C G ‘i Y
OFFICR OF TRZ ATl'ORhXYGDlX~L OF TZXAS
AULTIN
raid c. Mann
torney General April 22.1939
!I
Ir’
Honorable Truett Bubb~d)
County Attorney
Canton, Texas -,,/iv 9'
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I
Dear Sir:
Opinion No. O-667
Re: Whether nepotism statute ap-
pllee and renders invalid a
teaoher'a oontraot where dur-
ing the term thereof a rela-
tive of the teaoher is eleot-
ed to the board of trustees
We are in reoelpt of your letter of April 19, 1939,
wherein you request our opinion as to whether a school
teaoher's oontraot 1s rendered invalid Where during the
term thereof a relative of the teaoher is eleoted to the
Board of Trustees of the sohool dlstrlot employing suoh
teaoher.
Artiole 432 Penal Code provides in part as follows.:
"No ofrioer of this State or any offl-
oer of any * * * school distrlot + + *
shall appoint, or vote for, or oonfirm the
appointment to any offioe, position, olerk-
ship, employment or duty, of any person re-
lated within the second degree by affinity
or within the third degree by oonsenguinity
to the person so appointing or so voting,
or to any other member of any suoh board,
the I.e&slature. or oont of %Moh suoh
person-so qpointlng or voting may be a
member * * .TT
A careful reading of said krtiole 432 shows that
same related only to the situation existing at the time
of the appointment or employrlent. Vithout this law there
would be a tendency in some lnstanoec for board members to
bring about the employment of close relations to the exolu-
Honorable Truett Hubbard, April 22, 1939, Page 2
slon of persons better quallrled, and who could render
better servios. Manifestly, the purpose of this statute
wns to eliminate aa nearly as possible kinship within
oertaln degrees as an ++lementor oanpetltlon. The stat-
ute 1s satisfied when no suoh relationship exists at the
time the oontraot is rmde. The purpose of the statute
would not be added to by a voiding of a oontraot under
the conditions existing in thle oase. If the oontraot
wae valid when made, and the teaoher ie oomplylng with
hle obligation thereunder, the sohool dietrlat oould not
invalidate the oontraot by wlthdrawlng therefrom without
the ooneent of the teaoher. Neither oan it do 80 by
eleotlng a relative or the teaoher upon the Board of
Trusteea.
Our answer to your question 18 that the oontraot
1s not rendered invalid by the olroumstanoee whioh you
mention.
Your8 very truly
ATTORNZY Gl?iNERAL
OF TEXAS
ikn R . Lewis
GRL-UR Aeelstant
APPROVED:
ATTORNEY GENZRAL Ol?TEXAS