Can a Texas county leave the state funds off the form jurors use to donate their jury pay?

Texas AG Opinion JC-0065: What Must Appear on the Juror Donation Form

Plain-English summary

When people report for jury service in Texas, the clerk gives them a form letting them donate their jury-service reimbursement to certain funds or programs instead of keeping the money. Section 61.003 of the Government Code lists four choices: the compensation to victims of crime fund, the child welfare service fund, any family-violence shelter program the commissioners court selects, and any other program the commissioners court approves. The Reagan County Attorney asked whether the commissioners court could leave the first two (the two statewide funds) off the form, keeping only local programs it chose to approve.

The opinion concluded that the court could not. The two funds in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) must appear on the form, along with any programs the commissioners court approves. The county's argument rested on the word "or" at the end of subsection (a)(3): in its reading, "or" let the commissioners court decide which funds and programs to list. The opinion rejected that. The "or" addresses the juror, not the county. It gives the juror the choice of which listed fund or program receives the donation; it does not give the commissioners court discretion to delete the two statutory funds from the form. Subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4) only let the county add programs to the list. So the form must always include the crime victims compensation fund and the child welfare service fund, and the commissioners court may supplement that list with approved local programs but may not subtract from it.

The opinion noted, without deciding, the assumption that a commissioners court is authorized to approve juror-reimbursement donation programs in the first place, citing the rule that counties have only the authority granted by the constitution and statutes. It also flagged a pending change: Senate Bill 136 of the Seventy-sixth Legislature amended subsection (a)(2), effective September 1, 1999, to refer to the county child welfare board appointed under Family Code section 264.005.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1999. 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

Could the commissioners court remove the state funds from the juror donation form?
According to the opinion, no. The crime victims compensation fund and the child welfare service fund described in section 61.003(a)(1) and (a)(2) must stay on the form. The court can add local programs but cannot delete the statutory funds.

What did the word "or" in the statute actually do?
The opinion read "or" as giving the juror the choice of which listed fund or program gets the donation. It did not give the commissioners court power to decide which funds appear on the form.

Can the commissioners court add local programs to the form?
Yes. Subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4) let the court list a family-violence shelter program it selects and any other program it approves, in addition to the two mandatory state funds.

Did the statute change soon after this opinion?
Yes. The opinion noted that Senate Bill 136 amended subsection (a)(2), effective September 1, 1999, to refer to the county child welfare board appointed under Family Code section 264.005.

Background and statutory framework

Section 61.003(a) of the Government Code (Vernon 1998) directs that each prospective juror reporting for jury service be provided a form letter that, when signed, directs the county treasurer to donate all of the juror's reimbursement to: (1) the compensation to victims of crime fund under Subchapter B, Chapter 56, Code of Criminal Procedure; (2) the child welfare service fund under Chapter 264, Family Code; (3) any program selected by the commissioners court that is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization providing shelter and services to victims of family violence; or (4) any other program approved by the commissioners court. The opinion construed the plain language of this provision, treating the (a)(1) and (a)(2) funds as required and the (a)(3) and (a)(4) options as additions the county may make.

The opinion relied on Letter Opinion LO-97-029 for the assumption (not decided) that a commissioners court may approve juror-reimbursement donation programs, and on Canales v. Laughlin (Tex. 1948) for the principle that counties have only the authority granted by the constitution and statutes. It referenced Senate Bill 136 of the 76th Legislature, which amended subsection (a)(2) effective September 1, 1999.

Citations

Statutory provisions:

• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.003(a) (Vernon 1998)
• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. ch. 56, subch. B (compensation to victims of crime fund)
• Tex. Fam. Code ch. 264; § 264.005 (child welfare)

Cases:

• Canales v. Laughlin, 214 S.W.2d 451 (Tex. 1948)

Attorney General opinions referenced: LO-97-029.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/john-cornyn/jc-0065
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1999/jc0065.pdf

Original opinion text

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

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF TEXAS
JOHN CORNYN

June 3, 1999

The Honorable J. Russell Ash
Reagan County Attorney
P.O. Box 924
Big Lake, Texas 76932

Opinion No. JC-0065

Re: Whether a county commissioners court may choose to omit the funds described in section 61.003(a)(1) and (2) of the Government Code from the list of programs to which a juror may donate jury-service reimbursement (RQ-1213)

Dear Mr. Ash:

Section 61.003 of the Government Code requires a clerk to furnish each prospective juror reporting for jury service a form that permits the juror to donate the juror's reimbursement for jury service to certain funds or programs. You ask whether the form must list all of the funds or programs listed in section 61.003(a), or only those entities the commissioners court has approved. More specifically, you ask whether the commissioners may choose to omit the funds described in subsections (a)(1) and (2) from the list of funds or programs to which a juror may donate his or her reimbursement. See Letter from Honorable J. Russell Ash, Reagan County Attorney, to Sarah Shirley, Office of the Attorney General (Sept. 22, 1998) (on file with Opinion Committee). We conclude the form must list the funds described in subsections (a)(1) and (2), as well as any programs the commissioners court has approved. "We assume but do not decide that a commissioners court is authorized to approve juror reimbursement donation programs." Tex. Att'y Gen. LO-97-029, at 1 n.2; see Canales v. Laughlin, 214 S.W.2d 451 (Tex. 1948) (stating that counties have only authority granted by constitution and statutes).

The plain language of section 61.003(a) is at the heart of your question:

Each prospective juror reporting for jury service shall be provided a form letter that when signed by the prospective juror directs the county treasurer to donate all of the prospective juror's reimbursement for jury service to:

(1) the compensation to victims of crime fund under Subchapter B, Chapter 56, Code of Criminal Procedure;

(2) the child welfare service fund under Chapter 264, Family Code; [Footnote 1]

(3) any program selected by the commissioners court that is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization and that provides shelter and services to victims of family violence; or

(4) any other program approved by the commissioners court of the county.

TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 61.003(a) (Vernon 1998) (footnote added; footnote omitted).

You suggest that the word "or" after the semicolon in subsection (a)(3) gives the county commissioners court the authority to prescribe the funds that are listed on the form letter. Under this view, the commissioners court could list any local program it desires (under subsection (a)(4)), but would not be required to list the two state funds described in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2).

We disagree. In our opinion, the word "or" in subsection (a)(3) provides the juror with the authority to choose which of the listed funds or programs should receive the juror's reimbursement, but it does not give the commissioners court discretion to delete the funds described in subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) from the form altogether. Subsections (3) and (4) simply authorize the county commissioners court to list additional programs.

[Footnote 1: The Seventy-sixth Legislature has enacted, and the Governor has signed into law, Senate Bill 136, which, among other amendments to section 61.003 of the Government Code, amends subsection (a)(2) to read as follows: "the child welfare board of the county appointed under Section 264.005, Family Code." See Act of Apr. 23, 1999, 76th Leg., R.S., S.B. 136, § 1 (to be codified at TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 61.003(a)(2)). The amendments to section 61.003 become effective September 1, 1999. See id. § 2.]

SUMMARY

A county commissioners court may not choose to omit either of the funds described in section 61.003(a)(1) or (a)(2) of the Government Code from the list of funds or programs to which a juror may donate jury-service reimbursement.

Yours very truly,

JOHN CORNYN
Attorney General of Texas

ANDY TAYLOR
First Assistant Attorney General

CLARK KENT ERVIN
Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel

ELIZABETH ROBINSON
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Kymberly K. Oltrogge
Assistant Attorney General