.Aurrrmr.Tmcx~e T87ll
April 1, 1975
The Honorable Ttilly Shahan Opinion,No. H- 572
County Attorney
Kinney County Re: Authority of a county to
Brackettville. Texae .78832 lower the salary of a justice
of the peace.
Dear Mr. Sha,bn:
You have requerted our opinion regarding the authority of a
county to lower the r+lary of a juotice of the peace. You rtate that,
at the general election of 1970, a jurtice of the Pease wao elected to eerve
a four-year term from precinct 1 of Kihney County, but that the justice
of the peace poaitionr for the other three precinct6 were left vacant. In
October 1971, the county wu redistricted purbuant to article 5, rection
18 of the Texan Constitution; The jurtice of the peace for the .old pre-
cinct 1 continued to merve in that capacity in the redirtricted. precinct.
At the 1.972 general el,ection, ~jueticee of the peace were elected to two- ’
year term8 from precinct8 2 and 4. At the 1974 general election, the
precinct 1 juetiqe of the peace was el6cted i6 the precinct 2 posi,tion,
and another individual war. elected foi precinct 1. You ark whether the
county will be required to.pay the new justices of the peace for precinct ’
1 the same salary ae was paid to the previous occupant of that office.
Article,3912k, V. T, C. S. ,provides in a&ction 1:
Except as otherwine provided by this Act and
subject to the limitations of this Act, the com-
miseionerh court of each c~ounty shall fix the
amount of compensation, office expenee, travel
expense, and all other allowances for county and
precinct official0 and employees who are paid
wholly from county &nfls, but in no. event ohall
such ealprier’be ret lower than they exist at the
effective. date of thin Act.
p. 25’57
The Honorable Tully Shahan pdge’ 2 (H-572)
The effective date of. article 3912k was January 1, 1972. That
article was amended to include justices of the peace by Acta 1973,
63rd Leg., ch. 188. p.423. ,mis~ statute wan effective May 25, 1973.
On both January 1, 1972 and on May 25, 1973, the salary of the justice
of the peace from precinct 1 was $5880 per annum. The county has not
been redistricted since those dates. It would therefore seem obvious
that the new justice of the peace must be paid a minimum annual salary
of $5880, ‘although it has been argued that section 9 of article ‘3912i
rmght permit’s different result.
Section 8 of article 3912k provides:
To the extent that any local, special, or general
law, including Acts of the 62nd Legislature, Regular
Session,. 1971, prescribes the competisation, office
expense, travel expense, or any other allowance for
any official or employee covered by this Act, that
law is repealed..
Since article 3912k was enacted subsequent to section 9 of article
3912i, the repealer clause of article 3912k muat be deemed to take precedence
over that part of section 9 which permit8 counties to increase the salaries
of justices of the peace in counties where “the number of Justices of the
Peace holding office and performing the duties of au& office is less thati
the maximum number of Justices of the Peace authorised by the Constitu-
tion of Texas. ” -See, Attorney General Opinion H-35 (1973). Thus, the
salary of the justice of the peace for precinct 1 was $5880 on January 1,
1972, and on May 25, 1973, without regard to the salary-augmentation
provisions of section 9 of article 391%. .Accordingly, it ia our opinion
that, ~by virtue of section 1 ‘of article 3912k; which prohibits salaries
lower than their level the effective date of the statute, any future occupant
of the position of justice of the peace, precinct.1, muet~be paid a minimum
annual salary of $5880.
SUMMARY
A county mriy not. lower the salary of a justice
p. 2558
The Honorable Tully Shahan page 3 (H-572)
of the peace below its level am of the date
upon which article 3912k became applicable
to justices of the peace.
Very truly yqm3;
DAVID M: KENDA,LL, First Assistant
Opinion Committee
p. 2559