440
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Hon. Y. 3. ooar
Countq nttornoy
Blaaoo County
Johnron City, Terer
Desr sir:
This will aoknowled
Y9u.r le8ter re
partmat r0r
s ?aalntalned
are per aa-
00 la raid tund,
.OO bond, zad in-
ax WOE voted by the
Ccunty 0r BlaAOO.
Vha departmat pacssd on this questioa
f;~me am shown la your letter dated Feb. 6,
me cCUnty cdII8iOAer Or meOiAOt NO.
3 do& not think thet your.rullagir corroot,
441
Bo-. t. B. Gem, Page 2 -
as ha ha8 been advised by prirete counsel
that it ir nat Qorraot, and that t&a Cmnty
fhmlasioner's Court hae th8 ri@t to use a
pert oi aaid nooef in Co.z&issioner'sPracinat
tk~~k~;teefor building end rYrintalaiagroeda
.
*I an asndiq you herewith a copy ot the
order of the CuztiasionernCourt on Nomzbar
lath, 1934 in this matter, in wkioh.said &lea-
tion nna bald and notice thereor given tuhafbr
the prmialone of soa. 9 Art. 0 or the Con-
atitutlon of the Stats o# Texas, and ortlale
6790, Chapter 4, Titlel16, Rvoiovd Statutea
or 1923.
Vreoilict B'o.three nom hae a grojeat
proooodlag in road buildi.qi:by ?T.3.~. crndit
needs from WAS7 to sssist in said iC?ojeot iA
boildina said road8 aad PaintafnlnG them. The
ecarered
que8tion he mi;;lta is:
*Can the c~srio~erm court 0r Euuwo
legally per&t the Cd6sionar OS Yreainot
Ho. three to usb a part of ttiia zxm6~ in
the blllding of said road8 In said pre-
alnat by the U.P.4. Erojeot?
Vhir, matter wa8 gamed on by i’h. Z. Fan-
nbg and Srundy 'i;illianm, pour esaistantr,
iormrly on Feb. 6, 1940.
*AB pts will @IO rrtm the order dated
Xov. 12, 1930 that the purpose of ttia tas
wa8 Sor buildkg aad rPeitztaininCt&e publid
roads of said 316~00 Cmnty, Texs?S,hence
the Cmmissioner of mscinct Xo. t&so waztr
to ~ADW if he wotaldbe psmltttd t3 URN a
psrt or said noaey in building and maintain-
iAs roedo 0r said prwaot x0. L5 under the
If.P. A. Projeot now in probpess in Bald Pre-
oinat xo..Three."
On Feb. 6, 1940, In our optfiionHo. O-1844, iA
442-
Hoq. V. B. Ooar, Page 3
t?nmer to the followin& pueationt
*Can the Conmissionsrs~Court of Rlaaoo
County'legallyloan $1500.00 trm the Blanoo
County Special Right-of-rayFund to Road Prs-
oinot No. 3P”
it w IS held that *the Cotxaiauloners' Court or Slanoo
Coun ;y oannot lawfully loan the $1300.00 taken from
the llancoCounty Special Right-of-XapFund to Aoed
Prea sat X4. 3-. titer aamfully reoonslderingt&o
abov I amtloned question aad the taats as preuentod
theer Iwith, we have oonoladed that opinion Xo. O-1844
uorrtotly anavmrs the sjmolfia question stated above.
Eoxe ret,in asZi% for a reoonsiderationof this
ogiA.oA a dlfietsnt question 18 askad and additional
ioctt are presented, which were not ooneidersd~inthe
OriC:.nd OpiAiOA.
As stated in cur letter, w:&h is quoted
r
above, there is about ~24OC.OO in the Blanc0 County
Speoial Road Fund, w>lch is znaintainsd by a five cent
tax per hundred dollars per aMum. There 18 now about
$lBOO.cO in sold fuad, after the payment of a $5OO.OO
bond, and interest is paid. This tax walltoted by
the OitiZOAS0r the entiro oounty 0r BLaAoo.
