Attorney General Opinion WW-0765

AusTlov 11. TEXAS FVILL WII-SON A’XTORNEY CENERAL December 21, 1359 Honorable 3ocg Crouch Crimjnal Dietrict Attorney Tarrant County Cwrt Hcuse Fort Worth; Texar _ ' '+ Opinion No. V'd-765 ,Re: .-. :y Dear Mr. Crouch: :. Since the enactment 'of Articles 1665 and 1666a, Vernon's CZ.vi.1 Statutes, are Commissjnners' Courts and County Treasurers in counties with a population inexcess of 2.25,ooo re- quired to comply with the provisions of Articles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Ver- non's Civil St,atutea? .~ Your opinion.pbquelt present8 the. following’quee- Since the enactment of Articles 1665 and 1666a, Vernon's Civ:l Statutes, are Commissioners' Courts and County Treasurers in count&es with a population in excess of 2Pj,OOO requlred to cam lg with the vjsipns of ¶M~Lclis16~ e fo- 9 1635 and 1 36, % Vernon's Clvfl Statutea? In 1897, Articles. 1634, 1635 and 1636, V@rnon'(s Civil Statutes, were enacted by the Legls&ature, setting out-some of the dutleb of the County Treasurer relating. to county finances, They read as follows: ' "Art. 1634. TM cCunty treasurer shall 4 _. ; keep accurate detakled accOunts showing all the transactiona of hi8 offSc8. And~.all war- rants by him aaid off shall be ouhched at' the '. tame he- pays them;‘ and the vouchera re1atin.g to and accomnanyiag each report shall bee Jented to the commlseioners court w/Ch CRe COP- responding report, when 8aj.d court shall com- gare the vouchers with the report, and all Hon. Doug Crouch, page 2 (W-765) proper vouchers shall be allowed and the .treasurer credited with the amount thcre- Of .'I (Emphasis ours). "Art. 1635. When a claim presented as a voucher has been found by the court to be correct, the court shall cause the same to be canceled.by writing or stamping upon the fact1 thereof the word, 'canceled,' and the clerk shall attest the same by his official signature." If1 So in erxolled bill. Should l probably read 'face'." "Art. 1636. When the commissioners court has compared and examined the quarter- ly report of the treasurer, and found the same correct, it shall cause an order to be entered upon the minutes of the court, stat- ing the approval thereof, and reciting sepa- rately the amount received and paid out 09 each fund by the treasurer since the preced- ing treasurer's quarterly report, and the balance of such fund, if any, 'remaining in the treasurer's hands and the'court shall . ~ cause the proper credit to be made in the accounts of the treasurer, in accordance with said order. Said court shall actually inspect and count all the actual.cash and assets in the hands of the treasurer belong- ing to the county at the time of the examina- tion of his said report. Prior to the.ad- journment of each regular term of the court, the county judge and each commissioner shall make affidavit that the requirements of this article have been in all things fully com- plied with by them at said term of said court, and that the cash and other &$8&S mentioned In said county trei)swer’s quarterly, report made by said treasurer to said court, and held by him for the county, have been fully Inspected and counted by them giving the amount of said money and other assets In his hands. Such affidavits shall be filed with the county clerk and recorded in the minutes of said . . . ..: . . ...* . Hon.Doug Crouch, page 3 lm-765) court the term at which the same were filed; and the same shall be published in some newspaper published i.nthe county If there be a newspaper published in the county, for one time." (Emphasis ours). . In the year 1905., the office of the County Audltor~ was .oreated'by the.Leglslature and Articles 1665 and 1666a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, were enacted setting out.-; the dut~ies of the County Auditor; Article 1665 was%mend- ed by Actsof the 54th Legislature, Re ular Seccion;~lg55, Chapter 414, Page 1117, and Article 16 6a was amended:by t House Bill 240, Acts of the 49th Legislature, 1945, Chap- ter 65, Page 93. As amended, they read as follows:~ "Art: 1665: The.County Auditor shall make monthly.and annual reports to the Com- missioners Court and District, Judge or ~Dis- trlct Judges of his,&unty setting forth all the facts of Interest and showing the aggre- 1. -' gate amotints received and disbursed .out of each fund, the condition of each account on the.,books, : the amounts of county, dlstrlc‘t and.school funds .on deposit In the County DeposjLtory;.showlng ~' ..further the amount of bonded and other Indebted- ness of the county, together with such;other ~lnformation$'nd suggestions as he may deem proper or <h&t said Commissioners Co&, or Dis- trict Judge or District Judges may require. Said annual report shall.be made to'lnclyde all. transactions during ,the year ending.December 31st.of each year and shall be completed and ."'