Case Information
*1 Hon. D. H. Utlsy OpInIon NO. v-173 County Auditor Re: Authority 0r the commis- Clay county court or Clay Henrietta, Texas sioncrs’
County to equip the “Clay County Memorial HospItalW. Dear Sir:
I Your request for an opinion of this Department on the above subject matter Is aB followr:
“Clay County citizens have donated money and bought stook In a Hospital to be erected In Henrietta, same befw called Clay County Ysmorial Hospital. The aontract for erection of this building has been let.
“The County oovernment has no intezest ao rsr.. The Hospital Cowittee has oalled on the Commlsslonera~ Court for aid In aqu%p- : ping the laboratpry.
’ “Clay County has a contract vith the Wichita Fnl.ls Clinfc UoapItsl for the cere or Clay County’s inc’irents Hospitalization, which In 1946 amounted to $5,400.
“The :>~uestlon---Can SL.:y Sounty lenally Impmve- equip the la boratoxy out of Permnent ment Fund. on a contrbct nfth aaid Hospital care for Clay Coun)g’a Indllpents, until said County Is reimbursed ror money use6 In.*equlp*-* +--- pin said laboratory?*
We quote rrom a letter of J.pril 18th from Hon.- A. 9. Hodges, County SuPqe or Clay County, In answer to OUT rmpast for adaitioml information:
“In reply to your letter of April 12 In referenoe to Clay InvestIng money In eqaipment for a hospital owned by 8trek holdek. Wo have made ao ebntrrot with direatore at this *2 Him. D. ?I. Utlay, Page 2 v-173
time but before we put any money Into It we will have o contract with the dfrectors of this hospi- tal to the effect that It will be owned by the Qounty and the Title will be vested in the County until such time that County will be reimbursed hy services ~from t?e hospital for indigent patients. We at this t ims have to make a contract with out of Gounty hoapitnla to toke ccr,e of our patients whfch Is very inconvenient. The County proposes to pur- chase the naI.d Laboretory equipment out of the Per- manent Znprovement Fund .”
It has been repeutedly held that the Commission- ers’ Court is a Court of lI.mi ed jurisdiction and it may ii s is conferred by the Con- exercise only such authoritp ‘ir’e cite the follow- stitution and statutes of this State. Ing authorities:
Article V, Seo. 10, Tex. Const.; Art. 2351, Rev. Civ. Stat. of Texas; ‘Tex. Juris., Vol. 11, paSea 563-566; Bland vs. Orr, 39 S.X. 558; Nunn- ‘Warren PublIshin% Company vs. Hatohinson County, 45 3.w. 2a, 651; Ho’?6 vs. Cnmphell, 48 3.W. 2d 515; Lond.man vs. St&t~e, 97 S.X. 2P 264: El Paso VS. &lam, 106 S .:‘;. zd , 3O3: Reward vs.. Henderson Oounty, 116 3.;:;. 2d, 2731; Dobson vs. Marshall, 118 3.X’. Zd, 621; Mills County vs. Lam- pasas County, 40 3.ri. 404.
The authority of the Co.mfaIseIonarst Court to make a contract on the oounty’s behalf is strictly litn- Ited to tint conferred either expressly or by reasonable implication by the Constitution and statutes of this State, and a county may contract only in the manner on’ for the purposes provided by stctute and Is net bouna by a con- ;y2;;fep; ;y”,pyg?~,“: n”P;,“,~g;,:;; F;‘,‘; *;yo eci ios.
The authority of. the CommIssIoners~ Court to establish or enlarge a oou*ty hospital Is found under Chapter 5, Title 71, Ati. 4478, V.C.3. The provisions or said ArtIole pertain to only county hnepltnls end would not, therefore, authoriee the expenc?iture of ooun- ror the purposes 0r equipping; a hospital not ty rtis olunad or operated by tha oouuty.
We quote the r0110w* pertinent constitutional pzpvisions:
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&m. D. IX. Dtley, Page 3, V-17a
*The Legialaturs shall tulvo no power to authorize any aounty, bity, town 0~ other polit- loal oo omtion or rubdivision of the S.Wts to lend ?1 ts credit ot, to~gmant pub110 money or thing or value in aid of, or to any lncllviQw1, aasociatLon or 4or oration whatsoever, . . .* (Art. III, 8043. St !
