Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
11
Honomble A. 9. Cole
County Attorney
Donley couaty
Clarendon, Texas
Opinion Uo. O-6031
ey County have as
passed by the,
onal dmsnlhPsnta,
ust what to dor
new laws pslrsed by the
iasloaelYl’ court uoa-
s fFom oau fwld to
as no election
titutioa).
violatloa
ssitxien ’ &are
la by S.-B;-No.
aad 39126 of
Cl+ Statutes OS Texart
-sQ?&~on 3. Cai the State gasoline tax monuy
which was alloaafei to the oountlan aa a Fanwto
Xarket road fund~be used by the Conrmis~iOnen’ Court
to purchase the a-S&at-of-way for county roads wh%ch
have not been daalgnatod or OKed by the Hlgbwy Dw
partauntas aFaxmto Nnrket Road?
Honorable A. T. Cole, page 2
“QURSTIOR 4. A number of years ago at a special
el4atlcm held Tor that purpose, the qualified votem of
Donley County voted an sddltionnl fifteen oent tax on
the hundred dollar valuatloa a8 a road malatenanw
f'und (Art. 8, Beetion 9, Con8tltutfon) subreqwatly
th18 tax vas omlttad from the l4vy for swarurl yearn
by the Cam.lssioner~~ Court as bslng unnec488acrry.
Can this additional fifteen cent Q&x nov be added to
the le~'vlthout havlng aaother Rl6ctlonO"
In response to aur request for adflltlonel inionmtloa
in ngard to Gu48tlons 3 aad 4, you nplfed ln part as iolZw8t
"In Se tember 1942 Donlsy couaty nwlv4d *OS&-
thing over P lO,OOO.~ar a refund on bonds and varmat8,
the prooeed8 of which had becnr 8pent ror bM.dgem ea
roads that were af'terwards de8IgMted a8 a part Oil
the State highway 8 at40 and t&mm over by the State;
ulQ refund b&a&p ia cad la the 'lateral Rosd Aocount'.
"Que8tion 3. Can the ,~awaty oomai88ionw~ us0
thlr money to pumhaao road machinnty top the eon-
struatlon and malntexunce of oeunty road8 en&for
the yurcham of right-of-way for other county roads?
“In the year 1907, at a specie1 slwztlon held
for that purpoao, the quallilsd voter8 of Douley
County voted a flf'teoa cent tat on the On* Hundred
Dollars valuationas a readmalntenance tax, a8 pm- "
vlded in Art. 8,. Sootloo 9, of the Ccuutltutl~.'
Thin tax vim Ieviod and aolleatsd for about twenty
years but for the part ton or tuelva yearn thla tax
bss not been levied, the tovaty tcu rate being eighty
oat8 or 1OBB.
“Qsstloa 4. Caa the oaaul88Ionen~ court now
add thla flitma cent tax, or a portion theroot, to
the 1945 levy, pvklng the rats in exae88 ot eighty
centa, without fimt submitting the ~quwtlon oi tha
flfteen~ceat road aulntomnoe tax to thm quallflsd
votsr8??
blo knou of no aw law pasasd by the last &gi8l6tUrO
authorizing the ooonl88Ionemi 1 oourt to oontlnuo to tna8fer monle8
from one fund to mothor vlthout UL rlootlon so long a 8no llectlon
in requeeted. Prior to the~amendment 0r Artlolw 8, Zkotlon 9, ol
the Con8tItution.of Texm, vhloh 18 hereInafter referred to, the
-i
123
Honorable A. 9. Cole, pags 3
CO5dSSiOXXtMI' OoiWt crould not 161$$8llytXUXlSf4r SnJ plo3M iroa OIla
fund to another. See Carroll ~6. Mlll.iaree,202 9. W. 501 , by the
supnma~ Court, also our apinions UQS. O-4763, o-5595, aad O-5422,
copies OS vhlch am enclosed herewith.
