OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Hon. 000. II.Sheppapd
Comptrollec of Public Aouountr
Austin, Texan
Dear Sir1 opinion HO. o-2378
Pour letter of ret lng an opinion of
this department on the quest in ateCod has been
FOCOlVOd . We quot. the quo8 dlnyourlnquirya8
follov8t
for the next
to counties
own that a county ha8
(20,000) or more,
1@88 than tlwlltymou-
red to adopt the salary
ahaqge beaome effeotive?
he baa18 of 2
sixty thowand (60,000) would that
appropriation on the ba8la Of 14#30r?
for the naxt bisnnlum?”
HOII. 1300.Ii.Sheppard, Pa8s 2
*The fisoal year, within the manlng of this Act,
&all bgb~ on Jsnu4rg 1st of eaoh yetit and each dis-
trict, county and precinct orflcer shall file his report
snd We the final aettlenwnt required ln this Act not
later than February 1st of each year; provided, however,
tht offloera reoelving an annual 8alary a8 compensa-
tion for their servloee s&11, by the clo8e of each
month, pap Into the OffIoer8~ Salary Fund or funda, all
feea, coms1Is8ionuand compeluatlon oolleated by him
during raid month. Whenever such officer nerve8 for
a iractlonal part of the fisoal year, he ah811 never-
theless file hi8 report and make final aettlesent for
such part of the year as he servo8and 8hall be entitled
to such proportionate part of hia compen8atIon a8 the
time for his rervloe be-am to the entire yesr."
Seotion 1 of Article 39l2e rfmdsr
"80 dlrtriot officer shall be paid by the State
of Texas an fees or comlrslon for any aervloe per-
formed by h Ll 1 nor shall the State or any aounty pay
to any oountg ofiiaer In an oount oontrining 8 pop-
ulation o? twenty thouaand f20,0003 Lnhabitrnt8 or
aore 8ccording to the la8t preceding ?edoml Qexuus
8rkyfee or aoml88lon ?or any eervlae by him performed
a8 uuah officer; provided,~hovever, that the ueesuor
W aollootor of trxea shall aontinua to collect 8nd
retain for the benefit of the bfflcers~ Salary ?md
or fknd8 herelnefter provided for, all fees and oom-
riuaiona whioh he 18 luthorisekunder lav to oolleotj
and it ah811 be his duty to aotount for and to pay
r&l.@uoh monIe8 received by him into the ?un.dor
or funda created and provided for under the provirlons
o? this Aetf provided tither, that the provlrions of
this Seation shall not affeot the payment OS co8ts
in 01~11 aa by the State, but all such oosts 80
pald shall be amounted for by the offloers colleatlng
the 8mue, a8 they an reqtired under the provisions
of this Aot to acoount for feeah comaissIona and coats
oolleated ?rom private parties.
Seotion 6, uubdivlslon (a) of Article 3gl2e reada:
“In oountler wherein the county o??lciala are on
8 8aLary bmals, in lddltlon to the monie8 deposited in
sald Offloera~ Salary Fund or fund8 under the pmvi-
alone of Seatione 1, 3 8nd 5 of thLs Aot there ahall
be deposited therein quarterly on the first bry of
,. 080. B. Sheppard, Page 3
January, April, July and Ootober of eaoh year, 8uoh
sum8 #a !!aaybe apportioned to twah aounty under the
provision8 of this Aot, out of the amllable approprla-
tioarrarrdeby the tigl8lat%UW for such purpose8 pro-
vided, however, that in oountle8 whorein the Comls-
sloaer8t Court La authorized to detormlne vhether
county Offl~O~S Sha11 be ooapen8ated On a 881U7 bill,
no appOrtiOWIlentShall b0 SSdS to 8wh OOUty Mttl the
Comptroller of Public Aooounts ah811 have been notlfled
of the order of the Commia8ioaera~ Court that the county
o??loers of swh county shall be oompenaated on a
salary bel8 for the T18oal year, and in th8t ca8e
the ?lrSt quarterly pa nt Of suoh appOrtIOUUI8ntShall
be mrde in rifteen (15r day8 after reoeipt of suoh
notice by the Om&ptroller, and the nsslnlng payments
on the dater hereinabove presoribed. It shall be the
duty O? the OO8QtrOllOr Of Public AW.muntS to manually
apportion to all counties in rhioh the county o??loer8