*No oounty, aity, or other munloipal cor- poration &all hersoftr.r bsoome a oubaaribsr or aeso- oapltal of uny prfvet,e corporntlon
Ye know ot no oonstltutionaL or statutory pro- &eion which would authorize the Oommisaioners’ Court Or Clay County to make 6 oontract v;ith the “Clay County Eemorial Bodpital*, 8 prirate LNtitrYtioO, vihorsby. the oounty obligates itoeli to equip the leboratory of such itsdr to oare r0r hospital, end the hospitel obligetea the oounty’s lndiqents until the county is relmhursed for the expenditure of money in equippinK the laboratory of l u4h hoapitsl. MOrOOWt?, it is our opini.on that the Legialaturc is prohibited from authorizing the .oounty to enter into tb4 “joint venture * that is now under oon- sldsrotion. Although ArUcle 4491, V .C .S . , RuthorlzinS a county which has no city with a populetion of more then 10,000 to contrect vllth any legally incovoo~ted association or hospital for the cere o!’ the indigent siok, said Article cannot be oonotrued to authorize R contract which would violate ths above ouoted constitu- tlonal provtiion.
In tfM 0~44 or AApt vs. Oincinneti, 35 L.R.A. 737, the Supreme dourt or Ohio construed the oonstitution- al provision.of tbat Stste which is very slmilnr to Arti- ~14~ III, Sec. 52, of our State Constitution. We quotes the following i-mm seid oaae on pp. 741-742:
“The 44dou4 la whether this 8 S quOrtlOn lb constitutional. 84CUOn 6 wf Article 8 or the Constitution is BE followa: *The general assembly shall .never euthorlas any oounty, city, town, or township, by rote of its oltizens, or. otherwiee, in any joint- to beeone n,4tOokhlOer stoak company, oorporatlm3, or aesoolation whet- ever; or to raise money for or loan lta credit *4 . -
Han. D. Ii. WJsy, Page 4, v-173
to, or in aid .0r, any such company, oOrpOratfOn, Th? ruii soaps of this section or assoclation.~ . _ . .~~S of the Constitution his not yet been aecermlnea In Walker vs. Cinoinnati;T;~ (33;" by this court. St. 15, 8 Am. Rep. 24, the oourt says: chief which this section interdicts is a business partnership between a municipality or subdivirion oorpora- or the state and inaividuala and private if it should! bk deemed wise ana &onomical authorize munloipalitlss who own vraterworks, or gas works, to lease them lea a means for supplying the public needs, wo know or no constitutional impediment. But thls~ is a diiferent thing from inveatinr bublia money in the enterprises of others, or rrom ~ihina them with money or cledit. In on4 o&4, the whole aroorietarr intareat i! bin the pub- lie, and its euthoritv -- _______" ia~~~&~~unt, while in the other, the reverse is t #rue.' This section of the Coaatitution not only~prohibits a 'business partner- ship' which carries the idaa of a joint or undivided interest, but it goes further, and prohibits a mu- nioipality from being the owner Of part of a proper- ty which is owne& and controlled in part by a cor- the use, or having property the use of which it does not need. it may lease tha same to others;
Under the iaota submitted, Clay .Oouaty would be contemplating the purchase of equipment to be ,used by the Clay County &e,aorial Hospital, a privste, charitable iMtitutfon. In via* or th4 rumgoirq muthority, such a *5 .i r.
Bon. D. .fl. Vtloy, Paar 5, V-173
&oadure would vlolrta Art. IIT, 900. 52, and Art. XI, Sea. 3, of our State Oonrtitution in tht pub110 moneys would be expended for tha iurtheranoe of privste ,enter- prise, and the county .w*rauld not control the property in which it invested its public funds.
Therefore, it 18 our opinion thst the Comis- sloners’ Court or Clay Uounty doer not have the ,authotl- ty to make a oontraot with ths Vlag Mamorlal Hos- pital*, oounty obligates a private, oharltable lnatltutlon, whereby the
itself to rquip tha lebomtory~ of such hospital, and the hospital obllgatea itself to care for until the county .la r6in$med oounty’s indigent8 r0r the expenditure or Y)Hf $n l qulppim .tbb hospital.
Ju
The Comnlseiollsr8’. court or Clay county doe8 not have tha ruthority to Pke a contract with the *Clay Couaty Ysrsprlal llospital”, a oharltablr lmtitution, whnby the . private county obligates itself to equip the laboratory of suoh hoepltal, and the herpital obligetas itself to oere for the oounty’s.lndigents un- the oountp ir roinburred rqr t&. expendi; tll ture of sonay ln rqulpplry tll* &a 1tr1.
52, Art. III and 160. 2, Art. Xl, La. co%- tution.
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