| COUNTY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES - GENERAL |
| A commissioners court that acts to remove a proposed raise from the budget at the final budget hearing without giving additional notice to county officers and without giving the elected officials a chance to seek redress from the salary grievance committee acts contrary to the requirements of chapter 152 of the Local Gov't Code | GA-0929 |
| A person appointed to serve as a volunteer assistant fire marshal is not, as an automatic consequence of the appointment, a reserve law enforcement officer | GA-0853 |
| Additional staff - if the 105th District Court determines it needs additional staff to aid in the exercise of its judicial functions, Court may rely on Government Code section 74.103 and inherent power to appoint necessary personnel other than a bailiff. | GA-1032 |
| Bailiff position, the Legislature has not authorized the creation of an additional bailiff position for the 105th District Court. | GA-1032 |
| Brazos County Juvenile Probation Department employees, allocation of hiring and firing authority between juvenile board and chief juvenile probation officer | DM-0079 |
| Close office for official day of mourning honoring former president and give employee the day off, authority of county official to | GA-0303 |
| Close office to allow employees time off for reason unrelated to bad weather, repairs, and the like, official may do so providing that closure does not violate article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution | JC-0239 |
| Closure of office for bad weather, repairs, and the like, whether county official may authorize | JC-0131 |
| Collective bargaining, deputy sheriffs are entitled to organize and collectively bargain under Local Government Code chapter 174, The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act | GA-0238 |
| Commissioned peace officers who are employees of the state or of a political subdivision of the state who are also employed off-duty as private security officers do not violate acceptance of honoraria prohibition in section 36.07 of Penal Code | GA-0256 |
| Computer system, county board appointed by commissioners court to manage county computer system may not authorize private users to access computer records of elected county officials | JM-1224 |
| Computer system, county board appointed by commissioners court to manage county computer system may not deprive elected county officers of their statutory authority to control and manage information created by their offices, including information stored i | JM-1224 |
| Continued employment, road department employees in county of fewer than 200,000 in population which changes road administration system to ex officio commissioner system have no legally enforceable expectation of | LO97-021 |
| County Attorney, Commissioners Court authority to prohibit animals in a county courthouse that includes the offices of the county attorney | GA-1018 |
| County attorneys may use county-paid employees to perform private work in county attorney's private practice of law provided county commissioners court has approved the practice prior to the time attorney renders services to county | LO93-051 |
| County commissioner's and auditor's concurrent service, chapter 171 of Local Government Code does not prohibit merely because they are married | LO93-008 |
| Court reporter is not an officer for purposes of article XVI, section 61 of Texas Constitution | GA-0155 |
| De facto status of elected officer who did not file signed oath of office statement | LO96-056 |
| Deputy county clerk is an employee, not an officer | JC-0029 |
| Discharge of at-will sheriff's personnel for political views or activities opposed to sheriff, impermissible unless activities disrupt office | LO96-139 |
| District court reporter, county has no authority to influence or direct the employment of | GA-1023 |
| District court reporter, district judge who appoints an official district court reporter has the sole authority to terminate | GA-1023 |
| District court reporter, employment status of, is context-specific and cannot be determined for all purposes | GA-1023 |
| District judge's appointment of spouse of one of county commissioners to serve as county auditor does not violate nepotism law | LO93-008 |
| Employment policy, adopted by the county commissioners court, that prohibits the rehire of an individual whose employment relationship with the county terminated within one year of the proposed rehiring does not apply to an appointment by the constable | GA-0656 |
| Freeze vacant positions in elected county officer's office unless officer fills position by promoting existing county employee or obtains commissioners court's special permission, commissioners court may not | GA-0037 |
| Grievance, discipline, and evaluation proceedings, employee subject to has right to open meeting but no right to insist upon closed meeting | JM-1191 |
| Legislator is not prohibited from employing local public officials | LO98-039 |
