Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

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