Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

I
.
oarrpc.wIlln
OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY
AUSTIN
GENERAL OF TEXAS
A- 81”RU
Y HonorabLe Albert J. Eutron
County Attomoy
Trinity County
Orotaton, Tata8
rpemdsnt sohool
havl.ng
artfos
more than
to (3ez-m aa
Of the board of
u of aaid distrfot.
opinion on th0 ram
Board or Trusteea
wiool Dfatriot
h0
B on 3eptuab.r
bank the dr-
the board with
re pase intrrest
by the &~apository, Are suoh
ees eligible to aarve on the
It not, o&n they be raBioveh
w u have also edvi6ea UBthatr
*The lest saholastio oemaua of the
Trtiity IndepamIsnt Sohool Dlatriot totalsd
one thousaM three hundred four (X,904)."
253
Eonorablo Albert
J. Eutron, Fa$,
8
having more than one hundrod nnd fifty (DO) rohola8tio8
is selected by the board Of trU8toes og,suoh distrfot.
such depository, or treasurer iau8t give bon& EQplWO$ by
ths board of trustees.
Tho 0091ponlaw has alwayrooognitod the Pangor
to the pubLl0 welfare arlring ~&an a publio 0ff10ial tit-
lrq in hi8 offlolal oapaoitp, m8kor a oontraot in w&h ha
~;$tsrertsd on aol¶traotr, mo.
lndivitlually. 6 Wi.ll.iStoa
. The Texas oourte applied thi8 rule at an early aato
Md dOOiaT@d 8UOh OOIItIXOt8t0 bs Wld. A8 8tated b
tico Llproomb, in Flanlklnw. Yokos (l&36), 16 TO%.
p.18zt
“A oontraot 'whidh wouldIgin him
(the publio 0rri00r) an ill$oSwt in an
0rrfOig sot to be dona by him would bo
,o,ugny to law and aouna Aorelltyc
Thi8 ooam0n law rub a8 It arrootr oorbin oirfoarm
and certain typos 0r oontraot8 ha8 boon oneotod into a pond
8tatuta; miolo $73, Penal Godo of Texas, wi~Uh readmt
*If any orrioor or any oouuty, or oi
My of8y or town shall bmoAa In any man-
aer pomniarily lntonsted in any cumtraotr
made by suoh oounty, dlty or torn, through
its!egonte, or othsrwi8e ror the oonotru+
tion or ropakor any b&r, rosa,, rtmet,
alley or house, or an$ otbr work Tudor-
takon by euoh county, oitp or town, or W
bsooma lntoreetodin any bid or~proporPl for
such work or in the puroh80 ox rale of any-
thing A&O for or on aooount or ouch oountiy,
oity or town, or who shall oontraat ror Or
reooltvsany money or propor8y, or tho npn-
Mntative or either, or any ozoololasnt or
advantags whatsoever in-Oonsldoratlon of suoh
bid, proposal, ootitraot,purchase or ~10, ho
shall be fined not loos than arty nor more
than flvo hundred dollar8.w
This statute has been oonnoientiou8ly oniorood by
the Oourtar IYeyeraP. walker S76 8. W. 006t alty or EdIn-
burg f. Ellle, 69 S. \v* (a) 40. In the la8tor 6080, JuUm
254
Be+srablo Albert J..Hutuon, Pago I
sharp, opeaklng for'the Gommlealon of Appeals, doolarod:
The rule prohlbltlng ublta oSSlOore
from being intereBt#d in QUt ti0 0Ont~OtB
should be sorupulouely 8nfoFOed.m
we believe, however, that the situation outllnad
In your letter does not eon18within tho purvlow OS Art&b
373, BUpFCi. It 18 tXU0 that tlXl8tOi38 Of #Oh001 di8triOtr
have been held to be oounty ofl’leetrs wlthln tho mu&g
of civil statutes, Sohorz v. Tolfor, 74 S. iR. (2d) 329;
Hendricks v. &t&e, 49 S.W. 705; FOwlOX 1. '2hOBW8 275,
S. W. 253; Walbr v. K’alkar, f34li 8. WI 624. But tha T0xar
Gouti of Criainal Appeals has nSuaeQ to adopt 110llfrral
a coaatruotlon in oonetr a penal ltatuto. Sa W t4
Stato, 80 Tex. trim. , 188 9. Vi,1.002that oouxt
held that a treasurer or M indopsrrdont88hsoi &iBtXiOt
was not lncludod within tho $o%!m"auy oounty troamror*
a8 rOWid i!ttiiOi4t m% Or B&~ROti8Ob,C~iEi~ s~tUtO8
0r mu. See our Oplnlon IOU.&Ui6@, oo@y,ar uhioh 18 on-
01080& horowlth.
