. .
Honorable 0. H. Gilmer, Chairman
Committee on Judiciary and Uni:omm State Laws
House of Representatives
Austin, Texas
Dear Sir:
Opin.ion No. O-3654
Your letter of June 1.0, 1.941,,request:.ng the opilt.inn ef this
department on the above stated q,uesti.on. has been :receked.
We quote from you:? ?etkr as fol,lows:
“I hand you here copy of S. B. No. 346 by Sen,at:c-
Spears, which i.s pending in. the House Committee on
Judiciary and Un,l.form Skate Laws, and requ.est. thaj:
you advise me, as Chairma of this rommE’Zew, whether
OP not this bill is u.ncoc,,~.il:,rOioarah
as a l,ocal 6~ sp~t:i,a!.
bill. under the authoriky of the :?ecent case rC J. R a Mj.!.kc,
et al. v. the CounQ of El’. Paso, Texas, et al,.”
Senate Bi1.P No. 346 pads as fol,lows:
‘“A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
(Captioned Omifed)
‘BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEX.AS:
“Section 1. In, all, counties of Texas havkxg % popn,.l.a-
tion of not less than three hun.dred twenty-fi?e thowan,d
(325,000) inhabitants and not more than three hua.dsed
fifty thousand (350,000) Enhabitan,ts, as shown. by the ,Fed-
era1 Census of 1940, or any succeeding Federal, Cexsw,
Honorable 0. H. Gilmer, Chairman, Page 2, O-3654
a direct tax of not over twenty-five (25$) cents on the valua-
tion of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars on all property in said
counties, may be authorized and levied by the Commissioners’
Courts of such counties for the purpose of erecting buildings
and other improvements and for equipping, maintaining and
operating hospitals for the treatment and cure of persons suf-
fering from any affliction, dise,ase or injury, and for the pur-
pose of establishing, maintaining and operating with or without
the co-operation of the Government of the United States of Am-
erica or agencies of such government, shelters, storehouses
and workrooms, and for supplying paraphernalia, mate,rial
and utilities for the unemployed, indigent and destitute, and
providing for the direct relief of paupers.
“Sec. 2. Before any such tax shall be levied, there shall
be submitted to the qualified taxpaying voters of such counties
the proposition whether or not such tax shall be levied by such
Commissioners’ Court, at a regular or at a special election
called for such purpose by said Commissioners’ Court. When-
ever any such proposition shall receive a majority of the votes
of the qualified property tax-payers voting at such election,
said Commissioners’ Court shall be authorized to levy such
tax or any portion thereof as may be necessary and expedient.
~“Sec. 3. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence
or word of this Act be held i.nvalid, such holding shall not af-
fect the validity of the remaining portions of this Act.
“Sec. 4. Al.1 Acts, laws or parts of laws in conflict here-
with are hereby repealed, to the extent of such conflict only.
*Sec. 5. The fact that counties now have insufficient funds
to erect, equip, maintain and operate hospitals and have had no
direct legislative authority to establish, maintain and operate
shelters, storehouses and workrooms and to supply parapher-
nalia, material and supplies for unemployed, indigent and desti-
tute persons in such counties, and the fact that there are thou-
sands of needy persons in such counties entitled to the benefits
of this Act, creates an emergency and an imperative public neces-
sity that the Constitutional Rule requiring bi1l.s to be read on three
several days in each House be,and the same is hereby suspended,
and this Act shall be in force and take effect immediately upon its
passage, and it is so enacted.”
Honorable 0. H. Gilmer, Chairman, Page 3, O-3654
Section 56, of Article III of the State Constitution, provides as follows:
“The legislature shall not, except as otherwise provided in this
Constitution, pass any local or special law. . . . regulating the affairs
of counties, cities, towns, wards or school districts; . . . and in all other
cases where a general law can be made applicable, no local or special
law shall be enacted; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be
construed to prohibit the legislature from passing special laws for the
preservation of the game and fish of this state in certain localities.”
Chapter 5, Title 71, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, is the general
law authorizing the commissioners’ court of any county to establish a county hos-
pital and to enlarge any existing hospitals for the care and treatment of persons
suffering from any illness, disease or injury, subject to the provisions set forth
in said chapter.
After carefully considering Senate Bill No. 346, supra. in connection
with the opinion handed down by the Supre,me Court on April 23, 1941, in the case
of Miller, et al v. County of El Paso, et al, and the authorities cited therein, we
are of the opinion that said Senate Bill No. 346 is a local or special law and there-
fore unconstitutional and void.
We also call your attention to Section 3, Article VIII, of the State Con-
stitution which provides: “Taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws and
for public purposes only.” The above mentioned Senate Bill, being a spedal or lo-
cal bill contravenes this provision of the Constitution as well as Section 56, Article
III, of the Constitution.
Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry, we are
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
FIRST ASSISTANT Ardell Williams
ATTORNEY GENERAL Approved Assistant
AW:LM Opinion
grnm
Chairman