OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable T. H. !%bb
Assistant State Highway Engineer
Texas Highway Department
Austin, Texas
Dear Sirr
Xe eoknowledge th our letter or
July 18, 1940, in which yo inion of this
department as to whether i ation of any of
the provisions of the Ne the State Highway
Department to reta Robert Greer
as a junior reside
Grew has been a
State Highway 0
, provides as follows:
te or any ofiioer
y',preclnot, school
pal subdivieion or this
member,oi any State,
, sohool distriot or.
or judge of any court,
er authority of any general or
related within the seaond degree by arfinity or
within the third degree by ooneanguinity to the
person so appointing or so voting, or to any
other member of any suoh board, the Legislature,
or court of whloh such person so appointing or
. .
7l-I
,
..
Hon. T. H. Webb, page 2 /!
voting may be a member, when the salary, fees,
or oompensation of such appointee 1s to be paid
ror, direotly or lndireotly, out of or from
public rmas or fees 0r office or any kind or
character whatsoever.e
As stated in a previous opinion, No. O-667, giren
by this department, "A oareful reading of said Artiole 432
shows that same relates only to the situation existing at
.the time of the appointmentor employment."
Obviously, Mr. D. C. Greer was not State Highway
Engineer at the time Mr. S. Robert Greer was appointed to
his.position, In 1935.
Not only is this true, but in your letter of July
30, 1940, in which you set forth additional Information on
this oase, you write as follows:
"For your information there is attached
:L.~..photostatiooopy of Form No. 102 used by the
Highway Departmsnt for requesting approval of
new employees or Ohang6 Of status 0) present
6mplOyf'6S. This form aotually oov6rs the last
ohangelln status of S. Robert Greer. kou will
not.0that the form is exeouted by the Assistant
Distriot Engineer of Distriat 18 at Dallas and
has been approved by Mr. E. J. Am6y for the Per-
sonnel Division and by Mr. T. H. 'Vebb,Assistant
State Highway Engineer. This form does not go
to the Highway Engineer for any purpose. Pay
rolls oovering payment 0r salaries 0r all field
employees ar6 prepared by the district otfi.06
and forwarded to th6 auditing division or the
Highway Department at Austin, where they are
oheoked and approv.edby the ohist auditor, from
whom they go to the Assistant Highway Engineer
for his approval, thenoe to the Highway Con&a-
sion where they must be approved and signed by
th6 Chairman and on6 other member of the Highway
Commission. Pay rolls are not submitted to or
approved by the Highway Engineer."
Aooording to your letter, then, not only was
Mr. Robert S. Greer employed five years ,beforeMr. D. C.
Greer was appointed State Highway Engineer, but even now
712
Hon. T. H. Webb, page j
in his oapaolty as Stat6 Highway Engineer Mr. D. C. Greer
has nothing whatever to dowith appointing or retaining,
signing the pay roll, reoommending promotions, or other-
wise exeroising any powers whatsoever over the employment
of his brother by the State Highway Commission;
In view or the raots as set forth in your two
letters, and In line with this department's 6onsistent in-
terpretation of the Nepotism Law, you are respectfully ad-
vised that It la the opinion of this department that Mr...
S. Robert Greer may b6 retained in his oapaoity as a junior
resident engineer without any violation of any part of tha '\
Nepotism Law.
'Very truly yours
APPROVED AdWST 1, 1940 . ATTORNEY
. GRRRRAl OF TEXAS
sm By walter(flign;~~
ATTORNEY GiNERAL
Assistant
WFErjm
APPROVED
OPINICN
C(IMMI'lTE
BY B. W. B.
OHAIRMAN