Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1947 )

R-189
EY GENERAL
Hon. William W. Hensley opl&n wo. V-106
Criminal District Attorney
Bexar County lb: Authority of Conunir-
San Antonio,5, Texas 6101Yr8t Court of
Bex& County to.sup-
erviee and ooatrol
a oo’wiby.
Jatsnile
betsntidn'km for
boys.
Dear Mr. Hensley:
Pour recent request for ad.opSnionor tht9
Depaktment reads substantiallyaa folllrrr
uDoe,ethe Commlssioner8* Court of
Bexar County have the power to, supervise
and control the Bsxar County boy6 home,
a county juvenile detention home for boys?”
The eetablishPas&i el’ a a8f8JItiOA home la (L
county of this State la authorized under the prorirsiona
,, of Article
,,. 5138 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas,
the pertinent part OS whioh is aa follows:
8;t,;,
Lj
“All counties in this State may err-
tabliah detention homes and pArenta sohools
fob dependent and delinquent juveailas, ft
&@l be lawful for the C~onuaissioners*
Court to appropriate from the General hvld
of the county such sum as may be’neoeesary
to establish, equip and maintain such d&en-
tion homes and parental schools as may be
necessary to care for the dependent and ds-
linquept children of the county O e a*
.. ‘If a rightis conferred or ob2Agatfon~f``
on a Commissioners~ - Court) it has the implied authorfty’;
to exercise ‘a broad disoretion to accomplish the pprrgoges
intended. It will be seen from the provisions of ~ArticEe
5138, supra , th.at the Legislature intended to confer the
authority upon counties of this State to establish, equip
and !naintain detention homes and parental homes to o&m
for the dependent and delinquent children of said aounty.
- L
,
In an opinion, numbered O-6125, rendered by this Depart-
ment on February 26, 1946 s it waa held:
7!he Comlsslonerst Court of Bexar
County has the legal.authority to enter
Into a contraot with a group of private,
.,
individuals, or with a charitable oorpor-
ation whereby the faolllties and Srounds
..(
of the Bexar County Sohool for Boys can
be used by such groups of private indlvid-
uals or corporations to receive and pro-
vice far all delinquent and depenr?:ent boys
committed to such institution by the coun-
ty and distriot courts of Bexar County,
Texas. :
We understand that suoh property
which you desire to use was aoquired and
used for the purpose and aims as oon-
ferred upon all oounties by Article 5138,
V.A.C.S., i.c-3,establish, equip and maln-
tain detention homes and parental sohools
as may be necessary to care for the delin-
quent and dependent children of the county.
We know of no reason why suoh property
could not, be used by an organization as
you propose in order to carry out and ac-
complish the original purposes Intended,”
Article V, section 18 of the Constitution of
the State of Texas reads in part as follows:
” 0 LI a The County commlssloners 80
chosen, with the County Judge, as presid-
fin off icor) shall compose the County Com-
L~j.nsioners’ Court ) vj:;Ich shall exercise
suc!i :>owers and jurisdiction over all ooun-
ty business, as is conferred by this Con-
stitution an? the laws of the :3tate, or as
may be hereafter p~ea0r2W,``
The jurlsdlotlon of CommlssionersP Courts is
limited to striotly “county buslnesss”and the Lsgialatws
has no authority to enlarge their powers or jWi8aiOtiOBe
The term “county businesse should be given a broad and
:;w;; construction so as not, to defeat the purpose8 or
And it is held that the UonunQsslonersl
Cons%8
have lm&ed authority~ to do what may be neoeaaa Zm t&a
exerofse of the duties or powers oonferredupon B ‘Eam.
Hon. William N. Hensley - Page 3' (V-106)
(11 Ter. Jur. 564, El Paso County v. Llam, 106 9. W.
(2d) 395; and Glehn T. Dallas Count Bole D* Are Ia-
land Levee Distriot, 282 S.,W. 339.7
It would seem that the Conmissioners'
Court, in aocomplishingthe purposes intended by the
Lsgislature,would be luthori84d to amama control
and management of the detention home as an integral
part of county business.
A board of County Commissioners'ordlnati-
ily exorcises the corporatepowers of the county. It
is in,an snlargedsenss the repressntativeand guard-
ian of the oouaty, haviag the aa8agam4nt and ooatrol
of its preperty and finauial 1&4mrrtr, and hati-
original aha exclusire jurl8diotioaamr all mat%488
pertalniqg to county affairs. (15. C. J. p. 41S$,l'
The Supreme Court of the State of kQ88surl
in Stat4 4x ml Buoksr et al 'c.MoElroy et al, 274
S.W. 749 in rendering an opialon on an analbgeus qurr-
tion, stated as follows:
0 . In the lan@mge of the ,organ-
ic law, such oourt shall l*w4 jurlsdio010~
to tranisaotall oounty br)ia888. Othaur
busla888 may be added to it8 juriadirtl48
by law, but ao law oan take iron it that
which the Constitutionerprr88ly giros;
i.e;, that it shall tramaot all county
buelness. . e"
n It Is olsar that the rostrel
asd ma&;&t of ths8. t&a8 oouaty is-
stltutions-8.1 part and parool of ths
county businbm, ud j8rirdllrtim we?
this burinorr ha,8boon 1-d illtk4 84un-
ty oourt by the Oon8tStatlrr~and ~8 mm4
statnto aould di818d~o tkls JurbUstim.
The 8tatuto8 wkicb w&derstQk to led&8 081-
trol sf th884irrtituti888 with Wh8 par814
board of the ooutt~r are ViOlatim bf Wo*
tion 36 or Arti 6 of our OmrMtu*lm,
and are thanfbro void.,e eN
Inasmah as the Coa8titati88alprwii&b#m 8i
ths two statbe relating to county buslass a84 riri&ar,
it is belisvbd that in the State of Taxas the Cmrsion-
ore' Court ie the constitutionalfolua for all county
business mlating to juvenile detention home8, and there-
f&m it is the opinion of,this Department that~the Cm-
ai88ionor6'Coiirtof,~xa.rCounty is authorlzed.tooon-
trol.and supervise the~Bexar County Boys' Hum,
The connis8uiner8~ ,court‘OfBenu,
County his the authority,to.controland
superViseoh jnvwnile home for boJIaertab-
liehad by 8aid county. (Art. 5138, lLC.8.;
1LTex. Juro.564; ~'lsL,F=aso
Cowaty v. ma@,
106 S.~Wi (26) 295; alenmv. Dallae COunty
Beis ~Dv~,&o'Island Is+88 Die;, 282 S; W.
~339,;A@.' V,:Seotloxi1S;~Oonstit~tfon,
,Stat8bf Tbmb; and Stat9 ei rrl B~olnr
et al T. Yol!lroy.et al, 274 9. W. 749)*
Yours mry truly ',:
~&CTORNEYGRNRRAL OF TirxlS~
BY
Bum@1 Waldrep,d,@
BW:jmo:wb Assistant