OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
HOnorable B0z44rLeOnard, 5p4aker
IfaUkSof Rapres4ntstlYet!l
Austin, Texas
ma Bill lo. 453
tea thm ana4 aa
wmmtutlona~~ty of thtr
dor onlj th4 aoption there-
I An Aet rlxl.q the
In all oauntier
lng l p c @ uZItia n o f
ummd two h u ndr ed fo r ty
enty -nlJk 4th o u a a mlth r 4 4
reeocaing to th4 loot
Lar r4peallng all law4
'Phisdopsrtasnt haa written mmqy opinionr holdiq
that alaillar81114, *ioh 444k to f&x the 44larles of Oopnty
offleers In a p4rtleuloriLoounty,am in violsitionof 54Otion
56 Of Artiols 3 OF the State Conrtltution whItahprovide4 ia,
parts
Honorable Ho184rLeoasrd, Page 2
%4 L4pSmlatur4 mhall not, 4xaopt am
othervl8e gmavlded in thlm 00Amt1totiatl,
pa88 any local or mp4oial lav euthoriclngr
"Regulating the affrlrm of oountl4m,
+ l 4 -n
Among our opinloo4 holding unconmtltutlonal minilmr
Blllm aontalning populmtlon braokotm oi thlm typo, 6r4 Horn.
O-2973, O-3040 and O-3417, aopI4m of whhh we 4n41080 hbmlth.
In addition t0 the authoritlom 8it4d in th480 Opini0~8, we refer
to the rooent 4amo of HO.lor, 4t ml v. County of El Pamo, et al,
dealded on April P3, 1941, not yet report&, whomin Chlof Jus-
tiso Al4xand4r doolandt
%e are th42MXw4 met at the outmet vlth
a lav whloh, under faotm v411 kn4vn at th4
tiru of its adoption, vmm applicable only to
a mingle aountfr Clearly th4n it 18 8 104al
law and mumt fall am mu&, unlemm it mmn be
fairly aad that the olasr 40 rnogmymtd by
thm Aa t is l mubmtentiel 4.lamm and ham &ar-
aotorl8tla8legltlaatmly dfmtingul8htng it
frar the ~e884bd0~ or th4 ma0 80 68 t0
r4qtLre lbgimlatlon peoullar th4r4to. Iathlm
%n6tana4 th4 ala88ifl4atlolr18 mmd4 to nmt
entirely on th4 populmtlon of th4 oounty
and a city thsreis. Rooort to papulatlan
bratScot8for the pullporeof olammlfylng mub-
jeotm for logimlmtion 18 pe~mmlble whom
the l proad OS papulatlon im broad enough
to lnalude OF megr6gato a 8ubmtmntlal alamm,
end vhoro the population boars 8o1* r4al
r4latlon to the lnbjoot of'l4glmlrtlon and
afford6 e fair bmmlm Pas the ol888lfiaatlon.
It ham been 14gitirstoly 4m@oy4d in fixing
Tcremof offloom in oertaln 0am48 (Clark v.
Finl4y, comptro114s, 93 Tea. 178), but even
then it ia pormlmrlblr only vhere th4 mpremd
of populatLon im lub8tm.nt~aland 18 8ufflaIont
to lnoluds a real olamm vlth ahrraotorlmti68
which reamonably dimtingulmh it fWm Other8
mm appllod to the crant@qplatod &&Ii8latlon,
and afford8 8 fair barn18 foor th4 olammifioa-
tion. Bexar Caunty v. rmSa, 97 a. If. (24)
46?.*
IIanar4bl4Hom4*L40n4~, P-4 3
It ia oup apiaion, therefore. that 8umte Bin SO.
453 viol&mm Umotion 56 of As-tiole3 of the f%nmtituthn of
Tmxmm.
Yours vary truly
ATTORHRY - OF !cxAs