Public Officeholders

Article XVI, section 40(d) precludes legislators from providing services as an employee of local government|Legislator's acceptance of payment from local government for lobbying, authority and limitations|Legislator as employee of local government, prohibited by Texas Constitution article XVI, section 40(d)|Legislators precluded by Texas Constitution article XVI, section 40(d) from providing services as employee of local government

State senator elected at November 2000 general election is not eligible to be appointed to position that requires Senate confirmation

Determination as to whether board or commission is advisory must be made by examination of constitutional and statutory provisions which created board or commission and which conferred duties on them|Certain boards or commissions that are "required by this constitution," legislature is not required to increase or decrease number of board members to comply with article XVI, section 30a of Texas Constitution|Article XVI, sections 30 and 30a of the Texas Constitution, civilian appointees to Commission are subject to|Article XVI, sections 30 and 30a of the Texas Constitution, lone military appointee to Commission included in determining number of members of Commission but would not be subject to|Voting ex officio members of boards or commissions are included in determining number of members of board or commission for purposes of article XVI, section 30a|Article XVI, sections 30 and 30a, members of advisory boards and advisory commissions are not "officers" for purposes of|Certain boards that are "required by this constitution," legislature is not required to increase or decrease number of board members to comply with article XVI, section 30a|Certain boards that are not "required by this constitution," legislature must increase or decrease number of board members to comply with article XVI, section 30a

Justice of the peace fees for issuing certified birth and death records, constitutionality under article XVI, section 61 of statute authorizing justice to retain fees in addition to salary|Fees for issuing certified birth and death records, constitutionality under article XVI, section 61 of statute authorizing justice of the peace to retain fees in addition to salary

Where city charter defines quorum as five members, removal from office of members does not reduce number required for quorum|Recall election, city council members removed from office in recall election do not hold over until their successors are qualified

Salary, a county may not pay a justice of the peace an amount over and above the justice's to perform an inquest or serve as a magistrate|Justice of the peace, a county may not pay an amount over and above the justice's salary to perform an inquest or serve as a magistrate

Grant to Harris County Juvenile Probation Department of deferred prosecution authority in certain nonviolent misdemeanor cases involving juveniles does not infringe on district attorney's criminal jurisdiction under article V, section 21 of Texas Constitution|Grant to Harris County Juvenile Probation Department of deferred prosecution authority in certain nonviolent misdemeanor cases involving juveniles does not violate separation of powers|Grant to Harris County Juvenile Probation Department of deferred prosecution authority in certain nonviolent misdemeanor cases involving juveniles does not infringe on district attorney's criminal jurisdiction under article V, section 21 of Texas Constitu

Resign to run, whether officeholder's conversation with newspaper reporter about plans to run for another office constitutes announcement of a candidacy|Automatic resignation, whether officeholder's conversation with newspaper reporter about plans to run for another office constitutes announcement of a candidacy|Private conversation with newspaper reporter about officeholder's plans to run for another office did not constitute announcement of candidacy

Resign to run, authority of home-rule city to provide in city charter for automatic resignation of mayor or council member who runs for another office|Resign to run, police officers who are not officers are not subject to automatic resignation under article XI, section 11|Home-rule city, authority to provide in city charter for automatic resignation of mayor or council member who runs for another office

Appointee to office of sheriff entitled to hold office until his successor has duly qualified|General election, person elected sheriff at, not entitled to assume office until January 1 of following year|Appointee to office of sheriff entitled to serve until successor has qualified, and successor may not assume office until January 1 of year following general election|Sheriff, person appointed to fill unexpired term of sheriff is entitled to hold office until his successor has duly qualified|Sheriff elected at November general election not entitled to assume office until January 1 of following year

Fee for delivering a notice to vacate premises, whether a constable may retain in addition to his or her salary|Constable fee for delivering a notice to vacate premises, whether a constable may retain in addition to his or her salary under article XVI, section 61 of the Texas Constitution|Fee for delivering a notice to vacate premises, whether a constable may retain in addition to his or her salary under article XVI, section 61 of the Texas Constitution

Oath of office, whether DPS commissioned officer is public officer required to take|Largely independent of the control of others, DPS commissioned officer subject to being discharged by Director of Public Safety or Public Safety Commission does no operate|Oath of office, whether DPS commissioned peace officer is public officer required to take|Public office, Aldine standard established by Texas Supreme Court is standard in Texas to determine, under article XVI, section 1, Texas Constitution, whether an individual holds|Largely independent of the control of others, DPS commissioned officer subject to being discharged by Director of Public Safety does no operate

City council member whose current term is uncompensated, article III, section 19 of the Texas Constitution does not render ineligible to serve in the Texas Legislature; "term" is not synonymous with "tenure"|Eligibility to serve in the legislature, article III, section 19 of the Texas Constitution does not render ineligible a city council member whose current term is uncompensated; "term" is not synonymous with "tenure"|Lucrative office|Term of office

