237
OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
you vi11 be ob-
p r o Tl8len
in ll6 Ao t th e will
tj ta rreatou3Jr*tlremout funA,
bnte a ny6ua ha lx lto Ifs emp lo ~eer
pensation or old-age benefita, after
they have oearod te work Sor r&l Anthorltr.
There 18 no ry uader 6ald Aat whereby th. tpad
euggested w 7011, if ~16 in by the e~plqeer, could be
invested or handled or dletributedr ReSther is there any
prorlnion oontaslned In 6ald Act whioh ~0~14 matborim ym
to par fro18 it6 tia6 64 6m3~ to retbed brplg000.
238
%lO Lower cOlOF%dO RfrW &lLuthiWitj is b OOrpOrb-
aon $relItedUllderblld by riPtUe Of tit&C18 16, Seotion SQ,
0s the Btnte Constitution. It only has suah express or im-
plied porera as it is gvan by the stbtute or Qonstitution.
In the law creating said AuthorifJ there 18 no
gpeoifio authorizationSor it to orefate b retirement fund
for its employees.
On the question o? implied authority, the law is
well stated in PWsbee to OcConnOr, City Treasurer, 7 Pao.
(3) 3l&, wherein the City of Beverly Hills, Callfornis,nbs
enjoined from paying b warrant In favor of the PaciNe Mutual
WPe Ins. Co. for the premium &ue upon an insurance policy is-
sued by said aoqauy to Charles C. Heir, an employee of said
05ty. Zho City of Boverlp hills had passed sn ordinancs
vh%ch provided for the emotion and operation of an iasurance
plan OnJ pension fund sor elaployeesoi said o&Q. The ordl-
oance provided for insurance and a uait of pension at age of
63 fur oath employee, depoodent upon the amount of his rommor-
ation and the length of his serriC0 with tho city. In holding
maCi ordlnbnce void, the court used tais lasguaget
'(l-4) Tho prab question inrolred in this
appobl Is shethor the oity of Beverly rills had
the over to pass the ordinance axed inour the
liab P Uty in question. Conoeding that the aity
had no oxpress poser to do so, appellant contends
that It botad NlWn its implied powers1 but In
our Opinion this oontention cannot be sustained.
It Is fundamentrl thbt a municipal oorporbtion
08x1exercise only such powers as hare been con-
ferred upon it by the Constitution,the general
lbws,~or its cwn charter provisions, d that
the language purporting to define its powers
mst bo strictly 4onstrued. * * l . The roll-
settled rule by which the povors of a mniclpal
corporationere to be sotasuredis stated in Ml-
10x1on Mmicipal Corporations (6th Ed.) rolum 1,
3 237 as followsr IIt is a general osd urrdis-
puted prcpositica of 18w that b mnlcipal corpora-
tion FOSSssEeS and oILU sxeroise the follOtiq
pOWer6, ati 110 OthWSI those granted in
First,
express words; seoonci,those ueoessarily or fair-
ly inplied in or iwideut to the powers exFrrsssl?
-0x- Oolorb4o River lafhorlty - pbga 8
@ante&; third, thoae eSS0ntibl to the b0008-
plimhment of the deolbrab Objects bml pur-
p0ses Of the oorporbtion -- not simply oonven-
tent, but iadispensahle~ Any fdr, rebsonbble,
substbntibl doubt concerning the edstenoe of
poner is resolved by the oourts bgtinst ths
o4rpor~tlon, antI the poTer is 4enU4. OS
eye- praioipbl eOrpOrbtiOn the ohbrtor or
statute by which it is arebted Is fts orgbnio
abt. Ieither the 0Orporbtion nor its offloers
oan do bat, or mbke bq controot, or lneur
w
any libbilitr, not buthorise4 thereby, or br
some legislbtite bat bppliebble thereto. All
not8 beyoxnl the mope Of the powers @bEted bre
YOid.’ l + 4 . Yeasure by the foregoing prinai-
pies, TB bre of the opinion thbt the aity of
Beterlj Elllm ran without power, ei+Aer express
or implied, to pbss bn ordiname proriding for
bn insurame plan bn4 penslon fXzn4 for Its em-
ployees, bn4 ran rithouf p0Ter to inour brq
libbility Under such OrdinmOe for pre&mie
upon poUeie8 issued thereunder to 84 Of ifs
employees. These powers wore neither exprossl~
conferred, nor Tare they bssmg those 03eeesebr-
lly or fbirly lmplle4 in or imi4ent to the
parers expressly ybnfe4,+ nor sere they bsmg
thore +essentinl to the naoompllshmmt oi the
deolbred objeots bJ3d pUp0Ses OS the oorporb-
tion -- not simply contenlent but lnbispensbble.+*
82noe there 18 no express p4mer conferred upon sbia
Authority to create 8 retirement fun4 for its employees, it
is our opinion that it cannot, under its irapUe4 authority,
create or hbnile said fund, an4/or distribute sbmo blong the
lines suggest04 In your letter, and the exhibits thereto bt-
tbched.
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I, ./ Yours terf tru.4
!i'c2'<2,
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Gee, W. Baraus
7-5 23) 1942 Asslstbnt
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