~ .' Piled at a regular&or special term..ofthe~ Con& "' daiaelonere Court in the following Aprll,.and ~coples of. such report.s shall be'filed ylth the Metrict .Judge or District Judgesof said county.,.. Bach time an annual audit isdelivered to the i ,. " Commiaaioners,Court an& the Districts Judge or ' ,,~ District Judg,es, as the case may be, the'county Auditor shallsend a report to the .bond.ing com- pany of each district, county or precinct officer '~ showing the condition of that particular office. As amended Acts 1955, 54th Leg., p. 1117, ch. 414, g 3." "Art. 1666a. The~County Auditor in all Hon. Doug Crouch, page 4 (WW-765) . . . counties having a populat,ion In excess of two hundred and twenty-five thousand (S?j,OOO) as shown by the last preceding or any future United States Censes shall serve as the budget officer for the Commissioners Courts In each county, and on or immediately after Janumy 1st of each year he shall prepare a budget to cover all proposed expenditures of the county government for the current fiscal and calendar year. . : . “The County-Auditor shall make to the.Com- missioners Court not less than monthly a com- plete report showing the financial .conditlon of the oounty. Said report shall be In such form as may be prescribed, by said County Auditor and shall set forth all facts of Interest concerning the financial condition of the county and shall contain a .consolidated balance sheet. The re- ‘port shall contain a complete statement of the balances on hand at the beginning and cIo$e of the month and the aggregate receipts to and ag- gregate disbursements. from each fund, the trans- fers to and from each fund, the bonded warrant Indebtedness with the rates of Interest due thereon, a summarized budget statement showing f&r each officer, department, or institution budgeted the expenses paid from the budget during t.he month and for the period of the fiscal years Inclusive of the month~for which said report IS made, also the encumbrances against sald.budgeta, and the amounts available for further expendl- tures, together with such other information a8 such officer ma8 deem necessary to reflect the true condition of the finances of such county or the Commissioners Court thereof may require. The County Auditor shall publish once in a daily newspaper published In said county,a condensed copy of said report showing the condition of funds and budgets together with such recommend- ations as he may deem desirable. “In the preparation of the budget, the County Auditor shall have authority to require of any district, county, or .precinct officer of the county scch information as may be - . Don. Day) Crouch, page 5 (WI?-765) necessary~ to properly PPCpare the budget .‘I You will note that Article 1636, Vcrnon’a’C%vll Stetutes,, requires the Commissi,onerd’ Court to exam.We the quarterly report of the County Treasurer and, if found correct,. to enter an Order to that effect on the minutes of the Court, swear’ to the fact of such exami- natjon, and publish such affidavit in a newspaper in the county. Article 1634; Vernon’s Civil Statutes, .’ requires the Treasurer to present all vouchers relating to the report to the CommUsioners Court and the Court must compare a vouchePa with the report. After the law creating the office of County Auditor was passed and his duties set forth, and particularly his duties as set out in Article. 