Can a Texas county juvenile board adopt a personnel manual for its probation department?

Plain-English summary

Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney Kenda Culpepper asked the Attorney General whether the Rockwall County Juvenile Board has authority over policy for the county's juvenile probation department, and specifically whether it can adopt a personnel policy manual. The question came up because of an unusual feature of the statutes: while chapter 152 of the Human Resources Code generally directs county juvenile boards to adopt budgets and establish policies, a special enabling statute for Rockwall County (section 152.2051(d)) says several of those general provisions, including the one on establishing policies, "do not apply" to the Rockwall board. The district attorney was concerned that this carve-out might leave the board with no authority to set policy at all.

The AG concluded it does not. Saying that certain general mandates do not apply to the Rockwall board is not the same as forbidding the board from setting policy or stripping its authority to do so. The Human Resources Code itself makes that explicit: section 152.0001(b) provides that exempting a specific board from a general provision of the subchapter does not affect other laws on the same subject that may apply to the board. The AG then pointed to those other laws. A county juvenile board, with the advice and consent of the commissioners court, may employ probation officers and other personnel needed to provide juvenile probation services. The Texas Juvenile Justice Board has statutory authority to set minimum standards for personnel and operations, and it has adopted rules requiring county juvenile boards to adopt written personnel policies and written department policies and procedures. Reading those provisions together, the AG concluded that the Rockwall County Juvenile Board has authority to adopt written department policy and a personnel policy manual for its juvenile probation department.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later Attorney General 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.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

District Attorney Culpepper and the Rockwall County Juvenile Board (as the opinion described it): The opinion concluded that the section 152.2051(d) exemption does not prohibit the board from setting policy or deny it that authority, and that the board possesses authority to adopt written department policy and a personnel policy manual for the juvenile probation department.

Other county juvenile boards with similar statutory exemptions (as the opinion described it): The opinion described section 152.0001(b) as meaning that exempting a board from a general provision of the subchapter does not affect other laws on the same subject, and it described the Texas Juvenile Justice Board's rules as requiring county juvenile boards to adopt written personnel and department policies.

Common questions

Can a Texas county juvenile board adopt a personnel manual?
The AG concluded yes. Statutes authorizing the board to employ probation personnel, together with Texas Juvenile Justice Board rules requiring written personnel and department policies, give the board authority to adopt a personnel policy manual.

Does a statutory exemption mean a juvenile board loses its policy authority?
No. The AG explained that saying certain general provisions "do not apply" to a board does not prohibit the board from setting policy, and that the Human Resources Code says such an exemption does not affect other laws on the same subject.

Where does the requirement to adopt written policies come from?
The AG pointed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Board's rules (37 Texas Administrative Code section 341.3), which require county juvenile boards to adopt written personnel policies and written department policies and procedures.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 152, subchapter A of the Human Resources Code contains provisions generally applicable to county juvenile boards (Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. §§ 152.0001-.0016 (West 2013 & Supp. 2013)), including the directive that a board adopt a budget and establish policies (id. § 152.0007(a)(2) (West 2013)). The Rockwall County enabling statute exempts that board from several general provisions, including section 152.0007 (id. § 152.2051(d)), but the subchapter also provides that such an exemption does not affect other laws on the same subject (id. § 152.0001(b) (West 2013)).

The AG relied on the board's authority, with commissioners-court advice and consent, to employ probation personnel (id. § 142.002(a)), the Texas Juvenile Justice Board's authority to set minimum personnel and operational standards (id. § 221.002(a)(1) (West Supp. 2013)), and that board's rules requiring written personnel and department policies (37 Tex. Admin. Code § 341.3(a)-(b) (2014)).

