December 21, 1995



The Honorable Preston Poole

Garza County Attorney

Garza County Courthouse

P.O. Box 296

Post, Texas  79356

Letter Opinion No. 95-086



Re:    Whether an individual must 

have resided in a county for six 

months prior to his or her appointment 

as county attorney    (ID# 36426)





Dear Mr. Poole:



	You have requested our opinion regarding the six-month county residency 

requirement for an individual who is appointed county attorney.  You indicate that you 

contemplate resigning your position as of January 1, 1996, and that “the attorney 

applying for [the] appointment . . . will have only been in the county for 2 months.”



	In order to be eligible for appointment as county attorney, a person must be a 

“licensed attorney.” Gov’t Code § 41.001.  In addition, article XVI, section 14, of the 

Texas Constitution requires that all district or county officers “reside within the State and 

. . . within their districts or counties.”  Furthermore, section 141.001, Election Code, 

provides the following:



	(a)  To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed 

to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:



		. . . 



		(5)  have resided continuously in the state for 12 months 

and in the territory from which the office is elected for six 

months immediately preceding the following date:



		. . . 



			(E)  for an appointee to an office, the date the 

appointment is made . . . . [Emphasis added.]



See Jordan v. Crudgington, 231 S.W.2d 641, 646 (Tex. 1950).



	Since the office of county attorney is a “public elective office,” Tex. Const. art. 

V, § 21, it is clear that, in order to be eligible to hold the office, a prospective appointee 

must have been a resident of the county for six months immediately preceding the date of 

his or her appointment.  In the situation you pose, the individual in question, having lived 

in the county for only two months on January 1, 1996, will thus not be eligible for 

appointment as county attorney on that date.



S  U  M  M  A  R  Y



	In order to be eligible for appointment as county attorney, an 

individual must have resided in the county for at least six months 

immediately preceding the date of appointment.



						Yours very truly,







						Rick Gilpin

						Deputy Chief

						Opinion Committee







The Honorable Preston Poole  -  Page  2