OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
January 33, 1939
ah-. Charles a. Urtfn
@unty Auditor
Harrison County
Yarshall, Texas
., Lir Sir:
a..
estine an opin- .
ion as to whather a sheriff eis should be
reQulrf$ to .oomplp
oh. 188, p. 410,~a
leotlng fin08 and
to the writer fo
.
.'
the ,statuterequiring
=reeoffloersW,was
“
Ouri oaee'oi State,Y* Rledkl, 46 S. W;
ppears a discussion of the term Wfees*
.to the matter before ~usb Said the
"The word ‘fees’ if ueed in its narrow &la-
tinotive mnse, elgnl~ies the oompensatlonfor
partloular.notsor servlceo rendered by oounty
~offlosrnIn the 1111sof their dutfos, to be paid ',
‘. by the individualsobtainirigthe .benefitof the
‘aote, or reo$ving the servloes. Or at whose lnStanO@ .
&. Charles R. Rartin, January 23, 1939, P&e 2
they were performed. 8ut.a glanoe at the statutas
in foroo at the time (WaSnAr'sStatutes 18721, will
show that in tho mnln only stats offloors than reoelved
salarieswithin the striot meanin of that term. Prao-
tio&lly all oounty offloers (with whom alone the oon- .
stitutlonalprovision waa dealing) were oompensatedby.
fees;but, when a limit was plaoed on the amount of
fees an officer might retain, that maximum was re-
garded as hia salary, and therefore, in a generio
sense, the word 'fees implied oompensatlonor salary,
since it was the &roe of these..........ltwas held .
the word 'faaa' in its more oomprahcaslvesignifloa-
tion meant oompensatlon........and there 1s authority
for that view from Other jurladlotlons.........*"
In a%%ltlon to the forqoing there la another reason
why the provisions of the Offiolal Rooolpt bill should oontlnue
opplioable to sheriffs. Sootion 0 of the Orrioere Salary bill
(art. 39126, sea. 5) provfdea "it shall be tho duty of alI
officers to ohart?eand oolloat --in the manner authorized-&~
all fees 'an%.ooxlmlsslonswhioh .are permitted by law to be as-
sessed and'oollaotedfor all ofrloial aervloe performed'by
thorn." As the Gfflolol Reoelpt bll,&v:asthe law at the time
this language w6B employed by the &glelaturi,,it 88emS olear
all offioersookleoting fines &a% fees in orlmlnal oases should
oontlnucto oomply with art. lOlOa,'O. 0. P., a8 it now standee
yearn very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL’OF TEXAS
BY
hsIstant
BW:AW
APPROVH):
.ATTORmEYGXmL OF TEiAS
:..