| Liability of justice of the peace's employee for shortage of collections | DM-0324 |
| Longevity pay - Provided any longevity pay is prospective to the adoption of the longevity policy, a court would likely conclude that a county's longevity pay policy for county officials may include the prior service of the individual as a county employee | KP-0135 |
| Office hours, county clerk may not alter without approval of county court | JC-0323 |
| Payment to settle lawsuit against former county sheriff and deputies, authority of commissioners court to order where county is paying costs of defense | LO98-103 |
| Payroll preparation duties, commissioners court may assign to county director of personnel | LO98-013 |
| Performance bonus based on achievement of preset performance goals, commissioners court may not pay to elected county officials | GA-0661 |
| Professional association, whether county official may use county postage meter for campaign for office in | LO97-077 |
| Proposed salary increases, county and precinct officers here are not entitled to the | GA-0929 |
| Records management officer: elected county officer manages his or her own records; commissioners court appoints records management officer for nonelective officers | LO90-062 |
| Removal of county officers by district judge after a trial | DM-0114 |
| Reserve law enforcement officers, a county commissioners court and county fire marshal lack authority to commission or appoint volunteer assistant fire marshals as | GA-0853 |
| Rural fire prevention district board, whether a member is a "county officer" who must reside in county where district is located | LO95-016 |
| Term of office established by Texas Constitution may not be shortened by legislature | JC-0519 |
| Texas Constitution article 16, section 40(b), a state employee is not prohibited from assuming elected county office under | GA-1026 |
| Texas statutes, a state employee is not prohibited from becoming a candidate for elective office under | GA-1026 |
| The federal Hatch Act - a state employee is prohibited from becoming a candidate for elective office if the salary of the employee is paid completely by federal funds under | GA-1026 |
| Veterans County Service Office, officer should have office separate from other county departments and officials | LO96-127 |
| Veterans county service officer, non-veteran of the armed forces not eligible to be appointed as | JC-0151 |
| Visiting statutory county court judge not barred from simultaneously serving as county director of Judicial Support Services | GA-0840 |
| Volunteer assistant fire marshal, the statutory definition of "reserve law enforcement officer" does not include a | GA-0853 |
| Civil Service |
| Back pay, county civil-service commission or sheriff's department civil-service commission may adopt rule permitting award of back pay in certain circumstances | JC-0529 |
| Classification of person as civil service "employee" (Affirmed by Tex. Att'y Gen. LO-97-016) | DM-0385 |
| Community supervision and corrections department employees, county may not include in its expanded civil service system | JC-0254 |
| County attorney's personnel are terminable at will despite civil service rule including them in civil service system | LO96-100 |
| Deputy constable, county may include as employee covered by civil service system | LO97-016 |
| Disciplinary procedures applicable to sheriff's department employees covered by county civil service system under chapter 158, subchapter A of the Local Government Code | JC-0334 |
| Expanded system, inclusion of deputy sheriffs and deputy constables in | DM-0338 |
| Investigator appointed by county probate judge is covered by the Tarrant County civil service system | GA-0824 |
| Military leave of absence, authority of civil service commission, when a police officer or fire fighter returns from a military leave of absence, to demote officers who had advanced in rank because of the military leave of absence | GA-0325 |
| Provisions of the Hidalgo County civil service plan, Hidalgo County deputy district clerks are not subject to the plan and the Commissioners Court cannot amend the civil service plan to include deputy district clerks | GA-0243 |
| Sheriff's office employee's eligibility to participate in county civil service system | LO92-048 |
| Subpoena power, commission's authority to adopt | DM-0338 |
| Commissioner/County Judge |
| Commissioners court may not delegate its approval authority of payroll, claims, and other payments to county treasurer | KP-0160 |
| Pursuant to Local Government Code subsection 81.005(h), a county commissioners court may change the designated day of the week it convenes during the county's current fiscal year | GA-1001 |
| Compensation and Benefits |
| Accrued vacation and compensatory time, sheriff's deputies may not receive payment for time that accrued when county did not provide for such payment | JC-0370 |
