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OFFICE OFTHEAWRNEY QENERALOFTEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable S. B. Buchanan, Jr., Page 2
of said county are compensated on a fee basis.
Articles 3S96 and 9897, Vernonls Civil Statutes, read
as follows:
"Art. 3S96. (3S94) To keep accounts -
Each district, county and precinct
Officer shall k88p a COrJT8Ct statement of
all f88S earned by him and all sums ooming
into his hands as deposits ror 0ost8, to-
cg?ther with all trust runds placed in the
registry ot the oourt, tees or orrloe and
oommlas5.on8lnabookorlnbookatobe
,
provided him for that purpose, in whlah
the oifleer, at the tlzae when euoh aepoalts
are made or swh tees au6 aodwl8~ are
ea.3medanduheneayorallofsu0hrunds
crhau ooM.blto hlehanae, eballaoterthe
wme~endit 8hau be the qutyor the aoan-
ty audltor in ~ouutles bartaga oowtyem-
Utorto ammallyexadnetheboo&an~
accounts or awh orfloam and to report
hi8 filld%U@ t0 th8 l&8* SU6OeO6iIQ &lWl&
Jary or dietriot ouart. In ooumtlee hat-
ing no oounty auditor, it shall be the duty
of the C6mmteeiowra*~ Court to make the ox-
amination of sdd books and aaaot~&s or
hare the samemade and to mako'report to
the grand Jury as hera%nabove provided.
*Art. SSO'I. (3695) Swora stateme& ~-
Eaah dietriet, aeunty and preoiwt
offleer, at the olose OS each fissal rear
(Deeember Slst) &all make to the dUJtrlet
cart of the county In uhieh he remidea a
shorn statement in tripli8ata (on forms
deelgwd and approved by the State Aaditor)
a copy of whioh stat-t shall be iosrarded
to th8 state Auditor by the olerk 0r th8
dietriot uourt of said oorrnty within thirty
(so) days arter the &me hae been riled in
his ofrioe, and one oopy to be filed with
the eoaaty aaditor, if any; otherwise said
oopy shall be Wled with bh8~Gommlesion8rer
cmlrt. Said report #hall show the amount
0s~ all feea, &mmissioas and aompensatioma
wbatemr earned by mid orilcer Dada the
Honorable S. B. Buchanan, Jr., Page 3
fiscal year; and secondly, shall show the
amount of fees, commissions and conqensa-
tions collected by him during the fiscal
year; thirdly, said report shall contain
an itemized statement of all fees, cora&.s-
SiOnS and COinpenSatiOnS 8rGm8d during the
fiscal year which were not collected, to-
gether with the name of the party owing
said fees, commissions and compensations.
Said report shall be filed not later
than February 1st fOuOUing the OlOS8 Of
the f18aa.l yeta and for eaoh day after
said date that said report remains not
filed, said officer shall he liable to a
penalty of Twenty Five ($85.00)Dollars,
uhIoh may be reuorered by the county in
a wit brought for such pareses, and In
addftlon Said offifwr s&all be subjeot
to reatov~l from aSfloe.*
The last two paragraphs0s A&la18 sf3m1,lfermn~s
Revised civil statutes, r8adzaS followsr
The wmpensatlbnq,lIaktatIons as(L
- h8ZWti fixed in. this AOt iot
0lrIoers shall Inala& and apply to all
0fri68~.~ti~~ah8~inin haohand
every oounty of this aate, and It Is
hereby de&wed to &I tbs ~te&Ion of the
Legislature that the pxovIslons of this
hot shall apply to eaoh or 8aia 0irIa9rsi
and anysp8eIaLor general law Isoosslstent
with the provIsion hereof is hereby ex-
m8881y repealed In so far as the same BleJ
be Inoonsistent with this Bat.
Vhe oompensatIoa, lImitationi and
maxsmlins bereln fiX86 shall also tip&y trs
au r88S and oORIp8M%tiOE VIhatSO8V8r 001-
lected by said orrloers in their 0rriOial
capaoity, whether aOCOllatabl8 as r888 af
OffiC8 ander the present law, and any law,
general or sgeoial, to the oontrary IS
hereby expressly repealed. The only kind
and charaater 0s oompemation ex8mpt from
the provlslons of this A& shall be rewards
reueivsd by sheriffs for apprehesaion 0s
Honorable S. 8. Buchanan, Jr. Page 4
criminals or fugitives from justice and
for the recovery of stolen property, and
moneys received by County Judges and Jus-
tices of the Peace for performing marriage
ceremonies, which sum shall not be ac-
countable for and not required to be re-
ported as fees of orfice."
It appears that the terms of the fast’above 4uof8d
article are inclusive to the extent that 5.uOrder for f888 to
be exempted thereunder, they must be specliloally exoluded.
III th8 OaS8 Or xi&Ou V. wV8StOZI cOU#tty (8Up. ct.
or Tex.. lOS.l.),226 S. 8. 547, Galveston C3ounty euedthe appel-
lant to rewrer oertaiu f888 and aom~~Issions reoeIred by him as
Tax ALssesaor and Colleotor of &ilvestoa Qouuty, who alw par-
formed the duties of Aaseasor and Colleotor for brainage dIs-
trlet for rhleh ~~..se~les he m30it8a a ~eoapensatIon for
rhioh l!eOOY8ry was &&at. TheQourt, ineonsideringthe $ase,
wnqmred the artleles phder rlrioh eoqpensatIm is allowed to
Tax Asseswrs and Collootors for their senleeb 'In aasessIng and
oollectlng taxes 0s bralags districts to th8 artiole ima& uBioh
-the Tax Asseawr cud Oolleotor or the aounty.may be de8Idnsted
Assessor aud Colleotor for an Independent ash001 diatriat, aud
reoelte in rmarn r0i asting as such aertaln eommlssIons. The
-Court COnSidaZed bitFlatiOSS Ur$siag uuder each artI618 with res-
'peat to aooouutability 6s eomuissiess r’eaOir8d tbieretmder to be
0olPpletely andlogourr. The Qourt aited the ease 0r Ellis Gounty
v'. Thompson, 06 6. w. 49, qtmting rroa suoh~oase in the folleu-
ins 109gwe:
=The phrase *rws or all kfnb8* smbraoea
every l&ad of eompensatloa allowed by law to
a clerk d th8 eOW&y CO-, ~eSS'OXoOpfe6
by so~~~p~isloi 0s the statute * * ,* The
e~asptlens are so definite that bp i.~~lIea-
tiou all f888 not mentioned iu the exaeptIons
are excluded thereirO& aad tb8reby in&laded
within the requiresmut oi the sot?
In Viea 0r the iOr8gOing statutes,~ you are respectfully
advised that It is th8 opinion of this Department that the above
mentioned eompeasation reaaired buyth8 Tax Aas8ssor-Colleotor for
preparing tax crertiiloates issued at the reqaest,of abstraot QOm-
pdes mst'be aooppanted ror aa rees of orrm.
Honorable 5. B. Buchanan, Jr., Page-5
Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your in-
quiry, we reilein
Yours very truly
ATlQRNEYCENEXAL. OF TZXAS
AW:RS
ATTORNEY GEXERAL OF TEXXS