Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1967 )

ORNEY GENERAL OF EXAS ~R*WPORD c. MARTIN *x-rORNEY GENERAL August 1, 1967 Won. Alwin E. Pape Opinion No. M-113 County Attorney Guadalupe County Re: Power of Guadalupe-Blanco River Seguin, Texas Authority ‘to subdivide and sell certain lands not necessary to the business of the district. You have requested the opinion of this office in regard to the, following qnaation : Whether Guadalupe-Blanoo River Authority has the authority to sub- divide and sell property-in competition to the Estate from which said property was derived, or whether it must first be offered for sale to the Estate from which it is derived? ‘~ Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, hereinafter referred to as GBRA, is a caratura of Art. 8280-106 and possesses the rights, privileges, and functions: conferred by General Law upon such Districts, However, going beyond the application of the General Law, the Act specif- ically authorizes the following powers: Section 2(e). “to acquire by purchase, lease, gift or in any other manner (otherwise than by condemnation) and &maintain, use .nd operate any and all property of any kind, real, personal, ormixed, or any interest therein, within or without the boundaries of the District, necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers, -’ rights, privileges and functions conferred uoon it by this Act.” Section Z(i). “. . . to construct, extend, improve, maintain, . .’ . and to use and operate, m and all facilities of any kind necessary or convenient to the exercise of such powers, rights, privileges and functions;” (Emphasis added.) Construing the above provisions, we think the questioned activity of subdi- viding and selling of lands not necessary to the business of GBRA is within the power of GBRA as specified by the Legislature. Subsection 2(e) above clearly - 521 - Hon. Alwin E. Pape, page 2 (M-113) authorizes GBRA to acquire and use any land which is either necessary or con- venient . Since the land obtained from the Estate in question has proven not to be necessary to the business of GBRA, it authorizes the sale or other dis- position of property not necessary to the business of the District. The statute does not require, however, that the property be sold to the former owner and it may be sold to the former owner or anyone else. The statute, however, likewise does not contemplate that GBRA would be in the real estate busi- ness and, in our opinion, does not give the District the authority to install roads, utilities and other improvements not necessary for the general purposes of the District but solely for the purpose of selling surplus lands. SUMMARY GBRA property which is not necessary to the business of the,District may be sold to one or more purchasers and does not have to be but may be sold to the original owner. The District may not make improvements solely for the purpose of selling surplus land. : Yours/jery, truly, General of Texas Prepared by Roger Tyler Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman John Duren Fred Davis Alan Minter Polk Shelton STAFF LEGAL ASSISTANT A. J. Carubbi, Jr. - 522 -