GENERAL
Honorable Ernert GUI*
'Comity Attorney
El Paa0 county
El Paso, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-2739
Re: May the commissioners' court
eet up a county welfare of-
fice as another office and
department and appropriate
funds for the maintenance
thereof?
Your recent request for an opinion of this department upon
the questions aa are harein etated has been received.
"I have your letter of September 24, enclosing copy
of Opinion Bo. o-2721, and stating that opinion request
No. O-2739, assign+ to my request of September 11, had
been withdrawn ae Opinion No. O-2721 answered the ques-
tions which I asked.
"I have read over the Opinion No. O-2721, but do not
find that it ane.were specifically the question which I
wished answered. The Opinio? No. O-2721 etatee, a8 I un-
deratend it, t&at it ie permissible to have a Juvenile
Board and a County Welfare Board. I would appreciate an
opinion from you directly advising me whether the County
can appropriate money specifically a8 set out in my re-
quest .for an opinion. In other words, may the County eet
up a County Welfare office as another office and depart-
ment, and appropriate funds for the maintenance thereof.
The question is not the creation of a County Welfare
Board, but the creation of another office of the County
to be referred to as the County Welfare Office, the ap-
pointment of a person to serve as a county employee, and
.the appropriation of funds for the salary and expense of
such office. Therefore, before advising the,Commission-
em' Court that it may expend these furrds, I would appre-
ciate a specific opinion from you a8 to whether or not
the County my appropriate funds for the creation of the
office of County Welfare officer, and the payment of the
salary and expenses of such office.
...
Honorable Ernest Guim, Page 2 (C-2739)
“In the request of Mrs. Greenhill, referred to in Opin-
ion NO. 0-27.?l, she etatee:
“‘We are in receipt of word from El Pa80 County that it
18 interested in eetablirhing a County Child Welfare Unit 8nd
to participate with the State in undertaking ruch 8 prograa8
“Aa stated in my letter of September 11, regueeting an
opinion, 1,advised the Commisclionerr’ Court that they could
not expend moniee to pay the ealary of atate employear. If
the proposed unit ie to operate aa a State office, and the
County ir to contribute, then I muet requeet a further opin-
ion from you ae to the legality of thie, eince I have hereto-
fore advired the Commireionere’ Court that ruch payment could
not be made.
“The request of Mrr. Greenhill doea not meet the ie@ue
in thia caee, I would deeply appreciate your adviein& urn ful-
ly regarding thlr financial contribution to which rhe refera.
It has been my understanding heretofore, from your opiniena,
that before the County can expend any funds there muet be an
exprese grant of power, aed f’urther, where one e?eaae ie pro-
vided for carrying gut a purpare, there WI be PO ImpLIed paw-
er to utlliee other mean@, T am oxtramely daubtrul of the
authority of the Co~iarlonerel Court, BB I have heretofore
stated in my latter of September 11, and before advlriag thein
to make any expenditure@, X would like to have your og$nlon
thereof. Of cow%, I rhall be guldad by any ruling that you
may rmka."
In connection with the above quoted letter, we quote from your
first letter regarding the question now under conrideration a.~ followe:
“The Btste hae heretofore maintained, in $1 Prro County,
a dirtrict reprer~ntativa, operating under the Child Welfara
Act (Article 695-c, R.C.5.) all of the ralary of thir worker
having been paid from State and Federal fundr. The State now
demaade that the County take over the operation of the office
and contribute to the msintenence of the affice, while the
State will alro contribute to the maintenance of the office.
. . . ,I
Sectionr 4 end 5 of Article 695a, Vernon’s &otated Civil
Statutee, readr as followe:
Section 4. “The Commireioneret Court of any county may
appoint in raid county #even peraonm, rerident therein, who
shall nerve without compeneation and hold office during the
pleamre of the Commi~oionere' Court, who shall constitute a
Child Welfare Board for the County, which Child Welfare Board
Honorable Ernest Guinn, Page 3 (O-2739)
Shall select its own chairman. The Child Welfare Board shell
perform 8uch dutiee a8 may be required of it by the raid Com-
mireioners' Court And Board of Control in furtherance of the
purporer of this Act. The County Commieeionere’ Court of any
county m8y remove any member of euch County Welfare Board for
jUAt CAUAA."
Section 5. “The Board of Control, through raid County
Welfare Board, ahall work in conjunction with the County Com-
mieeionere’ Court, Juvenile Boarde, And all other officer6
end agencier whoae purpoes ie for the protection of the chil-
dren dercribed herein, and the Board of Control ir hereby au-
thorized to u6e and allot eny fund@, that may be rprc#.ficslly
ApprOpriAted for ouch purpoeea, by the Legirlsture, that may
be neceseary in jointly e8tAbliehing and maintaining, together
Juvenile Board of other County or City Board or other agency,
homee, 6chooln, end institutionr for the care, protection, edu-
cation and training of the clarr of children nought to be pro-
tected by the provirionr thereof.”
Section 42 of Article 695c, Vernon'r AnnotAted Civil BtAtutsA,
provider:
“County child welfare boardr eztablirhed or hereinafter
appointed in conformity with Section 4, Act8 of 1931, ,42Ad
Legirlature, page 323, Chapter 194, &all continue to func-
tion aI provided therein.”
Under Article 695c, Vernon’e Annotated Civil Btrtuter, all
the rightr, powerz, and dutler o? the divirlon of Child Welfare of the
State Board of Control were traneferred to the State DApArbmAt of Pub-
lic Welfare. It ia therefore apparent that rfter all the righta, POW-
em And dutler of the DIv~AIoAA of Child Welfare of the Btrtr Board of
Control heve bAAAtranrfarred to the Stats DApAFtnlAnt of Public WAlfAre,
the State DepAhUeAt of Public Welfare ir authoricod by 8ICtioA 5 of
WC, Aupra, to work in conjunction with the commillionwlf courtA,
juvenile board8 and all other offices and agencier whole purporo ir iOr
the protection of the children described.
Under the provisionr of Section 4, Article 6p5c, rupra, the
member6 of a Child Welfare Board for A county are required to serve with-
out compensation And hold their position during the plearure of the com-
missioners’ court.
We have been unable to find any etatute that expreeely or by
implication authorize6 a commissioners COW%to create And establish
the office above meAtioned And appropriate and expend fundA for the mAin-
teneace of such office.
‘-
Yours wry truly
APPROVEDOC7!24, 1940 GENERAL
ATTORNEY OF TEXAS
/I/ Qerald 0. Me++
A!l'TOFNEY(IENERALOFTEXAS By /I/ Ardall Willlam~
Ardell William@
Awirtent
AW:BBB:M
OPINION
COMMITTEE
BY /e/ BWB
CHAIRMAN
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion