Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

OFFICE OFTHEAmORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS
AUSTIN
x=z
mn. 2. 0. Allen
Dlrtrlet Attorney
OQiBiOB Of thill
atters, haa been
the title 0r "County Audi-
ked for all 8UpFlfbtt
0 blanks, reoorda, 6nd
de rariow afflaera for
tive deelaratioa requiringf oaqetitive bids QILall ptxr-
ohae8 by the Qounty Of thr ited deaoribed. The rtetde,
however, doe8 not psrt16ularfze aa to the aanaer ar &cram
o flfr eutfug
euo h.
ktiale MS9, Revieed Civil Btatuteo of Texas,
wur llkewiae orig¶.aally enaotad by the 8tme Legidfituro,
under tbr 6aIUe tQtle, eontainiag the esaargenoy provlnion
rllawing pwOhaae# by the Oowty, Wltbouf adVerti&Ig t0r
Ron. 2. D. Nlsn, Page 9
coarpetltire bids, when not In exoesa o? #50.00.
This latter a?tlolo was amended by the S7th
Legirlature In 192J. (Ada 19t1, page 16S), whareDy the
snerganoy p?ovIdIon now allow6 purohaaea by the oounty
not iu exoeaa of $150rO0, In 06aea of an 4morg4aay,
without 4dv4ttIaIng ror ooapetitive bids.
Art1014 1659, aupra, 001 raada:
.*Sugpllea of ever7 kind, road and btidge
aatsrial, or 6~ other amtarial, for the me
of aald county or my 0r its offioera, de-
partments, or I natItutIon8 mumt be purohased
on oompetltire bids, tha contra& to be award-
eh to tha pa?tl who, In the judgmnt of ths
oomlaaianera oourt, has aubzitted the laeat
and beat bid, The oouaty auditor shall ad-
tsrtiae for a period o? two week8 In at least
one daily mmapape?, published and elroulated
In the County, for auoh 8upplIsr and rmterIa1
aooordlng to apeolfioatlona, giving In detail
wlmt la medad. Suop advertisements shall
state where the apeoIilioatIon6 are to be found,
and shall gIr4 the tIm4 and plaoe for reoeiv-
ing suoh bids. Nl auoh acrr~etltlve bids
shall be kept on file by the oaunty auditor
as a pert or the rsaorda of his cbflce, and
shall be subjedt to lr&pdotIon by any one
desiring to see th4m. Copies of all bid6 re-
oslrsd shall br turrIl6had by the aounty ruditor
to tha aotmty judge snd to the oomalsaionsfa
oourt~ and whhenths bids reoefvsd are not
64tiEfUOt3v t0 th4 66Id judge O? 4OWt;l
oumIe8fonare, tho auditor ahall rajeat said
bids and re-advertlsa for n4w bids. In oasss
of mergenap, purohasea not In exoeaa of one
hundred and fifty dsllarn may be ma68 upon
requIaItIon to b4 approved by the oomhaslonera
oourt, without adve?tIsIng for ompetltire bids,*
It is observed thst Artiole lbS9, aupra, I6 a
general st8tute, a:plyIng to 6upplIea of ers?y kind, pur-
abased by the aounty, and providing for the memar of pur-
Han. 2. ??. Allen, Page 3
ahaaes thareof by ocap+tItIve b.iJs, and providing for 6n
enarganoy. R4no4, In the abaenor of ap4oIf IO afp’tutea
applying to legal blanks, statIone?y and alail~ SUpplleS,
and providing for the amine? a? purohase thereof by am-
pstftlve bids, this gansral atatut4 would ooBtro1 the
mttar. The oorreot rule of atntutory oonstruotlon~ In
such 0asea, Is stated In the opInIon of Z;x part4 Townsend,
144 t3Y 628, 641, as r0iicrmt
“It, Is also well eetabllahsd that, where
one statute deals with a aubjeot In oeeprs-
henaive tema snd another statute daala with
a portion of thr aam aubjeot In a more dafin-
Ito way,. the two should bs reed together, ii
poaalble, with a rlbw to giving afloat to a
consistent legirlatira pallay. H&aver, If
thers Is anjr maemar oonfllot'betwc~n two
auoh lawa, the aaola I wIl1 prevail ovc)r the
general statute. Where ths apeoial statute
is later, it ~111 b4 regarded as an rroa~tlon
to, or qualIiiastIon of, tht prior gene?al
one, and, when ths general eot is late?, the
ap4oIsl will b4 oonatrusd au remaining an ex-
oaptlon to Its terms, tit&64 it 18 rspealed
la e=reas words or by iprplioation, t Cyo.
SF, 1151; Rod&era vs. United Statsa 2% U,
S. 83, 2.8 Sup. ct. sari, 48 L. 96. 818; Roa4n-
arms vs. U. S., lb!3 u. 9. 257, 17 sup. ct.
302, 41 L. Ed. ,700t Lazonby vs. SmItheg, 1Sl
Yo. App,. zas, 131 3. *. 708.’
