March 29, 1994 

 

Honorable Nathan B. Rheinlander 

Office of County Attorney 

Comal County  

150 North Seguin, Suite 318 

New Braunfels, Texas  78130-5113

Letter Opinion No. 94-034 

 

Re:    Whether a salary grievance committee 

established under chapter 152 of the Local 

Government Code is authorized to hear a 

justice of the peace's grievance concerning 

an "auto allowance"    (ID#  22241)



 

Dear Mr. Rheinlander: 

 

	You have requested an opinion regarding whether a salary grievance committee 

established under subchapter B of chapter 152 of the Local Government Code is 

authorized to hear a justice of the peace's grievance concerning an "auto allowance."    

 

	Section 152.013 of the Local Government Code provides that each year "the 

commissioners court shall set the salary, expenses, and other allowances of elected 

county or precinct officers" at a regular meeting of the court.   Local Gov't Code 

§ 152.013(a) (emphasis added).  Before filing the annual budget with the county clerk, 

the commissioners court is required to give "written notice to each elected county and 

precinct officer of the officer's salary and personal expenses to be included in the 

budget."  Id. § 152.013(c) (emphasis added).  Section 152.016 of the Local Government 

Code provides that an elected county or precinct officer who is "aggrieved by the setting 

of the officer's salary or personal expenses may request a hearing before the salary 

grievance committee."  Id. § 152.016(a) (emphasis added).  Subsection (d) of that 

provision states that the committee's authority "is limited to the consideration of increases 

in the salaries or personal expenses of county and precinct officers.  The committee may 

not set policy of the county or add new items to a proposed county budget."  Id. 

§ 152.016(d) (emphasis added).   

 

	Section 152.013 authorizes the commissioners court of a county to set the salary, 

expenses, and other allowances of elected county or precinct officers.  Section 152.016, 

however, limits the authority of a salary grievance committee to consideration of 

increases in salaries or personal expenses, and does not give the grievance committee 

jurisdiction over allowances.  This omission is not inadvertent.  Prior to 1983, the 

statutory predecessor to section 152.016 authorized an elected county or precinct officer 

to grieve his or her "salary, expenses and other allowance."  V.T.C.S. art. 3912k, § 2(d) 

(repealed by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, § 49, at 1307).  In 1983, the legislature 

amended the statute to delete the term "allowance" and added a new subsection which 

provided that "[t]he authority given to the salary grievance committee is specifically 

limited to increasing items concerning salaries or personal expenses of county and 

precinct officers.  Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to allow the committee to set 

policy of the county or add new items to a proposed county budget."  See Acts 1983, 

68th Leg., ch. 336, § 1, at 1743.   

 

	Therefore, we must consider whether the "auto allowance" at issue here 

constitutes a "personal expense" or "an allowance."  This office explained the difference 

between an expense and an allowance in Attorney General Opinion H-992: 

 

we believe that the use of the term "expense" in article 3912k [the 

statutory predecessor to chapter 152 of the Local Government Code] 

requires that the sum set by the commissioners as "travel expense" 

reflect the expenses actually incurred by county officials in the 

conduct of official business.  While county officials may receive a 

monthly travel allowance without the need to account for every mile 

traveled when their duties require traveling from their official 

stations on a continuing basis, the sum set as a travel allowance 

must be premised upon some basis of fact and reasonable 

calculation.  See Letter Advisory No. 89 (1975).   

 

Attorney General Opinion H-992 (1977) at 2.  Based on the information you have 

provided, it appears that the justice of the peace is not paid the "auto allowance" on the 

basis of his actual mileage or actual expenses, but rather in a fixed amount on a monthly 

basis.  For this reason, it appears that the "auto allowance" is an allowance rather than an 

expense, and that the salary grievance committee is therefore not authorized to consider 

the justice of the peace's grievance with respect to this matter.   

 

S  U  M  M  A  R  Y 

 

	A salary grievance committee established under chapter 152 of 

the Local Government Code not is authorized to hear a justice of the 

peace's grievance concerning an "auto allowance" which is not 

based on actual expenses.   

 

						Yours very truly, 

 

 

 

						Mary R. Crouter 

						Assistant Attorney General 

						Opinion Committee 





LO- 

LDB 

 

ID#  22241 

 

 

 

INDEX HEADINGS 

compensation 

county commissioners court 

county officers and employees 

words and phrases 

	"personal expenses" 

 

______________________________ 

 

______________________________  

 



 Subchapter B does not apply to a judge of a court of record.  Local Gov't Code § 152.017(1).  A 

justice of the peace is not a judge of a court of record.  Ex parte Hayden, 215 S.W.2d 620 (Tex. Crim. 

App. 1948). 

 Section 152.011 of the Local Government Code provides that "[t]he commissioners court of a 

county shall set the amount of the compensation, office and travel expenses, and all other allowances for 

county and precinct officers and employees who are paid wholly from county funds."   

Honorable Nathan B. Rheinlander  -  Page  2