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Y. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
I
4 AUSTIN
Honorable B. N. Carter
County Attorney
Mitohell County
Colorado City, Texas
Dear Sir:
YOUP request for reoeived and oare-
fully considered by thle de ote from your re-
quest as follows:
ivil Statutes,
ty of Colorado
state for oounty
e oounty, through
ourt, aoting with the
ity, seeks to buy a
hits r0r the 48e 0r
by its City Council.
iole referred to does not say any-
thing relative to a joint purohase by countyi
Neither does it provide for the manner in whloh
suoh real estate may be paid for by the oounty.
"Our Commissioners have requested a ru%lng
and advioes from your office regarding the proposed
Honorable B. N. Carter, Page 2
purohase. Will you kindly and pmnptly furnish
suoh letter or opinion to ue?
“. . . .”
Artiole 1576, Vernonls Annotated Texas Civil Stat-
utes, rererred to In your letter, reads as iollowe:
“All deeds, grante and oonveyanoea hereto-
fore or herearter made and duly aokaowledged, or
proven, and reoorded ae other deeds of omvey-
anoe, to any oounty, or to the oourts or oommls-
sloners of any oounty, or any other person or
persona, by whatever form of oonveyanoe, ror the
use and benefit of any ocunty, ehall be good and
valid to ‘feet in auoh oounty in fee alaple or
otherwl#e all sudh right, title, Interest and
estate as the grantor ln any euoh instrument had
at the time or the exeoution thereor in the lands
oonveyed and was Intended thereby to be aonveyed.w
The oommleeionera* oourt is a oourt of limited
power and jurlediotion, and hae no powers or duties exoept
those which are clearly eet forth and del’ined in the ooneti-
~tution and etatutee. The statutes have olearly defined the
pomrs, presoribed the duties, and imposed the liabilities
of the oommleeionera’ oourts, the medium through whloh the
dlrrerent oounties aot, and-rrom these atatutee must oome
all the authority vested in the oounty. 11 Tex. Jur., p. 563.
The authority of the oommleeioaers~ court aa the
governing body of a oounty to make oontraots In its behalf
la atriotly limited to that oonrerred either expressly or
by fair or neoesaary implioatlon by the oonstltutlon and laws
or this State. If the oamissionere* oourt aote without au-
thority in making a oontraot, the oounty Is not bound by its
aotion. 11 Tex. Jur., p. 6324
Artiole 4434, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil Stat-
utes, reads as followsz
nThe munioipal auth!Jxitier or towna and oitlea,
and eomnissioners oourta of the oouutiea wherein
suoh towns and cities am situated, iuay oo-operate
with each other In making auoh improvements oon-
neoted with mid towns, cities and oountlas as said
I
Honmable B. N. Carter, Page 3
authorities and aourts may deem neoessary to inr
prove the publio health and to pmnots errio$ent
sanitary regulations; a&, by mutual arrangement,
they may provide for the sonstruotfon or said im-
provemsnts and the payment thsrsror.=
Artlole 2356, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Givfl Stat-
utes, reads as followa:
Wai.d oourt may ereot bridges. within the oor-
porate limits of any oity or twn to the same ex-
tent and under the same oondlflone now preeorlbed
by l%w f’or the oonstruotion or bridges outside the
liaits or any oity or town. said court and the
governing body or any olty or town gay oooperate
in the ereotion of a bridge withln the oorpomte
limit6 of a oity or town, and jointly enot such
bridge upon terms and oondltione mutually agreed
upon; and either or both the ofty and oounty may
issue Its bonds to pay Its proportionate part or
the debt by oormplying with the requlxement8 of Qe
law regulating the issuanos of bonds by oounties
and oitles skid towns,*
Artlole @92, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil Stat-
utes, reada dla tollower
“Any oondsrionere oourt may eo-operate with
and join the proper %uthorities of any oity baring
a population 0r ten thousam persons or more in
the establishment, bullding equipment and main-
tenenoe of a hospital ln aaid olty and to appro-
priate aueh funds as may be detsrm&d by said
oourt, after joint oonferenoe with the authoritier
of such city or town, an$..the managenmnt of suoh
hoepital shall be under the joint oontrol of such
court and olty authorities.”
Artiole 60Sk9, Vernon*s Annotated Terns Civil Stat-
utes, provides, among other things, that oounties and lnoor-
porated oities, either indepeudently or in oo-operation with
each other, or with the state Parks Board, may aoquire by
gift, purohaee or condemnation proceedfags, lands to be used
for publio parks and playgrounds.
Honorable B. N. Carter, Page 4
Opinion No, O-2201 of this department holds %swng
other thlsgr, thst the oamlsslonsrs~ oourt ia not authorlzod
to enter into a oontraot and partnsrshlp with a oity and lx-
psnd oounty runds tar the oonstmotion and equipment of n
ofty-county jell. We enolose herewith a oopy OS aaid opinion.
In your letter you state that ths building ia Ve
be used by the oouuty and oity wholly lor muniolp%l purposesN.
We aamme from this statement that the pmposed building will
be a ooablnatlon City Hall-Courthouse building deeignod ror
the purpose or houalng the various city and oounty orfioialr.
If thle assumption be oorreot It la our opinion that the oo+
m.lssloners* oourt ot Mltohell Gounty would not be authorized
to expend oounty funds for suoh purpose. However if our am-
sumptlon of the type or building and pnrpeee8 thereof is not
earreot, we will be glad to oonslder YOU! qusstion further It
you will give us full details of the type or building to ba
oonstruoted and state fully the purposes for whioh it ie to
be used.
Very truly youm
),ppROVE~sEP 14, 1942 ATTORNEY GJd?lNtAL 01 TX&S