City council member who is employed by a school district as a coach may be a schoolteacher for purposes of article XVI, section 40(b)(1) of the Constitution if participating students receive credit for participation|Reimbursement for certain expenses associated with service on a city council, a home-rule municipality may determine qualifying expenses but may not contravene article III, section \r\n52(a) of the Constitution|Reimbursement for certain expenses associated with service on a city council, a home-rule municipality may determine qualifying expenses |Schoolteacher

Redistricting constable precincts, appointment of successor constable following|Constable's duty to serve following redistricting that abolishes the constable's precinct|Constable's duty to hold over in office following automatic resignation pursuant to resign-to-run provisions of the constitution

Rules of the Senate or House, the Attorney General will not construe|President pro tempore of the Senate does not serve a definite term of office under article III, section 9(a)|President pro tempore of the Senate does not serve a definite term of office under article III, section 9(a) of the Texas Constitution|President pro tempore of the Senate is not a state officer subject to impeachment under article XV, section 7|President pro tempore of the Senate is not a state officer subject to impeachment under article XV, section 7 of the Texas Constitution|Rules of the Senate or House, the constitutional separation-of-powers doctrine precludes the Attorney General from construing|Speaker of the House is a state officer subject to impeachment under article XV, section 7|Speaker of the House is a state officer subject to impeachment under article XV, section 7 of the Texas Constitution|Speaker of the House serves a definite term of office under article III, section 9(b)|Speaker of the House serves a definite term of office under article III, section 9(b) of the Texas Constitution|State officer

Vacancy on municipal governing body where officers hold terms longer than two year must be filled under article XI, section 11(b) of the constitution, which prevails over inconsistent city charter provisions|Vacancy on municipal governing body where officers hold terms longer than two year must be filled under article XI, section 11(b) of the Texas Constitution, which prevails over inconsistent city charter provisions|Article XI, section 11(b) of the constitution applies to all vacancies in office, not just those created by operation of article XVI, section 65

Resign-to-run; whether a county commissioner, by virtue of article XVI, section 65, Texas Constitution, automatically resigns the commissioner’s seat under particular circumstances

Serving as the state chair of a political party, because the state chair of a political party does not hold an office or position under this State a member of the Legislature is not barred from under either article III, section 19 or article XVI, section 40(d) of the Texas Constitution from

Constable who was convicted of a felony but whose conviction was finalized only after he was reelected to a new term is automatically removed from office under subsection 87.031(a) of the Local Government Code

Under Texas Constitution art. XI, section 11(a), home-rule municipality may not change its city council terms from three years to four years without charter amendment|City council terms of home-rule city that exceed four years are contrary to Texas Constitution article XI, section 11(a)|Home-rule municipality may not change city council terms from three years to four years without charter amendment

Payment for legislative expenses incurred during interim, Texas Constitution does not preclude | Legislators, Texas Constitution does not preclude payment of their legislative expenses during interim

Licensure as peace officer, constable who failed to obtain in accordance with statute may run for reelection or be appointed to same office|Licensure as peace officer, elected or appointed officer who failed to obtain in accordance with statute may run for reelection or be appointed to same office|Constables, legislative authority to enact qualifications|Constable who did not obtain peace officer's license during previous term of office may retain appointment|Constable who failed to obtain peace officer's license during previous term of office, commissioners court's authority to appoint

Pardon, person who has completed deferred adjudication community supervision and who has been discharged after dismissal of charges may not receive|Governor may not pardon person who has completed deferred adjudication community supervision and who has been discharged after dismissal of charges|Deferred adjudication community supervision, person who has completed and whose charges have been dismissed is ineligible for pardon

Announce|Hold over in office under article XVI, section 17, officer who resigns to run for another office continues to|Automatic resignation under article XVI, section 65, officer who resigns to run for another office continues to hold over in office until successor is appointed and qualifies for office under article XVI, section 17|Vacancy in office of judge of a statutory county court, authority to fill|Vacancy in office, authority of commissioners court to fill|Hold over in office, officer who resigns to run for another office continues to

Public officers within article XVI, section 1 of Texas Constitution, whether police officers are|Oath of office, whether city police officers must take; validity of arrests by police officer who did not file written statement required by Texas Constitution|Police officers, whether constitutional oath of office must be taken by; validity of arrests by city police officer who did not file written statement required by Texas Constitution|Arrests made by de facto peace officers, validity of

Hold over provision requires officer who has resigned to continue to serve, but officer may not withdraw effective resignation due to hold over status|Vacancy in office by resignation, public officer's resignation effective upon acceptance by appropriate authority or on the eighth day after receipt by appropriate authority and may not be withdrawn thereafter|Resignation from office, effective upon acceptance by appropriate authority or on the eighth day after receipt by appropriate authority and may not be withdrawn thereafter