ft la lilcewlseto b& notlood that Artioai SW
dOff8 no% rsior to all types of oontraots in whit& the pub
110 oSSloor may bo inter08t8d,,bUt is limited to “any 0001
traodr * l + Sor the oontiruo*lcin or repair Or,? pge,
rod street, alloy or house, ot say other work *
any bid or propoqal Sor suoh work-or In tho
aal0 of anything * * *." A oontraat dth n
dO&US81tW3' is flOtmob a OOIltraOta8 doBOr1bob iCthi8 Btat-
ute. Apply& the rule that penal mttotutss mmt bs 8triot-
1~ 00nstm8u, WC) are of the apiaon that mioi0 87s ,0r th0
Ptm& ~odo is not appllo+blo to the situation horo under
oon8ldoratlon.
Tho convorao oS the queetion asked by you was oon-
siderod by this department in eOnSorenQ oplnlon 80. 2785,
d&o& Beptembor 16 1929, appoarlng at pago 127 OS "PhoAttor-
ney Ceneral'o gublhahed report for l928-1980. iY13
quot. thlr
oplnloxlin.,
fill!
Vionorablo S.L.N. Xfirra hate f&ipWiI.itenbat
of Publlo ~BtTUOt~On, Auutin, TaxaS.
qear Str8 This will aokdaw~odgo reoslpt
of your letter of Septambw 10th. addroasad to
the Attol'ney Geneml. By thi.8 mvor, YOU auk
the opinion OS the dopartmnt a8 to whether a
EionorableAlbert J. Hutron, Page 4
stookholdsr or direotor of a oorporetlon
sellring, us degository or treasurer of an
Independent eahool alstrloC would be eli-
glble Tar appolntmauh and qualification
a6 trustee or said sohool district.
Tie a:.e of the opinion that the two
positions present euoh a aoniliot of lnteroste
PIG Lo prevent the holding,or the two relation-
ships at one end t&e sama tims. The trustees
of M independent eahool dlatriot have aa part
of tholr autp the t43ak: of seeing thdi the
treasurer or depository properly managea the
funa ona moneys or the school district. It
ie aloo inoumbont upon the truateee to sse
that thd mohool tunas are properly protooted
by bonda and that the solvienoyof the bonds
ana also the 6olvsnoy or the lnstftution
- should be wat,ohobattnr to the end that the
nonage eiay always be properly protooted.
Innumrrablr lnetanoee oould be recounted
when the peouniary intersala of a stook-
holder in a oorporatlou would away the trua-
tea to an act or ravorltlam, at least that
w unbiased and non-lntersstea trustee would
reeolve against mob bspository or treasureri
without attempting to enunsrats these various
obJaotione we oonaludr that upon the grounda
of public policy the tra positions are Imom-
pabible and that, thareiors, we met answer
your qieetlon by saying that a atookholder or
offitmr of a oorporrrtionacting as a depository
fox sn Independent sohool.dlstrlat would not
be eligible for apzoiatnent or electicn Gs
trustee of said sohcol district. 311 PIOr
opinions of this department to the cOntrP,rY
are expressly overrulei?.
Yours very truly
%. Dandy LawmWWs,
A$aictant I?ttOrn6y f%mral."
In oonoluslon, -*(I
bag t0 fiaViS6 YOU that in OUT
opinion (1') ths oontraot made by the Board of Trustee8 Or
the Trinity Indspendent,School Dfstriot deaisnatlng as d*-
pository the bank, three or whose directors are trdstess$
ie Told) (8) the trustees are not sub&at to OriPPLns;l.
Honorable J. Hutiwn, Page 5
prtmeoutlon under Artiole 573 or the Penal Code8 (3) upon
neoesaary findings of raot by a oourt or jury, the trustees
may be removed from office by the prooodurs provided by Ar-
tlola 5, seotlon 24 of ths Constitution or Texas, and Title
100, Revised Civil Statutes, 1925.
Youra very truly
ATTORNEY G’EN!UWLOF TWS
\I’<er
R. Koch
Aersistant
WRKIRS