Artlale 8, Election 9 of the Constitution of Texas was
amended at th4 general election on November, 7, 1944. Under this
anendment~ com1l8sioner8~ courts are authorized to submit to the
voter8 whether or not the munty taxer reS4rred to in sald,Article
and Se&Ian of the Coa8tltutlon, that 1~. the twenty-Slve cents
for OOU&y purposes, fifteea CSntS fQr Wad8 and brldgeo, fiit8a
cents for juror, and twmty-five aents for pub110 improvements,
or a total of eighty o4at8, may be ahangedby ,inoreaslng OF de-
cnaoirrgthe sama as prov+dedin aeid awndwnt. We band you
heravlth copi% of PUP opinlcmsnos. O-6278 and O-6427, vhich aaa-
etru4 said ainendedArt1010 8, Seotloa 9 of the Cozmtltutlon Of
Texas.
The only penalties Ye lami of for a violation of the
pXWflSioZl8 OS the &V nLatiV0 to the tZ'UI8fOF OS COmty i\mdS
~from on4 fund to another without lavSulauthoritywould be a xe-
rawal frtm oSSloe,or eultr.onthe bonds OS the mwbems of the
ccam1ls81oners* aourt, is justified under t&o lav a5 set forth in
the r0ii0mg:
h'tiale 5970, Y.~h. c. s., pl'OVid@S il% WX't a8 fOll!XfBr
‘All di8triot urd CrOU!lty4bttOIViOy8,OOUaty
jUt@B, 00n4118810n.r8, alerka OS th4 district and
OOlUlty OOWtS and Sing1~ 014X'kS iI3 WUUtlOB Vhbl'4
OUO cl.l'k diaOhsl'@B the duties Of district aad
county alerk, oounty tnarunr, Sheriff, oounty
BWVeyOC, (LSSeBBOP, OOlhOtOl-, aaacttabls, Mtth
ad hide lnrpeator, justice of the per00 and all
county offlaers now or hematter exlrtlng by au-
thOrity(8ithW Of thQ COMtitUtiOtl OC l-8, ISBY b0
removed Srom oSS%ce by the jud@i~ of the dlstrlat
court for.lnaompe&enoy, offlolal aiBoonduat or be-
'aolpinglntoxlaeted by drlnklng lntoxlaatiagpauorr
as a beverage, whether on duty or nott . . .
b'tiCl4 5972 Of Said StitUt48 18 ~a8 fO11~81
"By *lnocmpotenay~ a8 U8.d herein 18 meant
gl’O8B i@lOlSUlOO Of OffiCtal dUtie8, OT 8X'OSS aan-
leSSnOB iIhthe dlsaha~ Of them) 0r.M OffiOW
may be found to be laaompetent uh4n, by rea8oII Of
SOD30 8OriQUS phJ83.441 OP lwat51 dofoot. &lot OxiSting
at the tirpe OS hiB .l.ctiOa, .hebar,beca~n unfit or
1.
124
lionorsble A. P. Cole, mge 4
uaabla to dl*oltaFga pawiI@tw end proper4 t&e &&tieS
Of hiB OffiC%.'
tit1016 5973 Of W&aid+StUt48 18 IS SpiiOVBl 1-
"By ‘offiota ti8COtldU~t,’ 68 Used h%r%ln vlth
nreren~e to aounty orrfcer8, is meant any mlawiul
behavior ln reletion to the duties of hi8 oftice,
til.rta in it8~ OhBmater~ Of My Offiaer intIWt9a
la w maaner with the -8 tret1oI.iOf jurtice, or
the %XeoutiokI Of the &MiS) aaB inabdea anj Vilful
or corrupt Sellum, refusrl or negleat 0s an officer
to perform cay duty enjoined on him by lau."
SW a50 th% SOnOUIItg d%Ol8lOA5t V%. o’mm%
74 S. W. (26) 146; St&k, vs. Jordan,28
9. W. 921, urlt
dle1al8s%d; and COmUtt VS. State, 55 3.
W. 160, wit dia.
EliSS%d.
It 18 pOSSibl% for the membemof the coPrPli88ioners'
courtsto be liable 6.ntheir biUl&S,~md th0 lY’d%S Or &W gW-
Walng such O%US%S Of &OtiOll (LX'%fully Set forth in our OPi.Atozl
no. o-4715, a copy of vbioh la o~clos6d herewith.
