THE ATITORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. H-12 3
Comptroller of Public Accounts
State Finance Building Re: Supplementation of salaries
Austin, Texas of district court judges and
justices of the Courts of
Civil Appeals under House
Bill 139, 63rd Legislature,
the General Appropriations
Dear Mr. Calvert: Bill
You have requested our answers to a series of questions concerning
the Judiciary Article of House Bill 139 of the 63rd Legislature, the General
Appropriations Bill for fiscal 1974-1975. The questions involve the maxi-
mum rates of compensation of district court judges and justices of the
courts of civil appeals,
The Constitution, in Article 5, $ $ 2, 6 and 7, generally authorizes
the Legislature to fix the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court, the
courts of civil appeals and the district courts.
Article 6819, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes, derived from laws in
effect prior to the 1925 codification, set the salaries of those jurists,at
$6,506, $5,000 and $4,000, respectively. While neither has ever been
expressly repealed, Article 6819 with Article 6813, -which sets the annual
salaries of numerous other state officers at’sums ranging from $1,250 for
members of the Live Stock Sanitary Commission to $6, 000 for the Banking
Commissioner (the Governor was to get only $4, 000). ,was impliedly repealed
by the enactment of Article 6813b, V. T. C. S. , and other similar acts dating
back to 1933.
Article 6813b provides thsrt all salaries of all state officers and
employees will be set by the biennial appropriations bill. “All laws and
parts of laws fixing the salaries of all state officers and employees . . .
are hereby specifically suspended insofar as they are in conflict with this
Act . . . . ”
p. 593
The Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2(H-123)
Article 6819a-18a provides that commissioners courts in counties
comprising each of the fourteen supreme judicial districts may supple-
ment the salaries of the justices of the courts of civil appeals residing
in that district up to $8, 000 per year but not to exceed “the total add-
itional compensation authorized to be paid to a2 District Judge residing
within such affected Supreme Judicial District. ”
Various other subdivisions of Article 6819a provide for the supple-
mentation of the salaries of district court judges by county commissioners
courts within their districts for varying amounts and for varying purposes.
For example, Article 6819a-22, V. T. C. S., applicable to Travis County,
authorizes its commissioners court to pay the district judges or the districts
within the county “a reasonable sum not to exceed Six Thousand Dollars”
“for services rendered to Travis County, and for performing administrative
duties. ”
Supplements are authorized as high a~8 $12,000 per annum. Articles
6819a-19b and 6819a-25a, V. T. C. S.
House Bill 139 app