How is a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary set when the district judge gets pay supplements from other counties?

Plain-English summary

Texas ties the pay of a statutory county court at law judge to the pay of the district judges in the same county. Government Code section 25.0005(a) says a county court at law judge who does not practice law on the side must be paid at least $1,000 less than the total annual salary a district judge receives in the county, and that "total annual salary" includes the supplements that the state or a county adds on top of the base pay. Washington County Attorney Renee Ann Mueller asked the Attorney General how that calculation works when the district judges serve several counties at once.

The complication was the district's geography. Washington County is part of a four-county judicial district that also takes in Bastrop, Burleson, and Lee counties, served by two district judges. Burleson and Lee counties paid supplements to those district judges; Washington County did not. So the question was whether the supplements paid by the other counties should count when setting the floor for the Washington County court at law judge's salary, even though the county court judge does not serve those other counties.

The AG answered that they do count. Reading the statute by its plain words, the opinion made two points. First, nothing in section 25.0005 suggests it stops applying, or applies differently, in a multi-county judicial district; the phrase "total annual salary received by a district judge in the county" includes the salary of a district judge who serves a multi-county district. Second, the statute counts contributions and supplements "paid by the state or a county," and in that phrase the word "a" means "any." Putting those together, the district judge's "total annual salary" includes supplements paid by any county, and the statute does not narrow that to only the county where the county court judge sits. The AG concluded that in setting the minimum salary of the Washington County court at law judge, the district judge's total annual salary must include the supplements paid by any county in the multi-county district, including counties the county court judge does not serve.

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

Washington County and its County Attorney (as the opinion described it): The opinion told the county that, in calculating the minimum salary of its county court at law judge, the district judges' "total annual salary" had to include supplements paid by Burleson and Lee counties, even though those counties are elsewhere in the multi-county district and Washington County paid no supplement itself.

Commissioners courts setting county court at law salaries (as the opinion described it): The opinion described section 25.0005(a) as requiring the county court at law judge's pay to be no less than $1,000 below the district judge's total annual salary, with that total reflecting supplements from any county, so the commissioners court cannot leave out-of-county supplements out of the figure.

District judges in multi-county districts (as the opinion described it): The opinion treated a district judge's "total annual salary," for this purpose, as including supplements paid by any county that contributes, not just one county in the district.

Common questions

Does a county court at law judge's minimum salary depend on what other counties pay the district judge?
Yes, according to the AG. The minimum is set at $1,000 below the district judge's total annual salary, and that total includes supplements paid by any county in a multi-county district, even counties the county court judge does not serve.

Why do supplements from counties the judge doesn't serve count?
The AG explained that section 25.0005 contains nothing limiting it in multi-county districts, and that the statute's reference to amounts "paid by the state or a county" uses "a" to mean "any." So supplements from any contributing county are part of the district judge's total annual salary.

What is the $1,000 figure about?
The AG described section 25.0005(a) as requiring a non-practicing statutory county court at law judge to be paid a total annual salary that is not less than $1,000 below the total annual salary of a district judge in the county.

Background and statutory framework

Government Code section 25.0005(a) sets the minimum salary of a statutory county court at law judge who does not engage in the private practice of law at no less than $1,000 below the total annual salary of a district judge in the county, with "total annual salary" defined to include contributions and supplements paid by the state or a county, other than amounts compensating a presiding judge (Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013)). Washington County is served by the 21st and 335th Judicial Districts, a four-county district (Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 24.122 (West 2004), .481), and county supplements to district judges within a county must be equal (id. § 24.025(a)).

Construing the statute by the plain meaning of its words and common usage (Tex. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ruttiger, 381 S.W.3d 430, 452 (Tex. 2012); Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 311.011(a) (West 2013)), the AG found nothing in section 25.0005 making it inapplicable to multi-county districts (id. § 25.0005). The opinion then relied on the rule that the indefinite article "a" is synonymous with "any" (Chavira v. State, 319 S.W.2d 115, 120 (Tex. Crim. App. 1958)) to read "paid by the state or a county" as reaching supplements paid by any county. It concluded the calculation includes supplements paid to the district judge by any county within the multi-county district, including a county the statutory county court judge does not serve.