The OOUAty G~BSiOAWS do AOt Sh%X’% th0 TdS% g-ted
00miy 0rricidLs by senate Bill no. 123, aatemmg hrtialea 3891,
3902, M4 3912% Of ths &~Vi848 civil sWUt%8 Of %a& we htIUd
~~uh~ewlth copies of our Op'pioM SOS. O-6666 end O-&8& vhlch
Said oplalaa Ro. O-666 %I.80 de.818 vith Howe Bill NO.
84, &h %Sd%lXdS Artlole 2350 end pWWld%S for en lAama84 in the
8alarles 0s county O~i8SiOAWS. -we haAd you hemtlth our opinn-
ion MO. 0-6622,whloh 8~180 aon8truea House Bill go. 84.
In oameatian with %UOh Utir]l tIlOlYla8%8, hOWeV4r;yoUr
att,en&n 18 dlreated to the fact, as set forth ia said opinio31
Ho. O-6666,that the ootmtp budget must bm enmaded before ruoh
inCI’OaB~8, OP q Of t&D, MIl b gXWkt%d. WS alSO hand YOU here-
with copies of the Opi.lli~S therek, reSerr%d to deeling vlth the
BmeMmeat Q? the aounty budget, to wit, nor. O-5189 aad 0-5053-A.
hrtlole 6674&2 Of v%17k011’8 &UkOkt%d ciVi3 stitUt48 18
b PBFt a8 fOiiOW8~
“All roads Whlah prior to Juwary 2, l$il, had
not b4OOrae r prrt Of th% 8 St4E Of l?48ignrt.%d”
St6t%
mghV%~S, SOI? OOJQ%AieAa4 L this Aat am aalled
'lat*nlroadr'.
.,'.
,T'. .~_
125
Rmowble A. T. Cole, pa@ 5
IA our Opinlo~No. O-3606,a defirrition OS "lateral
:ouds" similar to that above set out vas being aoaaldemd %nd
the Sollwlng hoXdlng, vhlah v4 here ndopt, km8 mad81 /
"It is our opinion th%t the l%t%rel ror;dS to vbich
the Aot nrers c%n be nothing @iore then such road8
as constitute a part of the aounty mad agatea as
cantradlatinpluiahsd rm the state HQhvay System;
thwefon, v4 think the fund% al1ocsted to the cm-
tie8 for the U84 oa Lsterel ro%ds Under the prori-
SiOXiS of th28 Act vould be r48triOt.d to the u80 011
r'mds coAstltutlng a prt 0r the aowity SyStelU end
OV4r Which the COUllty OOB&88iOAW8' COUPt ha8 jUl'-
i8diOtiOll.
.Artlals 6674q-7, subdwl8iol3 (h) 0s said statute,' mad%
i.33
?Bi-t,88 SO11wSZ
!$&ISepteaber 1st OS %aCh y%%* aster the Boluvl
A~B paid-off and dlsaharged all ellglbleobligations
matur$ng~duH.nigthe precedfnf,fZ8culyerr,to&3ther
i:th the int%I'%St olX SUCh obllg%tloas aad the Sinl-
lng SuAa l'l3~UiraElCQtS accruing thezmn Out of. the
County and Road District Iii&?%y Fund, %ny surpltu
.nm~lalng lnsald fund ov%rand'aboveThr%e i8lXlloa
($3,000,000.00f DW.ara ah%11 be ret r5ide aud ondlt-
ed by the.'&ate Tmamanr to th% rsspectlve fuuda
h%reln%Ster u&mod as foUw8: one-half(&) of rsld
SUrph8 ShaubO tMUkferr4d t0 theR&t%Rlghv%y
pund, and one-half (l/2} %h%ll be oredlted to ro, aa-
aount to be~known a% the *Iaterel Road Account* to
be dirtrOuted and expended as hereinafter provided.