00 to be compensrted on the b8818 of 8 88laryany
nonlo8, appropriated for arid year for suoh rpportloa-
mentj eaoh oounty entitled to partiolpate in such
apportionment shall reoeive for the benefit of lte
O??l.oers*SU.8ry Pond or tup48 it8 pmportionate part
of the appropiSatloa vhioh ah811 be distributed roan@
the reverrl oountIe8 entitled to partialpate therein,
on the b8rir of the per oapita popubtlon of eroh oounty
aooorbing to the 188t pnrredlng PederaZ Oeneu8~ pro-
vided th8t the annual apportionment for ruoh purpo8e8
shall not exaeed fourteen (I&#) oents per capita of
soid population of ew3h county vhere oounty o?floor8
are compen8rted on a salary baais fanclew the pvovl8ion8
of this Aot. Provided that in rll aountler vhiah had
a population of leus than Sixty thoueand (60,000)
inhabitants in 1930 aooording to the lwt plwsdin(j
Federal Census aad which nov hwe ad valorem v8luAtlom
for all purposes aaoordlng to the ZIst approved trx
roll of such oounty, vhioh have lnareased at least
fifty (50) per cent over the trlurtlon for 1930, the
mount to be paid to eaoh of uid oountler for ft8
salary fund shall be the sum not to uxoeed henty-five
(25d) oents per oapita baaed on the 1930 populrtlon.
The quarterly peymeat of suoh apportionmat of such
rpproprlatlon shall be made on varrants drrrm by the
&trte Comptroller upoa the State usury pyrble to
the oounty treanurer of the county in whose favor the
apportionment la Bade a& said WmtS Sb11 be
registered by the Comptroll6r and the ma8uPsr uad
@b&l be ailed by the l?O8IptPOlleP t0 the trW8rrre~ of
the oounty."
Hon. 000. H. Sheppard, Page 4
Seation 13 of Article 39l.20rerds in part a8 followat
"ThO COSld88iOMlVJ' OOlWt in OO~tiOS bw 0
population of twenty thousand (20,000) lnhabltant8
or more, and less than one hundred and aiaety thousand
(190,000) lnhabit4nts Moordlag to the lut preceding
Federal OOnSull,18 hereby authorised Md it Shall be
its duty to fix the ralarier a? all the follwlng named
O??lCer8, to-vltr sheriff, 888~8SOr Uid OOllOOtOr O?
taxes, aounty judge, aounty attorney, lnaludlng orlmlnal
district attorneys and aounty attommy who perform
the duties of distrfot attorneys, dlstxlat olerk,
aounty olerk, treasumr, hide and animal lnapeatori
Each of said offlaers shall be paid in maaey an aaaual
salary in twelve (12) equal installm8ats of not 1088
th8Ilthe tot81 I= earned &I OOR&#nS~tiollby him io
his of?lolal oapa6lt.ytar the ?Usorl yew 1935, &ad
not 111orethan the m8ximum amount allarod 8UOh offloor
under lava existing on Augwt 24, 1935s provided that
in counties having a population of tventy thoueand
(20,000)end lees than thirty-sevon thowand five
hundred (37,500 raoordlng to the lut proa- Fodorul
Census, and hav Ul 888e88.d V*h%tlOXh in OX0088 Of
Fifteen Ktlllon+( 15,000,000.00) Dollars,aooordl.ag
to the last approved preusding tax roll of ruoh OouQty
the Mximum ammat alloved 8uOh 0??10eP8 U SdWiO8
may be increased oae (1s) per cent for eaah One lUllion
($1~000,000.00) Dollar8 val*tlon or ?raotioxml paPt
thereof, in excess 0r said Plfteen willlon (r)l5,000-
000.00) Dollars valu8tlan over and above the mxlmum
amount allowed rush offloers under ~AWJ exfst¶.IQon
August 24, 19351 and provided that in OOlUlti~8 hating
a population of thirty-seven thousand five hundred
(37,500) and less than sixty thotuand (60,000) uroordia8
to the b8t preoeding Fedowl Oen8u8, and hav
lsse8!3Od valuation in exoeim of Twenty Wlllon? &ii,-
ooo,ooo.oo) rkllara, ~~oordsng to the la8t preoedbg
approved tax roll of suah oounty, the maxImum msO\mt
alloved suah o??loer8 La ubriea, mSy be bn=e~ed
one (1%) per cent for laoh One Nllllon ($1,000,000.00)
fklbF8 valuation or iruJtioIka1p-t thereof, in eXee88
of Said Twenty Ulllion ($20,000,000.00) Dollars w&m-
tlon over and above the abxfmma amount rllowd suoh
o??ioer under lava existing on Augu8t 24, 1935."
