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AUWB-IN ~~,'X%XAS
PRICE DANIEL
ATTORNEYGENERAL
June 30, 1949
Ron. Dun L. Butohinson Opinion No, Q-207
County Attorney
Bowie County Re: Authority of Levee
Boston, T 8x88 Improvement District
to make contribution
out oi Reserve Main-
tenance Fund.
Dear Sir:
We oo f from your letter of June 3, 1947, thr
facta and quest s on upon nhiah our opinion is requested:
“FACTS: The Dowie County Levee Improvement
D-at No. 1 ie a duly and legally oonsti-
tuted levee improvement diatriot, and a.8 a
part of its levee improvement an4 drainage
program has heretofore oonatnuoted ~a canal
several miles in lrtogtih within the distriot,
whioh aaml drains water off of a proxilast,elg
14,000 aarea of Red River bottom f and, This
canal is now, and has been at all times main-
tained b the distrlst and It eiaptiee i&o
Edward@ Eake,, a natural lake aleo located
within the district, which lake empties into
Red River. During the oourse of years~the
mouth of Edwards Lake has filled to such an
extent that surfaoe water at this time on the
forms drainin into then canal will not pass
on into Red Rf ver, thereby causing the al-
most complete failure of 4rainage from the
farm landa in ‘this dietriot.
“The levee improvement district non haa on
band several ‘thousand dollars in its main-
tenance fund, ~whloh it holds in reserve as
againnt emergenaies or possible break8 in
the levee proteati the faIIP. lands from
overflow Pmm Red ,,R
“f[ ver, and the supervisors
of this distribt aeslre, if legally poaafble,
to mentribute a reasonable portion of ita rem
gerv# Mintenanos fund to a c&amen fund
rail~eb by private donations and otherwise,
mhi@h oommon fund is to be used by a committee
Hon. Bun L. Hutchinson, Page 2, V-207
in a~pkctyi, ea$iaaers to make a survey of
the obstrus T ia%& in the mouth of Edwards
Lake,, and tha preparation of plan8 and es-
timtes of 8oota of r%aoving these obetruc-
tiona, and further to be ased in peying
time and expeneas of enginsen and other
repre88ntativ8s in going to Washington, D.C.
to present the canditions herein stated to
appropriate eownitt888 of COAgress, seeking
an appropriation to the Army engineers for
the purpose of having the Arvny engineers re-
aove these obotructions flom the mouth of
&awards Lake.
~~lJIt3TIOIO: Whether or not the Board or
Supervisors or Rowie County Levee Improve-
ment District No. 1, in Bowls County, Texas,
can legally contribute a portion of its
miAte5A5Ce f~undB t0 a common fund &BY&A-
above desoribed for the purpose8 her8iA-
above stated?*
Bowie County Levee Improvement Distriot No. 1
was organized on Fsbruarg 10, 1913, under Articles 5530
to 5584, inclusive, Revised Civil statutes, 1911 (Acts
1909, p. 140, Sec. 1 to 58, inc.. ) . - It is assumed that
amid distriot has availed itself of the conservation
amendment to the Constitution, Article 16, Sec. 59, SAd
the various Aats passed thereunder covering levee improve-
ment districts, now represeated by Articles 7972 to 2042,
iaclueive, BexAoA’s Civil Btatutes (dote 1925, Ch.21, as
amaadedj . In any case, wa are unable to find in the pro-
ViBiOnS of the 1909 Act or the 1925 Act authorization for
the contribution sought to be made by the distriot here.,
In carrying out its purposes and in expeoain
it8 funds, a district, such as the one involved here, fB
limited to the aoing of only those things which are er-
pr888ly authorized or which may be clearly implied from
the statutes governing it8 actions.
The purposes for which levee improvement dis.-
tricte .are created are set out in Article ‘7472, a~8
“.. . COAetIWt~iAg and !Wint8i5i,ng
levees azd other improvements on, along and
oantlguous to river8 ,~,,gmeke, aad strsams,
far thb gurpoere 0r reclaiaing lenaa f tom
everflsn from euoh 8tream8, for the purp888
J
Hoa. Bun L, Putohinson, Page 3, V-St87
of the eontrrol and distributisn of the wa-
ters cf rirszs and stream by st$Mghtening
and otiumiar impreviug the 88~~~ end for
thwprvper #rmaiaage and Qther improvement
or suah hdr, (1 . **
The powrrs nanted la order to fulfill these
JNlrpC386# 8lN 8 in h”tfO~O 9980 88 iOlLoW8:
d6S~CTibb
?Lsvee impraveme&t districts orested
under this Act or entitled to the brnoiits
of its provisions, sub wit to the auper-
vision and dire&ion 04 the State Weclama-
tion 'Lsgiaeer, or o$PIbr ruprriar authority
oreated by law, and tiubjeet to the liaita-
tions in this ,Aot ooataiaud, ehall hafe
full pmar and authosfty to build, oon-
struot, oomplete, e&Fry Qut, maintain,
protect, and in case ef aeoerssity, add to
and rebuild al& wor&s aaal improvsrneats
within tbrlr distrlot,,neoessary or roper
to fully ooe0mplish any plra of reo f amation
lawfully ad0 ted for OF sn behslf or euoh
distriot, ah,i msy make 811 ~ae~seery and
proper oontraots, and employ all pttreon8
and means naoeseary or pnr)er to that end;, a an
Levee improvement dirtriots are authorized to
act in conjunction with others by Article 7986, which
provides a0 follows:
nLevss improvement distriots shall
have authctrit to sot jointly with each
other, with o 9ties and t0wns and other
political rubdivisions of the State, with
other states, and with the Osvarslent o?
