OFFICE
OF THE A’ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
lionorablaI. Pradeoki
County A&t op
QalveatoR county
Qalveaton, Teras
Dear art
Your 16tter ltlttg
th eo p inio n
0rthis department OR c ,
reads h p a r t
as followai .
girlattIres.
4mpta to amwad
t called a4aaio~ or
a emoted as a ape-
226 of the Qmeral and
irat alled aeaalo~ of
la~r~apaokallp requested es to
lity of both H. B. #73 and the
tad, rafarriidto as 9. B. #86,
9a Qalv4aton county,the CdPnnlralWr rqre-
SetttingPrao. #2 la entirely Within the oity llmlta
Ot Qalveiaton and th4re me no roads la this Pre-
oiaot. The Seavall built by Galveston County and
the Boulevard, which la used as a driveway,~is part
Bonomble I. Prsdooki, page 2
ol tha protcatlva vork and Is pS&tISlly vlthln the
lisita Of PreOinot #2,
*ghoul.+you find thla bill constitutional,
please advise me igouI am to dotamine hdhsr the
Oom.fgaionera have Inourred the upmae provfdod
ror, vben on oirlolal duties and when for personal
USO*
l (I
. . . .
Senate Bill Bo. 286, dots of the 48th IsgIrZatwe,
RegliiarSeesion, 1943, reads 88 iollovat
“An Aot to amend House Bill Ho. 73, an Aot
passed by the First Called Ssaalon of the 33rd fsg-
IaltWtr~ or the State or Tezaa to Oreate a more ei;
fe.otive,road system for Qalvraton County, Tu483
Gk~q oounty COmi.8aioneraof said county ox-of-
fiolo preolndt rottd mnaaIa~al~nera and peao&i~Lag
their duties as auah etoi by addhg Seotion 2a pro-
vrding for additional dutlea of the County C-S-
aloners and by addhg Seotlon 2b p~ovldlngfor the
payment of travellag expenaea to the Connty Cow
UaaIab3ra, r0r the sac of their.private automo-
bller, ohen Inoorred only In the perio&leanMOf
their off'Iof.aldutleg pertaining to the mkinteme
of the ~publiaroardoend hlghvaya OS aald countyi
and deol4rIng an enlargeaoy.
I STATE OF
.aBXIT EMCl’BD BY THE LBaISLWJRE OF Tlfli
mt
“se0t10n 1. That Bouae ii.11go. 73, passed
et the Flirt Called $eaaIoa of the 33&d k?giSlStWS
of the State or Texas be amended by adding thereto
*atiOXl 24 to &eSd 88 fOlhf8t
I
“V3eotion2(a). The County CimotIaaIonera
ahall nmke an fttapeotlonof the publio roads, U&h-
Tot, 4nd other ttppurtettanceapert4InIugthereto
within their reapeative~praoinotaand vithIn their
~u&Isdiotiondurlng or Immediately after the 006u&
&awe or any storm, flood o& hIgb tide, the 000~
&WKm of uhIoh would probably damage 'or Obrtruot
Honorable I. Predeoki,, page 3
said pubUa roads, hLghuay8 and appurtenances.
fi awh inrpeotlonreveala that said roada, high-
oaya and apput%wutaea have bean med or ob-
atruoted In any COUtIty CWI8i88iOn8rS QFednOt, it
ahall be the duty or said Ooanni8alommto oloae
said road, hlghuay o& ap urtenanor OP to ln8tall
adequate fao~~ltlea andpor varnlng sign5 4t or naar
the laene of said damage OP obstruotlon,auffl-
oiest to Yarn the pub110 thereof, and to proaeed
as soowas 1s poraible thereefter to have such
damage repaired and obatruatlonremoved therefrobl.'
%ac. 2. That House RI11 Ho. 73, passed at
the Firrt CallcidSession of the 33rd LegIalature,
of the State of Texas be amended by addi- thmeto
Section 2b to read 8s follovat
“Qieotlon 2(b). The County Com.laatintwa 0r
Oelveaton County, Texas, are each hereby alloved
8otual traveling expenses not to exceed the sum of
Fifty ($50.00) Dollars per month iOr thr r;rte .Qf
their private automobiles, rovlded hweoer tkat
8uCh traveling axpenaea 8haE 1 be alloved only vhan
lncorred by the County CwmI88Iohera In the pePform-
actOeof their duties pert8lnIttg to the m9intezlame
of the publlo roads and highuayr.of said oounty.
Raoh oounty oomPrlasIoner in~u&rIng luah expense
ahall file a olalm vltb the CommI8alonera Court,
and, if aqid o&Da Is in order, 8ame SW be ap-
proved, alloved and ordered paid by said court as
8 alaim agalast the oouatg, said alaim ahall be
paid out of the road and ridge fqnd of aaid Ooun-
ty In the aam manner es provided by law for the
PayBent of other Otiims f&slasaid fund.'
*SW. 3. The feat that Oalveoton County la
MY vlthout an adequate road lav, and Is urgently
in need o fluoh a law, oreatea 811emergencryaad an
iR&mratlve publlo neoeralty, that the bttst~ttttIOn-
al Rule requiring bills to be read on three revere3
day8 i.ueach Ziouse be euapended, and the 8eme is
hereby suspended,and that thI8 Act take sffeot and
be In force from and after It8 pa88age. and It Is
80 enaoted.a
Bonoreble I. RedeokI, page 4
Rouse Bill Ro. 73, Aots of the 33rd Legfal4ture,
First called sea8Ion, 1913, was enaoted a8 a apeolal road
law under the prOvi8fO~Of AFti VIII, Station 9,Of the
Constitutionof this State. Senate Bill Ho. 286, Aota of
the 48th Legial4tur8,Regular Seesion, 1943, al80 va8 enect-
ed as 8 special lav for Galveston County under the p&ovirion8
of Artiole VIII, Seation 9, OS the ConrtItutlOn,8mendIng
House Bill Ro, 73, 8upra.
