Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1522 Page: 2 of 3
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Hon. Henry Wade, page 2 (V-1522)
states that its provisions shall not repeal or affect
Article 1672. S.B. 119 Acts 47th Leg., R.S. 1941, ch.
601, p. 1331. Therefore, it is clearly the intention
of the legislature that the county auditor should re-
ceive both the compensation provided in Article 1645
"for his services to the county" and the compensation
provided in Article 1672 "for his service in auditing
the affairs of such districts."
Section 61 of Article XVI of the Constitution
of Texas requires all district, county and precinct of-
ficers compensated on a salary.basis to pay into the
county treasury all fees collected by those officers in
the performance of their duties. Att'y Gen. Op. V-1460
(1952). If the compensation provided in Article 1672
constitutes a fee or commission within the meaning of
Section 61 of Article XVI of the Constitution of Texas,
the county auditor would be required to turn the money
received into the county treasury. However, we believe
that the compensation constitutes a salary rather than
a fee of office for the following reason.
In Greer v. Hunt County, 249 S.W. 831 (Tex.
Com. App. 1923) the Court discussed the distinction
between salary and commissions and stated:
" . . . The controlling element in
determining whether the amount to be re-
ceived is upon a commission or salary basis
is whether that amount, by whatever name it
may be called, is absolute and fixed regard-
less of what the lawful commissions may be,
or is made contingent upon earning that
amount as commissions."
It is noted that the compensation provided for
in Article 1672 is not dependent upon fees or commissions
but is set by the commissioners' court at an absolute
and fixed amount.
Therefore, you are advised that the Commission-
ers' court is authorized to pay the county auditor a
salary for services rendered to improvement districts of
Dallas County governed by Article 1672.
SUMMARY
Commissioners' court of Dallas County
is authorized to pay the county auditor a
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1522, text, September 18, 1952; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth266339/m1/2/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.