the United Statsa in ths pe%ffs~~~~noeof any
of the thi 8 permitted by thfs Xot;' such
joint asts T o be done u n rrrlh trams as
may be agreed upon by t r lir supervisors,
subject to tho approve1 of th# $tate Recla-
mation Engine8r.w
The malntenaaoo iopQ of rush distrlste may be
lxpsnd8d PB provided in Ax%irle~QQYiS~ which etetas:
Ita 0 e The proorodr OS rueh taxes
rhall be used for ths nafnteaanoe, up-
keep, repairs and additions to the levees
Hon. Run L, Hutohinsea, Page 4, V-887
and other improvements in the distriot,
and for no other purposes, except as may
be herein otherwise provided, D D 0n
The above quoted artiales must be looked to in
order to authorize the oontrfbution in question since
nothing is to be found In the 1925 Aatt as amended, which
would Otherwise authorize the aontribution involved here0
We rind nothiug in these artioles, efther express or fm-
plied, whioh would authorize the contribution p nor do we
find fa the 1999 Aat, the Act under which the district
‘,ir qoebti~a mie qmatsl, any such authorization,
Tt is provfdedin Article 7980, v. c, s.,that
only the construction and maintenance of those fmprove-
ments are authorized which are necessary and proper to
accomplish the districtqs “plan of reclamation” which
has been adopted and approved as provided in Article
7990, and by Article 8027 and 8028 ft is declared to be
unlawful for the district to construct or maintain any
levee ox other improvement without first adopting such
a plan and having the same approved by the State Reala-
mation Engineer, whose duties by Article 5421h are now
exercised by the Commissioner of the General Land Office,
In Mathan .va D Rockwell County Levee Improvement District
140. 1 (T,C.A- 1929) 17 S, W, (2) 841, these statutes
were construed; and St was held that a levee improvement
district may carry out only those works authorized by
its “plan of redlamationw and suffers no liability for
damage caused by a work unauthorized by such plan- We
asauma from your statesent of facts that the project
which the contribution antfcfpates will be a prol)eet
which, presently at least, is not covered by the dis-
trict’s plan of reclamation0 If the district is unable
to undertake the project under its present plan of recla-
mations it must follow that It is unable to contribute
its funds to such a project,
An agency of the State cannot delegate to oth-
ers jurisdiction, duty or authority vested in it by stat-
ute. We feel that the contribution under the facts -given
will have this effect and~base our opinion upon this aa-
ditional consideration.
In rendering this opinion, we recognize the
districtsa authority to undertake upon its own initia-
tive or in conjunstfan with the political subdfvfs-ions
enumerated in Artfele 7986, or through contributions by
citizens or others to its and after proper approval of
plen, the work phioa t,irs efWr&butioB here in question
antioimW8.
A e$tubtim morb or leee analogous to that
whioh mnfwnt9 the d$atriot hem rain involveu in Gal-
rrmton Coutaty o. Greaham (t&A, 1920) 220 S. Y:, 860,
writ terused . A reading or that case my eoggeat to
tkb dietr&t a ae&&ion to the problim whiah a@nZronte it.
(1) A levee improvement dirtriot my
not contribute from its redlerve main-
tenance fund to a, citieens’ committee,
over rgRich it has no amtrol, romed
for the purpo,s e of engaging engirieers
end developing ,a plan for &earning a
stream to,:rm?ililtste dminage within
the dlstriet,, SUQ$.committee to contact
the federal grvermmxrt for appmpria-
tiea and ai+ Sr thl) pri?ljo6tTa
(81 A levee imprormmwmtdimtrlat may
accept amiatiebe mm oiti,zwiu a2 mxa
any other soured, fuad expend itr own
htnds to developing a len approved by
the State Reolamktioa 1n&U&e&l?.
Yburs very truly
A’lTOFN@ C&kWUL OF TEXAS
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