When did large Texas counties have to begin operating a separate veterans county service office?

Texas AG Opinion JM-587: County Veterans Service Offices

Plain-English summary

JM-587 concluded that Texas counties with populations of at least 200,000 became legally required to maintain and operate a veterans county service office on September 1, 1985. That was the effective date of the amendment that changed the office from optional to mandatory for counties at that population level. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

The 1985 law required the office to be separate and distinct from other county offices and to have at least one full-time employee. The opinion said affected counties should already have been complying when JM-587 was issued in December 1986. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Before that amendment, Texas counties had been authorized since 1963 to operate such an office when the commissioners court found it to be a public necessity. The later amendment made operation compulsory for the larger counties covered by the population threshold. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1986. 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.

Common questions

Which counties did JM-587 address?

The opinion addressed counties with populations of 200,000 or more according to the most recent federal census. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

When did the mandatory-office requirement take effect?

September 1, 1985. JM-587 said the covered counties became subject to the requirement on the amendment's effective date. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

What did the required veterans service office have to include?

The statute quoted in the opinion required an office separate and distinct from other county offices, staffed by at least one full-time employee. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Were veterans service offices optional before the 1985 amendment?

For the period described in JM-587, all counties had authority to operate an office if the commissioners court found a public necessity. The 1985 amendment made an office mandatory for counties meeting the population threshold. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Background and statutory framework

Article 5787 had authorized every county to maintain a veterans county service office since 1963. JM-587 explained that a 1985 amendment added section 1(f), which directed qualifying commissioners courts to maintain and operate the office and specified its separation and staffing. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

The AG relied on the legislature's authority to set an act's effective date. Because the amendment took effect September 1, 1985, the opinion treated that date as the point when covered counties became subject to the new mandate. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Citations and references

The opinion cited the following authorities. Source: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Statutes and constitutional provisions:

• V.T.C.S. art. 5787, §§ 1(a), 1(f)
• Acts 1963, 58th Leg., ch. 112, at 226
• Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 889, § 1, at 3014
• Tex. Const. art. III, § 39

Case:

• Chambers v. Baldwin, 274 S.W. 1011, 1013 (Tex. Civ. App. - Texarkana 1925), rev'd on other grounds, 282 S.W. 793 (Tex. 1926)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox
• Original PDF: https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/47mattox/op/1986/pdf/jm0587.pdf

Original opinion text

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

December 22, 1986

Mr. Aubrey L. Bullard
Executive Director
Texas Veterans Commission
P. O. Box 12277
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. JM-587

Re: Compliance with article 5787, section 1(f), V.T.C.S., requiring a county to maintain and operate a veteran's county service office

Dear Mr. Bullard:

You ask about article 5787, section 1(f), V.T.C.S., which requires counties with a population of 200,000 or more to maintain and operate a Veterans County Service Office.

Since 1963 all counties have been authorized to maintain and operate a Veterans County Service Office if the commissioners court finds that such an office is a public necessity. V.T.C.S. art. 5787, § 1(a); Acts 1963, 58th Leg., ch. 112, at 226. In 1985, however, the legislature amended article 5787 by adding section 1(f) to make such an office mandatory rather than optional for counties with a population of 200,000 or more. Section 1(f) provides:

(f) Mandatory operation. In a county with a population of two hundred thousand (200,000) or more, according to the most recent Federal Census, the Commissioners Court shall maintain and operate a Veterans County Service Office in accordance with this section. The office must be separate and distinct from other county offices, and must be staffed by at least one full-time employee.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 889, § 1, at 3014. You ask when a county must be in compliance with section 1(f).

The act that added section 1(f) to article 5787 took effect on September 1, 1985. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 889, at 3014. The legislature is free to fix the time that an act takes effect. Chambers v. Baldwin, 274 S.W. 1011, 1013 (Tex. Civ. App. - Texarkana 1925), rev'd on other grounds, 282 S.W. 793 (Tex. 1926); see also Tex. Const. art. III, § 39. Therefore, counties with a population of 200,000 or more became subject to the requirements of article 5787, section 1(f) on September 1, 1985, and should now be in compliance.

SUMMARY

Counties with a population of 200,000 or more became subject to the requirements of article 5787, section 1(f), V.T.C.S., on September 1, 1985, and should now be in compliance.

Very truly yours,

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

JACK HIGHTOWER
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Sarah Woelk
Assistant Attorney General