OFFICEZOF TNE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF
AUSTlN
-a.-
--
lionorablti Bill 8. Waiatkiw
county Attorney
g$: , Q8y;;
Dear Sir l Ophion No. o-4023
Rer Can money r%oelrrU Sroa the
3oard of County enb Riatriot
Road ~ndrbtedaesa be hCrided
lv2ong the sour oomiJli8sion%ra’
preaincto, and related queer-
tiom?
Your Latter 05 Soptrrr.ber 2O, 1941, requsotlng en
o?lnlon OS this Uepastment on the questions atated, herein,
reads in part 3a r0110tvs:'
‘EJano’ county htia recontry received rm2
the. .Board of County and ~lstrlcf Road Rand fn-
debfsdneaa approxlaate3iy $C,OOO.OO whioh the
Commlselon%re~ Court has sleeted to expenb
t(b) for tho aonstructioa or improv%m%nt or
ccunty lateral roada’.
The Conx&?%iwn%rs~ Court inqulrad of the
-*riter tha followingI ~.
“(1) Can this money be divided aziong the
four 0ommi::eicnere proeir.cts?
“(2) If such a divlsic~ 1s l:gil, shculd
It be divided equnlly or in compliant% with
the provisions of Article 67407
*(3) If the .mcnoy can not be 1e~~ll.y di-
vided amon% the different ;?recincte, how should
lt be oqendod?
*I advlsad the, Court that, in my opinion,
this nonoy oould u!)t bo divided and :!roratad to
Honorable Bill a. Watkins, Page 2
the dlfrerent preolnots. Artiolr 6674q-7
(V. A. S., Supplement, pe~;e 69, para6rsph
3) provides in gert~ ~plhereupon, said
EoLrd shell malt said Icixoy,or the yrt
theroot to be utilized for nuch ?urpostt,
to the County Trecoaurer of suoh oounty,
said EiGlley to be de=ositeQ by the County
Trcnsurer lr, uccordanoo with tho law, and
the same shuil be utilized by the oouuty,
sctly throu:;h L\o Comlasi0ners Court, for
the construction of laterr\l r~e.ds.~
“Doth the Co.tit of Civil Axmls and
the Su~tipomo towt in the cuse of Skivera C
Stovall, 75 S. !V. (2 270; 105 2. ‘;I. (2)
363 and 114 5. U. (2 302 hove cormtrued
article 6740 w2:liohed6als with ths expenCl-
ture of thb road and brldi::e Lund but. ‘Judge
Oeman said VAs to that nortlon of ~uto?.~c-
bile ~rsglstretloa fees retaihed by Snn
Landt County, article 607Ea-10 Vernonf@
Ann. Civ. 3t.; expressly 2rovldes huw mum
shall be exgeuded, sn% for that reascm it
is obvious. that crtlclo O?40 &is no ag?li-
oaiiozl to 0%x%‘.
*St is tho oplnloo of the u.rlter that
t&e method 0f sxpenditura of Otis recelv-d
fnm the IScard of County und Dlstrlot aoad
“uond Iudabtedaozs is provided by Art1cl.o
;374q-7 just thi wxx ~18 sixicle G075a-10
;:rovidee for t;lo arqendltura of autonoblle
ref&3tratlon mmo~.
“tiy anamc to their first q!loatlon ma-
~;ered their socmd question; :jud I ansri?red
thair t!:lrd tiuestlon by advlslk; the Court
,ht. in Dy Oi>iliiOIi this monc-;, in th6 3;Ord.S
of the ntctuts ‘sixuld be utillzad by the
county, s ctiug thro?t&h the c omlsoi0nars
court for the ccnstruoti0c’of kteral rmds.*
It poems to ma that the lo;;islnturo zannt by
tbGS.0 i+‘Ol’dS Cd th9 tViG pPKL,ypZ>hs Gf the
act tliht follovl :.3X3, t&t tL9 Co~zisalmers
court sittil:~ LB a whole s.;cuLd Seolde whloh
Honorable Bill S. Watkins, PaSe 3
lateral road.3 of the oounty, regardless
or prreolnot, should be IuDrooed or oon-
struoted, the ooet or such Improvtrnent or
conatruotlon to be paid fro::1 the county
lateral road Sund.*
AF~Sr’Stlt~ you hms rafarenoe to money alloaated
to y@LW county frorj the &~teral Eoad Aooount, by tha Board
of County and District Road Indobtodness. The Conmlssionere’
court has eroroissd Its option fiu to cm or the speolrled
usos Of said eonsy as permitted by Article 667Cq-7, Vomm’s
A.snotuted Civil Statutes, nazaaly, the o?nstruction of
latoral roads In said oounty. Xor the purDosa3 of thIr
o+~Ion, we must aseuzne that tho ?rovIelone OS Article
567Cp-7, supre, have been oor&led with relative to aotioe
to the Board, by the ComEIssioners ( Court, showing the manner
in which the Court hae axeraised It6 option, eta., 1
when .tho C~runIoslcnors* Court has exaroised Its
ootion and .detemInad that the uoney received rrom the lateral
R&d Aooount ,shall bo used for the oonstruotlon of lateral
roads In the County, the statute places no restriotion or
liritztlon on the ComxlssIonors~ court reSnrdI.nS the rzmner :
in whIoh such .zonep IS’ to be ,eX&ided except “the sane shall
bo utilized by the oounty, actInS .throa.Sh the ComaIsaIonars~
Court, for the construotion of lateral roads.’ This being
true, r.e think the CouzIs3ionors1 Court Is authcrized to
er2end the above mentioned concy for tho~construotlon of
lateral reads in the county, as t.h?o court nay In Its dis-
cretion deternina.
It is our opinion thst the Conmissioners* Court of
the county aoting in Its 0fri0iGi capacity can legally
f divide the above nentioned mbnoy axong the rour commissioners
precixts; provided, of oourso, tht all of said mo;.eg le
:xed for the oonstruotlon of later&l .roads In the various
-~cincte, It Is our rurther opthion -that it Is wholly
&IL... -) the dIsorotIcn of tho Corzci:~sioncrs* Court whether
or not Lhe money Is to be e;ually dfvidod among the oonmis-
sf.cnorol preoincts. In short, we tLInic that after the noney
hcs been allooatod to the oounty end the CorxUsIoners Court
has esoroissd Its option, as provided by Artiole 6674q-7,
::upra, to use said money for the pur:;ose of construst@
lateral roads therein, the ConvnissIonerst Court ia legally
authorized to exgaud suah noney for the 9wposo e..Sove man-
tionsd, ns.~aly, the oonstruction of lateral ronds, as said
court deems proper. In other vlofas, the CocnniaaIonersf Court
CM expend all of such zoney in one conm&sloner~s Sreclnot
Honorabl~a Bill 3. %iti.lne, Pace 4
for the oorstructlon of titeral roads, If said court, withlo
its dlsorotlon, dotertime t&t such aotloa Would ba to the
beet Inter8stS of t?.e oounty, or divide such lsonep &sow the
four oozmIsSIonere* paoinots and expnd the ocme for the
~u~ose or conStructIu3 latsrnl roilde In all or said oomnIs-
sionore* proolncte or any of t%en ns tho cmrt deems bast for
the interest 0r the ccunty.
‘i’rustin~ that the ~or,goir;5 fully anm-ara your
inquiry, we ero
yours vsry t121y
.
f\W: m
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion