Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

OFFICE OF THE AtTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN : reoeltedand oar* ote rrom your re- oltillanderense 0r an air raid wlor Hoepita ror proaeeslog. A unit ~111 be preparedfrom approximately one pint of blood. ft 18 plaxuw to st0m-3rirty units at eaah one 0r the thrse hospitals. *The um to which the preparedplasmawill be put would be the generalreller or aidlian HonorableRalph LOg?%k, PagO 2: ohaualtIes,In the event of a bombing ratd on the oity. &A the svent of suoh dfsaster, 'thesupply or plemm would presunkablbe used.rorall persoim b&red regardlessof thef'TtlnMoIa1 staudlng. The see would be determined by Mnergenopneoessity rather than iinanofel abilityi %ur .offloeis respeotfully reqaested to @- T&M whethe+ Tom breei.Gowty oaa LaWel4~rgsod (IUY flirehundredto one thousanddollarsfor the pxymration 0r this plasma. *I attaohheretoa brler oltatlonor authori- tbb end .``~ou8sion on this question~aesome assist- anoe fn d~termlnine, this questIon." we quote rrfmiyour briei-esr0ii0wist %rtiole 5, Seotion18,0? the Constitutionor Texas, eroatingthe ocmmlmsloners~ oourt,reads In part as r0g0w8t “‘. w :,oountyoommlssioners so ohosenwith the oountp~judge as prealding orrloershall eompoeb~tneocmnty oozo&mlonerut ooart uhloh till exerohe suoh power8and 'juri8dlot~on over all oountybaelnes8aa la oonierred by this ConstitutionaOd the laws ot the State;or as siaybe hereafterpreaorlbed.* It is a well settledprlnoipleof law that the oom- 0i88iOBer8’ 00th doe8 BOt haYe My tlUthOPity 8X- oept that whloh is expre86ly or impliedlyconferred apon it by law..Edwards OoOnty78* ~ennioga, 33 8. W. 585)11 TOG Jut., p. 564. "Aeiole 2351,Vernon’s Ann. Cioil st., speol- iis8 the.generalpowers and datles of the eommlr- 810ners8 oost. ,In additionto the generalpowers there enumer8tsd,there are rarloos apeolal powers enumeratedin the statute8 whioh hare been passsd from time to time. The oommIssloners* oourt Is authorizedta iurnlshrir0 protectionIn rire right- ing equipment. ,, ..-- ‘. 5*2B . *&tloie l&4$, Vernon*8 Ann. Ol-rilSt., per- : ‘- mlt8’t&e ‘oqileaiciners~ oourt ‘to apgiropriete end ~expendmoney rron:%&e-general rovenue8or it8 OOM- behalfor pablfohealth aud sexme- ty ror and ia., tion with& ite oouBty*' UPtio&e-58C4 mthoripee the ,Oomd8doners~ '~ oouxtt to appmpriate not exOeedios.oae handreddol- lam per motif&*or erpeMe8 ‘in bonpeotkbnwith thd admiihtrat~v8Pnitsd the~lfetioaal &xi&; and Art- iOle $@&a n,OvidW iOr the approptiation by oow ab8h~mrr~ ‘o dr t8 %o,derreylx p en8e ror eq uip ment, a~?``ti~(l~ eto.,~ for the TeXa8 DeieMe ChaibL Bone 8eaL fjoerpre8rily’eorer or:'tb880~provi8ion8 .the exphndttard for the puPpobe$A the manuez of, fad8 . h8PdB qM8$$Onedr Ii the OOld8dOni~a' ooart then:has qutlqr~tyat all to 80 expend money on e blood ple8iga bank, it ~mustbe rrctmth6 *plied au- thorityfound in some of the above mentionedstet- I ute8 or 00nstitlit10Mlprc4vlsions~ ~Weottdn11, Artiole2351,Yeraon'8.Ana.Civil. , St., 8t4tes $h8t t_bO OOl8mi88iOll828 OOUe 8hhaLl 1 . . .rprovfda $or the 8uPpePt Oi..pfiupera and idiot8 8nd~lrmatlo6;.asomgnot be ad&Wad Into the lunatlo .