OFFICE OFTHEATTORNFY GENERAL OFTEXAS
AUSTIN
June 5, 1939
/
WT. !3avfdE. Kuloahy
county ,'.ttorney
El %a0 County
Ll Paso, Teuls
mar sir1
Court pay for
esd under authority or
6, ar tbo ~RwflssdCivil
Q PubUo Building end Im-
owned Qythe oounty?
‘!'(b]
when said booke areito be housed
in the present library Wildin& amed by
the city 0r El Papaso,
or gladotbsr pubU0
building not owned by Mm Ctwnty~"
ixticle 3677, !!evisedCivil S-stutsm, reads as
'fal'mu:
The ccxxilsclonerocourt or any cnunty
may estol:liah,n:aintuln,and operate within
t!if+fF res;r‘eotlVo COLUltfeS, COUntg irec li-
hrc\ritsin th+ mn:Ier and with thn functlcns
rrttmrlbcd in tiis title. The sold court
shall also have the power and authority to
establish in ao-oporatlonwltb aaother oounty
or oountles a Joint free oouaty library for
the benefit of tI& oo-operatlve?ountlerr,w
Artlole 1679, Retised Clril Statutes, reader
*After a aout& free library ha6 been
e,stabllahed, the oca~~lasionera
oourt shall
annually eet aaide from the -al tax fund
.-or the oounty, a mm suffloiat.for the maIn-
temnoe of said library, but not to axoeed
five oents on the hundred dollars valuation
or all property 2.nauoh oounty Outalde of all
lnoorporatedoitieo and km818 already S~PPOX%-
in6 a free $Lblia library, ard upon allpropar-
ty within all inaorporatedoitias and towna
already supportinga free puUa library,
and upon all property within aLl fncorpo~ted
oitiss end towns already supporting a free
pub110 library whioh have eleotsd ii&become
a part of such free library ayvttemaprovided
in thS.8title forth0 purpose Or maintaining
oounty free 1lbrarLaa and for purohasing
~ropertythorafor~*
The first legislativeact authimlz
libraries tc be establishedwas passed by the
lqture, Aotn af 1915, oh, 117, ard found on p
the General l&Ys of Texae. This wae entitled an;':
e-
"to establish, maf.ntaln,operate, equip and Uise$.abX@&
oountp free libraries and county oimulating llbrariea.
ror the us6 of the oitlzens or this state;....", auu
wbioh aot underwent subsequent revisions w&t@ the last
revision, iiotsof 1919,~36th :e&slature, found incor-
porated under Title 35, Article3 16774690, Revised
civil Statutes, 1925. It is unnecessary to set forth
horein all of the above articles under Title 35, per
talning to the subject.
Our attention is directed to that provision
of Artiole 1678, *ioh provideo that the library shall
--
~utoeertaSnterritorl.alllmitsdeflrm¶there~
0th.r prodeicals under pit4 s5 are
glfts and beqneds for the bow
Artiole 1696 provides that the
be diMstabllshed at aqtime ujmn a petition ot a
4ority of the toter6 of
oounty free library,
etwlng mm&
.Th6:Leglslaturebds provided ftk the mainten-
anoe of suah oounty free library under Artlole 1679,
aupra, ame to be paid out of the general fund. Youwill
note that Artiole 1689 providss that all funds rret aside
for.~Intdnlng auoh oountf free library shall aon&WftJte
aeeparato fundto beltnownaathe oounty free librsm
fund and shall not be wed for any other purposes except
those Or the aouatS free library. iiaving,authorised
thle method, it appears that the rule of sxpreselo unlW
eat exolwio alteriua would apply and the county would
be unauthorizedto divert oonsttiutlondlfundB raised by
taxution, an atihoribd ~@a<.l$mUmited,
Article 8, SeOtLon 9
of the Conetltutlonof Tezoo, and use suoh funUs to @IX'-
ohase books for and maintain suoh county rree library aa
authvviztxl in odd statntes.
*Where legislation points out speciri-
callg how an aot is to be done, althou&
without it, the court or officials, under
their general powers, roulilhave been able
to perTorn the act, pet, es the Le+yislat~~ro
i&poeeU a epmial llmltation, it must be
striatly purmle&” Lewis* Sutherland Statu-
tory con0truotian - s00ond Edition, vol. II,
p. a&9.
'wher0 a power ia gl3mt.a nnd the m0th0a
of.it8 exeroi8a I.6~reaarihsd, the prttacrlbed
methodsraludalr e&l othen llrdmtnstbofol-
ama.* = Lewls'f3uthda&3tatutoryGoamtmm-
tion, Vol. a, para* s9t, 689, 688, 651.
It is thorafora the opinion of thie dapartmnt
;h$Gha ocmidwioners' 0tma-tis not authorbad to.ply
books pumha8oUundmrthe proviufonfi
of Arti-
9
oletrlw9- 96, ill01usi~, R8ma Civil statutra or Texm,
l9ss, 0utoi~thopubliobuil~andinpfarcrrPsnfefunds;
Trustingtheabovo -6 your qu0stions,
*ld
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