Opinion No. JC-0181. Mr. Harold E. Feeney, Credit Union Commissioner, Credit Union Department, 914 East Anderson Lane, Austin, Texas 78752-1699, Re: Whether credit unions may recover from investigating authorities the cost of producing records in response to grand jury subpoenas, and related questions (RQ-0109-JC)

S U M M A R Y. A credit union is not entitled to recover the reasonable costs of retrieving and producing documents in response to a grand jury subpoena.

Opinion No. JC-0182. The Honorable Ben W. Bud Childers, Fort Bend County Attorney, 301 Jackson, Suite 621, Richmond, Texas 77469-3108, Re: Whether, under Falls County v. Mires, 218 S.W.2d 491 (Tex. Civ. App. Waco 1949, writ ref'd), the two-year statute of limitations bars county court at law judges' claims for unpaid annual salaries going back more than two years (RQ-0116-JC)

S U M M A R Y. A county that has paid county court at law judges less annual salary than that to which the judges are statutorily entitled may raise the four-year statute of limitations for causes of action based upon debt, see Tex. Rev. Civ. Prac. Code Ann. 16.004(a)(3) (Vernon Supp. 2000), as an affirmative defense to prevent the judges from collecting on claims more than four years old. The two-year statute of limitations applied in Falls County v. Mires, 218 S.W.2d 491 (Tex. Civ. App. Waco 1949, writ ref'd), no longer applies to causes of action premised upon statutory liability for back pay.

Opinion No. JC-0183. Mr. Vernon M. Arrell, Commissioner, Texas Rehabilitation Commission, 4900 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78751-2399, Re: Selective service verification for state employment under section 651.005 of the Government Code (RQ-0118-JC)

S U M M A R Y. Section 651.005 of the Government Code requires only those males who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five years inclusive to furnish proof of either selective service registration or exemption therefrom as a condition of state employment.

Opinion No. JC-0184. The Honorable Karen H. Meinardus, Wharton County Attorney, 103 South Fulton, Wharton, Texas 77488, Re: Whether a municipal utility district may employ the spouse of a board member in a paid position (RQ-0111-JC)

S U M M A R Y. A municipal utility district's action in employing the spouse of a board member in a paid position violated section 573.041 of the Government Code, even though the related board member abstained from participation in the action.

For further information, please call (512) 463-2110.

TRD-200001343

Elizabeth Robinson

Assistant Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Filed: February 23, 2000

RQ-0177-JC. Requested by: The Honorable Chris Harris, Chair, Jurisprudence Committee, Texas State Senate, P.O. Box 12068, E1.704, Austin, Texas 78711-2068, regarding time when a municipal tax abatement ends for a property owner who serves on a city council that granted the abatement: Clarification of Attorney General Opinion No. JC-155 (1999) (Request No. 0177-JC) Briefs requested by March 9, 2000.

RQ-0178-JC. Requested by: Mr. Louis J. Rodriguez, President, Midwestern State University, 3410 Taft Boulevard, Wichita Falls, Texas 76308-2099, regarding whether donated endowment and scholarship funds may be transferred from a university to the private foundation (Request No. 0178-JC) Briefs requested by March 3, 2000.

RQ-0179-JC. Requested by: Ms. Pamela B. Tackett, Executive Director, State Board for Educator Certification, 1001 Trinity Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2603, regarding whether the State Board for Educator Certification may serve as an internet portal for distance-learning courses offered by other entities, and related questions (Request No. 0179-JC) Briefs requested by March 9, 2000.

RQ-0180-JC. Requested by: The Honorable Richard J. Miller, Bell County Attorney, P.O. Box 1127, Belton, Texas 76513, regarding whether the state has a right to a jury trial in a juvenile proceeding (Request No. 0180-JC) Briefs requested by March 9, 2000.

RQ-0181-JC. Requested by: The Honorable Debra Danburg, Chair, Committee on Elections, Texas House of Representatives, P.O. Box 2910, IN.5, Austin, Texas 78768-2910, regarding constitutionality of section 255.001(a), Texas Election Code, in light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 514 U.S. 334 (1995) (Request No. 0181-JC) Briefs requested by March 9, 2000.

RQ-0182-JC. Requested by: The Honorable Bill G. Carter, Chair, Committee on Urban Affairs, Texas House of Representatives, P.O. Box 2910, GW.16, Austin, Texas 78768-2910, regarding use of funds collected by counties for the registration of motor vehicles (Request No. 0182-JC) Briefs requested by March 10, 2000.

For further information, please call 463-2110.

TRD-200001325

Elizabeth Robinson

Assistant Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Filed: February 22, 2000