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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
0;
AUSTIN
GROVERSELLERS
ATronNEr
GENER*L
Hon. Ernest Guinn
county Attorney
El Paso-County
El Paso, Tems
.DearSir:
OpinionX0. O-7515
Re: Conntitutionality
No. 90 of ?he 43r
YOur letter of Nommher 18. 1946
OS this departmenton the above statAdmatte
follows:
chasing:
Agent
ty of this bil.l.~arises
ourt,s ditcision
fn Km.er vs. city
n by-the SupremeCburt, reportedin
and similardecieioneholding acts
officesin a limitedbracke$ un-
'\
After careful considerationwe have concludedthat tMs
Act-is a local end speciallaw violatingthe provisions of Article
III Section 56 ,oSthe ConstitutionoS.Texas and is ,therefore
un&titutio& and void. Article XXI, Section56, of the Texas
Constitution,providesas follows:
_. -
Hon. Smeat Cuinn - Page 2
eleetifmor schooldiotricte;. , . lIt
Xt is manifestttit.the law m&r considerationre,Yulr&es
the s.ff&.nof the countyto which it m$ies, wwteo sz oS^pIce, md
prescribesthe p3xmpL4 r?nddxtl.esof mlch 0Sficers. It fApJ.J,pliRR OI-&y
to coilnties ir: this State kvvlzq a popv-lstfon OS rme thzn Due I-kmdred
l'hammnd~(1OE),CW) inhhsb%tmtsand less tbsn One IhmdredFifty Tlmus-
and &iO,OOO)~inhab5ftants and conteIn3.ng one city OS One Hunrhwd
'i'houmnd(lOc),UN)inhsbitontsas ehown by the latestFsderslSew-&s.
3% io atatdi in our opinion No. o-22x0
* . .
l!on.Ernest Guim - Page 3
‘IhQ ::.ct creates the office of purchasiw a~m^i.and
rescribesthe rmier;jmd dut%csof the ofliccrholdingsuch office.
E populationaffordsi:gound for crefiting the officeof cou:lty
p~&~d~ agent2 it nust be upon one of two theories: 11) the
mailer the poptiationof the county,the pvater the nee~cl 0T such
bffice, (2) the gsntcr th.l~ populationof the CO'UR~;Y, the g~e~tor
theneed of such an office. The bracket 'isfrom Gnc !Iundrcd Thous-.
and. to 0x10 Hundrse~ Fi3.y Thousand (Z~O,OOO). Upon the first theory,
the.ILM ia arbitraryziiddis&i?&mtory becauseit excludescomities
below One ltundred Thouscnci(lOO,Otx,)
which wx~ld have& :;rcat;cr ked
then countiesin the bracket. Upon the sccortd theory,the 3.z~ir,
likewisearbitrarymd discrinirnstory in thet it does not exbrzcc
countiesfx~i~ a greaterpop3.atj.o~ thm One Hmd:ec!Fifty fhousmd
(15O,irOO), which countiesw01CLdhave a g-rector need for z purchcsint-;
azcnt than the co~mtico-&thin the brackets.
In timi of the foregoingauthorities,it is ow opinion
that 2. E. 30 of the 43x-dLegislatureclccslyviolatesthe provision
of Ia-ticlo 111, Sectior?56, of the Stste COllStitUtiOll Nld is therefore
um~nstitutional2nd Void.
Furtherin this connectionCI call.pour attention. to the .
fact that the City oA c 21 Paso, accoruingto tm 19&O FederzlCensus<
h&c popu&tAon of~i:inety-Six %hcusand2ight !kkdrod md Ten. (96,tlO).
If the City of El P.1260 has not liada succaedi~ PedertiCensus since
3.940, than ST. Paso uould not be governedbg thks Article.
Very tn.&y yours