Can a Texas juvenile board raise the salaries of its own county judge members?

Plain-English summary

A juvenile board is the local body of judges that oversees the juvenile probation system in its counties. For Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties, the board is made up of the county judges, the district judges, and the judge of any statutory court designated as a juvenile court. The board members are paid an annual salary, and the Human Resources Code says that salary is "set by the commissioners court." The commissioners courts of the three counties had set the members' pay at the statutory minimum. The board then issued its own orders trying to raise the salaries of its county judge members above that figure.

The Hale County District Attorney asked whether the board could do that. The Attorney General said no. Section 152.0411(c) of the Human Resources Code is unambiguous: the commissioners courts set the salaries. Nothing in section 152.0411, or anywhere in chapter 152 governing juvenile boards, lets the board set its members' pay without the commissioners courts' approval. Because the board had no such authority, its orders raising the county judge members' salaries above the amounts the commissioners courts had fixed were invalid.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1992. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The juvenile board statutes in chapter 152 of the Human Resources Code have been amended and reorganized many times since 1992, so confirm the current provision governing a specific county's juvenile board before relying on this opinion.

Background and statutory framework

Section 152.0411(a) of the Human Resources Code created the juvenile board for Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties and provided that it be composed of "the county judges, the district judges in Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties, and the judge of any statutory court designated as a juvenile court in the counties."

Subsection (c) set out how the members are paid: "The commissioners courts of the counties shall pay the members of the juvenile board an annual salary set by the commissioners court at not less than $1,200, payable in equal monthly installments from the general fund of the counties. The counties shall apportion and pay the salary according to the ratio used to pay the expenses of the 64th and 242nd judicial districts." Acting under that provision, the commissioners courts of Hale, Swisher, and Castro counties set the members' salaries at the statutory minimum.

By orders issued September 9, 1991, effective September 1, 1991, the juvenile board purported to raise the salaries of its county judge members. The opinion read the statute as unambiguous on who sets those salaries: the commissioners courts. Neither section 152.0411 nor any other provision of chapter 152 gave the juvenile board authority to set its members' salaries without commissioners court approval. The Attorney General therefore concluded the board's orders raising the county judge members' salaries above the commissioners-court amounts were invalid.

Common questions

Who set the salaries of juvenile board members in these counties?
The county commissioners courts. Human Resources Code section 152.0411(c) directed the commissioners courts of Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties to set the members' annual salary, at not less than $1,200, paid from the counties' general funds.

Could the juvenile board raise its own members' pay?
No. The opinion found nothing in section 152.0411 or anywhere in chapter 152 giving the board power to set its members' salaries without commissioners court approval, so its orders raising the county judge members' pay were invalid.

What happened to the board's 1991 salary-raise orders?
The Attorney General treated them as invalid because the board acted outside its authority. The salaries set by the commissioners courts controlled.

Citations

• Human Resources Code § 152.0411, § 152.0411(a), § 152.0411(c); chapter 152

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0103
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1992/dm0103.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL

April 10, 1992

Honorable Terry D. McEachern
Hale County District Attorney
64th and 242nd Judicial Districts
County Courthouse
Plainview, Texas 79072

Opinion No. DM-103

Re: Whether a juvenile board may order an increase in the compensation paid to county judge members of the board in excess of the compensation ordered by the commissioners court under Human Resources Code section 152.0411 (RQ-273)

Dear Mr. McEachern:

You have requested an opinion from this office as to whether a juvenile board may validly order an increase in the compensation paid to county judge members of the board in excess of the compensation ordered by the county commissioners court under the Texas Human Resources Code, section 152.0411. We conclude that such an order would be invalid.

Section 152.0411(a) of the Human Resources Code creates the juvenile board for Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties, and provides that it be composed of "the county judges, the district judges in Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties, and the judge of any statutory court designated as a juvenile court in the counties." Subsection (c) of this statute provides the following:

The commissioners courts of the counties shall pay the members of the juvenile board an annual salary set by the commissioners court at not less than $1,200, payable in equal monthly installments from the general fund of the counties. The counties shall apportion and pay the salary according to the ratio used to pay the expenses of the 64th and 242nd judicial districts.

Hum. Res. Code § 152.0411(c). Pursuant to this provision, the commissioners courts of Hale, Swisher, and Castro counties have set the salaries of the juvenile board members at the statutory minimum. However, by orders issued September 9, 1991, the juvenile board purported to raise the salaries of its county judge members, effective September 1, 1991. The language of the statute regarding the compensation of members of the juvenile board at issue is unambiguous: these salaries are to be set by the commissioners. Neither section 152.0411, nor any other provision of chapter 152 of the Human Resources Code concerning juvenile boards, gives the juvenile board authority to set the salaries of its members without commissioners court approval. We therefore conclude that the orders raising the salaries of the county judge members of the juvenile board of Hale, Swisher, and Castro counties above the amounts set by the commissioners courts are invalid.

SUMMARY

The juvenile board of Castro, Hale, and Swisher counties has no authority to set the salaries of its members.

DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas

WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Deputy Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY (Ret.)
Special Assistant Attorney General

RENEA HICKS
Special Assistant Attorney General

MADELEINE B. JOHNSON
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Faith S. Steinberg
Assistant Attorney General