"A% SOOXl aB practla%ble %ft%P th%'pI!LSS%&JOf
this Act ap4~befo~y) the I&era1 Reed Account la al-
located to the countle8, th% Boerd shell determine
the %mount eauh county and eachdef'inedKiad dir-
trlct has p%ld %iaa% January 1, 1933, oader the pro-
VtSiOM OS ChsptOr 13, Acts OS the Ttlird Called %38-
slan of the 42nd ugiStitlW%, as em%nded, tward it8
debt retvlae upon bands vhlch at the time of pwamnt
v4re e-b14 to psrticlpete in the County %nd Road
Dlattiat Iilghvay Fund,,and lhell desluct from the
amount~peld by Such County or defined road dlstriot
say and all %dV%UC%k?Mit8 med% by the Board to meh
oaunty or defined m&d district in adjUBtil3& r4-
runding,or prepaying the eligible obligation8 OS
such county or defined m%d dletrlct, cad after m%k-
lngsuohdeduatlozm, tha Rmrd shllamdlt theLstela1
Road Amount of %ach county Or dollnod m?%d dlattiut
vlth the net Ml%nc% contributed by suoh county or
road dlstrlot tward the mtlr%wmt of said eligible
I
1
126
flonomblo A. T.-Cole, Puge 6
tlonorebla A. T. Cole, Page 7
by s%oh aov.&y or rwd distriot prior to January
2, 1939, the p~oosadds of vNch vem aatmlly expez?&
ad ;a tha ooaetruutiou or fuproveumat of leteral~ oountg
roada, nmy ba used by tho oountg under dLrootion op
the C~orionara Court for bny one or all of the fol- 1
loving purposesr (a) for the affqu&aftlan of r&&-of-
vayu foraouutyl&te~l mads snd fc~? the paywnt of
g~;~;;l et&ma taoimed themfor pricm-80 January
7 b) far tb0 oowtrwtio?l OP fQlprovemsnt of
e&r&y lsteral roedag (4) PW the purpose of supple+
nmnting Stands appropriated by the U&ad States Cmrq-
mimt for WaSas Prcgrwe Adm%tiatmtfcn highvap ~o*strw-
tien,Qad auuhothergmnttn 4fPmleralFunds es my be
nrsde evailsble to the oouaties 4f thL8 atate fW'aounty
laterel rwd oonstruoffonf end (d) tortbs~ptupsee of'
ooopertatiag vlth the State ZU.ghmy Departmat end the
Fedsral~G4verment fn the oermtm&iou Pi Sgm-to-
market.mads. Provided thQtvhenwaahSisnd8 era wad,
for the ooaetmmtlon~ar inrpraversratof oounty latoral,~
mudu, suah aoaotrmttcm or ieproMmsot ehall be c&e
txldqr the $UpervZSl4n or a ooaipqnt oogfIb36r.
%Wtsr awh allooetioza he6 tmea'ririide
to &J
serrdrcll0ouutLtasLo the stete the Boiwd shall Ln writ-
%ng notMy the ChaJsPlan 4S the C5iesloaera C4urtoO
” eatoh oounty of the amount vhfah has bseo credited to
thQt oouuty. After reoaivfng said notlna, tba Cmi8-
aiowmCourt 8h51f,vtthitlrrfxtY (60) da-, notWy the
Beard OS the msmner in wbioh Lt h8e axeraised its qtion
as to the o&a or awe apeolflad usma & said m4aey p$+r-
mitted undor,thls Aot. _ ',.~ ..'
