Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
AUSTIN
May 1, 1939
Ur. L I..Shelton
county AudItor
Johnac~on
Comty
Cleburne, ~OXAS
Dear Slrr
8 appronl or
n on the f01lorlng
r riolato a
th road aa-
eat or thy ooart?
in (ping ti.3
end
"The aountie~ or the stak are hwebp
de&rwed to have the authority to employ,
or ptirA1tto be hAfiOyOd, SJlyr0ea oon8truo-
tion or other meohinery or road equlpunsntin
the eerrlco of aoil cwumrrcrtion and grewon-
tion or soil waste through erosion, whemrex
Mr. E. L. Sheltoc, Xag I, 1939, FaRe 2
In the judment of the county commissioners
court, entered upon the minutes of the court,
such machinery or equipment is not demanded
for the service of building and the up-keep
of t3e roads of the county; and shall provide
for compensation to the county road fund, or
the road fund of any defined distriot or
aut?;orlzedsubdivision in the county, For
such employment of road equipment."
3eotlon 4'0r the same ertiole reads es roll-2
“15 the public ecmloe oi ooaservlng
the soil rertllity or the ua or the eou~ty,
the oommissioners*court shall hate the
authority to ooo#eratawith the landowners
and taxpayers or the 00untJ ln all judloicua
orforts ror the preserratlonor the proauotive-
nees ot the sot1 l"romavoidablewaste, and 108s
or pro&u@Areaesa or agriculturalcrops neoesa-
ary to the pub110 umlfare, through permlesfon
to ~110the maohbmry and equIptent that may be
made eva~lable bf the ccuaty ior suah purpcoeu.
tier written aontraat,and the aoumtf~shall
reaeive from mah lazidouners and 'taxpayers
mmpenaaticn, upon such unlfom baais a8 my be
doged wultable, and proper, ror the occpera-
tion ertende4 and serv%eer rerwleml, all auoh
atmperuatfonor runa to the aountp to be p&d
iato the R&d and BriQge Fund Of the 00t``ty;
ana the aotmty comml~ricnera: court may protide
r0r payrmente from landownersand taxpwers or
the county atsuah stated intervals aud in
suoh smount8, as ana when the bounty tams are
solleotea,as nap be w&p:-$abU,,?or the use
or the equipment ror the protdation or land8.
against ocntlneinglmaeasweable~injury through
no11 eroelon~ priada timt the oemmlssioner,rsl
aourt or repreaentatitethereor shall not go
upon the land or any owner to improve, temaoe,
protect, or dltah such land until requested to
$43
m?g
..-i.
Mr. E. L. Shelton, b!ag 1, 1639, Page 9
do so in wrltlng by such owner; and provfied
further, that the aoabalssioners~oourt or
representativethcreot shall not be required
to do such improvin& terraoing, protecting
and dltchln~ unless.such court shall deter-
mine that such work ia of so- public benefit
and said court cleats todo the wmk."
Seotlon 3 ana Sootion 4 or hrtlole 237a0, Just
quc&ld, olear4 sets forth the manner in which, and the
olroumatenoesaad conditionsunder whioh the paohlnery
bdlm&ng to a aounty of this atate may be used 'forthe
$urpcse of preserving the preduetirenessla agricultural
prcbcts necessary to the publio welfare. Ecwever, we
know or no law, whfeh rould make a comlssioner rho per-
mits thecaaehineryoftheoountyto beuseddthoutmeet-
lag the requlrwti as set forth in Beations 3 ana 4 of
Art1018 23720, subjeot to pro8eentlcmfcm a penal ofiense.
We know or a0 authority for a ccmlasloner te
make spsolal aontraotwork with the'road machinery eS the
county rlthout the eonsent of the aebrt. FIoweveriit Is
.-ouropinion, t&et by so dolug t&e aoamlssloner.iloes
not
violate any penal s$atuta of this atate. r.nterestlng
questlona lnvolr~ng the ic(lerpretationand entbroeaant
of eontra&s would natural4 arise as a result of a om-
tidonsr aotlng dtbout authority in entsrlng into aa
-agreementwith an lndlvldualor lnditlauals,tc use
county road saohlnery in doing work ror said lnalrl6ual
or ladlvlduals,but such questions do not arlse'ln your
request ror an oplnlon in thlq instance.
In view Cf.the provlslonsof ArtZele SS7i3?of
the Revised Civil Statutes of the.state of Texas, ft i8
our opfntnion
thst a 00&8810ner does not vlolste a penal
statute of this state la uslag a pick-up bought an&paid
ror out Or oounty funds ln the admlnlstrbtlonor his
business as ocmelsslonerand in going to and from court
meetlnp3.
Mr. 2. L. Zhslton, Jay 1, 1939, Page 4
Article 23721 of Vernon's Eevised Clvil~L;ta-
tutes of the state of Texss, reads in part as follower
"The comnlssloners* court 18 hereby
authorized to allow each comuilasionerto
purchase a plckyap truok to be used in e*cb
respective precinot on official business and
it shall be paid for out of the~Road and
Bridge Fund of the respeatlre oomlesionera*
preclnctd, and seoh oommisaioner shall make
under oath an aotwunt of his expandlttmea
for auah purpose.*
Truattingthat the foregoing answers your in-
wirya am remain
--
ATTORNEY
GENERA OF -