| Authority of county commissioners court to adopt a policy to automatically reduce the salary of employees and officers | KP-0052 |
| Because the initial determination of whether a public expenditure to a justice of the peace who refuses to perform his duties upon resignation is gratuitous belongs to the commissioners court, we cannot conclude as a matter of law that the officer in these circumstances is entitled to salary, expenses, allowances, and other benefits provided by the county. | KP-0007 |
| Benefits under chapter 615 of the Government Code, we will not speculate on the meaning a court would give to the phrase "continued health insurance benefits" given the latent ambiguity in section 615.073 and the circumstances by which a surviving spouse becomes eligible for | GA-0822 |
| Car allowance, district judge who appoints county auditor may include in auditor's salary | LO95-038 |
| Ceiling, statute sets ceiling on salary of county court at law judge | LO90-079 |
| Child support office, juvenile board in Orange County is authorized by statute to set salaries of employees of | JM-1150 |
| Closure of office for bad weather, repairs, and the like, county officers may authorize and pay employees for time they were unable to work | JC-0131 |
| Commissioner's individual employees, authority of commissioners court to reduce salaries absent a written policy | LO95-053 |
| Constable, authority of commissioners court to set reasonable salary for | JC-0389 |
| County community supervision and corrections department not required to establish exit incentive program equal to county program | LO97-090 |
| County court at law judges, compensation of in counties collecting court costs and fees under section 51.702 of the Government Code | JC-0159 |
| County fire marshal and safety coordinator positions - Commissioners court may not fund the salary of those positions through revenue generated by a sales and use tax imposed pursuant to Tax Code chapter 324 | KP-0162 |
| County law enforcement official injured in course of official duties, county may not reduce constitutional salary payment due to employee's tax status | LO93-062 |
| County retirees' health insurance premiums, county may not agree to pay unless authorized by state law and consistent with article III, section 53 of the Texas Constitution | JC-0297 |
| Deduction from salary or withholding of salary warrants not authorized from justice of the peace's employee for shortage of collections | DM-0324 |
| Discretion to provide medical insurance for juvenile board, county commissioners have | GA-0715 |
| Discretionary authority to establish, increase, decrease, or eliminate the compensation paid
to the judges serving on a juvenile board, a commissioner court has under section 152.0034(b) of the Human Resources Code | GA-0799 |
| District and county clerks, commissioners court may not reduce salaries except during regular budget session | LO94-082 |
| Eligibility for county medical insurance, juvenile board members | GA-0715 |
| Emergency overtime under subsection 157.021(b)(1) from an officer’s budgeted allowances, County commissioners court may not without consent presume to deduct the | GA-0857 |
| Garnishment of wages to collect guaranteed student loans | DM-0419 |
| Gifts for county employees, county courthouse vending machine surcharge proceeds may be used to purchase in certain circumstances | LO96-136 |
| Health insurance coverage, county may not pay $200 per month to employee who chooses to forego | LO92-085 |
| Health insurance premiums and matching retirement system contributions, whether county commissioner removed from office for felony conviction overturned on appeal is entitled to compensation for | LO93-068 |
| Health insurance, county is not required to provide it to part-time constable | JC-0414 |
| Health wellness plan with increased insurance premium for tobacco users | KP-0187 |
| Justice of the peace is not a county employee and salary and other compensation is set by the commissioners court | GA-0569 |
| Juvenile board members have no authority to set their own salaries without commissioners court's approval | DM-0103 |
| Lifetime service credit, accrual of by assistant prosecutor dependent only on length of service, not continuity or location | JC-0473 |
| Longevity pay for assistant prosecutors, credit towards is not accrued for employment as an assistant prosecutor by a state other than Texas | GA-0312 |
| Longevity pay for county employees | LO96-007 |
| Longevity pay, a commissioners court order granting, to certain qualified employees and allowing employees to transfer the longevity pay to another county department if they are hired there, does not continue in effect for an individual who later becomes a county officer | KP-0060 |
| Longevity pay, an assistant prosecutor's prior service as an elected district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney who performed the duties of a district attorney does not qualify as lifetime service credit | GA-0096 |