Yuah ta4nep.ahall,be applied pro-rstri to the
payment of the dobt eervfoe req&ments of all issues
OF l&tare1 mad itrdoWm3neus oi the oouaty md all Ia-
oludod deSinm3 road dfatrfete, U/t&a proportfoa that
the debt fisrvioe roqutmaeata ofpwiah laaua beam to
fiba 8ggmgate debt/osrPioert?qtilreateuts of SU issues
for that year. When anY 1ma6 of obflgationa whioh vi11
mcaiw aid uud8r th%a 884ti4n i8 alY?e8dg listed vLth
the B4ard 4PCounty end DUUziot Road Indebtedneae, tha
Boeti ohe~laradtt the UmOuritsppllanble to'%aid Lesue
to the aooount ot,safd ia8Ua in the Stats Tret?IhWY. AS
to ell othoo laswa of obligations, vhloh will. xuuoltle
old urder this subne4tlon (h), the ComaLaaianera Court
SonoreblsA. T. Cole, Page i3
of the rp84lflo oounties effeoted sh8ll h8vu tha
right, if so desired, to utilize ths fclo~litiea 4f
the State Bosrd of GcWuty.and DiatrLat Raad Indebtud-
7 awe ia paying the amounts,4f prinstp81 end interest
on aid Um18s subutoutially in the mmnsr that pay-
ments 8~8 effcratsd as to auoh eligibleobligations.
"In the ev& ~that the Sunds io ~eoeived by tha
oounty from the Loteml,Rcrad Amount are in ozumas cf
the amount requiredto meet t@e pa+%aaipal-mud interest
of its olatufing reed be obltgatlons for-ths next Sls-
osl year, the Cmmissloasra S&u& my elcwt to UBD sllch
exaess money alloaatsd to it f%w the Ister6l Roed.Ao-
oount:-, and in suoh sv!mt, it ahell Ilottfy,.lnwrltlng,
the sefd B48rd,.of its eleutlorr to tpoks use 4f said
money. ~3Jhemllpo1~,aaSd Board bh8llraaft8sLd bialsnoe
to bu utilized far such purpose to the 04&&y Trwsumr
of such aounfip, said noaey to bs dsposLted by tho County
Trsa8uraria8ooo~anaevithlari eti the s8me 8hallbs
utilized by tW oounty, ectiog: through the Cmimissioziem~
Ctmrt, for th8 bonstrurrtion of lerter8t wnkds. E8oh
The eotwl oost of awh aid la supervtsion
ah8llb8 I;lld by tha wunty a# 8Ohat?gs eg8inet.its
pr4jeet." '~
Artlo3.s
667kp&j M sald,stutut8,made a8 follavar
"It shall be unl8wSul for say 04unty J
any County Cotfanlssl4ne~,,vhiloaotlng in hi 7 oSLZi1
oapaoityoc otherwi8e,to use any norwy out of the
L8teral RoadAooountSorprnypurposoextrepttho pm-
po8es enuwrated la this Aot. If eng bounty Judge OT
aogCountyC~ssfonarshall~ovfngrJrexpsnd,or?uoe,
or vote Sor the us8 oil or agree to sxpsnd or use any
, 8~ 0r lp0~y aaorulng to t-any00uatg ia thio etata r.r0i8
the Letor Road Aaoount, for auy purpore mt 8uthorlwd
by this A4t, or ah.811 knowingly xmks any Se188 stet8rmnt
oo~otiagthtb qxpenditum 4f~anyau4hm4ney, h8sholl
bo deemod guilty of a fslong, Sad upon oonviotloa sh811
be puulahed by oonmwment ia la30Mate Penltsntiary
for not less then tvo (2) yusrs n4r more thml flM (5)
years."
._
Ronorable A. T. Cole, pago $9
Ok oplnlon Ro. O-3537 cont&ns the follovln~ holding,
which ve here adopt:
’ “9bhy Eutchfusan Couuty legsllgexpendmoneya
derivedthruughssid H. B. 688, nov held In its
Lateral Road Fund for (a) removlag the old floor
of a bridge, purcbnalng oaterlals for a nev floor,
and conatructiag (Laew floor in this br~ia&e$and
(b) for mterlala and labor in m&sing repairs to
such bridge In addition, to a nev floor? *
%a advise as followsr
: :“ti ths e&y cane of AFMWMXS County v. :Colman-
Pu1tcm Paeture Ccmpany, 191 S. w. 553, it MS had
that the Conetitutfm, Article 3, Seation 52, 8%
amended in 1903, authorlziug cmmtles to Issue bonds
for road construction purpoeee, empovered such~ooun-
ties to build necsasaxy bridges-as a part ai suoh
road, and it has becozm settled lav that bridges are
an essential part of any road. Therefore. it is our
ophiou that the funds allocated to the county through
ths lateral Road Account OS the BoamLaf County and
Mstrict Road Ijldebteduess are available for the pur-
poses enumerated in pow question. ~,
“Follovlng the aam line of reasoulug,’ ve ~thlnk
the county would be fully authoriaed to u8e auoh
moneys for the purpose of acpulrimg r-t-of-my to
roads forming a part of the Couztp Lateral Road Syateu.’
