Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0612 Page: 4 of 6
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The Honorable Joe Driver - Page 4
1984), rev'd on other grounds, 709 S.W.2d 646, 647 (Tex. 1986). And adjudicating agencies
generally employ methods and procedures that are similar to those used by courts to adjudicate cases.
See Smith v. Houston Chem. Servs., Inc., 872 S.W.2d 252, 274 (Tex. App.-Austin 1994, writ
denied); see also TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN. 2001.051-.052 (Vernon 2000) (providing for notice
and opportunity for hearing); 2001.053 (providing for right to counsel); 2001.059-.060 (providing
for transcript and record); 2001.081-.093 (providing for rules of evidence, witnesses and discovery
in contested cases); 2001.094-. 103 (providing for depositions). Yet, these similarities do not make
an administrative agency a court. Houston Chem. Servs. Inc., 872 S.W.2d at 274. An administrative
agency's adjudicative power is an exercise of executive branch power. See Beyer, 808 S.W.2d at
627; accord Barshop, 925 S.W.2d at 635; Pretzer v. Motor Vehicle Bd., 125 S.W.3d 23, 40 (Tex.
App.-Austin 2003), aff'd inpart, rev'd inpart, 138 S.W.3d 908 (Tex. 2004). It is not "an exercise
of the judicial power assigned to the 'courts' of the State" by the Texas Constitution. Beyer, 808
S.W.2d at 627. Instead, as Texas courts consistently recognize, agency adjudications are "simply
executive measures taken in the administration of statutory provisions." Flag-Redfern Oil Co., 852
S.W.2d at 485-86 n.7; Barshop, 925 S.W.2d at 635 (same); Pretzer, 125 S.W.3d at 40 (same), aff'd
in part, rev'd in part, 138 S.W.3d 908 (Tex. 2004); Beyer, 808 S.W.2d at 627 (same).
Much like an executive-branch administrative agency, a civil service commission has power
that is judicial in nature. See TEX. Loc. Gov'T CODE ANN. 143.010(d) (Vernon 1999) ("The
commission may issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum for the attendance of witnesses and
for the production of documentary material."), 143.010 (f) ("Witnesses may be placed under the rule
at the commission hearing."), 143.010(g) (limiting commission to consideration of only "evidence
submitted at the hearing"). But a civil service commission is still an administrative body. Stauffer
v. City ofSan Antonio, 344 S.W.2d 158, 160 (Tex. 1961); Glass v. Smith, 244 S.W.2d 645, 652 (Tex.
1951). Because a civil service commission is an administrative body, it is not a court. And because
a civil service commission is not a court, any proceeding before it is not in a court of justice and,
therefore, not a "suit." A hearing before the independent third party hearing examiner under chapter
143 is not a civil suit as contemplated by section 142.009(a). Cf Tex. Employeers' Ins. Assn. v.
Sewell, 32 S.W.2d 262, 264 (Tex. Civ. App.-Waco 1930, writ ref'd) ("The Industrial Accident
Board is an administrative body, authorized by statute to exercise certain powers quasi judicial in
their nature. Nevertheless, it is not a court ... ."); Tex. Liquor Control Bd. v. Jones, 112 S.W.2d
227, 229 (Tex. Civ. App.-Texarkana 1937, no writ) ("The cancellation of a permit to sell liquor
under the Liquor Control Act ... is not a civil suit or cause of action.").
For these reasons, we conclude that section 142.009(a) of the Local Government Code does
not require a municipality to pay a fire fighter or police officer for an appearance as a witness in a
civil service hearing before a hearing examiner when the fire fighter or police officer is subpoenaed
in his or her capacity as a fire fighter or police officer and testifies during time off.330f course, section 142.009(a) is always subject to amendment by the Legislature.
(GA-0612)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0612, text, April 2, 2008; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275508/m1/4/?q=%222008~%22: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.