The qusetion as now praasnted la 5s hollows:
*Can the Comissloners Court of Blanoo
logally psmit the Caamiaaioneror m3ci3ot
Ho. thrm to uss a prt OS this mnsy in the
building of said roads in said precinct by
the PI. 2. A. Projsot?*
seotlon 9 or Artiolo 8 or the Stats Constitu-
tion reads as r0110wst
me State tax 03 prctperty,exoluaire or
the tar-neaessaryto pay the publia debt, and
or t'%etaxes prorlddedSor the bsasfit of the
public trS8 sohoofs, ahall never erceod thlrty-
five cants or&the aA6 huAdrad dollar8 valuation;
and no county, city or town shall levy more
443
HOG. v. a. c-r, hi73 4
then tnenty-Sirecents for alty or county
pw’,5oses,a2a not exceeabg rirttte3 cants
far roads and briQ?es, and not sxceedlq rift
taen cents to pay Jurors, on the ona hundred
dollnrs valuotlon, except ror the ,?ayzmntof
debts incurredarlor to the ado9tIon of the
awn&eat C8ptedttr 23th 1283; and fm the
erection of pub110 build&s, streets, 3ewera,
water works and other penauent Improvements,
not to exoeoa txmty-rive cents on the one
hundred dollars oeluatlon, In any one year,
end ercept 88 i8 In this Constitutionotherwise
prorlded; and the Legislature iunurp
aleo autbor-
Ize an additionalannual ad valoren tax to be
levied and colloated ior the further nalntenance
02 pub110 roads; provided, t&it o ?saJorlty
or the ~daziriea property tax-pagily:YOt8X-S
of the caznty ootlng at an elsotlon to be held
for thot purpose shall vote such tax, not to
exceed rirteen cents 02:the one imndred dollars
valuation of the property subject to tnxatlon
in suah oountp. And the Le&lsZdturomay pas8
local la&s for the ~alntenance or the SublIo
roads and bI&ways, without the local ilotics
required for a?ocIal or loesl lairs. (Sea. 9,
Art. a, adopted election lrorenber t, 1906;
3roolanatfon Ji3uary 7, 1907.)'
.%rtlale6790, Vernon’s Annatoted ClrIl Stat-
utes reads as r0llms:
*The ooxif:~sios3rs aourt shall order 8n
eleotio3 upon presentationto it at any regu-
lar session or a petItIon sIgned by two hundred
~u~iiriea voters and property tax yapere or the
county, or a 3etItIo3 of arty person8 So qual-
fried 13 any politfaal subdivisionor defined
dlstrlot 0r the oounty, requesting said court
to order an eleatlon to deternine whether eaid
court shall lerp upon the property within mid
territory a roed tax not to exceed fifteen cents
on the one hundred dollars worth of groptrty,
under the provIsIons of the azzendmnt or 1239
to the Constitution oi the State of Texas,
444
Eon. V. B. Ooar, f’a~o5
ado#,ed in 1890. Snla aomt say aot on suah
petition without notice; end nay zake an
order ior szoh eleation, flxlng the amount
to be.larled, not to exceed fiftaen cents on
the one hundred dollars, the eleatlon to take
place of any tine thereafter,not less than
twenty nor zmre than nhety dcye irou the slate
0r making the order thorefor. Upon a petl-
tioa a:gned by a uajority of tho qualified
tax pay1zz.g voters of any portion of any county
or of any polltioal subdirlslonor any aounty,
to said aaurt req.wLting that such portion of
oald comty or polltlcal subdivision shall be
oreated as a derlned dlstrlot, the said court
ahall declare 6uuh territory a defined dir-
trlot aa apead the order ror same upon the
tinuter or oaid court; provided the petitioa
aroresala shall derice by metes and bound8
the territory desired to be 80 incorporated
la suoh def’kied dIetrIot.*
The orUer of the ooxznbaioner6~
court bearing
date of ??ovexaber12, 192Q, ordering an electian to be
held for the purpose or aetetiing whether or not a
spealal road tax of five cents on the one hundred aol-
lars worth of gropertp skould be lerlea upon all the
property oi Blaneo County, Texan, subject to taxatloa,
Sor the :-urpoee or building and maintaining the publfo
roads in said county was held under the provisions of
Section 9, Artlole 9 or the Co1L8tIttltlOn0r Terar end
4kticle 0790, end rehaa as roii0398:
%?ECiAL EOAD TAX XXTICN, Borezaber12, 1930
*On this, th.elEth day of November, A.D.
1930, this aourt be& 13 regular seasion,
nith all zenbars thereof being present, uaae
on to be considered the petition ,of ifape Smith
and Two EUndred Berenty-thme ;273).&hers, re-
property tsz p@.ng voters of Bl63eo County,
T~sis, praying that an elz+ationbe held within
and ror Blanoo County, TOXE.S, to doternine whether
or not a meclel roaa tax of Fin, Centa on the
One Zundreb ($100.00)Doll&m worth of property
siiallbe levied upon all the poperty or Blanoo
445
lion.V. B. Dear, Page 6
County, Taaa, aubjeat to taxation, for the
purgoee of build- nnd zmlntainln$ the publie
mea l.ri said al8nco county, Texas.
