1~6~1~ the hl@mmy tc) purru6 64
otisndrr who& ruch orrloer8 were unable to ap-
prehend upon the highwar ltwl?. Fo arrest by
any muoh oftloer rhall be binding or valid up
on the porron apprehended it the o??loar mkiag
suoh arrest waa la hiding or it h6 ret a trap
to apprrhsad pU8OIi8 traveling upon thr hfkh-
100 ?eO8 OF OhU(r88 WhqteVU shell b8
3 ror the sorvloa 0r ruoh O??iO6r8 Frovidsd
for huola, nor Mmll my ime for the arrobts
madr by ruoh OrriO4r8 br ohrged and taxed a8
008tr or pal4 to 8wh 0rfi00m in any oaao in
whioh ruoh otiiorrr rhall nnlcr en arrort. Suoh
oftioerr Sh!bll per?om 611 their dutl.8 and
make arrest8 for vlolrtloa of MI law o? thir
State appertaining to the ooatrol and re8ule
tloa o? vrhlole8 operating in and up~n~~~~~l~!h-
way, rtrret, or 6116y Of this Stat..
trlot lngla6tr in wl:osO dlrtrlot the oountJ in
which 8uoh offioero operats shdll advi80 with
8ueh offlour a8 to the la ?Or O~~B Ot fthe VaT-
four state law8 ~utalalag to oontrol and regu
lrtlon or tratflo upon thr hl6haa~8 and in 0666
8uoh OfiiOU8 rhall aot pertona thrjr but108 in
e&orolng muoh laW8, th@ di8tTiot eadka8* ml
f F i
Aonorablr Luther C. Johnrtoa, peg4 4
ooaplaln to thr oommleeionere~ oourt, and upon the
fIl%ng of euoh oomvlalnt In writing duly elgned by
the dietrlot lng lneer the , oommIee;onere’ oourt
@hall lummone before them for a hearing the officer
or offloere to oomplaIned of, e.na If euoh hearing
derelope that euoh officer or offioere are not per-
forming their dutiee at required of them, then
luoh offlosr or offiorre the11 lmnodlately be dle-
oharged from all of th4Ir dutlee and powrre et
heroin provided for, end other offloere lhall
forthwlth br lppolntad. Should any portion or
trotion of thle art1014 be held Invclld or unoon-
etltutional, euoh holding ehall not aff4ot the
velldity or oonetItutIonellty of any other por-
tion of thle ertlole, and 8.11 other portlone not
held invalid or unoonetltutlonal ehall remain in
full foror and effeot.’ (Undereoorlng ours)
drtlolee 6699 and 6699a (Aote 1925, p. 2021 of Vernon’e
Annotated Olvll Strtutee, oonetrued together teem to Indloate that
the oommlttlOn@rt' oourt may act in OonJunotlon with either the
eherlff of the county or P oonetable in appolntlng oounty trafflo
offIorre. Let us exaslnr thr 1eglelatIve hletorp of thee8 artlolee
and aetermlne vhbther or not thla It a proper oonetruotlon to be
given them.
ArtIole 6699 of the Revised Civil Btatuteb of Texae,
1926 flret beoame the law In thle Stat0 la 1919 by an lot of
the 56th LegIelatur4 (Aott 1919, oh; X2?, p. 228). Thle rot oon-
ferrrd on the oommleeIoner~’ court the right ‘to employ one or
more SpeoIal Deputy SherIfle* to be eateIgned to work under the
dIreotIon of the lherlff of the County.’ Thhr purpoee vat to
lIneure the adequate rnforoement of the Srafflo Law8 of thle
Stat., end rep4oIell~ the lare re latlng the uee of motor ve-
hlolee and motoroyolee on the pub Ylo hlghwaje, . . . and alto
the Act8 regulating the uee of the publio hlghwaye br motor
vrhlolee. . .’ Sea. 1, Ch. 127, Aote 1919.