There a?4, howover’, epeoitio statutes nlating
to this subjeot, providing both for the purahaae of auoh
auppllea by the Commlsaioners * Cou?t Itself, and also for
ths sumhas of auoh supplI4s by the rsrlous cbfioera of
the county with the requimmsnt that auoh roust be approved
by the Comlsslonsrs' Court.
%4 shall fiwt discuss the statutsa pertsluiug
~o&uhasea of lu0h auppll4a by the CommIaslonera~ Cotmt
l
In 1907 thsra was enaoted by the 90th tegIalatu?e,
what are ROW
Artiolea 3388-2359, Re?Ired Clrll Btetutea of
Texas, inoluaIre (Aota 1907, peg4 ?.!M-2341, under the title,
WCoumianionera* Court-Authorlzlng the purahsse of Station-
ory, Eta., By”. A?tiolas 23813 and Z3S9, thsreo?, read as
Hon. 2.. il. Allen, Page 4
follovm I
“Art. W38. The oommissioners aaurt .riy
cn order entered of reoord, my oontraot &J
hereinafter presoribed, with some sultaple
person or persons to rupply the couuty with
blank books, all loge1 blank6 and stationery
aa may be required by 1aw to be iurnlahed the
oounty ofilelalr.
*Art. The acrnmlseionsre oourt ahall
esao.
ldvertlae, at least
onoe lu every twa peers,
for sealed p0pOtWd8 to furnieh blank books,
legal blankr, stationery and such other prlnt-
lnfl ea my be required ior the county rar the
term of auah oontraat, and Shall reoeive smper-
eta bids too the dlffmrent Olaea&e bereinaftsr
deaignatsd. Suah advertisement she11 be medb
by the oounty clerk, who ehall notify by re-
&Wn+ed lsttor, each neviepaper and jab print-
ing house la thr oaunty, and et least three
8tSitiOn8~ and jWinftill5 hoU8e8 in the St&e,
of the tiB8 said aontraot fs to bm awarded,
an& of the probably mount of su3pllea needed.*
These st~abuter being speoifio enRotineUt6 Fe&it-
ing to hlsnk books, all 18ga1 blanks, ana atetionery, the
prOVisiOn thereof wcUld COntral the method Of purohaae
by ths CaElmiB8iOners’ COUrt Of 8UCh 5Uppli88, togather
with the Eethcd of securing competitive bid8 therefor.
lirtiolet! 238P-2367, iIlO1UZdV0, SWm, do not
however, contain emergenoy prcfvisione ee are round in
ArtiOle 1639, SUjWQ~ yile than have the quastion 88 to
whether or not the emergenoy prorislone of Article 1659
would apply to purohasee of euoh supplies by the can-
lEiB8iOner8' COUl?t Of thhe OOUllty. It io mealiest, that
it we8 ths leglalati.ve intention that Article 1659 was
to apply to the purchases Of 8upp1ie8 of every kind by
the county, in thb absence of speoifio statutes, draling
with portions of the II~IE~oubjeot, As we have noted,
ArtiOle8 2358-2367, inclusive, supre, deal with a portion
of such aubjeot as to the manner of puroheae and of cieour-
lng ouiqetitive bide. Such 8tatut.88, however, do not
deal with suoh portion ot the subjsot a8 to an emsrgenoy.
. . 842
Han. 2, I). Allen, Pam 5
Eeaoe, ar to such, the gsnerel statuts, Arti ie 1659,
supre would apply, and the emrrgrnoy pro~is Poas of
Artioia 16119, would bo applicable to puroh.ases by the
OCmati8SioaerS~ aourt of the oounty of stationery, 1s~1
blsnks, and liks supplier.
lta than hare the quest ion asked br you bs to
whether of not the hwdiete oesd oS unavailable eupplies
b the aouaty is aa mum eaoy, wlthln the purview oi Arti-
a I e l(189, aupre, warrant L a pumhazo of awh supplies
by the oonaisslaaers~ oourt without amplying with the
re uirement of the statutes pertal- to aompetitivo
bl Pa. 'It is our opiaion that suah a situation 1s an
emergbnoy, within Artiolr 1659, suprii, but that the
oorPmlaylandrsc*aaurt would ba authdrlree, without aomply-
ing with the rsqulremnta of Artiales e568-ZS67, lnoluslve,
supra, to pumhass only suffiofent supplles to smet ths
emergenay need8 of the aouaty, during the tima neuessar-
ily involved in purshaslng auoh supplies in lo c o r deno e
with the statutory nqulreaents aa to the method of
purehaae end a8 to the scouring oi ooapetitlva bles
therefor.
We am turn to the statute authorizing the
purohase ot ruoh supplies brtbe officers of the uouatp,
rubjeot la thr 8ppIW61 Of the OOEd68iOnerS’ OOWt.