| Longevity pay, court may set rate for sheriff prospectively | JC-0026 |
| Medical coverage for agricultural and home extension agents, authority of county to provide | DM-0337 |
| Medical coverage provided by county to employees through single-employer, self-funded plan subject to certain Insurance Code provisions but not to Federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act | DM-0276 |
| Medical insurance, included within the term "compensation" | GA-0715 |
| Member of county salary grievance committee not barred from voting on own salary grievance by conflict of interest statute | LO98-097 |
| Method of timekeeping used by county employees, Commissioners court exercising its authority under Local Government Code subsection 157.021(a) to establish a 40-hour | GA-0857 |
| Non-elected officials and employees, commissioners court may reduce salaries at any time | LO94-082 |
| Notice of approved salary and personal expenses, county commissioners court is not precluded from faxing to elected officers as a matter of law | JC-0471 |
| Notice to elected officers of proposed salary and expenses for upcoming fiscal year, commissioners court must provide after it receives proposed budget from county judge so long as time is sufficient to allow aggrieved officer to file grievance and to hav | GA-0051 |
| Official court reporters employed in Denton County Courts at Law, the Commissioners Court of Denton County has authority to set compensation of | DM-0128 |
| Payroll deductions for membership dues to employees associations, employees not entitled to | JC-0369 |
| Payroll deductions, county may only make those deductions authorized by statute | LO90-080 |
| Political subdivision of state required to provide workers' compensation coverage for employees | DM-0180 |
| Prior Service - Provided any longevity pay is prospective to the adoption of the longevity policy, a court would likely conclude that a county's longevity pay policy for county officials may include the prior service of the individual as a county employee | KP-0135 |
| Retired county employee's health insurance premiums, county may not pay if, at time person retired, the county did not provide for payment of such premiums; county may not seek reimbursement of unconstitutionally paid premiums | JC-0383 |
| Retired county employee, county may invite to participate in county's group health insurance program if retiree pay premiums under chapter 175 of Local Government Code | JC-0383 |
| Retroactive compensation, Texas Constitution does not prohibit commissioners court from approving payment of back wages to which employee was automatically entitled | LO93-057 |
| Retroactive purchase of accrued sick leave or change in rate of vacation time accrued prohibited under Texas Constitution | LO90-080 |
| Salaries of county official's employees, authority to set belongs to court | LO90-040 |
| Salaries of elected county officials, procedure for setting | LO95-018 |
| Salaries, county probably may not pay in advance of services being rendered | JC-0080 |
| Salaries, district judges may increase salaries of county auditor and assistant county auditors even though county budget year has already begun | JC-0361 |
| Salary grievance committee may not consider aggrieved elected county officer's complaint after start of fiscal year | DM-0405 |
| Salary grievance committee, public members of hold over in office when no grand jury convened in county during past year | LO96-067 |
| Salary grievance hearing, elected officer is entitled to have five days after actually receiving written notice of approved salary and personal expenses | JC-0471 |
| Salary grievance, a county officer who does not challenge the officer's proposed salary in accordance with the procedure and deadline specified by subsection 152.016(a) of the Local Government Code in any given year has effectively waived any, for the upcoming fiscal year | KP-0060 |
| Salary increases for elected officers, special statutory notice must apprise public of maximum potential salary increases | JC-0255 |
| Salary increases for officers and employees do not become effective until new budget is adopted by commissioners court, even if budget is not adopted until after start of new fiscal year | JC-0147 |
| Salary increases for selected employees, whether commissioners court may grant without amending county budget | JM-1268 |
| Salary of county employees, county commissioners court sets when it adopts the county budget | GA-0322 |
| Salary payments from employees for the time period the employees were dismissed by an officer’s declaring an emergency under subsection 157.021(b)(1), Local Government Code, if such an action prevents an elected officer from performing his or her core duties, a county commissioners court may be precluded from seeking to recoup | GA-0857 |
| Salary warrants may be issued for county officers and employees delinquent in ad valorem tax obligations | JM-1193 |
