The Attorney General of Texas
February 22, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable Gibson D. Lewis Opinion NO. H- 1125
House of Representatives
P. 0. Box 2910 Re: Dues checkoffs by em-
Austin, Texas 78769 ployees of Tarrant County
Hospital District.
Dear Mr. Lewis:
You have requested our opinion concerning the authority of the Tarrant
County Hospital District to deduct union dues from an employee’s pay check
at his request. Tarrant County Hospital District is governed by article 4494n,
V.T.C.S., section 5 of which provides in part:
The Commissioners Court shall appoint a Board of
Hospital Managers . . . , whose duties shall be to
manage, control and administer the hospital or hospital
system. . . .
The administrator . . . shall supervise all of the work
and activities of the District, and have general
direction of the affairs of the District, within such
limitations as may be prescribed by the Board.
Thus the Board of Managers and the Administrator are given broad
authority over the operation of a hospital district. See Attorney General
Opinion WW-904 (1960). The powers of a district ” ‘are t%?asured by the terms
of the statutes which authorized their creation, and thev can exercise no
authority that has not been clearly granted by the legislature.’ It Lower
Nueces River Water Supply District v. Cartwright, 274 S.W.2d 199, 207x
Civ. App. - San Antonio 1954, writ ref’d n.r.e. quoting from Tri-City Fresh
Water Supply Dist. No. 2 v. Mann, 142 S.W.2d 945, 948 (Tex. 1940)); Attorney
General Ooinion C-660 (1966). This rule has been applied to limit the types of
services which may be provided by a hospital district. Attorney General
Opinions H-31 (1973), M-256 (1968). However, in our view section 5 of article
4494n provides general authority to the Board of Managers and the
Administrator to direct the authorized services of the district. See Attorney
General Opinions H-1087 (1977); M-1255 (1972); M-261 (1968); C-75m66).
Prior to the adoption of article 2372h-4, V.T.C.S., which permits certain
counties to make payroll deductions at an employee’s request for labor union
p. 4596
Honorable Gibson D. Lewis - Page 2 (H-1125)
and employee association dues and for credit union savings plans, this office had
indicated that a commissioners court was without power to authorize such
deductions. Attorney General Opinions M-334 (1969); WW-llO7 (1961). Those
opinions, however, were based on the constitutional limitations on the authority of
commissioners courts and are not controlling here. In our opinion a dues checkoff
program at the request of its employees can be instituted by the Board of Managers
or the Administrator under the authority provided in section 5 of article 4494n.
SUMMARY
Hospital districts created pursuant to article 4494n may
institute a dues checkoff program for their employees.
Attorney General of Texas
DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant
Opinion Committee
jst
p. 4597