810
Bon. Oeo. H. Shepp8.rd,P*ge 5
It is generrrllyheld that Ln the absenoe of a statute
providing when the oexmu8 shall go into legal effeat, It ba~oomor
o??lolal and efieatlve a8 of the date of publIaatlon, by a
bulletin, aertl?la8ter etc., by the Mnotor of the Cezuu8. 14
C. J. Sec. 1031 Holaomb v. Spikes, 232 8iW. 891. Xt Is then,
but not until then, that the.aourtr vi11 judI.ially notlee the
population of a given dour&Y so *a to permit obaage8 la ohm-
l?ioatlon based thereon. 8mIth v1 Fatterson, 242 8.Y. 794.
This deputment hrs heretofore rule& In OpInIon Ilo.
O-2337 as to when the 1940 Federal Oeneu8 beaom8s oontrolllng
under OUF 8tatUt.S inVOlVill8pOQulatiOll. v. aB. .AO1OSi4 8
oopy of this opinion for your aoavenienae.
IOU have further Infmd u8 that yeur tint que8Cioa
above quoted hm refereaoe to th e lpproprUtlon mntloaod in
SeatIon 6 of Artlale 39120, 8upl?r,and al80 u mentioaed in
your third qsertlon.
It ~I11 be noted from 8eotI.a 6 of ArtIale 3gl2e
that the approprlatlon thenla wat1oMd Sh811 be dlrtributed
among the 8everU aountle8 entItled to p8rtleIp8te therein oa
the br818 of the DW oa~ltn Dosml&lori OS each aouatv uzaozd-
~tothelast~~eoe~~e~l Oe~ll1l.~ that& annual
appartiomeat for auah purpo8e8 r&all not lxaeed X4d per aapita
of-arid papStloa of eioh oount]lvhese aounty off1b.k me
aompenuted on an muawl Mlary bulr.
Inmmnr to your ffr8t 8tloa you are respeatfully
dvised that it 18 the OpfniOn Of E l dep a r tuntt~t th e
bngi818tUX'O8hould tie 8pprop~l8tions for the next bleanhm
to all couutI.6 operating under the O??loer8* 0slaPy Bill,
Wed on the 1940 06rm.m. not to exoeod 14# per aaplta of 8bId
population OS e&oh county, exoept In thee. oouatles w&ah h8d
a population of lees thbn 60,000 ialaabltrntrIn &WOO, and rhioh
now hme ad valorem tnluatioas for all purpo8.8, aaoordia@ to
th0 l&St 8ppPOVU.it&X rOl1 Of SWSb OOUUtJ, VhiOh WV. inOP.88.6
at leb8t 5@ over the vrlu*tloa fer 1930; Said oeuntle8 aolling
oPL8lo am eat tied to he sum not to lxaeed
ss$hgPt%;lE, bnsea on the i930 po&t:oll.
with MfW6IU30 to your SeOOd qWStiO& in view of
Art101. 3098, SwX'@, and 8ootlon 13 Of Artlole 3912.. you 8X.
dvlsed that a aouaty which he8 l population of 80,000 0s ~Hre
Inh8bitUlt.S#&oOordIn@to the 1940 oeneue, uld Mob #bore II,
populrrtionof 1.88 than 20,000 aooordia8 to the 1930 0ezulW~
Hon. Gee. H. Sheppard, Page 6
would be required to adopt the Officers* Salary plan, -a the
change would become effective January 1, 1941.
Your third question is answered in the above answer
to your first question.
Trusting that the foregoing fully amvera your inquiry,
ve are
Yours very truly
ATTORHEY t3BBBRAL
OP TWA8
HywdL
Al-dellYlI.llalM
Asrlrtmt
AUtPBP
HHC.