Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO96-100 Page: 1 of 4
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Office of the attorney Eenerat
State of Tiexas
DAN MORALES
DAN MOR AL September 23, 1996
The Honorable Carl E. Lewis Letter Opinion No. 96-100
Nueces County Attorney
901 Leopard, Room 206 Re: Whether a county civil service com-
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401-3680 mission may, by rule, include within the
county's civil service system the personnel
of a county attorney's office even though
Government Code section 41.105 deems
the county attorney's personnel terminable
at will (RQ-891)
Dear Mr. Lewis:
Local Government Code chapter 158 authorizes a county civil service commission
to extend civil service coverage to persons other than those who may perform only minis-
terial governmental functions. By contrast, under Government Code section 41.105, all
personnel of a county attorney's office serve at the county attorney's will, regardless of
the employee's or officer's authority to exercise discretion. This office previously has
concluded that a statute deeming the personnel of a certain office terminable at will pre-
vails over the civil service provisions. You ask now whether a county civil service
commission by rule may extend coverage to the personnel of the county attorney's office.
Consistently with our precedent, we conclude that Government Code section 41.105 pre-
vails over the civil service provisions; accordingly, personnel of the county attorney's
office are at-will employees who cannot be included within the county's civil service sys-
tem under the Local Government Code.
Under Local Government Code chapter 158, a county with a population over
199,999 may create a county civil service system to include all county employees who are
not exempt by law or judicial decision. For purposes of the chapter, an employee is an
appointee who may not perform governmental functions involving the exercise of discre-
tion unless the county civil service commission has, in accordance with Local Government
Code section 158.009, enacted a rule that includes the individual within the definition of
"employee."2 Additionally, the civil service commission is explicitly authorized to adopt a
ILocal Gov't Code 3 158.002. The population of Nueces County is approximately 291,145. See
Bureau of the Census, U.S. Dep't of Commerce, 1990 Census of Population: General Characteristics:
Texas 3 (1992).2Local Gov't Code 158.001(2).
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO96-100, text, September 23, 1996; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277133/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.