“And It appearing to the acurt that said
petition Is, signed by the required number of
property tax paflingvoter8 or skia County1 It
Is therefore ordered by the ocaart that an elea-
tloa be held wlthln and for raid County, on
the 6th day of December, A.D. 1950, whloh aak
Is not lese than twenty, nor more than ninety
days from tha date of said order to tleteaa&nh
whether or not d spsaial road tax of Five aenta
on the Om -ihndred($100.) Dollars worth of
property shall be levied upon all the property
of Slanao County, Texan, subjeat to taxation
for the garposo of building and malntalnlng
the pub118 roads In Blanco County, Texas. Said
eleotion ehall be held and notice thereof p$ren
under the provIa3na or sea. 9, Art. 8 or the
Constitution of the State of Texas, and Art.
6790 Otipter 4, Title 116, Revised Stat&em of
1925, and only gialiried voters who are proper-
ty tax payers be allowed to vote at said elee-
tion.
*All voters deaIrIng to su3?ort the 3ropo6-
Ition to levy said tax shtil have prrlttenor
printed on their ballots the words *For the Tax*
and those opposed shall have written or printed
on their ballota the word& .Againat the Tax.”
Said eleotlon shall be held at the usual
voting places in said Blanoo County, TaraS, and
the regular atpointed and prment acting oftf-
oars or eleatlona shall hold said eleotion.
*The mannerof holding aala lleotloztahall
be governed by the laws goreming general eleo-
tlonr in this State*
*A copy of this order signed by the County
Judge of Blanc0 County, Texas, shall sane al
a prsper notioe to be pr.lbliahedln a newsgap8r
44
lion.V. 8. Gear, Pa<* 7
published in said Blanco Comty, Te~ae, and
ehall mua copier of eald notlce to be post-
ed at thraa pub110 places la said aounty, one
of which ahell be ot the oourthousedoor
thereof.”
As above stated, the purpose of the election
was to determine whether or not a speolal road tax of
flvr cents on tha one hundred dollar8 worth of prop-
arty should be levied upon all the Xoperty of Dlemao
County, Texan, eubjeot to taxation for thr purpoer of
building end rnalntalniagthe gublio road8 In Blanoo
Comty, ond said eleotion resulted in the faror of
levying eaid tax.
The paragraph in the above quoted section or
the Cov&.itutlou providing for tha levying oi 8 tsx
sot to exceed fifteen csnte on the one hundred dollar
veluatlon of property rolat2lg ts tha nalntenence ot
;ubllc roads ~2s not a pert of the ori&nsl section;
It moo added by ammd~e& in the yenr 1890 for the
evident.purpose oi oonferring upon ooimties the po;ier
to lay cut, construct owl malntnln better syetem at
publlo hi&weys than they wre able to do uudar the
rortrictcd taxation before protif.eQfor. It would be
a narrow lnterDrstF.tlon to hold thcttthe people edopt-
lng this smenduent to the Cozstitutfon had in ?iew to
provioe a fund to be used only in repairingroads
already laid out, instead ot the evident and broader
policy to oroate a better end core extensive system of
sublic hlghaaya. The gurposs of the Legislature ln
naking the auenduent wtm to lnawaos the oapacity of
the oounty to maintain a systen of ?ublio roads and
the word Walstenancem must be held to include all
the things neoeesnry to be done to accc#nplln$ the
purpose. D;tUS CO’VNTYVS. PLG’iXAh,01 2. 6. 222.
The above mentioned tax 16 lerlod by the Oouu-
ty for the gsnsral purpose of building and nalntaining
the public roads of said aounty and is not rsstriated
toanypsrticular road or portion of the oounty.
a~-eot the opinion that the tex money lst-
~:i’e
ied and colleotcd for the g,:eneral
purpose of building
44
lion. V. B. Oosr, Page 8
and maintaining the publla roads in aald oounty under
the protialona oi Section 9, Article 8 ot the Constl-
tutlon and Utlole 6790, nay be exgs.Med by the oounty
oomwlssioners* court for the urpo5.eOS building and
mlnteinlng the pbllc roads In said oomty a8 said
court my in ita discretion determine.
Thererore, you are respectfully advised that
it la the oglnlon oi this de~artmnt that a part of the
above mentioned money map be expended for the purpose
of building and maintaining public roads in Preolnct
Ro. 3 a8 the oomisslonera’ court may deternine.
It 1s to be e>eoliloallyunderstood that vie
are not passing upon the authority of said oountp to
pap bond8 and interest thereon out of the above nention-
ed fund.
Trusting that the foregoing ful1.yanswaro your
lnqAry, we remain
Ywrcl very tmly
AX!: ob