Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN 3onoreble Joti 3. Shook CriolinalDistriat kttOrA0y iktxarCourty tiA kntClAh, ','aX06 Dear sir: opinion kio. O-7090 recent data encloslng bijrouloslsCotitral srhicthlu ttc+r ~rtlcle2351, V. Aa 0. 9.. preaoriben oertaln powers and iii;g,;r 00nni00i0Aur5* 0dmt3. Th0 RertiArrnt yarts reed aa “&&Oh COnoliSfibiOAGFe 5hallt OOUl!ti II* * r -10. Audit sud tiottls all socounts a&stint the Oountp end dirsot their peymunt. "15. Said oourt 4hall have all auoh Other powers and jurisdiotlon, anh shall psrfom all suoh other dutier, a8 are now or CiLLIy hereoft6r be pe+x?iba~ by la*.* The City-county Tuberoulosla Cortrol Doard is directed by SeOtiOA 6A Of Art. 44378, v. km C. S. t t0 ttXp%Ad,in it8 din- oretlon,the fuAde therein oreated to provide ecoAoLzic\ aid to &4lgent persons sUff+riAg fros tuberoulWia au6 da;umdbAt mm- bsrr of their izmdiate iemily. is the cozisaiocero* court required to audit and direot saynent 31 each individual 6ract 3rlor to snp actual pyfient to the indiaeAt tubarcuiar? Osotion 6r of Art. 4437a, whioh orestes the City-csuuty Z'ubsroulosieCoAtrol joard, reads in part es foUowsr *ijee.6h. (a). The ~overnln~ bodies of t3e oou&ty, 8Ad Of the Oity Or Oit&3&Sitti S&id county ado@.A& the ;;rovii+onehereof aa herein provided, are hereby authorized to oonduot a joint progren of tuberculosis control witkirr said city or cities and oounty, huvir;& for Ita obJeot the protection of public heoltii by tha SlhViotiOA, suppression and pWWitiOA of tA6 spread Of tubsr- oUloa~a: suoh ;rozza% my Include coogdratioA vlith all.public or ;;riVbte 8~.8::Oi,a1&,$Wibral, Ststd Or looal, h0ViAg tAe aa& ObJeCtlVb, alid shall inolude provj,d& ecor.oiklo cid In ti?OdiSCP3tiOA 35 thQ Yourd h.G:re ;s;',tr cL‘``,LC&, ll&iiiri;bLdC;11 CGrGii CQ- sea heraiAafter gxvfded, to izdii;aAtasUfferi fro:1tUbtirou:oaisacd to dersrdcct nanbers of tiieir im*diattj f&Qily 00 B >drt. Jf tii6 tiltal fX+btZUAt Of ad SQ SA aid in t:ia prsvontiou of Lke s;:rtmdOr the disease, for iilrr FrotuOt:oA Of tie >UbliO Cealth. 423 t : mr John RI ShooJC, page ) “(bl. TM County Comdasloner~ Court 18 hereby authOrfZC4d t0 l4Vy 8 diP3Ot ~IUUA`` t8X Of IIat t0 Bx- oeea 109 on the :lOO.OO valuatlou, which shall.be in addition to the tax authorized by Seotion 3 herein, an& the funds.Lroduced thereby shall bo kept aeroarat4 j!ron otlxr funus cati as.511be wt4 001i; 1y for tile urF2oaeatwt forfinin tni3 victim; yrtividedthat auoh evy of taxes shall be rlrot 8ik5htt3a to the qualities taxpaying voters of the county 8Ea a nejorlty vote shall be naoeeeary to levy the tax. ?he ~overnicg body of the city or oities aotis& herewAder shall llk4iVla4bo au- thorlzea to levy a direct tea.or not to exceed 53 on, the &lOO.OO Valuation t3 ~ixd.C4 funda to be USed for ths aana purpoae, . . . "(0). For the purpose of admlhlstretlo~ 0r this tr.ectlon, in the event such oountg and city or oltlea ewe&e in auoh pro&ran and vote auoh speoial tax48, suoh olty or oltles aca county 8imll have power to create a City-County Tuberouloola control Joard, to be composed of five or fcore menbera, . . . a* * L “(8). The Board shall have power to oerry out the terns OS this asotion in order to alleviate, auppress and pravent the 8preaflof tubarouloals within the oowty, OS a pub110 &halt!: fuwtlon, aub- jeot to the provlaFon8 hereof. Yh4 funds derived from the opeclal tcxes herein sut,?orlzeas&l1 04 co:i?)ic~a tofzther by !DiZZ 8C:CiSii C1' LLI~ GOLLT.~:Js~.li city 3r oitlaa wd be tlx:iosLxsi bp or wiser tie ciirectim of *fad such 3ocrd nub ect t3 t-s that auoh furzisshall be er&uaeci to provuie nocceaarp eoohonio aid to lndlgect persons suffering from tuber- ouloeia and dependent iwnbers of their irm4iate fenUp, upon o4rtiflOatlOn in eaoh case to the Board by the oity or county haalt2 offlcar, to the effeot thet the porrons reoeivi.ng such aid are iadl~anta, and that they or4 bona fide residents of the county und have been for more than Six rxnt2S; anilsuch funds r?