St i8 8tat8d In the 0888 Of CFOV V. Ti,IlIi8&,
47 S.U.
(26) 391 (tinner II.Crow, 78 S.Y. (2d) fi88)t
*lie8the law enacted for the better raaln-
ten4nce of road5 in Xi11 dountyt The Legialetu&e
by houae,blll Ilo.500 had pleoed new 8nd tUltIon-
al burdens On the oonrmiaaIone&8 vlth reference to
the roads of Xi11 county. The purpose Ye8 to
aecure a better system of roala for the aounty.
It ua8 apparent that the aomfs8Ioner8 vould imur
extra expenre in diaah8rgfng there nw dutler.
In return, the amendment in queatioa undertook to
compensatethem out of the road ad bridge Sund
Sor the erpenaea so l.nourred. The use by the com-
olirsloneraof thei.&private autowbllea So& the
8oaosplMunent of this purporo end in coxineotion
vfth such work alelearlyhad to.do vith the Qaain-
tenenoe of the publio roads’ of the Couuty, and
if 80, the Isgl.aleture bad the authority under
the Conatltutionby a loaal lav to authorlae the
Iwe or 8 part or the road end bridge fUnd8 to aa-
OOD@irh thi8 plU’pOae. A careful 8uperviaiott 0s
the &08ds by the oommI88loner8Ye8 as esaentIal
to the maintenanae of the road8 end the areetlon
of en etfialent 8y8tem as vould have been the mper-
Vlalon thereoi by a afvil engineer. If the oom-
~8rioM&a vere to arruae end diaaharge these
bUTdsn8, it vaa ea8entlal that they be provided
vlth the mean8 of doing 802 This could h8ve been
dono either by provLdLng the UNUM of conveyanoe
OF by oompen8atingthe oomnlsrlonem for the ex-
Rena88 Inuurred by them isdoing so.
“It la true, that the building and minten-
anC* OS ro4da is a part 0s the affair8 of a co~unty
Nonorable I. Predeakl, pega 5
and that 8 special lav reguhtlq the melntenenae
or roads ir to a aertaln extent a lev regulating
the arfalra or the oourityibut, ii auoh special lav
undertakesto regulete only that part 0r the arrairr
of a county pertaining ta the maintenanae of roedm,
it 1s not prohibited by the Constitution. Chler
Justice Phillips in Altgelt t. Outaelt, 109 Tex.
123, 201 9; Y. 400, 401, said: ‘So doubt the Lag-
islaturcbin the passage of looal roed lams, may,
vithin proper bounds, provide aompenaationfor
extra sarvloea to be perrormed by those Offlelala
(the aommfsalonera)vhere uaaontrolledby general
lava and required by such loaal laws and dfreatly
oonueoted vlth the malntenanae of the publla roads.”
(3eeEltchena et al. P. Roberta, 24 S.V. (26) 464,
Jenteson,et al. v. Smith, 161 S.V. 520, Austin
Broa. v. Patton. 288 9.Y. 182. and WLnn v. John-
son, 91 S.Y. (2ii) 499.) -
As heretofore stated Senate M3; Ho. 286, sUJU’8, 1s
a speafal road lav and vaa enaated as Thie Act is limit-
ed to the maintenance of publia roads and &poses added and nev
. .
._ imposed by general lav-and provides
duties-not for reimburse-
mew or toteoounty aoamuaalonera ror aertarn expenses Lneurrea
by them as authorized by said bat. Far the reasons stated here
and the,roregolngauthorities ue regard said Senate Bill Bo.
286 constitutional,end so hold.
You also j.nQuireas to the oonatitutlonaUty of
House Bill Ro. ‘73,au ra. What has been said vlth reference
to Senate ~111 NO. 28g, is equally applicable to House Bill
lb. 73, Therefore, it is our opinion that seld House Bill 810.
73 la conatltutional.
You further ask in e&feat, it the bill 16 found to
be COMtitutitialj-how are you to .determinevhether the O~IU-
~~slonera have inawred the expere provided for? Senate
Bill Ho. 268 e.xpr+ralgprovided that eaah cosmaiasloner ln-
curlna ruch expense shall ills a o1ai.mvlth the aommlsObon-
*w’ aourt, and, if such alaim la in order, same shall be ap-
pEoved, allowed and ordered paid by said aourt as a Olaim
*UUut the county. Said hot further providea that such
tr*vellngexpense shall be allowed only vhen lnourred by the
county oomtnisalaaer~in th4 performenae or their dutlea per-
t** to the mefntenanae OS public roads end hi&fey8 of
sai oounty.
Honorable I. Predeakl, page 6
It la our oplnlon that in view of the hot under con-
sideration the aommlaaionera~ court determines the amount of
expense lnaurred for traveling expensea by the county oonmfa-
sioners Por,the use of their wlvate automobiles end that when
a olalm for such expenses 1s riled with the aomtaiaaionera’
court, if said olalm la in order, said court hea the legal
authorltp to approve, allov and order aaid cleim to be paid.
Yours very truly
AITCRRRY O- OF TRXhS
Ardell Wllliem
Assistant
AUrdb