Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Honorable George H. Sheppard
Comptroller OS Public AccouQts
dustlo, TeMs
Deer sir, 0p1nloa lo. O-6664
Ret Uh4th4r fh4 oomls8lon4r~~ Your requ4rt Sor
enalons e letter from Ii.
County, whlnh r4ad4 a4 fol
tloa 1 provide4 as Joa- purposes upca property ad from p4r*oM ia Colorado County, vhioh team8 utvg 6olleated rBol1 be used by the said aounty fur? t&4 purporer ai the uantlmed p&li;r aalunity, oeuaed preventing great fload4, ead to ooastruat impvopwata flood W@ter4 la t&3 Uid C!OUUty ?Or ootltX’O1 *2 xionorablc C340r~4 It. Sheppard, p484 2
proteatloa 0r life, property, 0011, ror44t0, and public hlghvage lylag vlthla the 08ia aOwty.’
“Section 2 provides further t
“‘The Commleeloa4re Court of aach t?ouaty, la their dlecratloa, mey utlllrc the tax fuade donet- cd end greated by the State of Teue for th4 aoa- atruetloa of flood aoatrol l.mDrov4m4ate end other _ -_ -- - ~~ _ lmprOveei4ate; th4 melat4aeace-end op4ratlon thare- of; or pug deposit the eem4 la e elalclng fuad to pey laterset on redeem the bond8 of the reepeatlve flood control dlatrlcte of the r4epeo- tlv4 oountiea. (
“Ssotioa 3 provides for th4 leeueaoe of boade, but ve are not contempleting the leeuenue of bonde. “he provided la Seat ion 3 l econd peregr8ph, Court l u&orleed
lo the Comlselomra to epsad thle aon for other purpone than flood ooatrol, ouch a8 oonetrwtloa end melatsaeace o?
bridge8 rod th4 eoaetructlon end melataneace of county roedo?”
Th4 Oolordo County Flood Control Dletrlot wee ure- a$;; Agte 1941, 47th Ingleletur4, peg 568, Chepter 361,
. S4otloa 1 of eueh Act ooateiae povleloor ‘&oh dletrlet ehell be e govsrruaeutel rgenay body politic vlth the powers of and aorporat4, 8overnwat and vlth the authority to exerelse the ~ight.0, prlvil4g40, 8ad fun4tloae hereforfter epeolfled, tbc oreetlon cad 4etebllehm4at of ouch to the l ccaapllrhaant District being eeseatlel ‘;hs purgoree of s4etioa 59 of Art1814 XVI Coaetltution the State of TOX~O, ee em4aded, iaeludl~ the eoatrol, etorlng, prfw4rvetlon, and dietributioa of ths otorm vetera of th4 rlveve end in Colorado County end their trtbuterl48, etresles for dieueetlc, mualclpel, flood control, lrrigrtlon, @ad other uoeful purpoe40, the reelemetloa 8ti dreiaege of the overflow
laad of Colorado County, ths coae4rvatlon of foreete, end to old ia proteotlon of aevigetioa on th4 aavlgabls vetera by regulating th4 flood thet aad etorm,,vatere flov into neid aavlgeble etreUr4.
~goaoreble George 11. Sheppard, ppge 3
The Act creating ths dlstrlqt end Section 59 of Artlo XVI of the Conetltutioa dellmlt the powera of Flood Control District.
Of necessity it aen have ac povere exteudlag b4yoad them.
Section 1 of the Act crtatlag the DtetrLct further povidae:
“The Commtanioaers Court of Coloredo County, Texas, is hereby derigaatsd es the goverdldg ‘body of ouch Dletrlet oad the egeacg throw uhiah vntukgeamnt and mntrol of the Dlstrlct shall be administer&, and it Is hereby empovered to do any aad all alms and purposes of this Aat .” thiaga asaesmry to carry out the
It la perhaps thin prav~eloa vhloh baa eoafused the Coami4~ioaerr of Colorado County, cad the Couaty Judge. Dletrlcte like the Colorado County Flood Control Mstriat 4~4 goveraamatsl ageaaiea and bodies politic eorpo~ete, sepereto dlstla4t from the Couaty. [44] Tax. Jur. 263, sue. 176. The Comlasion4rs~ Court of Colorsdo County ia eatrusted with the maa8gemmt end control of the affelrs Flood Coatrol D’iatrlct, but er4 aot thereby given carte bl4ache in tha expenditure of the Dletrlet~e moseys. In deallag with vmtt4rs of the District, th4 Coqmlesionera’ Court members are 4ctlag la a flduoiery aspscity, cad w4 atrlctlp eocountsble therefor.
The Legislature did not, by this Act Gf donot ioa, make a gift of Stat6 ad valoreln t4xer to the Couaty of C)oloredo. This is evident from the Aot itself. The captloa of Act ~\~l:~w;Y45, 49th Leglslatupc, Ohapt4r 364, pep 6541, LO es
:
‘An Act dsclarltq floods of Color&lo Coua- ty . . . to be 4 public oelemlty; . . . euthorltiag
Colorado Couaty ta not authorlr4d we eay porb tioa the tares remltted by the State ?Gt purpose. Th4 alear import of the Act doaetlon lo that Legislature
Eoaoreble George FL 98eppmd, ~464 4 (not th4 Douaty) la tl?4 GCUl- lntend4d to aeelet the @strlat to etructlorr end melnt4nenae of flood e33trol lmproversate
eoatrol the flood~uetrrr iQ eeid aouaty. Th4 ~lreetloa the CaPlllieeloaere~ Uorrrt cc?atalaed ia Section i', vhlah 18 quoted in fie Setter 0; ~~l~;mty J-e, lo to them am the gwv4rii.u~ ode 9r ii34 1 r .
The poted pert OS 8eootloa 2 allour uee of the other I.mwor0meate~ the rciia~4news aW o~rr*tlm thereo? ” The weCher tnprovewatn” rrierrud to era improve- mate ai llle. ahereoter. Thet kr to eey, the rule of sju4d4m paerfs .le aoatrclllag la t&4 eoaetruotioa of t&et term, end donated texee awnot be used for some purpoee not relet- ed t&e problem at flood @ontrol. !Thle oooetruotica 1,s turthcr eubeteatfrt~ the oeptloa Act of donrtioa oharela i.t l pp4are that eueh tuee~doaeted ehell b4 use ?OF flood aootrol liqwoveaunt cod mwintentmae purpoeee. yours truly
Vary ATTOHHHY (IWSWIOFTHXAS Arthur L. Holler Aeeleteat