Srotlon 3 of the Aot provided that,
*The number of tald offIoere and the length of their
lenIoe ehall be determined by the CommleeIonere~ Court,
rotlng In OonJunotlon rlth the Bherlff of the County,
ml ther ehall be required to give bond and take osth
of offioe at other Deputlee. They may be dIemIeeed
from ler r lo eon requeet of the Sheriff, whensver ap-
.-
91
Honorable Luther C. Johnston, page 6
proved by the CoewIe~lonere~ Court, or by the Com-
mIeeIoneret Court upon their own lnltlatlve, when-
ever their etrvIoce are no longer net&e&, or hpve
not been ertiefactory. . . .’
Rote that the act in lte entirety dealt with decrutr
ehcrlff~ end dose not mention oonetsblee or deputy oonetablee.
Sea. 4 of the Aot (and thle 3s Inportent) provided
on17 for the mneetiog and gaulnmr& of euoh deputq sheriffs
In the following language!
‘Tht ooopeneetlon of e&Id deputlee shell be
flxtd by the CommIeeIonere~ Court prior to their
eeleotIon, nnd In edElt!on thereto raid Commleeion-
lce~ Court shall be authoriced to provide, et the
expense c? the County, necereer~ equipment for tale
offloere to enable them to dleoherge their dutIee.
The per of mid deputies ehfill not be lnoludea in
the eettlemsnte of the Sheriff in eocountlng for
the ices of offloe, but shell be Independent thereof.a
In 1925 the L+glelature oodlfIed Chapter 127 In its en-
tirety at Artlole 6699. Thle ertlole ee et the time of oodlfloa-
tlnn eppearr on pegs8 1 ma 2 of thle oplnlon, with the trotp
tlon of the portion undtreoortd, whloh u&e provided bv an anend-
mtnt oi’ 1947. .
Then eeet eceelon of the Le .lele.ture that codlfled Chep-
ter 127 of tht Aote of 1919 ea Artlo I e:~6699,-enaoted Artlole
6699a. Thle Aot wee ohrpter 52, p. 202, of the hots cf 1925. It
beoatee effeotlve 90 days after adJourmenb (Yeroh 19, 1925) or
June 16th. Until th*t dete Chapttr 127 elone vet the law. From
that hate untll Beptenbw let, 1925, the effeotlve date of the
Retlead Clrjl Btstutee, Chspter 127 and Chapter 56 (Art. 6599s)
were both thr l&w lx o epinsofart It the letter reoeeled the for-
mer.
Under Chanter 104 of tht Aote of 1925, the eu~ervieor
of the oodIfloe.tIon”wee req,uIred to lneert therein note of the
SQth Ltglelature (1986) whioh modlfitd my artlole, ohapttr or
title of the oode, but which were not express amendn4nte or re-
lnnotmente thereof. Consequently, Artlole 66991 rat atrely In-
serted In the oodlfIoatIon after Art. 6699, llthough the Act
purports to emend Chsnter 127 of the Aote of the 36th Ltglelature,
J
Honorable Luther C. Johnston, oege 6
vhloh broom8 Artlole 5699.
According to lte o&ptIon hrtlclt 659Qa (Ch. 58, Act@,
1925) vat *An eot amcndlng Ch. 127 of the 9entral Lava of the
Regular BeeeIon of the Thirty-sixth Legleleture, r’olatlng to
blahvaz pff IctrQ. ’ (Smpbosle eddta) It will be remembered that
the only hlgbvay offloere ret forth In Ch. 127, however, were
eoeolrl d~e3uty sherlffe oppolnted by the ooomIeeIonere~ court
in oonjunotlnn with the lherlff.
The oaptlon loeolfied the purposes of the amendment
et
to at to require the veering of unlforeke and
ktdiei; and req?lIrlng euoh offIoere to patrol the
publio highways in the performanoe of their dutlee;
flxlng and providing for the payment of lalarlee of
euoh offloors, . . .’
In other words, the oaptlon of this enactment (I%. 58,
Aote 1925) gave notice simply that the purpose of the aot was to
provide unlforme, preecrlbe duties end flx oompeneatlon of the
offloere deelgnated In the act amended, Ch. 127, Aote 1919. The
body of the aot, bowever,, amended not Chepttr 127 in lte entirety
but only eeotlon 4 thereof (vhloh we recall related Q& to oom-
peneatlon of epeolol deputy eherlffe.)
