Texas Attorney General Opinion: MW-188 Page: 4 of 5
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Honorable Joe Resweber - Page Four (MW-188)
Lombardino v. Fireman's and Policeman's Civil Service Commission of the City of San
Antonio, 310 S.W.2d 651 (Tex. Civ. App. 1958, error refd n.r.e.), and Attorney General
Opinion C-190 (1963), a justice of the peace may receive certain fees and costs on behalf
of the county or its officers which must be paid over to the parties entitled to receive
them, and he may "become the custodian of funds paid into the registry of his court during
the progress of a suit, to await its final determination." Cf. Bray-Robinson-Curry Woolen
Mills v. W. F. Walker & Son, et al, 165 S.W. 107 (Tex. Civ. App. - Texarkana 1914, no
writ).
The ministerial function of collecting fines and fees in behalf of the county or its
officers in matters pending within his court and.within his jurisdiction, which must be paid
over to the county treasurer at stated intervals, is not one of the prohibited acts
contemplated by article 6252-24, and the auditor is empowered by article 1656a to
prescribe accounting and control procedures therefor.
While article 1656a, V.T.C.S., empowers the county auditor to prescribe the "system
of accounting" and the "mode and manner" in which "all officers" in the county make
collections and disbursement of funds, he does not have the power to impose a fee or
require that a fee be assessed and collected in each and every instance under article
53.08, section (a)(2)(b), Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides:
The county attorney, district attorney, or criminal district
attorney m collect the fee from any person who is a party to the
offense described...
SUMMARY
The Harris County auditor may prescribe accounting and control
procedures for all fees collected pursuant to article 53.08, Code of
Criminal Procedure, including their deposit in Fund 521, District
Attorney Administration Fund. The county auditor may prescribe
accounting and control procedures for justices of the peace as they
pertain to the fees collected in the processing of hot checks for and
on behalf of the district attorney.
Very truly yours,
MARK WHITE
Attorney General of Texas
JOHN W. FAINTER, JR.
First Assistant Attorney General
TED L. HARTLEY
Executive Assistant Attorney GeneralP. 603
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: MW-188, text, June 5, 1980; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth272033/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.