Citations

Statutory provisions:

• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013) (minimum salary of a statutory county court at law judge)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 25.0005 (West Supp. 2013) (no limitation to single-county districts)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 24.122 (West 2004), .481 (21st and 335th Judicial Districts)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 24.025(a) (West Supp. 2013) (equal county supplements to district judges)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 311.011(a) (West 2013) (words construed by common usage)

Cases:

• Tex. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ruttiger, 381 S.W.3d 430, 452 (Tex. 2012)
• Chavira v. State, 319 S.W.2d 115, 120 (Tex. Crim. App. 1958)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-1042
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2014/ga1042.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

February 10, 2014

The Honorable Renee Ann Mueller Opinion No. GA-1042
Washington County Attorney
100 East Main, Suite 200 Re: Calculating the minimum salary of a county
Brenham, Texas 77833 court at law judge under Government Code section
25.0005 (RQ-1146-GA)

Dear Ms. Mueller:

You ask about the proper calculation of the minimum salary of a statutory county court at law judge under Government Code subsection 25.0005(a).[1] Subsection 25.0005(a) provides that a statutory county court judge who does not engage in the private practice of law "shall be paid a total annual salary set by the commissioners court at an amount that is not less than $1,000 less than the total annual salary received by a district judge in the county." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013). The "total annual salary" of a district judge or a statutory county court judge "includes contributions and supplements, paid by the state or a county," other than contributions to compensate a presiding judge. Id.

You explain that Washington County is part of a four-county judicial district that also includes Bastrop, Burleson, and Lee counties. Request Letter at 1. You further explain that there are two district judges who serve the district. Id.; see TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. §§ 24.122 (West 2004) (establishing the 21st Judicial District), .481 (establishing the 335th Judicial District). You state that both Burleson and Lee counties provide supplements to the district judges' salaries, but Washington County does not. Request Letter at 1; see generally TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 24.025(a) (West Supp. 2013) (providing that all district judges in a county are entitled to equal amounts of supplemental compensation from the county). Thus, for purposes of determining the minimum salary of the Washington County court at law judge under subsection 25.0005(a), your question is whether the calculation of the "total annual salary received by a district judge in the county" should include supplements from counties in the district that the statutory county court judge does not serve. See Request Letter at 1; TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013).

When construing a statute, our primary goal is to determine and give effect to the Legislature's intent as expressed by "the plain meaning of the words chosen." Tex. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Ruttiger, 381 S.W.3d 430, 452 (Tex. 2012). Words are construed according to their common usage. TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 311.011(a) (West 2013). First, nothing in the language of section 25.0005 indicates that it is not fully applicable to counties served by multi-county judicial districts. See id. § 25.0005 (West Supp. 2013). The phrase "total annual salary received by a district judge in the county" thus includes salaries received by district judges that serve multi-county districts. Id. § 25.0005(a).

Second, as used in the phrase "paid by the state or a county," id. (emphasis added), the "word 'a' is synonymous with the word 'any.'" Chavira v. State, 319 S.W.2d 115, 120 (Tex. Crim. App. 1958). That is, the "total annual salary" of a district or statutory county court judge under subsection 25.0005(a) includes contributions and supplements paid by any county. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 25.0005(a) (West Supp. 2013). Subsection 25.0005(a) does not limit the contributions and supplements that must be included in the calculation of a district judge's "total annual salary" to one particular county. See id. Nor does it limit the "total annual salary" of a statutory county court judge to include only the contributions and supplements received by a district judge from the county in which the statutory county court judge serves. Id. Therefore, in determining the minimum salary of a statutory county court judge under subsection 25.0005(a), the "total annual salary received by a district judge in the county" includes contributions and supplements paid to the district judge by any county, including any county within a multi-county district in which the statutory county court judge does not serve. Id.

SUMMARY

In determining the minimum salary of a statutory county court judge under Government Code subsection 25.0005(a), the "total annual salary received by a district judge in the county" includes contributions and supplements paid by any county, including any county within a multi-county district in which the statutory county court judge does not serve.

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

Stephen L. Tatum, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] Letter from Honorable Renee Ann Mueller, Washington Cnty. Att'y, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (Aug. 19, 2013), http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opin ("Request Letter").

[2] You do not indicate that the Washington County court at law judge engages in the private practice of law.