Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO93-006 Page: 1 of 4
4 p.View a full description of this text.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Office of the Zittornep generall
state of Texas
DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL January 22, 1993
Honorable Jim Mapel Letter Opinion No. 93-6
Criminal District Attorney
Brazoria County Re: Whether chapter 143 of the Local
329 North Arcola Government Code applies to a municipality that
Angleton, Texas 77515 has a paid police department and a volunteer
fire department (ID# 17880)
You ask us to consider whether chapter 143 of the Local Government Code
applies to a municipality that has a paid police department and a volunteer fire department.
The factual background of your request is as follows:
The city of Angleton, Texas ("the city"), has a population of more than 10,000
people and has a paid police department and a volunteer fire department. The city has
received a petition to hold an election to adopt chapter 143 of the Local Government
Code, which adoption would implement that chapter's civil service law for the city's police
department. Although the petition complies with the requirements of section 143.004 of
the Local Government Code, the city has rejected it for the reason that the city is not a
municipality that may adopt chapter 143 because it does not have both a paid police
department and a paid fire department. The provision upon which the city relies is section
143.002 of the Local Government Code, which provides in part:
This chapter applies only to a municipality that:
(2) has a paid fire department and police department.
The key question is whether the word and in the quoted phrase "a paid fire
department and police department" should be construed as being exclusively conjunctive
in meaning (so that the phrase means "both a paid police department and a paid fire
department") or as being disjunctive and conjunctive (so that the phrase means "either a
paid police department or a paid fire department, or both"). The city contends that
chapter 143 applies only to municipalities that have both a paid fire department and a paid
police department. The opposing contention is that the chapter applies to municipalities
that have a paid police department or a paid fire department, or both. We are of the
opinion that the word and, as used in the above-quoted portion of section 143.002, has an
exclusively conjunctive meaning and conclude that the city is not a municipality that is
covered by chapter 143 because it does not have both a paid police department and a paid
fire department.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO93-006, text, January 22, 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth276592/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.