Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1940 )


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  • Honorable Swain Burkett
    County Attoraer
    Castro County
    Dimmitt, Texas
    Dear Sir:               Opinion Number O-2891
    Re:   Sale of county
    road bonds
    ,Hour recent request For an opinion
    ._.      _   of this depart-
    ment, on tne questlon nereln stated, has Deen received. We
    quote frw your letter as follows:
    "On or about the 25th day of October 190 the
    Coewissioners' Court of this county passed the
    following order (see verbatim copy attached here-
    to). You will note that It contalns the follow-
    ing clause 'You will deliver the bonds to us at
    par and accrued interest to the date of delivery
    to us . . . . 1. Said bonds are to bear Interest
    at the rate of 3a per cent per ,annum'. The above
    was then entered as a contraot, and as stated, a
    copy is attached.
    "The Commlssloners~ Court of this countr and I
    opinion on this point: Does this amount
    of the bonds if voted an=ttaken
    --
    under iEG$ion    or shEi?i.dF~ count
    thsoz
    -         and selrsame
    -----            the hiEhe%
    "It Is my opinion that the bonds should still
    be advertised and sold to the highest bidder.
    Artlole 7523 provides that they must be sold to
    the higheat and best bidder for cash . . ."
    Honorable Swain Burkett, page #2   (O-2891)
    Express statutory authority to Issue bonds lmpllea
    the power to issue them In the ordinary and usual manner, and
    the county may, by virtue thereof, sell the bonds and use the
    poceede for the purposes intended. Where the statute pre-
    scribes the method of sale, such method is the only method
    which c%n be followed. 34 Texas Jurisprudence, 671; City of
    Lubbock vs. Geo. L. Simpson & Company, 31 S.W.(2) 163; Gibson
    vs. Davis, 
    236 S.W. 202
    .
    The method for the sale of county 'roadbonds is pro-
    vided for in Article 7521 of the Revised Civil Statutes of
    Texas, which reads as follows:
    "After approval and'reglstration as provided
    by law relative to other bonds, such bonds shall
    continue in the custody and control of the Com-
    missioners' Court of the county in which they were
    issued, and shall be by said court sold to the
    highest --
    and best bidder for cash, eltherihxole
    or In parcels, Gmess       than their par value,
    and the purchase m=ytherefor    w     be pm
    in the county treasury of such county to the credit
    of the available road fund of suoh county, or of
    such politlcal subdivision or road district of such
    County, as the case may be."
    The contract submitted with your request seems to meet
    the statutory requirement that the bonds will be sold at not
    less than their par value. However, we are unable to determine
    from the facts submitted whether or not the Commissioners1 Court
    complied with the other statutory requirement that the bonds
    shall be sold to the highest and beat bidder for cash.
    It appears from your brief that the principal question
    you are interested in is whether or not said bonds should be
    advertised for sale. The statutes of this State provlae that
    certain bonds must be advertised for sale, such as road dis-
    trict bonds, where sald district is located in two or more
    counties (Article 778k, Revised Civil Statutes), but we find
    no such provision for the sale of county road bonds. There-
    fore, It is our opinion that county road bonds do not have
    ,A,                             -.
    -   .,--.~
    Honorable Swain'Burkett, page #3        (o-2891)
    to be advertised for sale. The only statutory requirement
    for the sale of said bonds is that they must be sold to the
    highest and best bidder for cash at not less than their par
    value.
    Trusting that this answers your question, we are
    Very truly yours
    ATTORREYWZNERALOFTEXAS
    B?        /s/ Claud 0. Boothman
    Claud 0. Boothman
    COB-s:mjs                                                Assistant
    APRlOVED JAN 10, 1941
    /s/ Gerald C. Mann
    ATTOFlNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
    APFROVED OPINION COMMITTEE
    BY /s/BE! CHAIRMAN
    

Document Info

Docket Number: O-2891

Judges: Gerald Mann

Filed Date: 7/2/1940

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017