Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

GERAID C. MANN
Eon. L. R. Thompson
County Auditor
Taylor County
Abllene, Texas
Dear Sir:
Opinion No. O-1001
Re: Can the commissioners' court
legally make donations to the
Tuberculosis Association, to
the American National Red Cross,
or to any other charitable or
other organization making re-
quests for such donations?
Your request for opinion upon the above stated question
has been received and considered by this department.
We are unable to find any constitutional or statutory
authority for the expenditure or donation of county funds by the
commissfoners' court for the purposes above described.
The courts of Texas have repeatedly held that county
commilssloners'courts may exercise only such authority a8 is
conferred by the Constitution and Statutes of this State. There
are abundant authorities to this effect. We cite the followlng:
Article 5, Section 18, Texas Constitution;
ArtFcle 2351, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas;
TejrasJurisprudence, Vol. 11, pages 563-566;
Bland Vs. Orr, 39 S.W. 558;
Nunn-Warren Publishing Company vs. Hutchinson
County, 45 S.W. 2nd 651;
Hogg vs. Campbell, 48 S.W. 2nd 515;
Landman vs. State, 97 S.W. 2nd 264;
El Paso County vs. Elam, 106 S.W. 2nd 393;
Howard vs. Henderson County, 1.16SW 2nd 2791;
Dobson vs. Marshall, 118 S.W. 2nd 621;
Mills County vs. Lampasas County, 40 S.W. 404.
This department has repeatedly ruled to the same-'effect.
For example, opinion No. O-591 of this Department'held that the
commissionersI court of Galveston County, Texas was without
Hon. L. R. Thompson, page 2 O-1001
authority to expend county funds for the employment of lifg
guards for Galveston Beach; opinion No. 0-1085 of this Department
held that the commissioners1 COUY?t of MariOn COUntg, Texas was
without authority to pay the salary of a game warden; and
opinion No. O-1299 of this Department held that the commissioners'
court of Bexar County, Texas, was without authority to expend
county funds for fire protection from the City of San Anton10
for outside the city of San Antonio and in the county.
Conference Opinion No. 2662 of this Department,
dated February 4, 1927, Book 62, p. 48, 1926-1938 Attorney
General's Report, p. 390 et seq., written by Hon. D. A. Simmons,
First Assistant Attorney General, held that the commlssFbner3'
court had no authority to appropriate public funds to ch&it&ble
organizations managed and controlled by private Indivlauals and
that Constitution of 1876, Art. 3, Section 50, 51 and 52; Art.
8, Sec. 3; Art. 11, Sec. 3, and Art. 16, Sec. 6 referred to;
prohibit the appropriation of public funds to charities operated
by private individuals.
You are therefore respectfully advised that it Is the
opinion of this department that the county commlssloners' court
is without lawful authority to expend or donate county funds for
the purposes above mentioned.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
By s/km. J. Fanning
Wm. J. Fanning
AsSi8taI-d
WJF:AW:wc'
APPROVE) DEC 13, 1939
a/Gerald C. Mann
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
APPROW OPINION COMMITTEE BY s/BWB CRAIRMAN