ATTORNEY GENERAL
 Under provisions set out in the Texas Constitution, the Texas Government Code, 
Title 4, sec.402.042 and numerous statutes, the attorney general is authorized 
to write advisory opinions for state and local officials. These advisory 
opinions are requested by agencies or officials when they are confronted with 
unique or unusually difficult legal questions. The attorney general also 
determines, under authority of the Texas Open Records Act, whether information 
requested for release from governmental agencies may be held from public 
disclosure. Requests for opinions, opinions, and open record decisions are 
summarized for publication in the Texas Register. The Attorney General responds 
to many requests for opinions and open records decisions with letter opinions. A 
letter opinion has the same force and effect as a formal Attorney General 
Opinion, and represents the opinion of the Attorney General unless and until it 
is modified or overruled by a subsequent letter opinion, a formal Attorney 
General Opinion, or a decision of a court of record.
Letter Opinions
LO-94-64 (ID#-25674).
Request from Honorable Robert Junell, Chair, Appropriations Committee, Texas 
House of Representatives, P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas 78768-2910, concerning 
applicability of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Government Code, Chapter 551, and 
the Texas Open Records Act, Government Code, Chapter 552, to the State Employee 
Charitable Campaign Policy Committee and related entities.
Summary of Opinion.
The State Employee Charitable Campaign Policy Committee and the Local State 
Employee Charitable Campaign Committees are subject to the Texas Open Meetings 
Act, Government Code, Chapter 551. The State Employee Charitable Campaign 
Advisory Committee is not. The State Employee Charitable Campaign Policy 
Committee, the State Employee Charitable Campaign Advisory Committee, and the 
Local State Employee Charitable Campaign Committees are subject to the Texas 
Open Records Act, Government Code, Chapter 552.
TRD-9449048
LO-94-65 (ID#-22390).
Request from Honorable Paul Crosnoe, Bailey County Attorney, 1631 West American 
Boulevard, Muleshoe, Texas 79347, concerning whether sec.52.026(c) of the Family 
Code requires the county sheriff to transport a child to juvenile court 
proceedings in the absence of an order adopted by the juvenile board and 
approved by the commissioners court and related question.
Summary of Opinion.
Under sec.52.026(c) of the Family Code, the sheriff of a county in which a child 
is taken into custody is not required to transport the child to juvenile court 
proceedings absent the adoption of an order by the juvenile board and approval 
of the juvenile board's order by record vote of the commissioners court. Section 
142.001 and sec.142.002 of the Human Resources Code require a juvenile probation 
officer to transport a child to juvenile probation proceedings if so ordered by 
a juvenile court.
TRD-9449049
LO-94-66 (ID#-24298).
Request from Honorable Mike Driscoll, County Attorney, Harris County, 1001 
Preston, Suite 634, Houston, Texas 77002-1891, concerning whether a 
commissioners court may assess a fee to a funeral home to cover transportation 
and administrative services provided by the county, and related questions.
Summary of Opinion.
Absent specific statutory authority, the commissioners court of Harris County 
may not charge funeral homes a fee to cover the cost of transporting bodies to 
the office of the medical examiner.
TRD-9449050
LO-94-67 (ID#-24997).
Request from Honorable Gary D. Trammel, Stephens County Attorney, County 
Courthouse, Room 206, Breckenridge, Texas 76424, concerning whether the board of 
directors of an appraisal district may pay bonuses to its employees if the 
bonuses were not budgeted for the fiscal year and related question.
Summary of Opinion.
Article III, sec.53 of the Texas Constitution precludes the board of directors 
of an appraisal district from paying bonuses to district employees unless the 
board approved the bonus plan as part of the employees' compensation before the 
employees rendered their services. At the end of a fiscal year, sec.6.06(j) of 
the Tax Code requires the chief appraiser of an appraisal district to credit 
against each participating taxing unit's allocated payments for the following 
fiscal year any funds that exceed the amount the district actually spent or 
obligated to be spent. We believe sec.6.06(j) applies by analogy to a situation 
in which the appraisal district's excess funds are a consequence of an 
interlocal appraisal contract pursuant to which the appraisal district performed 
work for another appraisal district.
TRD-9449051
LO-94-68 (ID#-25332).
