Sec. 44.  COUNTY TREASURER AND COUNTY SURVEYOR.  (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Legislature shall prescribe the duties and provide for the election by the qualified voters of each county in this State, of a County Treasurer and a County Surveyor, who shall have an office at the county seat, and hold their office for four years, and until their successors are qualified; and shall have such compensation as may be provided by law.
(b)  The office of County Treasurer or County Surveyor does not exist in those counties in which the office has been abolished pursuant to constitutional amendment or pursuant to the authority of Subsection (c) of this section.
(c)  The Commissioners Court of a county may call an election to abolish the office of County Surveyor in the county.  The office of County Surveyor in the county is abolished if a majority of the voters of the county voting on the question at that election approve the abolition.  If an election is called under this subsection, the Commissioners Court shall order the ballot for the election to be printed to provide for voting for or against the proposition:  "Abolishing the office of county surveyor of this county."  If the office of County Surveyor is abolished under this subsection, the maps, field notes, and other records in the custody of the County Surveyor are transferred to the county officer or employee designated by the Commissioners Court of the county in which the office is abolished, and the Commissioners Court may from time to time change its designation as it considers appropriate.  
(d)  The office of County Treasurer in Galveston County is abolished.  The Commissioners Court of Galveston County may employ or contract with a qualified person or may designate another county officer to perform any of the functions that would have been performed by the County Treasurer if the office had not been abolished.
(Feb. 15, 1876. Amended Nov. 2, 1954; Subsec. (a) amended and (b) and (c) added Nov. 2, 1982; Subsec. (a) amended and (b)(1) added Nov. 6, 1984; Subsecs. (a)-(c) amended and (d)-(f) added Nov. 5, 1985; Subsecs. (c) and (d) amended and (f) and (g) added Nov. 3, 1987; Subsec. (f) added Nov. 7, 1989; Subsec. (e) amended and two Subsecs. (h) added Nov. 2, 1993; Subsec. (h), as proposed by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., R.S., H.J.R. 21, repealed Nov. 4, 1997; Subsec. (b) amended, Subsecs. (c)-(g) deleted, and Subsec. (h), as proposed by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., R.S., H.J.R. 37, redesignated as Subsec. (c) Nov. 2, 1999; Subsec. (d) added Nov. 7, 2023, subject to resolution of an election contest under Chapter 233, Election Code, pending as of Feb. 1, 2024.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISIONS for Sec. 44: See Appendix, Notes 1 and 6.)