| Sick leave not used by county employee, commissioners court may implement policy authorizing annual "buy back" of | LO98-099 |
| Sick leave pool, commissioners court may not create absent express statutory authority | JM-1160 |
| Sick leave, commissioners court may not grant additional leave to employee who has exhausted sick leave unless authorized by preexisting policy | JM-1160 |
| Sick-leave pool, employee may contribute unvested sick-leave time | JC-0427 |
| Sick-leave pool, value of sick-leave time is transferred with sick leave to and from | JC-0427 |
| Special statutory notice, publication of required prior to salary increase for county and precinct officers | LO94-004 |
| State supplement to county judge's salary if at least 40 percent of functions he performs are judicial functions | GA-0426 |
| Supplemental workers' compensation, order limiting may not be applied to county employees injured prior to adoption | DM-0213 |
| Transfer of funds from one item in county budget to another to make payments with respect to county judge's state salary supplement | GA-0426 |
| Unused vacation time, county employee who resigns before anniversary date may not be credited or compensated with unused vacation time where county's personnel policy provides that employee's unused vacation time is credited on the anniversary of the empl | JC-0123 |
| Warrant may not be drawn on county fund in favor of justice of the peace against whom judgment for delinquent county property taxes has been entered until debt is paid | JC-0087 |
| Withhold partial salaries and benefits of county employees working less than the required established workweek, so long as it does not preclude an independent, elected officer from fulfilling his or her core functions, a county commissioners court exercising its authority under subsection 157.021(a), Local Government Code, may | GA-0857 |
| Without discretion to withhold the payment of unbudgeted overtime, under subsection 157.021(b)(1), Local Government Code, when an emergency has been declared by a county or district officer, a county commissioners court is | GA-0857 |
| Expenses and Reimbursement |
| Attorney to defend sheriff in criminal prosecution where county's interest is at stake, commissioners court may employ, but may not reimburse sheriff for fees after he has incurred them (Overruled to extent inconsistent with Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. DM-48 | LO97-065 |
| Attorney's fees of county commissioners investigated for violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act | KP-0016 |
| Conference registration fees and lodging expenses, county constitutionally may pay official's or employee's if commissioners court determines that the expenditure will serve a public purpose and attaches sufficient conditions to the expenditure | JC-0080 |
| Election contest, county may not reimburse sheriff for legal fees incurred in defending | DM-0431 |
| Grievance regarding "auto allowance" not based on actual expenses, salary grievance committee not authorized to hear | LO94-034 |
| Legal fees of officer or employee, county may not reimburse after officer or employee hired and paid a private attorney to represent him or her in litigation involving performance of official duties (Overruled to extent inconsistent with Tex. Att'y Gen. | LO90-093 |
| Notice to elected officers of proposed salary and expenses for upcoming fiscal year, commissioners court must provide after it receives proposed budget from county judge so long as time is sufficient to allow aggrieved officer to file grievance and to have | GA-0051 |
| Official court reporter for multi-county district court, reimbursement for expenses of performing official duties in reporter’s county of residence and in other counties
Court reporter for district court is not an employee within Local Government Code section 152.011 | GA-0700 |
| Scope of Local Government Code section 157.901 concerning county's duty to provide legal representation of county officers and employees | KP-0031 |
| Travel allowance of county auditor, commissioners court may not premise payment of on documentation | LO96-065 |
| Travel allowance, gasoline, and automotive repair, authority of county officers to receive from county funds | LO96-028 |
| Travel expenses of forensic pathologist applicant, county commissioners court's authority to use county funds to pay | DM-0317 |
| Under the common law, a county commissioners court has discretion to reimburse legal expenses incurred by a county commissioner in the defense of a criminal matter which results in a finding of not guilty if the prosecution was for actions that were within scope of official duties and defense is primarily for a county purpose and not a personal interest. | KP-0037 |
| JUVENILE |
| Concurrent service of juvenile probation officer and school district trustee | GA-1083 |
| Treasurer |
| Commissioners court may not delegate its approval authority of payroll, claims, and other payments to county treasurer | KP-0160 |