Request from Honorable James M. Kuboviak, Brazos County Attorney, Courthouse, 
Bryan, Texas 77803, concerning use of fees collected by a county bail bond 
board.
Summary of Opinion.
All fees collected by a county bail bond board may be used only for 
administration and enforcement of Texas Civil Statutes, Article 2372p-3, which 
provides for the regulation of bail bondsmen.
TRD-9449052
LO-94-69 (ID#-25510).
Request from J. Robert Hunter, Commissioner, Texas Department of Insurance, P.O. 
Box 149104, Austin, Texas 78714-9104, concerning whether the attorney general or 
the in-house counsel of a state agency is the proper party to raise the 
litigation exception of the Open Records Act where the litigation is in a quasi-
judicial forum.
Summary of Opinion.
When a state agency receives an open records request for information related to 
administrative litigation, the agency attorney determines pursuant to 
sec.552.103 of the Government Code that the information should be withheld from 
inspection. This determination is reviewed by the attorney general in 
determining whether the information is open to the public under the Open Records 
Act.
TRD-9449053
LO-94-70 (ID#-25437).
Request from Honorable Robert Junell, Chair, Committee on Appropriations, Texas 
House of Representatives, P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas 78768-2910, concerning 
whether a volunteer fighter may serve on  the city council and vote on issues 
concerning the volunteer fire department.
Summary of Opinion.
A city council member does not hold two incompatible public offices when he 
serves as a volunteer fire fighter for a private volunteer fire department that 
the city funds but does not control. Nor does he hold an employment that is 
subordinate to his office. His dual service as city council member and volunteer 
fire fighter under these circumstances do not violate the common-law doctrine of 
incompatibility. Chapter 171 of the Local Government Code would not prevent the 
city council member from voting on issues involving the fire department unless 
the department is a business entity within that chapter and the city council 
member has a substantial interest in that business entity.
TRD-9449054
LO-94-71 (ID#-28813).
Request from Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Committee on Criminal Justice, 
Texas State Senate, P.O. Box 12068, Austin, Texas 78711 and request from 
Honorable Bill Sims, Chair, Committee on Natural Resources, Texas State Senate, 
P.O. Box 12068, Austin, Texas 78711, concerning whether staging fights between 
dogs and hogs is a criminal offense.
Summary of Opinion.
Based on the facts presented, staging fights between dogs and hogs would 
constitute an offense under Penal Code, sec.42.09.
TRD-9449055

Opinions
DM-303 (RQ-572).
Request from Honorable Charles D. Johnson, County Attorney, Dimmit County 
Courthouse, Charring Springs, Texas 78834, concerning whether the county auditor 
oath of office provision, Local Government Code, sec.84.007(b), prevails over 
Chapter 171 of the Local Government Code.
Summary of Opinion.
Chapter 171 of the Local Government Code prevails over the county auditor oath 
of office provision, Local Government Code, sec.84.007(b), to the extent of 
conflict. A county auditor who is employed as the executive director of a 
private, non-profit housing corporation which receives funding from the county 
is required to adhere to the requirements set forth in Chapter 171 of the Local 
Government Code, if his income as executive director exceeds 10% of his gross 
income for the previous year. Attorney General Opinions V-381 (1947) and WW-1241 
(1962) are overruled to the extent they are inconsistent with this opinion.
TRD-9449047

Requests for Opinions
(RQ-734). Request from Carol S. Vance, Chair, Texas Board of Criminal Justice, 
P.O. Box 13084, Austin, Texas 78711, concerning whether deadly force may be used 
to prevent the escape of a person from a state jail facility.
(RQ-735). Request
from Honorable Fred Hill, Chair, Committee on Urban Affairs, Texas House of 
Representatives, P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas 78768-2910, concerning validity of 
a consultation agreement between a school district and local professional 
educational association.
(RQ-736). Request from Leonard W. Peck, Jr., Assistant General Counsel, Texas 
Department of Criminal Justice, P.O. Box 99, Huntsville, Texas 77342-0099, 
concerning whether an inmate may obtain under the Open Records Act a document 
confiscated from him/her by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(RQ-737). Request from Honorable Judith Zaffirini, Chair, Committee on Health 
and Human Services, Texas State Senate, P.O. Box 12068, Austin, Texas 78711, 
concerning whether group hospital and medical service fees charged by a state 
university may be waived for active duty military personnel.
TRD-9449046