Appointed municipal judge may hold second appointment if doing so is "of benefit to the state"|Public office for purposes of article XVI, section 40, municipal judges holds|Simultaneous judgeships in more than one jurisdiction, authority of person to hold|Municipal judge holds "public office" for purposes of article XVI, section 40|Multiple municipal judgeships, whether holding is "of benefit to the state" is matter for legislative resolution|Of benefit to the state

Removal requirements, statute disqualifying certain officers construed to incorporate|Retroactive law, whether statute disqualifying officer who becomes a candidate for another office constitutes|Hold over, whether disqualified officer holds over depends upon application of constitutional removal requirements|Statute disqualifying water district director who becomes a candidate for another office, constitutionality of|Retroactive application, presumption against|Constitutional, presumption that legislature intended statute to be

Deputy constable not required to reside in precinct for which he was appointed|Residence, deputy constable not required to maintain in precinct for which he was appointed

Political party's executive committee's nomination to be the party's general election candidate for a new office, act of seeking does not trigger automatic resignation provisions of article XVI, section 65 (Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JM-132 (1984) and Tex. A|Automatic resignation provisions of article XVI, section 65, act of seeking political party's executive committee's nomination to be the party's general election candidate for a new office does not trigger (Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JM-132 (1984) and Tex.

Holds over in office, incumbent municipal officer whose term is set by charter at more than two but no more than four years (assuming incumbent's term of office has not yet expired) holds over in office despite receiving a plurality, not a majority, of th|Incumbent officer whose term of office is set by charter at more than two but no more than four years holds over in office despite receiving a plurality of the vote in reelection attempt (assuming incumbent's term of office has not yet expired)|Runoff, incumbent municipal officer whose term is set by charter at more than two but no more than four years holds over in office until candidate receives majority vote in and is duly qualified for office (assuming incumbent's term of office has not yet

Automatic resignation of city council member pursuant to article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution, vacancy must be filled by special election rather than by appointment|Automatic resignation of city council member, city that fails to hold a special election within 120 days after the date of the automatic resignation as required by article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution may not avoid holding a special election u|City council member, city that fails to hold a special election within 120 days after the date of automatic resignation as required by article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution may not avoid holding a special election until member's term expires|City council member, vacancy caused by automatic resignation under article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution must be filled by special election rather than by appointment|Automatic resignation of city council member, city that fails to hold a special election to fill vacancy within 120 days after the date of the automatic resignation may not avoid holding a special election until member's term expires|Automatic resignation of city council member, vacancy must be filled by special election rather than by appointment

Senate confirmation, whether member of nonprofit corporation appointed by the governor is a state officer subject to|State office

Lieutenant governor, person elected by Senate to perform duties of is required to serve as member of Legislative Redistricting Board|Legislative Redistricting Board, person elected by Senate to perform duties of lieutenant governor is required to serve as member of

Automatic resignation, municipal officer charged with initiating special elections must act to initiate an election to fill a vacancy so that the vacancy is filled within 120 days|Automatic resignation, city commissioner whose term exceeds two years who runs for trustee of consolidated school district board resigns from office by operation of article XI, section 11|Automatic resignation, city commissioner whose term exceeds two years who runs for trustee of consolidated school district board resigns from office by operation of article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution|City commissioner whose term exceeds two years who runs for trustee of consolidated school district board resigns from office by operation of article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution|City officer charged with initiating special elections must act to initiate an election to fill a vacancy so that the vacancy is filled within 120 days

Term of office established by constitution may not be shortened by legislature|Term of office established by Texas Constitution may not be shortened by legislature

Precinct chair of a political party is not a public office, and accordingly candidacy for by city official does not trigger resign-to-run provisions of Texas Constitution

Article XVI, subsection 40(b) expressly permits a state employee or an individual who receives compensation from the state to serve as a member of the governing body of a city but prohibits the person from receiving a salary for the latter unless the person receives compensation from the state for work performed in certain capacities.  Because of the multiple possible meanings of these terms, we cannot predict with certainty whether a court would conclude the Legislature equates the term “salary” with “compensation” in subsection 40(b).

Whether the per meeting payment provided under section 3.04 of the Hutto City Charter may be construed to constitute the reimbursement of expenses rather than “salary” for purposes of subsection 40(b) is left to the discretion of the appropriate City officials in the first instance, subject to judicial review.

Because the La Joya Independent School District and the Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 6 have taxation authority in overlapping territory, one individual may not simultaneously serve as a school board trustee and board member of the irrigation district. In qualifying for the second office of school district trustee, the individual does not holdover.

A state employee serving as a council member on the Hutto City Council must decline the per-meeting salary payment in subsection 3.04(b) of the city’s charter in order to comply with article XVI, subsection 40(b) of the Texas Constitution.

Whether an elected constable may serve an independent school district as a school resource officer under particular circumstances