Texas Attorney General Opinion: WW-471 Page: 5 of 6
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Honorable O. L. Stlefer, Page 5 (WW-471)
fees is a matter of general legislation,
and is a 'subject' of general legislation
within the meaning of Article III, Section
35, above, cannot be questioned. There
are many such enactments in our statutes.
These statutes have been strictly con-
strued against allowing a fee by implication,
as regards both the fixing of the fee, and
the officer entitled thereto."
In State v. Moore, 57 Tex. 307, Mr. Justice Stayten
said:
"It is not believed that any
well considered case can be found in
which a public officer has been permitted
to collect fees unless the same are
provided for, and the amount thereof
declared by law."
It is a basic rule of law that statutes should be so
construed as to carry out the legislative intent and once
such intent is ascertained it should be given full effect.
Wood v. State, 133 Tex. 110, 126 SW.2d 4; Simmons et al, v.
Arnim et al., 110 Tex. 309, 220 S.W.66.
The Court, in Gaddy v. First National Bank of Beaumont,
115 Tex, 393, 283 S.W. 27 said:
"In this case, we think the act
itself is entirely clae. Where this
is true, from the very language employed,
it is not necessary or proper to add or
to subtract from the statute."
Clearly the intent of the Legislature was to authorize
private employment agencies to charge a placement fee not to
exceed forty (40) per centum of the applicant's first month's
salary. No other fee of any sort is authorized by the statute
and under no conditions can the authorized fee or any other fee,
be charged prior to the applicant's obtaining and accepting
employment.
In the instant case the "search fee" is charged the
applicant prior to his ebtaining and accepting employment and,
in fact, the only purpose for the fee is to assist him in
securing employment. That the parent organization is an out
of state concern makes no difference. The whole mode of
operation is designed to accomplish exactly what the statute
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: WW-471, text, July 8, 1958; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth267082/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.