OF~=ICE OF THE A~-~oRNEV GENERAL OF TE
AUSTIN
Ur. 1. Predeoki
County Auditor
Caloeeton Countp
Galveston,Texas
88mpaoat put. of th8 8tat8,
8 uoopt t&os*,whl8h 8r8 0188rly
II the aoartltuttoaa!& 8taUtM.
13 4eflnea tha Qmor8, #PeIarfbal
ed the zkblllDie8 of t&o -ion-
s1TSW, Tax. Jur. Vol. 11,
seat&on 9, Art1010 0 OS the Ten9 Ooastltutlon +-
preseribedthe mmx%uuaret~aC tens for gafimlptlrpomcr,
far roads and bridges, for'Jnrfo8, end for persra8nt !a-
provaent6, rsopeotlrely. The 0el!alHioa#u* c-t bus
Hr. I. Predeckl,April 4, 1939, Page 2
no power to transfer money from ?ne fund to another or
to expend for one purpose, tax money raised ostensibly
for another purpose. The immediate purpose Of the pro-
rlslon is to limit the amount of taxes that nmy be
raised for these aeveral,purpoees,reapectlvely;but It
la also designed to Inhibit excessive expendituresror
any such purpose, and to require that an? and all moneys
raised by taxation for any purpose shall be applied to
that particularpurpose and to no other. Ault ~8. Hill
Couuty, 116 SW 559, COnuulsalonera'court or FIendereon
County ~8. Burk, 862 SU 94, Carroll YS. WiXllame, eO8'
8u 604. Tex. Jr. Vol. 11, pseei.609.
The supreme OQurt or 'Toni I8 the be80 or
carrollre. Wll.ll8ms. 808 811SO& aupra, osod the roll-
.lnglanguage:
weotion 9 of Artlole 8 of olu 'iato
cOn6tltutlon,lahlb~tamyand alltran&rr
OS tax aon8y rrom on6 ta anothbr Of~.MY8ml
.classeaaf.iando thereIn authorired,:nnd,
t&on, deolaredlyfor those @everal purposw
Or OhS68i Oi purpo888, l'e8p6OtiYdybut'thnt
18 not all; the ultirate aad prastiealand
obvious de8tgn and POrmO and:le@ 8f'fMt
is to inhibit exoe~+re tupendlturesior any
suoh purpose or olM8 Of ptup~Se8. Br WO-
essary iaplloatlonsaid protlaions of Seetlon
9 of Artiale 8 were deeigned, not norely to
liait the tax rate for oertaln therein de-
signatedpurposes, but to require that anj
and all money raised by taxation for any suoh
purpose shall be app!l+l, faithfully, to that.
lb. I. Fredeoki, April 5, 1939, Page 3
pertlcularpurpose, as needed thereror, aod
not t0 any other pur~mwi car'
use WbntnOever.
:'hoseconetitutionalprovialons control, not
only t2a raisin?, but aleo the npplioatlon,
or rollauoh funda; and auoh is t'e legal
effeat of Article 2242, (naveArtiolo 2352) and
Article 7357 (now Artiole 704f3)of the Reviaad
Civil S,atutes. when properly construedand
apglled. True, the Constitutiondoea not say,
in so many words, that aoney raised by the
oounty, alty or tow, br tanlion fOr on. 8tWh
pUl3088 8haU neYer b8 8qbUhhd tOr UIy other
purposes, not 8~ea for u&her oi the tlvo
~8IIO~~.8l8S8OiOf pclrpo8W +OfiUd Ud 8p
it8 ~si!l and 08rkin m 8lld.x81@
8rreet. The v8ry d/ilaltlon o? Mm80 mvaral
8lasae8 OS pwpo8as, aad .th8doolaratioa of
lUtbOTi~ to tar th8 -18 aW8fOF, rMQMtiYO-
ly, 00~pled,a8th~ -8, inO8Oh iM%#.W8,
with the x.iaitatlOllOi th. tax r8t8 $-.th8t
o&88, wt hare’baen pedlaatad ttponthe
exp8otatIonend I&ant that;88 a Dtt8r. of
OOJRSOIIhOIiO8tYad iair 68aib& fuIROIL8Y
t8kua froatho p8oplo oatemlb~ for 01188m-
iled potgo88 ahall b8 8~Z&d, U BaOdti,
far,the pmy~80 8lom.U wll mu the tu
rat8 fOE that ~tiOUlU 01888, in w 006
yesir,8hall not e~a80&'th8 pruarlbad UXiW.*.