We also here adopt the follovlng from our opinion No..
O-2778;
‘Art. 6741, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes,
ppovlderiI
**The commisaloners court may make and enforce
all reasonableand noaeasaryrulea and ordersfor
the vorklng tmd repalrlng of publla roads, and to
utlllze the labor to be wed and ~~onsy expended
thereon, not Za confllot with the laws of this State.
Said court m!~y purchase or hire all necessary road
machinery, tools or team, and hire ouch labor as may
be needed in addition to the labor required of citi-
zens to build or repa%r the roada. (
.-
..
_.
. 1130 j
Honorable A. 4. cola, page 10
“lie quote~froa Tex. Jur., Vol. 21, p. 630, as
follova:
“‘Subjeot to any local liv, commlaalcinera~ co&a
are Invested vlth the paver and chargod vlth the duty
or cresting and malntataing edequate roads. They are
comanded to lay out and eatabllsh roada vhen neces-
a-7. These vorda xean “mike, create or found per-
uanently” -- that la to say, they tw’eeaqmv8Z’ed to
do all such acts as may be necaaaary to +natruct
permanent roads. They are further dlrocted to “ex-
eralse general control over all roads, hlghvaya,
ferries and bridges in their counties. ’ Accord3.nglg,
vhare a statute appllaable to hlghvaya merely ampovera
~hhnxulsaioners9 courts to exeroiso their povars .in a
particular vay, I$ vllZ be uonatmed aa being aubordi-
nate to the genem31 povor of control, and not mpnda-
tory. Sikxllarly~ the doctrine of implied pavers en-
ablos coaaslaalonera~ courts ‘to do all that la necea-
ssrlly incidental to their declaredpavers of road
improvement and regulation. The lltalta of their
povera, hovever, are reaohed vhen they exceed what
may fairly be implied. .,
“‘Just aa in ‘inattcrainvolving the eatabllahment
of a hlghvay, the admlnistlrstlva povera of ccnmlasloner?r~
courts are exercisable SCOOrd&3 to their dlswetlon .
vlth which the courts reMin frtm interfering except
upon a clear shoving of a b u se. l l l I
. ‘.
“&mater v. &opee, 202 9. W. 1039, afilmed 2i7 S. Y.
373. .’
“It vi11 ba noted that.~psragraph II. of Art. 6674s~7,
su;)m, apaalilcally provldea.that the noneya allocated
to each county fron the lataral.rwd account shall be
wed by said aounty first for pay&g the priacIpaly In-
terest and slnlslng fund z?aqulrarmrntsmatwIng during
the fiscal ‘year for vhich euch money vaa allooated to
such oounty on bonds, varmints, aad ,othar,legal obllga-
tlona farmed prior to January 2, 1939. As stated In
the statute, it vaa the Intention of the *glalature to
daslgznte and set apart sufficient money to pay 0fr and
discharge said outstand- obllgatlons Incurred SOP
right-of-wep acquisition. It la furthar provided that
funds remalnlng in the lnteral road fund of any oounty
after the payuent of said right-of-vay obligation may
-.
honorable A. T. Cole, page 11
be used by the county, under the direction of the
comdsaionera~ oourt for any on0 or all of the pur-
poses as sqt out In the statute. Two of the pur-
poaes for vhich ths wing Sund tuey bo expended
as provided In the, atztute Is SOP the acquisition
of rIghta-of-vay for county lateral roads and for
the mgmsnt of legal obLigatIona Incurred therefor
prior to January 2, 1939, and for t&19 constructIon : :
or inprovement of county laterf31 roads.
