: Jme.13,~ 1951
Hoh.LarryO.Cox
Executive Director
Board for Texas State
Hospitals and Special Schools.
Austin, Texas oIjini&Ho,'V-llgo~.
Rer Authority OS the Boar&
I for Texas State Hospi-
tald &id SpeiX@l Schools:
.to~icreete and'esfbblisk
a neti-psyc~atric~hbs-
Dear Mr. Cox: pital:, : _',..
Your request for s opinion Is as SolTows:
- ~. r.
‘We tiesire the o&l.on of $oti oSSlc6’~
regaraing the legalIQ+ legality~ of t&e constructi'on
ConstructIon
of a new II&IXlnstitutibn
lnstitutItm by
bs exlxjnditure
exrdnditure of Sun@:
funds:
providet
rovided by Section 3 & Agticle
of Article 7047c-1
7@7c-1 .~~
n"^ ..
V.C.S.).
P(V.~.S.].
,... ;;
,...
"Section 8 of 'House'Bill~ 1, Re ular
Session of the 51st LegIsla&re; 1.9$ 9, .In-
dlcates that MUBoard for Texas State Hos-
pitals and Special Scliools may+&eate' tind
establish new Institutions for, the ~(rare a&.~~
maintenance ~0s war&3 under %ts jiM.sdIctI~on~
"It Is 'the Interprei%t%on of several
of the Board members of the Board for Texas
State Hospitals and Special Scho~ols that
this Board Is authorlsed to create anU es-
tablish new institutions .by virtue of See-'
tion 8 OS the aSore-ment%qned-H&se Bill No.'
1. It Is their belief .thsWthe funds pro-
vIdeU In Article 70$7c-l;"SectIon3; e&n be :
used to construct stich new Irist%tutIons'.
These members feel that the State :oS Texas
and th5.s Board are iti great ne@ of~a'tiw
psychiatric hosbital, which: xi&l prbvicle
the latest- tspe .oS tretitm6nt~Sor mentU
illness.
.
Hon. Larry 0. Cox, page 2 (V-1190)
“There Is a question In some of the
Board members * minds whether or not the
Board has the authority to create and es-
tablish new Institutions; therefore, your
opinion Is necessary on account of the dif-
Serence of opinion.
‘Please advise whether or not Section
8 of House Bill 1, 51st Regular Session,
1949, and Section 3 of Article 70470-l give
this Board authca-Ity to create and estab-
lish new institutions for the care of the
mentally Ill.’
House Bill 1, Acts 51st Leg., R.S. 1949, ch. 316,
p. 588, referrecl to as Article ‘3174b, V.C.S., created the
Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. Sec-
tion 2 of the act gives to the Board management and con-
trol of State H&pit&s and Special Schools. Section 8
thereof provides In part:
“The Board for Texas State Hospitals
an8 Special Schools Is hereby authorized
to negotiate for an& to acquire Srcnn the
United States Governmsnt, or any agency
thereof, or from any sourae whatsoever, by
gist, pl.l@lase, or leasehold; for and on
behalf of the State of Texas, for use In
the State service, and In ,the establish-
ment’of State tuberculosis sanatoriums, any
landa, bull&Lngs, ana SacIlItIes wIthIn the
State oS Texas, and eng~personal properties
wherever located, and to take title thereto
for and In the name of the State of Texas .a _.
Secticm 3 of Article 7047c-1, V.C.S., provides,
In part:
* . Fran the effective date of this
Act, &:Sourth (l/4) oS the net revenue
derived from the tax levied on cigarettes
weighing not more than ttiee (~3) pounds per
thousand, and five-forty-firsts (,5/43) of
the net revenue Uerived from the tax levied
on oigarettes weIghIng more than three (3)
pounds per thousand, shall be credited to
a special Sun13to be known as the State
Hospitals and Special Schools Building Fun&
- -
227
Hon. Larry 0. Cox, page ?:*.,(V-1$90)
which Is hereby crea,ted; .,~&:..-~Provided
however, that not In ejccess. oI'FIve~MIl-' :'
Lion Dollars ($5,000~000) &al&be credited
to the State Ros,pItals ana Special Schools-
BuIldIng Fund for the bIennI~.erdIng Au-~ .' .:
gust 31, .1951 and'not In excetis oS.FIve
MIllIon Dollars ($5,000~000) for each Sis-
cal yew thereafter shall be.medIte~:to
such fund. Any balance In..exoess of. such
Five lU,lionD~llars .($5,000,000) Ix~any
fiscal year shall bs txansfe~etl to an&be- .~
come a part of the State Hospital F?mcl here-
by createa, which Is and shall be the same
State Hospital Fund as provided for In House
Bill no; 3 of the First Called Session of
the Fifty-first Legislature.:,
.
a . .'.,
,L,~
'Ail Sun& credited to the,ktate eos-. ':
pitals and Special Schools Building Fund
under this Act are hereby &pproprIat&%to
the Board for ~Texas State~~~ospitals.~
Special Sc~ools.Sor,. the~pur@ose oS..corG
~structing, repairing and e.quIppIng such .'
.buIlcUngs as,In the opinion of ~the.BcarcI
are necessary to ~the propep care of those
committed or to be cm.tted to such.t?os-:
pitals and special schools..accordIngto
law. . •~."
The State HospItals.and-Speclal‘ScnaolEl Build-
Ing Fund was.created Sort&-purpqse~ of constructing, re-
pairing, and equipping such.buIldIngs~,as in-the ~OpinIon of
the BoarU are necessaw to the proper care of those com-
Inl;ted to such hospitals and speoial.schools according to
The statute Is silent as to any authority relating
to ihe creation and establIshme& of a new institution
vith moneys from thIs.Suud.,-It Is our o#.nIon that the
acts In questlon relate- solely to those Institutions with-
In the jurisdicti~ of~the Board for Texas State; Hospitals
and Special Schools. Specific'acts. of the Legislature have
authorized the creation am%establIshment oS.~I.nstItutIons
Within the jurisdiction of the;Board.for,Texas State Hos-
pitals an& Special Schools+ .An examination of the acts In
question reveals that specific'authorization has been deemed
necessary in the past. .(See Chapters 1, 2~and~~3, Title 51,
V.C.S.) In the absenceof such-authority, It 1~~ou.r opinion
that a new institution may not be establishetl.
Hon. Larry 0. Cox, page 4 (V-1190)
Public of'ficersand governmentaland admInis-
trative boards possess only such powers as are expressly
conferred upon them by law or are necessarilyImplied
from the owers so conferred.
418, 425 fl849 ; Fort Worth C
125 Tex. 339, 3 3 W 2 66
135 Tex. 119, 138 ii&l 1:6
Therefo e, In answer to your que&on, It Is
our opinion thatfneither Section 8 oS Houie'BIll No. 1,
supra, nor Art&& 7047c-1 furnishes the board suSSi-
cient authority to create and establish a new Institu-
tion
J
:
SUMMARY
Sectlou 8 of House Bill lo. 1 Acts
51st Leg., R.S. 1949, ch.316, p.586, and
Section 3 of Article 7047~~1, V.C.S. are3.
not suSSIcIentlybroad In scope to authazr-
ize the Board for Texas State Hospitals
and Special Schools to create and estsb- :
lIsh new Institutions.
APPROVED: Yours v&y truly,
J. C. Davis, Jr. .PRICE,lMNlEL
County Affairs DIvIsIon Attorney General
Jesse'P. Luton, Jr.
RevIewIng Assistant
Charles D.'Mathews
First Assistant Assistant
Bwtlllw