OFFICE OF THE AtTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
:
reoeltedand oar*
ote rrom your re-
oltillanderense
0r an air raid
wlor Hoepita ror proaeeslog. A unit ~111 be
preparedfrom approximately one pint of blood.
ft 18 plaxuw to st0m-3rirty units at eaah one 0r
the thrse hospitals.
*The um to which the preparedplasmawill
be put would be the generalreller or aidlian
HonorableRalph LOg?%k,
PagO 2:
ohaualtIes,In the event of a bombing ratd on the
oity. &A the svent of suoh dfsaster, 'thesupply
or plemm would presunkablbe used.rorall persoim
b&red regardlessof thef'TtlnMoIa1 staudlng.
The see would be determined by Mnergenopneoessity
rather than iinanofel abilityi
%ur .offloeis respeotfully reqaested to @-
T&M whethe+ Tom breei.Gowty oaa LaWel4~rgsod
(IUY flirehundredto one thousanddollarsfor the
pxymration 0r this plasma.
*I attaohheretoa brler oltatlonor authori-
tbb end .~~~ou8sion
on this question~aesome assist-
anoe fn d~termlnine,
this questIon."
we quote rrfmiyour briei-esr0ii0wist
%rtiole 5, Seotion18,0? the Constitutionor
Texas, eroatingthe ocmmlmsloners~
oourt,reads In
part as r0g0w8t
“‘. w :,oountyoommlssioners so ohosenwith
the oountp~judge as prealding orrloershall
eompoeb~tneocmnty oozo&mlonerut ooart uhloh
till exerohe suoh power8and 'juri8dlot~on over
all oountybaelnes8aa la oonierred by this
ConstitutionaOd the laws ot the State;or as
siaybe hereafterpreaorlbed.*
It is a well settledprlnoipleof law that the oom-
0i88iOBer8’ 00th doe8 BOt haYe My tlUthOPity 8X-
oept that whloh is expre86ly or impliedlyconferred
apon it by law..Edwards OoOnty78* ~ennioga, 33
8. W. 585)11 TOG Jut., p. 564.
"Aeiole 2351,Vernon’s Ann. Cioil st., speol-
iis8 the.generalpowers and datles of the eommlr-
810ners8 oost. ,In additionto the generalpowers
there enumer8tsd,there are rarloos apeolal powers
enumeratedin the statute8 whioh hare been passsd
from time to time. The oommIssloners* oourt Is
authorizedta iurnlshrir0 protectionIn rire right-
ing equipment.
,, ..--
‘. 5*2B
.
*&tloie l&4$, Vernon*8 Ann. Ol-rilSt., per- : ‘-
mlt8’t&e ‘oqileaiciners~ oourt ‘to apgiropriete end
~expendmoney rron:%&e-general rovenue8or it8 OOM-
behalfor pablfohealth aud sexme-
ty ror and ia.,
tion with& ite oouBty*'
UPtio&e-58C4 mthoripee the ,Oomd8doners~ '~
oouxtt to appmpriate not exOeedios.oae handreddol-
lam per motif&*or erpeMe8 ‘in bonpeotkbnwith thd
admiihtrat~v8Pnitsd the~lfetioaal &xi&; and Art-
iOle $@&a n,OvidW iOr the approptiation by oow
ab8h~mrr~ ‘o dr t8 %o,derreylx p en8e ror eq uip ment,
a~?~~ti~(l~ eto.,~ for the TeXa8 DeieMe ChaibL Bone
8eaL fjoerpre8rily’eorer
or:'tb880~provi8ion8 .the
exphndttard for the puPpobe$A the manuez
of, fad8 .
h8PdB qM8$$Onedr Ii the OOld8dOni~a' ooart
then:has qutlqr~tyat all to 80 expend money on e
blood ple8iga
bank, it ~mustbe rrctmth6 *plied au-
thorityfound in some of the above mentionedstet- I
ute8 or 00nstitlit10Mlprc4vlsions~
~Weottdn11, Artiole2351,Yeraon'8.Ana.Civil. ,
St., 8t4tes $h8t t_bO OOl8mi88iOll828 OOUe 8hhaLl
1 . . .rprovfda
$or the 8uPpePt Oi..pfiupera
and idiot8
8nd~lrmatlo6;.asomgnot be ad&Wad Into the lunatlo .$--
a8ylum rwident8 of their oount* who, are unable to
euppo& thefmelves. By tha .term.~*Asldentm ‘asused
here& it Ie meant a person who ha8 ,beena bona
fide InhabitantOr the OOUB~~'BO~le88 t&n SiX
m&he end -of@he 8tate not less than one year.’
