Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-092 Page: 2 of 3
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The Honorable Tom Haywood - Page 2
term of the office to which he was elected or appointed, even though he resigned before running for
the legislature.4 In Wentworth, the Texas Supreme Court determined that article III, section 19, did
not make an individual ineligible for the state senate, even though he had been appointed to the
Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, for a term that overlapped the legislative
term by twenty-one days. In Letter Opinion 95-69, we determined that "article III, section 19, as
interpreted in Wentworth, does not disqualify the holder of a lucrative office from running for the
legislature even though the term of the lucrative office overlaps the legislative term, if the
officeholder resigns from the lucrative office before filing for the legislature." Letter Opinion No.
95-69 (1995) at 3. Accordingly, article HI, section 19 would not disqualify a county judge from
running for the legislature even though the term of office as county judge overlaps the legislative
term, if the county judge resigns from that office before filing for the legislature.
Letter Opinion 95-69 also noted the relevance of Texas Constitution, article XVI, section 17,
to questions arising under article III, section 19, as interpreted in Wentworth. Article XVI, section
17 provides that "[a]ll officers within this State shall continue to perform the duties of their offices
until their successors shall be duly qualified." Even though an officer resigns and his or her
resignation is accepted by the appropriate authority, the law operates to continue him or her in office
until his successor qualifies. Plains Common Consol. Sch. Dist. No. 1 v. Hayhurst, 122 S.W.2d 322
(Tex. Civ. App.--Amarillo 1939, no writ). A county judge who resigns the office to run for the
legislature in reliance on Wentworth v. Meyer may be disqualified from the legislative office until
his or her successor has qualified. The effect of article XVI, section 17 was not an issue in
Wentworth because Wentworth's position as regent had been filled by appointment of a successor.5
We cannot in the opinion process determine whether the Texas Supreme Court might in the future
distinguish Wentworth on the basis of article XVI, section 17, or of any other issue of law.
4See Lee v. Daniels, 377 S.W.2d 618 (Tex. 1964), overruled by Wentworth v. Meyer, 839 S.W.2d 766 (1992);
Willis v. Potts, 377 S.W.2d 622 (Tex. 1964); Kirk v. Gordon, 376 S.W.2d 560 (Tex. 1964), overruled by Wentworth,
839 S.W.2d 766; Attorney General Opinions MW-513 (1982), H-278 (1974); see also Dawkins v. Meyer, 825 S.W.2d
444 (Tex. 1992). We do not know whether the term of the county judge in question will overlap the legislative term
for which he wishes to run, so we will discuss Texas Constitution, article III, section 19, for the sake of completeness.5Wentworth, 839 S.W.2d at 769.
(L097-092)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-092, text, October 13, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277274/m1/2/?q=%221997~%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.