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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OFTEXAS
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Auguet 25, 1975
The Honorable Bill McCoy Opinion No. H- 675
County Attorney, Ector Cou.nty
Room 223. Courthourc Re: Whether a county with a public
Odemra. Texar 79761 horpital may contfact with a private
horpital for care of charity patientr.
Dear Mr. McCoy:
You have requested our opinion concerning the authority of the Ector
County Commireionerr Court to c,ontract with and make pcym?nte to a private
hospital for obst,etrical care of charity patientr when there ia a county hoepita
in the County.
Article 4430, V. T. C. S., provider in part:
If there ia a regular lrtablirhcd public hoepita in
the county, the commirbionere court &all provide
for rending the indigent rick of the county to ouch
hospital.
However, article 4491, V. T. C. S., providea:
Any commirrionerr court of any county which
ham no city with a population of more than ten thousand
ptrronr, may contract for a period not exceeding one
year, with any regularly incorporated society or hospi-
tal or municipality within the county maixitaining a hoapi-
tal, or with any other adjacent county, for the cart of
any or all of the sick, diaearcd or injured inhabitanta of
the county, upon ouch terms and conditionr a# they may
by agreement think proper. Where a county hair ccr-
tablirhed much hospital, the board of managcrr may con-
tract with any regularly incorporated society or hoapital
or city or town within the county maintaining a hoapitel,
for~the care of rome of the rick, injured or diacaacd
pcrronm applying for admiaaion to the county hospital.
In our view the acopc of article 4491 is unclear, for the second sentence
contain* no exprerr limitation concerning counties containing a city of a population
p. 2942
The Honorable Bffl McCoy - Page 2 (H-675)
of over 10,000 persons. Prior to its 1925 rcvirion and codification, the eecond
sentence of article 4491 applied I#[w] here a county has established a hoepita aa
required by Section 15 of, this Act. . . . ” Acta 1913. 33rd Leg. , ch. 39 at 77.
Section 15 of that Act applied to “each county which . . . has a city with a popu-
lation of more than ten thousand persons. . . . ” Acts 1913, at 77. Thus the
statute ae originally enacted by the Legislature contained two independent authori-
zations, the first concerning counties without a city of a population of more than
10.000 persons and the second concerning counties containing such a city. Since
the second rentcncc of article 4491 contains no limitations concerning the size of
cities within a particular county, in our opinion there is no restriction thereon.
Thus the second sentence of article 4491 is not limited by the first; any county
maintaining a county hospital may contract with a private hospital for the cart of
some of its patients. Set
- Attorney General Opinion8 M-85 (1967), C-334 (1964).
Article 4438 does not expressly prohibit such a contract. Since it is
not within the statutes pertaining to county hospitals and since its enactment was
prior to that of article 4491, in our opinion it should not be construed to conflict
with the authorization contained in article 4491.
While there is dicta in the cast of Willacy County v. Valley Baptist
Hospital, 29 S. W. 2d 456 (Tcx. Civ. App. --San Antonio 1939, no writ), which
could support another conclusion, article 4491 was not considered and the county
involved did not maintain a county hospital. Accordingly, we believe article
4491 muet control your question. Of course article 4491 provides for a contract
executed by the Board of Matigers of a county hospital rather than by a commis-
sioners court.
SUMMARY
The Board of Managers of Ector County’s
county hospital may contract with and make pay-
ments to a private hospital for obstetrical cart
of charity paticntn.
General of Texas
p. 2943
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The Honorable Bill McCoy - Page 3 (H-675)
XL&fy?D
. , rst raistant
Opinion Committee
jad:
pa 2944