Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

237 OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN you vi11 be ob- p r o Tl8len in ll6 Ao t th e will tj ta rreatou3Jr*tlremout funA, bnte a ny6ua ha lx lto Ifs emp lo ~eer pensation or old-age benefita, after they have oearod te work Sor r&l Anthorltr. There 18 no ry uader 6ald Aat whereby th. tpad euggested w 7011, if ~16 in by the e~plqeer, could be invested or handled or dletributedr ReSther is there any prorlnion oontaslned In 6ald Act whioh ~0~14 matborim ym to par fro18 it6 tia6 64 6m3~ to retbed brplg000. 238 %lO Lower cOlOF%dO RfrW &lLuthiWitj is b OOrpOrb- aon $relItedUllderblld by riPtUe Of tit&C18 16, Seotion SQ, 0s the Btnte Constitution. It only has suah express or im- plied porera as it is gvan by the stbtute or Qonstitution. In the law creating said AuthorifJ there 18 no gpeoifio authorizationSor it to orefate b retirement fund for its employees. On the question o? implied authority, the law is well stated in PWsbee to OcConnOr, City Treasurer, 7 Pao. (3) 3l&, wherein the City of Beverly Hills, Callfornis,nbs enjoined from paying b warrant In favor of the PaciNe Mutual WPe Ins. Co. for the premium &ue upon an insurance policy is- sued by said aoqauy to Charles C. Heir, an employee of said 05ty. Zho City of Boverlp hills had passed sn ordinancs vh%ch provided for the emotion and operation of an iasurance plan OnJ pension fund sor elaployeesoi said o&Q. The ordl- oance provided for insurance and a uait of pension at age of 63 fur oath employee, depoodent upon the amount of his rommor- ation and the length of his serriC0 with tho city. In holding maCi ordlnbnce void, the court used tais lasguaget '(l-4) Tho prab question inrolred in this appobl Is shethor the oity of Beverly rills had the over to pass the ordinance axed inour the liab P Uty in question. Conoeding that the aity had no oxpress poser to do so, appellant contends that It botad NlWn its implied powers1 but In our Opinion this oontention cannot be sustained. It Is fundamentrl thbt a municipal oorporbtion 08x1exercise only such powers as hare been con- ferred upon it by the Constitution,the general lbws,~or its cwn charter provisions, d that the language purporting to define its powers mst bo strictly 4onstrued. * * l . The roll- settled rule by which the povors of a mniclpal corporationere to be sotasuredis stated in Ml- 10x1on Mmicipal Corporations (6th Ed.) rolum 1, 3 237 as followsr IIt is a general osd urrdis- puted prcpositica of 18w that b mnlcipal corpora- tion FOSSssEeS and oILU sxeroise the follOtiq pOWer6, ati 110 OthWSI those granted in First, express words; seoonci,those ueoessarily or fair- ly inplied in or iwideut to the powers exFrrsssl? -0x- Oolorb4o River lafhorlty - pbga 8 @ante&; third, thoae eSS0ntibl to the b0008- plimhment of the deolbrab Objects bml pur- p0ses Of the oorporbtion -- not simply oonven- tent, but iadispensahle~ Any fdr, rebsonbble, substbntibl doubt concerning the edstenoe of poner is resolved by the oourts bgtinst ths o4rpor~tlon, antI the poTer is 4enU4. OS eye- praioipbl eOrpOrbtiOn the ohbrtor or statute by which it is arebted Is fts orgbnio abt. Ieither the 0Orporbtion nor its offloers oan do bat, or mbke bq controot, or lneur w any libbilitr, not buthorise4 thereby, or br some legislbtite bat bppliebble thereto. All not8 beyoxnl the mope Of the powers @bEted bre YOid.’ l + 4 . Yeasure by the foregoing prinai- pies, TB bre of the opinion thbt the aity of Beterlj Elllm ran without power, ei+Aer express or implied, to pbss bn ordiname proriding for bn insurame plan bn4 penslon fXzn4 for Its em- ployees, bn4 ran rithouf p0Ter to inour brq libbility Under such OrdinmOe for pre&mie upon poUeie8 issued thereunder to 84 Of ifs employees. These powers wore neither exprossl~ conferred, nor Tare they bssmg those 03eeesebr- lly or fbirly lmplle4 in or imi4ent to the parers expressly ybnfe4,+ nor sere they bsmg thore +essentinl to the naoompllshmmt oi the deolbred objeots bJ3d pUp0Ses OS the oorporb- tion -- not simply contenlent but lnbispensbble.+* 82noe there 18 no express p4mer conferred upon sbia Authority to create 8 retirement fun4 for its employees, it is our opinion that it cannot, under its irapUe4 authority, create or hbnile said fund, an4/or distribute sbmo blong the lines suggest04 In your letter, and the exhibits thereto bt- tbched. ,,:----.:. . f y; ,;j :Tr"Rx ;I- \ ,.;``,y,``,i vu\.\ \;.. .:.' Gee, W. Baraus 7-5 23) 1942 Asslstbnt GW&-Ml *Fp;y3``.u '-