In eddition to providing for uniforms, duties and oom-
penration, the body of the sot added the following matter, no men-
tion of ‘vtrloh It wade In the onptlon;
#Suoh deputlee at are provided for herein shall
be ~epppaIntea by tht ooaaleeIonere’ oourt end br dep-
utized by either the lb er lff
oount In vhiob they are app
t.da4a 1
ft it our opinion that this prrtloular prorIeIon prorid-
Ing for the eppolntment of deputy oonetcblee at well aa deputy
sheriffs It foreign to Chapter 127 of the rote of 1919 and notloe
of this new eubJeot not having been given or expreeeed in the
oaptlon of Chanter 58 of the rote of 1925, tht tame 13 void and
of no foroe and effeot under Seotlon 35 of Artlole 5 of the
Constitution of Texee, ororldlng In part:
IO:
Honoreblo Luther C. Johnston, pago 7
‘No bill, . . . shell contain more then one
eubJ4ot vhioh shell be lx p r eeeed In Its title.
But if an7 eubJeot shell be lmbrroetl In an aot,
vhloh shall not be exprtet4d In the title, euoh
l4t shell be void on17 et to to eiuoh thereof, at
shall not be to expreeeed.D
Under this etotlon of our Constitution It her born
held that the oeptlon mutt give notloe of the nature of the
amendment (Katz 1. State, 122 Cr. R. 231, 54 8. W. (2d) lSO),
In Re: Amerloen Rio Orande Land & Irrigation Co., D. C., 21
F. Sup?. 492, nodlf led, C.C.A., 103 F, t&l 1 509, oer. den.
60 6. Ct. 88, SO8 U.S. 5731, r.nd where the oeption of en a-
mendetorl act lpeolfIee a partloular field of the amendment
end states that~tht sot la to make oerteln ohengee In a prior
etrtute, the amendment It llmlted to the making of the epeol-
flo ohenge deelgnatcd and @ny l ddltlonal, oontrar? or dlfftr-
ent emendment it pr4oludea. Lendrum v. Centennlrrl Rural
glgh Sohool Dletrlot #2, (C.C.A.) X54 8.Y. (2d) 55%
This oonetruotlon la In accord&no@ with previous
opInIone of this department.
In opinion lo. O-2444 we held that et to oounty tref-
flo offIorre appointed under Artlole 6699b, Vernon’s Annotated
Civil Statutes, the Eherlff end not the CommIeelonere~ Court
hat the right to dlreot, in drtall, their duties. .
In opinion No. O-1282 we held that euoh offloere are
In feot drputy lherIffe, le~lng~
Wuoh offloere are In faot deputIee, working
under the dlreotlon of the eherIff. Hoverer’, luoh
offIo4re ere a roeolel oleee of deputies, knovn at
oounty trefflo offloere , end prior to the amendment
of Art. 6699 by the 45th Legleleture their dutler
were oonflned eolel~ to enforoensnt of the highwar
lava of thle state end to this field their authority
vat mm4a. Slnoe the amendment by the 45th Legle-
lature, Art. 6699, eupra, the Legleleture hat been CL
fit to broaden their field of operation by glrlng
‘-- i
raid deputlee or oounty traffic officers the right
and duty to errset vlolatore of 411 leve.*
Ronorablr Luther C. Johnrton, pags 8
Conrcqurntly, it 18 the opinion OS thla department
and you are adrirrd that the county trlilio offioor8 provided
for in L tiolr 6699 and 66QQa of Vornon'8 Annotated Civil
8t8tUt88, 8hOUld be aPpOht8d by the OOUd88iOlWr8 OOUrt
of a oounty, acting in oonjunotion with the rh8rlff of that
oounty, and not noting In OonJunetion vith 8 oonrtable.
D SAN 30, 1941 Very truly XOUCI,
FIRST
ATTORNEYGEXERAL
JDSIJS
i ;
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion