OFFlCE OF THE A-ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable I.klvinCombs
county Attorney
Jefferson County
Eecu~ulnt,Tszns
ullty Attoxmy fxom
under hrticie 3886b,
een reedved end oar+
e quote from your xe-
by t& 47th h&b+-
lve hiay20, ww,
J.&astate not en+
thsr a Grlmlnal
or a Uietrict
XeLn the duty Of
1 crimlnalmattsre
ounty devolves upon the
I such oounty, the Comaiiaaionara'
on petition of such County
the duriw a non-eleation
ate the office of the Coun%y
Attorney in suoh county as theoffice of Grim-
ioal Watriot Attorney of such oounty. It
provides further that it ia not the lntwt
of tkm aot to change the duties in ung way,
nor to ornate any new office, but nerelg to
ahange the name of the offloe from that of
County Attorney to Criminal DlrdtrictAttorney
of suoh county.
tiocorable!i,efvi~
Combs, Pa@ 2
We are operating in Jefferson County under
Article 3d86b, Jeo. 5b, ~hioh grovldea that
counties having a population of mre than
125,000 inhabitants, wherein there is no Ma-
triot Attorney and the aouuty~attorney per-
rorms all the duties or county i+ttomey and
Diatriot AttornOyy,and bases the salaries,
etq, but no place names my orf-iceas t.batof
County Attorney except by inference.
"The problem that oonfronts ~16, if I,do
change the name of this office Is: iltlll I
still 'beable'to operate un&r 38&b, &ec. 5b,
whioh apecifioallg provides for the setup
under Mhioh we are now Operating.
'"Of co&-se, the net statute ia mitten
to oover situation8 e&aotly like ours, hut
there ie soma doubt In ny mLnd as to whether
I till1be left xltbout any statute to oparete
under, if the Yuaseia changed, because of the
provision is 3$86b, See. 5b, whioh .speoif.ical-
lp says '%&et9 there is no District Attorney
or Crimlual iU3trfot httorney *.
"1 personally believe that 'Senate Bill
312 and the ohm&e in the mme of my office
y&illnot effect our operating under nrticle
3886b, ;;iee.
5b, but I teuld greatly appre-
data an opinion fmm your office to thst,
effsot, or otheruaies,as 80011as possible,
in order that I msy proseed to ohangethe
naow of my offioe without any doubt as to
its erfaat.*
Senate Bill 312, 17th Legislature of Texss, reads
i&part ao fOllOWSi
*seotion 1. CERTAIN COmTY ATTGmD%
DESIS8ATXD CXtbQXAL DISTRICT ATTO?UZY. In
any county in this State not embraoed in or
cohatituting either a Criminal District At-
torney's Distriot or a Distriot Attorney's
District, and wherein t& duty of representing
‘rionorable Selvti Combs, Page 3
the State in all criminal matters arising in
such oouuty devolves upon the County .+kttorney
of such county,,the Commis8ioners Court
.thereof,upon petition of suoh County r;ttor-
ney at any time during a non-election year,
may, by appropriate aatlon spread upon the
minutas of~suoh Cod58ionar's~ Court, deoig-
nate tile office of County Attorney in such
county, as the ofrice of Criminal.District
Attorney of suoh County, aad the incumbent
of such oMlce as the C&ai.nal District At-
torney of suatr County; and thereafter arid
until such tFme as suoh county shali be in-
cluded within a regularly oreated and aanstl-
tuted Diatriat Attorney's Dlatrict or C?ira-
inal District Attorney's District, such off-
ice ahall be designated es the olflce of
Criminal Xstrict Attorney of such county,
and the inaubent thereof shall be desig-
nate6 85 the Crimlnel District Attorney of
suah county provMing that suoh change in
the deeignati+ and appellation of euoh
offioe and the inoumbsnt thereof, as arore-
said, shall In no manner alter or af'feot
aither the previous elsotion 61~3 qualifioa-
tiona of the fnoumbent thereof, nor shall
the sams thereafter alter or affect either
the rights. duties. or emoluments of suoh
ffi hein oumbent thereof; and iroVid-
!i&%%*Z that in eU eleotione t herettf ter
held to f33.l. such offioe, and so long as
thensame shall be 80 Uesignatsd, the said
office shall be designated qon the ballot
anb ln the eleotlon as theoffice of Crirainal
Dietriot Attorney of suoh county; and provid-
ing further that in the event any such county
be thereafter embrawd in or constitute e
regularly areated District Attorney's Dla-
triot or Criminal DiStriet Attorney's ilia-
triot, the deaignatI.onof County Attorney
shall be restored to suoh offioe unless the
office of County Attdkey be abolished in such
aounty.
Lionorabla:,;e1vFn
COClbS~,
i'i3~6
1+
*sec. 2. WT,&T iz iypy. It is not the
intention of this .kotto create any office of
Diatriot httorney or any othor Constitutional
Office; but i.tis the titefitiohof this i.Ot
nerelg to mthorize a change in the ham and
a:;= ation 3f the Oflice of C0Ud.g ?~ttorhey
and the incumbent thereof in certain counties,
xithout othernine ohah&ng or affsctini:the
ri&ts, duties, or enalunents eithar of such
office or the incumbent thereof.
Tiec. 3. &paa. This.;bctis nor,fn-
tend.edand ahall not be considered 0)~" cirnstrued
RS ropealfrg SIlylaw ?iO‘w ih the statuta boo&s,
except those tiircorJlictthmeuitk; but it
aiiwllbe cuixulativeCiereof.
if . . . n (UnderscoricG oursj
Liaction.
5”vof .;rticlejrj&b, Vernoh*s rinmotated
Texas Civil titatutes,reads as follows:
"sec. 5-3. Ii2all Counties in this State
.hayinGa population of over 125,OCiOinhabi-
ta;ltsaaoording t.2 tilelatest ~re0edi.h~xed-
era1 Ceneus md ic ;Y?Loh there Is tiejiatriot
Attorney or criuihal Diatrict 2Lttorneyusd
county Attorney perform8 t&e duties of
tlicj
County and District Storney, the Couhty At-
torney In such Counties, upon aworn appli-
oation ahowkg the~heccaslt~ tharofor ahd
upon approval by the Sormaissiohers~Zourt
of such application, shall be authorized to
appoint one first assistant County AZtorney
who ahall receive a salary ofnot to sxceed
Three Thousand Six Duhdred (;3,600.00) Dol-
lars per amma, and such other assistants
aad employees as are neoesaary who shall ra-
ceiva salaries of not ti oxoee& Three Thou-
sand ($3,000.00) Dollars per amma. The iorri-
miasionerag Court ih eaoh order approvinf:
the appointmeat of such assistants and eai-
ployees shali atate the nuuber authorized
and the amount of oonpensatlor to be allowed
each assist or employee; and should the
fees of the county Attorney's office be in-
Eonorable Melvin Gonba, fjage5
suffiaient to pay the ccmpehsation allowed
to such officer, nod also pay the allowable
expense aA the selafles of auoh assistacts
and employee8 of such of fiae as the %JaIitiS-
eionere’ Court my determine are neoeesary
to properly perfoma the duties and oarry on
the affairs of theroffioe, the Conmls6ionera~
@Jurt ShEdi- ellow the payment of euah por-
tion of ~uah expenses and salaries out of the
general fund ofthe County as in their judg-
ment may be necessary. The County Attorney
may also appoiut with the oonsent and ap-
proval of the Commissio5ers~ Court sn Aesis-
tsrlt County Attorney who need not possesa the
\
quallflaetions of County Attorney, but who
ahall have the qualifications of a oonpeteht
tax man, and a Clerk or Assistant to assist
io the aollection of delinquent taxes, end
in the riling end proseoutlhg of tax suits.
Suoh heslstailt county Attorney shall reoeive
suoh salary 88 the timmissiohers* Court may
determine, not to exceed Three Thousand
($3,000.00) Dollarsper snnum, and suoh
Clerlq or Aseiatant a salary not to exceed one
Thousand Eight Z%u-sIred($l,SOO.OO) Dollar8
per annum, such salary to be gsidmonthly
out-0r a peroentage or all delinquent taxes
collected."
It is our opinion that the oonaluslon reached by
you la correot,
Very truly yours
\, 37 (8) Wm. 3. %Ming
V&R. if’. PaMing
ksslstRrit
y-iwzt:
A~~+NED AW. 21, 194x AFPROWD
(s);,Gerald C. Hahn Opinion Coinmlttee
Attokney General of'Texae By C.Z.C. Chairman