8OOtiOD sf?i
Or &ti818 s Of #8 at8t8 o~~tit~-
tlon reads.88 iollare:~
2ThaL8glslatura 8hall ham no ~inmmr
to anthorlte any aounw oily, torn Or
other polibioal oorpora&m or mb-dIvl8Ioa
of the 8tate to lend its ore&It or to grants
pub110 money or thfng of value fn aridOf,
or to any lndlvldnal,l%8o o la tio or
n aorpora-
tlon rhatsosier;or to beooae a etookholder
in suoh oorpooratlon,assoEI~tion or oompcury;
provided, however, tJmt under 1egialatiFe
!a-.I . W&de&l, April 4, 1930, Page 4
provisionacy county, any politico1 subdlvl-
sion of a county, any umber o? adjoining
counties,0; any polltlaal subdirislonor
the state, or any defined dlstrlct now or
Cereafter to be described and dc?lned within
tke state of Texas, and which may or may ixotin-
clude, towns, villages or municlpal,~orpora-
tioze, upon a vote of a two third8 mijorlty
0:'the rr-sldentproperty taxpayers voting
thereonwho are qualltledeleotors of ewh.
dlcitrlot or terrltow to be a??aoted thereby,
in .abdition to all other d8bt8, w i88ua
bonds Or OthUifise 18rd its Or8dit it'anj
aaount not to exo00d 0a840twth or the a888880
od valuation or the real property o? 8uoh
dietriot or tarritor)r, lxoopt that the total
bonded lndobtedne8eo? any oity or tow 8hdl
n8tu 6x8884 the lImlt8 lmpo88d by other po-
Yi8fOU8 Of thi8 cOtt8titUtiOtl, Wd 18Vy 8lld
oolleot moh tat88 to w the f!ttOZ88tthet8-
on and prOrid a 8lnklng fund fOr th8 rsd8m?-
tioa thereof, a8 the LegislatureMY author-
itsi end In suoh wmnu~ 88 it say authorlu
thei8~8, for the iollowlng purposes to-wltr
O(a) The Iapiommeat
of rlreri; ereek8,
and etreema to prereat ot8rfbua and to
permit o? narigatlon'thereofor Lri3etIon
thereof, or In aid o? 8uoh pkU&OIeB~
."(b)The aon8truotiOnand 8*itItell~O8
O? pool8, laker, resavoir8, dam8 aanala
~tUiWtUW~~?OTth8 gPrpo8*& ilTi@hUl,
drainage or narl(latlon,or in aid therae?.
"(0) The oonetruotlon,ERintenanoe and,
opnrstfon a? meoadaaiaed,aratelmd or peted
roada and turnpikea,or la aid thereof."
Article 788, Revlee CiYil Stitutes, pOvid4M
that: .
The county oommlselonarr*court o?
cay county having a population in ebcea8
xl-.2. Predecki,'%pril4, 1939, rage b
of SO,OCO InhnSitaots,flccordlagto the last
Yriitedstates ceasus, my in their discretion,
order sa election to determine the propriety
of a bond is3ue to provide for the aoastruatloa
sm3 xalateaksceof causeways,viaducts, bridges
end approac\;es scross any river and bottoms
within the llmlto of suah county, lrrespeative
Of C>J’ !WliOipal bOiXld4ri66.” Se6 the oese of
Aromas County VS. Colema-Fultoa Fastma co.,
191 3' SSS.
Vle+re Infarmldby the comptrqlleR'8offloa
thatCaln8t4nCwntyh48a popnlafI4aoi64,401iq-
hablt4nt8‘aaoordIngto the lad Tatbra1 04a8u8, tbm-
fore, comlngdthln the populationbrook&a met iorth
In th4 aboro quoted StatIlk.
In lI4u Of the &Jr. lng allth6rltIo~,~Jou are
ron*8tfully llrI*oathat it r8 the opInIon o? thla m-
partaent.that tOalmdon county ry axpoaa moneya from
the rO4d W bridg4 fWId Of the OOUU~ iOr pMI&arf
6xpensss In aonnootlonwith the construotionof a brib&a
Or tlUUl4l frOm G41V48tOll 1814Bd t0 BOliYOT ~UiBOUhk
if ouab ftlIid8 are 4~4ilab&, btit th4t GdVe6ton CoPntJ
dowoothave the authority to expend taxlW48derS~~
by Yirtuo or exIutlng UW.frml84 of t?m other fun68
or the aounty ior the pmlldauy sxpon880 la 4amaotion
wit& the oOn8traotlodo r l brI6g@ or tame1 irc#rC@lv~Mi08
umng t4E4liruP4nbaule
9
You or4 forthor 8dTl44d that it ls oar opinion
that the Cmtnty C4nm18#Ion4rBrOOUZt Of M1T48tOJl C&mlt$
MY, Gil their dlsoretloa 014~ M eleotioa to dot-e
the propriety of a bend h8 to provide ia the oona%ruo*
tioa and ralntoeaaoe of s bridge iroa.Oalre8tonIalan to
Bolirar Psninsula, In aompllsnae wad under the provlalam
of Chapt4r 4, Tit14 8Z of the Rsvi846 CIrIl Stat-WA
‘i’Z!USting that tb43%X?rugOing
4USW4rS faur In-
au*, ‘14 remain
.
VOW tl’t.!l~ 3rOurS