$-- a8ylum rwident8 of their oount* who, are unable to euppo& thefmelves. By tha .term.~*Asldentm ‘asused here& it Ie meant a person who ha8 ,beena bona fide InhabitantOr the OOUB``'BO~le88 t&n SiX m&he end -of@he 8tate not less than one year.’ *The oouH.85x1ocnstrutngthe above statute hate held the ~sommlsmloner8~oourt to ham the au- thorityto supplyhoospltalfeetlon to Indigentoiti- Zen8 of its oounty. In tho oa5e 0r WllleayOounty Y84 Valley BttptittEO8pitti,G&v. hpp., 29 S.,W. (2d),&56,the Coat held that ootwtLeeare not lla-’ ble a8 a Ipatteror ooar8e for aedioaland hO8pItti b&l18 or am iajuredpomon leaoiagno estate. In this ease the oourta&song&y tit-ted that neither the eoauty.$id@ nor en ind%dduaI.oommiaaioner w&s alothedwith authority to bind the oounty to any agreement~made by nroh judge or oomodmaloner, aotIng indiridrutlly,to pay for servioesrendered HonorableRalph logan;Page.4 a paqpcrri 8Qtj that.it58 ndoeaselry the,tthe oonmla- sloner8'ooqt a8 a body e0t.h determlnl~ the neoesrsity r0s support&van muper8. *The OplBfOh 0i’pu.rdepartment,Ho. O-4529, rendered od;Apxi$i 23, 19b2, holdlagthat the county ha8 no authOrf~ to oontribute funde to and ‘slrpport and malntalii a#xoifloe or DQeotor of ClrIlIanDe- .ren8?,apwntly, at lea84 ;tPterentiekly,~ prohIb- its ,the expenditureor ruud8 ror the preparation or blood~plafma~sinoe the ~projeot la deeorlbeda8 oI+illkndefense. The uss’oi.thepleaga,however, regardleqs.o$ label. aitisetl to t&e pk?m,.rhould de- te2miBeits l&+l~ty. fi.‘ths prepared plasmawore ~umbdsolely$o ‘propida ~medioeloara,’ and treatment r0r ~$ndlgen$e’ and paupers,arter been 80~dete~d by the 18 4WUIQO~:'t~t the O@lIlty the preparationor eaoh plaanla, .,.. “A8 the plan i8 presented thd U8.e or the plamra would not be restriotedto Ind&ents 6x08 t to the extentthat.;- oftieen eerloulrly ‘f&red % a bomb- ing raid &ld Qe oleselrledae.an MUgart. From a praotioalpoint or tier, 8uah an injured parson oould very.reesonably be olassliieda8 a member or tha indigent olas8,but this oonoluadonIs based @sly on,probebIlIty, awl 18 entirelyapeouhtive. In order ror the plasma auppX~ to be of value to the oommunltpin time oi disaster,It would have to be administered ta any personwhose injuriesindioated 8Uah MdfOd treatment in (111 @iUergeXiojr, dthout rb gard to his rinenaiel standIng. *Slnoe thereneema to be LU,statuterrpeoiflkel- ly authoriziog any expendituretor tha purpoee:of .preparing ~bloodror e blood plemuabank, and there aeeme to be no etatote,rratt whioh 8uoh powers oan beineaessarilyImpliedroom those expresdlygranted, it would appear that the oomai6sIoners’ oourt ie withouteuthorItyto appropriatefund6 ror the pro- jeot as plsnned.” There Is no statutespe~If&oalZy aathorlzIngthe expenditureor countyrunds r&r the purposementionedIn your letter. It is our opinionthat you have oorreotlydetermined that there ie no at&tote froarbioh sooh pa&e oan be noow- sarilyLsplZebX. Undn the raatr etatedand under thsauthorities olted ln opinion Ro. 6-&%9 Of th%S department, a oopy Of whioh is enolosed herwith, we NepeatfUllg M8wet PmOr qUe8tion in She zi&atLte, - lil8 wish to explW88 oyr eppreo$etlon ior th+exoelleat brlei ,&tted: : ,, ~. ., Verytnalyyours WJFrmp ?hX3.. AT.!CORNEYG- OF 9!XXAs