Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1974 )


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  •                                 September     11, 1974.
    The Honorable    William  R.     Pemberton                Opinion   No.   H-   397
    County Attorney
    P. 0. Box 610                                             Re: May a county become     a
    Beeville,  Texas    78102                                 dues paying member     of a
    chamber    of commerce   which
    is a corporation.
    Dear   Mr.   Pemberton:
    Your    request for an opinion explains      that the Beeville  and Bee
    County Chamber         of Commerce     is a corporation,    and that its Board of
    Directors     has asked Bee County,       through the Commissioners        Court,
    to become      a dues-paying     member.     You also advise that the purposes
    and functions      of the organization   include promoting     industrial develop-
    ment in the county,   the development       of downtown Beeville,    and the
    promotion   of the county-owned      stadium.     We understand   that it also
    supports  other measures     beneficial    to its commercial    members.
    Specifically,    you have   asked:
    May Bee County,  through the Commissioners     Court,
    become a member   of the Beeville and Bee County
    Chamber  of Commerce    and pay dues, out of the
    General Fund, in the amount of $1, 500.00 per year?
    In a helpful. brief   you have directed   our attention          to several   Texas
    Constitutional   prbrisions     bearing on the matter   --among            them, Article
    11 $ 3 of the Constitution     which reads in pertinent   part:
    No county,     city or other municipal     corporation   shall
    hereafter    become a subscriber        to the capital of any
    private   cor,poration  or association,     or make any
    p. 1856
    __._~
    i   -’
    .   .,   I
    The Honorable             William    R.     Pemberton      page    2 (H-397)             ”
    .
    appropriation      or donation     to the same,        or in
    anywise    loan    its credit.   , ..
    In our opinion this provision        of our Constitution  prohibits   Bee
    County from becoming           a dues paying member      of the Beeville   and Bee
    County Chamber           of Commerce,      and Article 3 5 52 of the Constitution
    prohibits    legislative     authorization   of such a practice.   Attorney    General
    Opinion O-6168 (1945).
    The situation     you describe   does not, in our opinion,        come within
    the holding    of Barrington    v. Cokinos,     
    338 S.W.2d 133
    (Tex.        1960). Nor
    is it insulated    from the abuses which those Constitutional            provisions
    were designed       to prevent,   as was the case in Brazes        River Authority     v.
    Carr,    
    405 S.W. 2d
    689 (Tex.    1966).  It is an attempt     to secure for the
    community      and its citizens    by subscription    to a private    corporation    general
    benefits   resulting    from encouragement       of private  industry     and business.
    While this is a laudable purpose it is one to which Bee County is prohibited
    by law from participation.
    Although     counties     may not, in our opinion,        become      dues paying
    members       of private    corporations      operating    chambers      of commerce        in
    order   to promote       and advertise     the area,     the Legislature      has enacted
    provisions      enabling    certain    counties   to raise and spend funds for advertising
    and promotion       under certain       conditions    which include an authorizing           elec-
    tion and the establishment           of a Board of Development.            Articles    23528,
    2352c,    2352d, V. T. C.S. And see Bland v. Taylor,                  
    37 S.W.2d 291
    (Tex.
    Civ. App.,       Austin,   1931) aff’d 
    67 S.W.2d 1033
    (Tex.          1934).     Authority     to
    engage in such activities          under such conditions,        however,      does not carry
    with it other authority         to join or make donations        to private     organizations
    in order    to achieve     a similar     end.   Attorney    General    Opinions M-936(1971),
    O-2629 (1940).
    SUMMARY
    A county      may not become a dues paying member
    of a chamber       of commerce  which is a corporation.
    ery   truly     yours,
    Attorney       General     of Texas
    p. 185
    -
    r-
    The Honorable    William      R.   Pemberton   page   3 (H-397)
    APPROVFD          : ‘.        ’
    I
    LARRY   F.\jY&
    LL
    DAVID M. KENDALL.             Chairman
    on Committee        ,.
    ,
    p. 1858
    

Document Info

Docket Number: H-397

Judges: John Hill

Filed Date: 7/2/1974

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017