Citations

Statutory and regulatory provisions:

• Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. §§ 152.0001-.0016 (West 2013 & Supp. 2013) (general provisions for county juvenile boards)
• Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. § 152.0007(a)(2) (West 2013) (board adopts budget and establishes policies)
• Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. § 152.2051(d) (Rockwall County board exempted from certain general provisions)
• Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. § 152.0001(b) (West 2013) (exemption does not affect other laws on the same subject)
• Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. § 142.002(a) (authority to employ probation personnel)
• Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. § 221.002(a)(1) (West Supp. 2013) (Texas Juvenile Justice Board rulemaking authority)
• 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 341.3(a)-(b) (2014) (written personnel and department policies required)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-1069
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2014/ga1069.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
GREG ABBOTT

July 2, 2014

The Honorable Kenda Culpepper Opinion No. GA-1069
Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney
Rockwall County Courthouse Re: Authority of the Rockwall County
1111 East Yellowjacket Lane, Suite 201 Juvenile Board over policy matters of the
Rockwall, Texas 75087 juvenile probation department, including the
adoption of a personnel manual
(RQ-1178-GA)

Dear Ms. Culpepper:

You ask about the authority of the Rockwall County Juvenile Board over policy matters of the juvenile probation department, including the adoption of a personnel manual.[1]

Chapter 152, subchapter A of the Human Resources Code (the "Code") contains provisions generally applicable to county juvenile boards. TEX. HUM. RES. CODE ANN. §§ 152.0001-.0016 (West 2013 & Supp. 2013). Subsection 152.0007(a)(2) of the Code provides that a "juvenile board shall ... adopt a budget and establish policies, including financial policies, for juvenile services within the jurisdiction of the board." Id. § 152.0007(a)(2) (West 2013). Section 152.2051 of the Code, the specific enabling statute establishing the Rockwall County Juvenile Board, states that several general provisions, including section 152.0007, "do not apply to the juvenile board of Rockwall County." Id. § 152.2051(d). You are concerned that the exemption in section 152.2051(d) may limit the Rockwall County Juvenile Board's authority to establish policy or adopt a personnel policy manual. Request Letter at 1-2.

By stating that certain statutory mandates do not apply to the Rockwall County Juvenile Board, subsection 152.2051(d) of the Code does not prohibit the Rockwall County Juvenile Board from establishing policy or deny it the authority to establish policy. Subsection 152.0001(b) of the Code provides that "[a] statement in this chapter that a general provision of this subchapter does not apply to a specific juvenile board does not affect the application of other laws on the same subject that may affect the board." TEX. HUM. RES. CODE ANN. § 152.0001(b) (West 2013).

A county juvenile board, with the advice and consent of the county commissioners court, is authorized to employ probation officers and other personnel "necessary to provide juvenile probation services" according to state administrative standards and local need. Id. § 142.002(a). Subsection 221.002(a)(1) of the Code authorizes the Texas Juvenile Justice Board ("TJJB") to adopt general rules governing county juvenile boards, including "rules that provide ... minimum standards for personnel, staffing, case loads, programs, facilities, record keeping, equipment, and other aspects of the operation of a juvenile board that are necessary to provide adequate and effective probation services." Id. § 221.002(a)(1) (West Supp. 2013). The TJJB has adopted rules requiring county juvenile boards to "adopt written personnel policies" and to "adopt written department policies and procedures." 37 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 341.3(a)-(b) (2014). Thus, to answer your question, the Rockwall County Juvenile Board possesses authority to adopt written department policy and to adopt a personnel policy manual for use by the juvenile probation department.

SUMMARY

The Rockwall County Juvenile Board possesses authority to adopt written department policy and to adopt a personnel policy manual for use by the juvenile probation department.

Very truly yours,

GREG ABBOTT
Attorney General of Texas

DANIEL T. HODGE
First Assistant Attorney General

JAMES D. BLACKLOCK
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

VIRGINIA K. HOELSCHER
Chair, Opinion Committee

William A. Hill
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] See Letter from Honorable Kenda Culpepper, Rockwall Cnty. Crim. Dist. Att'y, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (Jan. 9, 2014), http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opin ("Request Letter").