Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO93-051 Page: 2 of 3
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Honorable W. C. Kirkendall - Page 2 (LO-93-5 1)
among other things, the object the legislature sought to accomplish and legislative history.
See id. 311.023. If we rely solely on common usage, the word "office," as section
41.011 of the Government Code uses it, might appear to refer merely to the facilities the
county or district provides the county attorney. See WEBSTER'S NINTH NEW
COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY 820 (1987) (defining "office"). By examining the legislative
history of.section.41.011, however, we find that the legislature apparently intended a
broader definition of the word.
The legislature added section 41.011 to the Government Code in 1987. See Acts
1987, 70th Leg., ch. 213, 1, at 1502. The purpose of this bill was to statutorily
authorize the long-standing practice of many counties, particularly rural counties, of this
state. Hearings on S.B. 748 Before the Senate Comm. on Criminal Justice, 70th Leg.
(Apr. 21, 1987) (statement of Senator Glasgow, sponsor of the bill) (tape available from
Senate Staff Services); Debate on S.B. 748 on the Floor of the Senate, 70th Leg.
(Apr. 24, 1987) (testimony of "the Senator from Erath") (tape available from Senate Staff
Services). In passing the bill, the legislature recognized that, frequently, rural counties
must provide incentives to attract an attorney to the county attorney position. See id.
According to the bill's sponsor, Senate Bill 748 "makes clear that a district or county
attorney, at the discretion of the county commissioners court, can use the county facilities,
that is, office space, secretaries, and telephones, to practice private law." Hearings on
S.B. 748 Before the Senate Comm. on Criminal Justice, 70th Leg. (Apr. 21, 1987)
(statement of Senator Glasgow, sponsor of the bill) (tape available from Senate Staff
Services); see also Debate on S.B. 748 on the Floor of the Senate, 70th Leg. (Apr. 24,
1987) (testimony of "the Senator from Erath") (tape available from Senate Staff Services).
The legislature statutorily may authorize a subdivision of the state to provide its
employees with some benefit as part of the employees' compensation for services the
employees have rendered to the subdivision. Attorney General Opinion M-582 (1970) at
7 (quoting Byrd v. City of Dallas, 6 S.W.2d 738 (1938)). In our opinion, section 41.011
of the Government Code authorizes a county commissioners court to compensate in-kind
its county or district attorney with the use of office space, secretaries, and telephones.
This decision is not unlike a county commissioners court's decision to provide county
employees with group health insurance coverage. See id.; see also Attorney General
Opinions M-595 (1970) at 4; H-1227 (1978) at 1.
You specifically ask whether such a practice violates article m, section 52 of the
Texas Constitution. That provision generally prohibits the use of public funds for private
purposes. Attorney General Opinions DM-66 (1991) at 3; JM-1199 at 1, JM-1194 at 3
(1990). The question you ask does not, however, raise the public purpose question, so
long as the county commissioners court approves the expenditure of county funds for
office space and personnel for the county or district attorney prior to the attorney's
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO93-051, text, June 18, 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth276637/m1/2/?q=%221993%22: accessed May 31, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.