1665. and 1666a, Vernon’8 Civil Statutes, the-County Auditor, who has authority t@ employ as many d,eputles as his needs require, 54 directed to do the same thing with respect to the aCCourM of the . County Treasurer as are requfred of the Commissioners Court in Articles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Vernon’s Civil. Statutes, even to the requ~irement that the report be pub- lished In a ‘newspaper except that. the report ‘of. the audi- tor shall be made monthly Instead of quart,erl.y 88ln the case of County Treasurers. .c .I. that : It is a wel~l-settled rule of statutory constfuct$on 1 ‘I . .) . . statutes In m materla and re- lating to the same subject .are~ to be taken l and construed togetheri ~because It is to be inferred that they had one object In view; and were intended to be considered as c.onetSttitlng one entire and harmonious eystem. But when the new statute In ltse.lf comprehends the entire eub- ject and creates a new, entire and independent system respecting that subject-matter, It is unlversall~y held to repeal and Supersede all previous systems and laws respecting the same subject-matter. . . . court) i (Dmbhhasis supplied by ..J II . ‘If a subsequent’statute be not repuS& In all its provisions to a prior one, yet, If the latter statute was clearly Intended to prescribe. the only rules which Hon.'Doug Crouch, 'page 6 W-765) should govern, It repeals the prior one.' ' (3 How. U.S. II., 636.) So a s,ubsequent statute revising the subject matter of a former one, and evidently intended as a substitute for it3 ~although it contains no express words to that effect, must operate to repeal the former to .the extent to which Its provisions are revised and su plied. Bryan v. Sundberg, 5 Tex. 418, 42 E . . .'I . The duties of the,County Auditor asset out in Articles 1665 and 166Sa, Vernon's Civil Statutes, of very recent date compared with Articles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Vernon's Civil Statutes, are a comprehen- sive set of .rules prescribed by the Legislature con- cerning the county budget and county financial reports. and, in our.opinion, is the only set of rules intended by the Legislature to have effect regarding these sub- jects in counties with a population in excess of 225,000. When Articles 1634, 163.5 and 1636, Vernon"s Civil- Statutes were passed in 1897, these rules were adequate in dealing with county finances, but as our populaticn increas,ed and many of our counties grew in population and. wealth, the necessity of a more efficient, compre- hensive system in handling county finances became ob- vious . Consequently, the. position of County Auditor wa8 created forthe larger counties and Articles 1665 and 1666a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, were enacted. . . As can be readily ascertained, it wou~ld be a dupli- cation of effort to make it mandatory for the counties with County Auditors and County Treasurers to comply with both&s of statutes and; in those counties with a large population, the task of complying with Article 1634, Vernon's Civil Statutes, and Article 1636, Vernon's Civil Statutes, would not be practical and would require the full time of one or more members bf the Commissioners' Ceurt if the letter of the law were carried cut. As stat- ed in 36 TexasJurisprudence, page 173, Statutes, Section 91: "An important rule to be observed in statutory interpretation is that an act should be given a fair, rational, reasonable and sensible construction, considering its Hon. Doug Crouch, Page 7 (w-765) language and subject-matter, and with a view to accomplishing t;e legislative In- tent and purpose. . . . To give effect to both sets of statutes In this case would not be reasonable. In view of the above, we are of the opinion that it was the intent of the Legislature for Articles 1665 and. 1666a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, to supersede Articles 1634, 1635 and 1636, Vernon's Civil Statutes, insofar as they pertain to counties with a population in excess of 225,000. .After the office of County Auditorwas created and Article ‘1665 and Article. 1666a, Vernon's Clvil~ Statutes, were ! passed, a new, entire and independent *~ system of rules and lawa were.passed relative to the county lsudget and county financial reports in counties with- a popu- '\ lation in excess of,ZT!5,OOO, thereby super- sedi2 and repealing Articles 1634, 1635 and 1 36, Vernon's Civil Statutes, inso- far as. said articles gertained.to such counties. Very truly 370~1-8, oPm10~ CO~~MIWEE W,. V..Geppert, Chalrman : J. C. Davis, Jr. Gordon C. Cass Thomas Burrus Bob Eric Shannon REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Leonard Passmore