%hen the cOm&.esioners~ court of (I county
elect$ to use the ctoney allocated to it Sron the/.
lateral road account for the aonatmctlon OF IEP
provement of oounty latenrrl roads, lt~ Is our opiu-
Ion that the COurt my exercise all implled~powera
that Is necessarily iacldmtal to their declared
power of conatructlng or improving af county lateral
roads. .:ThereSorer, you are respectS’uUy advised that
It Is the opinion OS this departmon$&hat the cow
21lszb~srs’ court may use the funds reclainiq in the
lateral road Anna of a county to purch%ae road EJEP
chinery for the maintenance of lateral mada vhen
such machinery Is necessary SOP the maintenance,
construction OP Improvement of the county lateral ~’
roEda.”
It la our opinion, therefore, that ym queatlon No. 3
should be, and it Is hereby, asnwered in the aSSImnatfve.
Article 8, ZiectIon 9 of the Constitution of Texas au-
thorizes the Ccannisslonersg Court to levy varloua ta%es baaed
Upon the One Hundred Dollars valuation, to vlt, AOt mom than
254 for county purposes, not exceeding 156 for roads and bridges,
not exceeding 154 to pay jurors, and not exceeding 25$ for pub-
lla tiprovementa, makl.r& a total .oS AOt more i&m 806 for such
Said Artlole and Section further provide that the
~~%&a may author&o an additional amount of ad ValOmm
taxes t0 be levied and oollocted for the further malntsaance OS
the public roads, provided, that a msjorlty of tho qualified
acting voters of the oounty voting at en eleotlon to be held
for that purpose shall vote such tax, not to excoed 154 on the
one Hundred Dollars valuation of the property subject to taxation
ln such county.
Artio1o 2352; V. A. c. 9. authorizes each and all of
the taxes above referred to vhIch go to make up the total OS so+
,~,~
..
--
.Yi
x32
Uonorsble A. T. Cole, pag8 12
m the One %mired Dollara valuation, as above set out. In
adition, It wmtal~a the SollovL~g provlslonsr
“They my levy an additlonel tax for road pur-
posss not to exceed 1% on the One Zfuudred Dollars
valuntlon of property subject to taxation, under
the tiltatlona and in the masmez- provided for in
Article 8, 38otiOA 9 OS the CoAatitUtIOA ti in
pursuance of the Uvs rel8tIng thtmeto.m ‘.,
It Is evidently this additional 1% that vas approved
?y the voters of Donleg County IA 1907. The Saot that the Com-
mfmiionersI Court had not 'levied or collected this tax for the
past ten or twelve yeam doer, not , in our opinloa, aSSect its
Validity or pmN%nt Ssid COUrt from Aov leVybIg and OOllcCting
said tsx for the current -and ennulng yeara. We do not think
said Court would be authorlzed~to levy-pad colleot such tax
for past gears2 therefor@, your fourth question la,ansvered iA
the aSSIrn!atlve.
; IA coAn8otioA vlth our aAaV~2 to Question Ito.‘l, aAd
In further clarlflcatlon of the rules~of ISV governing the hmdllng
of said SuAds after they b8ve been re-alloosted 88 provided for IA
;:rtlcla 8, Section 9 of the CoAatitutioAcS Texas, aa meAded, you
areadvlaed as Sollouar ,’ ..:
‘When a cauntJ~‘votea to xw-allocate Its tax mtd vlthln
tine804 lImlt, it Is still IAhIbfted SrOm traAsSeming mOAey Srcm
any one of the Sour constltutlonel funda, that ia, General Fund,
Road and Bridges Pu~d,.Jury Rrnd and Permment Improvement Fund, a8
so re-allooatad, to Amy other fund. Likevise, the money co1locted
undor the speolal 154 'tax for roads and bridges may not be trens-
famed to any other f'uxd. IA other lords, vIaena tax la levied for
n particularpurpose, It ruay not be dlverted or used for another pur-
POSO.
Trusting that this aatlaf’actorily 8nsvera yOur Inquiry,
m-3 remain,
Vary truly pours,
ATTORRMGE3iEML OF TEXAS
._
m/JCP
Enclosure-11