Artiolr 3899b, Seotioa 1, Vatnon’s Annotated
Civil Shtutes, reads es follows~
*There shall be alhfee to County Judges,
Clerks OS the Distrlot and County Courts,
3heriffs, County Trsasur~rs, Tax Asssasors
en4 Colleators suoh books, stationery, in-
aluding blsnk isi bones find blank aaaplelnts,
aad oirlee Ournlturs as my be neaeasery far
their offices, to be paid for on the order or
the Commfr8fowre Court out of the County
Tmasury; and aultable offiarr shall also be
provided by the Cosdssionets Court for said
oifioera et the expense of the aountp. And
such books and statianery 68 are neaessary
in the psrfarmsnae of their duties shell also
br duruishsd hBtiO88 of the Peeoe by B~tAid
-..
843. .
XOII. Z. D. Allen, Page 4
C~ssioners Court, Pravlded all purehsbs:,
herein must be appzvved by Cotissie?Wr8
Court, and must br lsade under the prorlaions
of ArtSoh 1659, Revised Civil Statutes oi
mxas, 1985,’
Thlr statute coats&u late6 the purshass of the
stems enumerated therein by tl e offlorrs al the runty
as is showa by the requirsslent that all of suah purchases
must be approved br the CencnlssIoners~ Court. Wther-
more, that all suoh purohases must be in aaoordanae with
the prmIsion6 of Artlole 1650, supre. Suoh statute,
last mentioned, aats out the~manner 0.f l freoting the
ecmpotitlra bid roqulramants, and 5110 provideis for an
energeaay. It Is our opinion that the laPadiete mod of
unavUlable supplies is an smerg8nay and that pwhases
o? ls&al blaake statIonerg an4 s&as ~uppllss sould
be made wlthont’oom lying dth the oompetitire bid m-
qulremsats of &tIa Pe.1559, Supra, but that only eufti-
oieat supplies aould be purahased in suah manner a6 are
waesaary to meet the emergenay need of the ofiiOar dur-
ing the time neoeesarlly Involved in purshasfng suoh
83311SS in acoordanae with th8 S8@.TSIQ8lit Of ArtIsle
1658 as to the mnner of eff6atiqg the rtatutory ocanpe-
tltive bid requirements.
In your letter you a611 our attention to Arti-
ale 3899, SeatIon (b), Vernon’s Annotated Cirll Statutes,
whioh I8 applioable to MohIta County, a salary oaunty.
It is our opinion that this artiole does not oreata a new
end a different method of purohaee by the oounty, or its
offiaera, of legal bkmks, stationery and similar eupplies.
The statutr does not treat a eolfioellg oi legal blanks,
atatianery, and siailar 8uppf is* es ars speoIfIoally
enumerated in Artiole 58QQb SeatloU, supra, l?or does
the statute make any provldan tar oo&etitIte bids and
$0 8OWtI'W it a6 psrnritti~ 6 OOUBty OffiOSr t0 purshase
rtatlonory, lsgl blanks an8 sisdler auppliss, an e lnonth
to month basir, would abrogate the oompstitlve bld atatutea
hersinabovr aottrd. It is signliloant that Artiole 3899,
SsetIon (a), Vernon’9 w30tatee Civil Statutes; SpeoliI-
0614 mention6 UtatiOnery WbsIWM &tiOh 5899, 8eCtiOn (b),
SUpIU, dOSS UOt d0 SO.
You ere therefore respsatful a&viPed that it
Ia the of this Departmeat that 11 the purohase
opinion
o? la& blanks, 6tatIoneTy end similar SUpplilS by the
~wmisaioners~ OOIl& Of thr OOUnty, itrelf, ii3 OOntrOlhd
.
lion. z. 33. tilesn, Page 7
by the prorlslons of Artiolss 235%~2367, lnoluslre;
rupre, aa to the manner of suoh purohaear and t+’ man-
1181:OS ambating 0t85pditfrr bid8 thereunder; u htr-
ther that the emergenop pro~lsfana of Artiole Y659 are
applicable to purohasea by the ocmmisnioners.* court OS
rush rupplcs~ and (a) that the purohnaa of suoh sup-
plier by the aounty ottiaere is eontrollea by Artlola
3899b, Sootion 1 supra requiring euoh purohaees to
ba approved by tim ooa5ls*ionere’ oourt and to be Qado
inm~oonformity with tha provisions of Artlole 1589 supra,
and rurthsr, that the emrrgenoy pwiaiona of Arth
1659, supra, are applioable to suoh purohases by tha
offlaera of the oounty, eubjset to the approval of the
ocemiseionere’ oourt. wu rurther paint out that it is
our 0 laion that the emergenay purohesea allowable would
be o n! y in 6uoh amounts a8 would be ne6esoarg ta meet
the neaqs of the- oounty, OP of an imS’lrldual officer,
during the time nsaemarily involved in the purchase of
ruoh supplies In eoafdnaity uith the. rtatutory require-
mnts. In no event 00tia such euuergenoy purohasaa exoeed
tha sum o? One ~unUred and Fifty Doollarr.
We trust this ratisfaotorlly answers your
questlona, and we rmain
Very truly yours
Asrletwt
ZCSrAU APa;3d