*The oouH.85x1ocnstrutngthe above statute
hate held the ~sommlsmloner8~oourt to ham the au-
thorityto supplyhoospltalfeetlon to Indigentoiti-
Zen8 of its oounty. In tho oa5e 0r WllleayOounty
Y84 Valley BttptittEO8pitti,G&v. hpp., 29 S.,W.
(2d),&56,the Coat held that ootwtLeeare not lla-’
ble a8 a Ipatteror ooar8e for aedioaland hO8pItti
b&l18 or am iajuredpomon leaoiagno estate. In
this ease the oourta&song&y tit-ted that neither
the eoauty.$id@ nor en ind%dduaI.oommiaaioner
w&s alothedwith authority to bind the oounty to
any agreement~made by nroh judge or oomodmaloner,
aotIng indiridrutlly,to pay for servioesrendered
HonorableRalph logan;Page.4
a paqpcrri 8Qtj that.it58 ndoeaselry the,tthe oonmla-
sloner8'ooqt a8 a body e0t.h determlnl~ the
neoesrsity r0s support&van muper8.
*The OplBfOh 0i’pu.rdepartment,Ho. O-4529,
rendered od;Apxi$i 23, 19b2, holdlagthat the county
ha8 no authOrf~ to oontribute funde to and ‘slrpport
and malntalii a#xoifloe or DQeotor of ClrIlIanDe-
.ren8?,apwntly, at lea84 ;tPterentiekly,~ prohIb-
its ,the expenditureor ruud8 ror the preparation
or blood~plafma~sinoe the ~projeot la deeorlbeda8
oI+illkndefense. The uss’oi.thepleaga,however,
regardleqs.o$ label. aitisetl to t&e pk?m,.rhould de-
te2miBeits l&+l~ty. fi.‘ths prepared plasmawore
~umbdsolely$o ‘propida ~medioeloara,’ and treatment
r0r ~$ndlgen$e’ and paupers,arter
been 80~dete~d by the
18 4WUIQO~:'t~t the O@lIlty
the preparationor eaoh plaanla,
.,..
“A8 the plan i8 presented thd U8.e or the plamra
would not be restriotedto Ind&ents 6x08 t to the
extentthat.;- oftieen eerloulrly ‘f&red % a bomb-
ing raid &ld Qe oleselrledae.an MUgart. From
a praotioalpoint or tier, 8uah an injured parson
oould very.reesonably be olassliieda8 a member or
tha indigent olas8,but this oonoluadonIs based
@sly on,probebIlIty, awl 18 entirelyapeouhtive.
In order ror the plasma auppX~ to be of value to the
oommunltpin time oi disaster,It would have to be
administered ta any personwhose injuriesindioated
8Uah MdfOd treatment in (111 @iUergeXiojr, dthout rb
gard to his rinenaiel standIng.
*Slnoe thereneema to be LU,statuterrpeoiflkel-
ly authoriziog any expendituretor tha purpoee:of
.preparing ~bloodror e blood plemuabank, and there
aeeme to be no etatote,rratt whioh 8uoh powers oan
beineaessarilyImpliedroom those expresdlygranted,
it would appear that the oomai6sIoners’ oourt ie
withouteuthorItyto appropriatefund6 ror the pro-
jeot as plsnned.”
There Is no statutespe~If&oalZy aathorlzIngthe
expenditureor countyrunds r&r the purposementionedIn your
letter. It is our opinionthat you have oorreotlydetermined
that there ie no at&tote froarbioh sooh pa&e oan be noow-
sarilyLsplZebX.
Undn the raatr etatedand under thsauthorities
olted ln opinion Ro. 6-&%9 Of th%S department, a oopy Of whioh
is enolosed herwith, we NepeatfUllg M8wet PmOr qUe8tion in
She zi&atLte,
-
lil8 wish to explW88 oyr eppreo$etlon ior th+exoelleat
brlei ,&tted:
: ,,
~. ., Verytnalyyours
WJFrmp
?hX3..
AT.!CORNEYG- OF 9!XXAs