Galveston County Judge Mark Henry and County Commissioners Ryan Dennard, Joe Guisti, Stephen Holmes and Ken Clark, in Their Official Capacity as the Galveston County Commissioners Court v. Kimberly Sullivan, Judge Probate Court of Galveston County

SUBSTITUTE OPINION

Tracy Christopher, Justice

We deny the parties’ motions for rehearing; withdraw our opinion of April 5, 2016; and issue this substitute opinion in its place.

When Judge Kimberly Sullivan submitted her proposed budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year to the Galveston County Commissioners Court, she included compensation for her services as the county’s local administrative statutory probate court judge. The $5,000 payment was to be paid from the “contributions fund,” a dedicated fund that “may be used only for court-related purposes for the support of the statutory probate courts…