.
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AU-IN
. . . . . ,‘\ .\ /
pi. ~~0~633~. re. ~2109dm tofpauparsana
8U& idiota. 8ud lulFuoE $8 08nuotbe 8dlaltt&,into
. . - -......... _ .-._.. ._.-- _- --.. - ..__ ._ . ___.__.._.-.. -- . . . . -....-- - -- .-......m.“w”. . . . . . ..“.“~.“.... “.V.“.T . ..*-..*.
HonorabloA B.Hlolcenon,Paga 2
We quot. from 32 Texas Jwfqmdeaaa, page. 6~ ud
612, u ~fonovrt
9aageKlwalua8s*par8onmybattclQto
b. a ~pmtpor'rho is ~.ry pcor, but tha tmrm 1.
ltttuall~
und.r8too6la our eata to Rman a pmr8ca
80 itagmat u to ba dependeat 0a the pub=0 rw
support. Th.tialmurtuu4oaauatb.8ppll~
toap.noavhohualvaytlb..nablatotlupport
himolr aad thoda dap.allaat upon him.,..
‘It I.8 mQ8 the dutr cf caawl.uloaan’ o&rta
topr0~dar0~th,~upgort0+f~~~a0~
r.sl&nta OS the v.rlousoount1.e;but thla duty
does not extendtc traaalantprama vho ax-uua-
able to .upport themael~e., T&a term 'sup-',
U~U8.d; a ma mm.
na th a lttp
a p lyr lng
o o d,
olothlngand livingquartaM; it m all that .I
is nwesary~to bodily heal&and ~swmrort,laalud-
Iw propar eara W trutmttt dur~.al&ne~.. *
Thlr, it h.. b..a uld, '1. l .upr.m. obllg.tlon
or hrnarnitJ* itapam 0r atky8tatt0~ mt0.t
~O~S~I~OXKWE~ COGS t8by008tm0t r0r lasdi~rl
4.rYlce.to b. -Md to p.up.r.,....
2r th8= 3.8a pubu0 h06piw in th8 00ttttt7,
It 1. the duty o? #a oomlu~Ioa.rs@ court to pro-
rids for rcndlagtharm tha hdlgeat rlakt but thm
oourt is not r.qtlrmdto rotnlswh parsons to prl-
y.t.ho.plt.l.ortopubllo hoaplW.out.ld.th.
aOuItty....w
%43 p0v.r~ md duti0s or 00tay owria-
lM Oourt., atml th. obllrptloxu 0r tm countlu
to palp.M, arm rix.4 by 8tatutc, md oanuot ba
mahrgmd upoa by ttaamo8s~ impliaatlon. Thata
p0Y.r. rad dutl..,In 80 ru u rppllo.bl.horn,
ar. d.ilaad %t rrd reatrlot.6bJ th. provl.lon.
YonorableA. E. Riakeraon,Qags 3
of htiolsr 2351 and 4338, 8s~. St. 1925. IXI
Artiole 2351 it iu prowled that each aomUsrlon-
em* aourt shall (subdi~l~ion11) 'provide for
the support OS pauper8....neldmntrrof their
county, vho are unable to support themsmlves,~
and (subdlrloion l2) 'for the burial of paupers.~
In Artiole 4438 it 18 providedthat 'If there is
a regularly establishedpubllo hospltal.ln the
aounty, the eomal~sioner8~ oourt shall provide
for mendIng the lndlgmnt alok....to auah hoapl-
-1. In the latter provlalan the duty md
authority of the comolsslon.~' oourt to rend
the indigent ttlak to hoapltala 18 llaltedto
'publlu'ho8pital. vlthln the county, vhioh pro-
vision, by maea- implication,exoludes any
duty or authority to rend suoh persona to prl-
vate hospitals, or to publio ho8pltals without
the oouaty."
The term "indigent"hu been deBned br the oourts
on many 00cas10n.. Ve quote the following definitions;
'A person Is Indigent vho is destitute of
pISpOrty or moana of oomfortable aubslstence;
cne vho Is needy or poor." junemu County VII,
wood couuty, 85 xu 387, 388, 109 HIS. 330.
bword ~lndlgent~,when used in oonneation
with atlmlatllonato county hospitala, lnaludes
inbabitaat of oounty who poseeases required
quallflcatlon8of residence, and hu lnaufft-
~cientmwans to pay far hia plaintenanoein prl-
vate hospital mftor provldlng for those vho
legally claim hir m~pport.~ Ooodall va. Brite,
54 Pao. 2nd 510, 515, 11 Cal. App. 2nd 540.
“To be lmltgent does not meau that 8 per-
8on muat be a pauper, and, vlthlttthe w
of the statute relating to the oommitnmat of
the lnune to the Government Hoapital for the
lnune, an lamme peracn vlth lnauffiolmnt
eatate to pay for hia alnteaance in the hoe-
pltal after providing for those Gho oould olain
Honorable A. E. Bloker8on, Page 4
Me support, is indigent." -~Depree~8. Distrlot
oi Ooluabir, 45 *pp. DA. 9, 59.
Thus It may be won thfitsll psupem sre AndAgent
pemotm . Aa to vhather o r not u t zndigetat peraott 1 s l pUpor
vi11 be determined by the degree of his indlgenoy. This ls
8 question oi Ssat for the oowift8lowPS~ 00Wt to brt8rminm
dia0ret1ott.If the ooamtisslonersf
in thmlr lloutld oourt deter-
mines that a ttlndlgent p er no n 1 s l pauper th e oourt vo u ld be
ruthorlzed to rid him u muah under Artiole 2351, Sub. ll,
supm; Ve~~kenunrb~toiirrdws~tu~~quir~ury
putifJUb?W rod, Or ~OOO&UPS VirsFOb~th0 OOd8#iOtWI%' OOUFt
detomlner the que8tlon0rpsuperisnnor~8tstute requiring
the inking up of a roll of djpdimted psupsrs of the aounty.
You are therefom respeotfullyadvised that it Is
the oplnton of this departmnt that if the ~ommf.mdonmm~court
determinea that an Indigent is a pauper it my Sumlah modi-
ail rid and mdlolae8 to him u such, regaxwllma8of vb.ether
or not he hss beea plsaed upon the pauper roll of the county,
iwmuahss there LsnoatstutoryreqPIIQUfrem8ntrorthe~
up or a oouut~ paper roll. It is the further opiaion of thzL8
department that th. oomml.~lo~ra 1 oowt haa ,th4 authority to
rid *indigentmlok9,.rho my or amy not be 'psupers',by
aendIng much tlndlgentsick' to *publlo' hosplt8l8 wlthln
the aounty. The qwatlon OS ~lndlgenoy~ia 8180 e question
of faot to be &ter0laed e the ooad8aionem~ oouct.
WJFtAU