-ay also be exwnded to g-pvide t’s adsiinlatretlon esjxmses heraunder, inoludlhC aa,saInVeatlCatlon ana neocaaorg 4quiym4nt and amvices, but for no otkmr purpoaem. “if). The Yoord shall nake quarterly reporte to the covorninc boerda of the county arrdcity or oitiee 3on. John R. Shook, page 1, sating hereunder, atatlng the oondition of the funa and expenditures made therefrom, and the servlcea . perforned; and the county, and olty or citlaa partlcl- patlng, shall have the right to axamlna and audit the books and reoorde 0r said 3oard.W (unaaraoorlng ours) %a note that the tuberculosis fund provided for is to be kept separate from other funds of the county, but is to be eon;blnedwit& the funds provided by the city and then expanded by the Board subject to the limitations of the section. It la ~i@iflcant that the fund la first to be ooablnad with the olty f& and then expended under direction of the Board, and the' Board, not the oourt, la vested with discretion 88 to the ``onomlo ala to be extended. We have found no authority holding that a grant to an lndlgent tubaroular, auoh as here provided for, is an *aooount rcainst the county" within the neanlng Of S80. 10 of Art. 2351, but even if it vrera,whioh we do not daoida, it is our opinion that Sea. 6A of Art. 44378, tC8 more recent stetute, does not cmte;lpletethat the comissioners' court shall audit ana dlreot pyrcent in advance of eaoh individual grant to an indigent tuber- oular. A contrary interpretation would require a great amount of drtailedwork on'tha part of the OOmi8siOC8r8' .oourtand would, la effaot, have it perform again ~8 lar&a part of the duties placed by statute on the TuberoluloalsControl Board. The oourt oan satisfy Itself, throw the quarterly report of the ijoerd and through its right to examine and audit the books and records Of the 3oard, that the funds are, or are not, being expanded in Woordenoe with the law. Artiole 5, Seotion 18 of the Texas Constitution readisin Oart that the oomlaslonara~ aout *shall exercise such powers and jurisdiotlon over all county business as la oonl'erredby this constitution and the laws of this state, or as my ba hereafter presorlbed,W Xe note that our supreme Court has aaid in Clark v. Pinlay, 45 S. ;‘i. 343, with referenae to this i-Ovislon thatz 9esldes, UEd8r the provision Guoted, the power of the oomlsslonera* court extend4 only to suoh business as la intrusted to it by the constitution and to such as the le~lalotum my confide to it. The'provlslon does not inhibit the legislature from con;nlttlnga matter of county business to sane other agency." _ . 431 . 50th John R. 8hook, page 5 HOW93 Biii 240 Of th6 49th Legislature provldes a budget ryrtemfor counties having a population in excess or 225,000 as acwn by the last preoedine,or any future United btotes census rsd is applicable to,3exar County, Your latter quotes there- ffom the romwing parts: “‘The County Auditor . . . on or tiedlately after January 1st of each year, he shall prepare a budget ‘to cover all of the proposed expendftures of the oounty goverment for tho current fiscal and calendar year . . . and no expenditures of the funds of the county shall thereafter be made except l,n strict aompllance .wlth said budget.* a *+ l WWpon the adoption of any i;eneralo r special bud&&as hereinbefore provided and its certlrication, the County Auditor of each county thereupon shall open an appropriation account for each ~zin bud&eted or special item therein, and it shall be his duty to charge all purchase orders or requisitions, con- tracts, and salary and labor allowances to said. apprqpriatlons.( swathe County Auditor’ shall make to the Cods- sloners’ Court not less than monthly a complete report showing the financial condition of the county . 4 . the report shall contain a complete statement of the balances on hand at the beglnnFng and close of the month, and the aaregata receipts to, and ag&reeate,, disbursements from, each fund, .. .** The County Auditor or Bexar County has advised us that the WWted income from the tax authorized in Sea. 6~ of Art. 4437a :*included in the county budget and an appropriation accouht ‘ reasion ‘:le~ielative intent and, ir in conflict with Zouae i3iLl 240, ‘Gh we do not decide, would control. .. 4.32 \ ... goon.John R,.Shook, pegs 6 It 1s OUT opinion that the Commissioners’ Court may Jaw- fully order the payment of such funds to the City-County Tuber- cdosis Control 3oord in accordance with the 3oardQa request ,ead that ii.B. 240 of the 49th Legislature does oot prevent the County Auditor iron lawfully Charging the payment as a dlabursemnt under the appropriation account set up. Yours very truly, A!l!TOI&XY CJSRAL OF ‘EliAs BY