Case Information
*1 GERALD C.
-I-_--_ --
Honorable Hill D. Hudson
Mstriot Attorney
109th Judicial mstrict
Pecos, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion NO. 0-3056
Re: County Health Officer must reside in county.
your request for opinion has been received and carefully considered by this department. We quote from your request as follows:
"I have been asked by the Commlsaloners~ Court of Loving County to request an opinion from your offioe on the follow~lng two matters.
"In the first place, Loving County is a county of very limited population and having no resident licensed physician within Its boundaries. Evidently they have some need of a county health officer and have sought to make Dr. W. D.Black of Ward County, Texas, county health officer and to pay him as such. They are not sure that payment to him sould be legal since he does not reside within the county. I can find no decision wherein this question has been settled. Article 4423 of the Revised Civil Statutes of 1925 places no llmita- tlon as to residence.
"The first question they desire your opinion on is: Can Loving County legally pay a county health officer who performs the duties of such office, whet that officer Is not a resident of Loving County?
Section 14 of Article 16, Texas Constitution, reads as follows:
"Sec. 14. All civil officers shall reside within the State; and all district or county officers within their districts or counties, and shall keep their offices at such places as may be required by law; and failure to *2 Honorable Hill D. Hudson, Page 2, 0-3056
comply with this condition shall vacate th office so held.”
Article Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes of Texas, reads in part as follows:
"Neither the Secretary of State, nor any county judge of this State, nor any other authority authorized to Issue certificates, shall Issue any certificates of election or appointment to any person elected or appointed to any office in this State, who is not eligible to hold such office under the Constitution of this State....."
Article 4423, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, reads as follows:
"The commissloners court by a majority vote In each organized county shall biennially appoint a proper person for the office of county health officer for his county, who shall hold office for two years. Said county health officer shall take and subscribe to the official oath, and shall file a copy of such oath and a copy of his appointment with the Texas State Board of Health; and, until such copies are so filed, said officer shall not be deemed legally qualifled. Compensation of said county health officer shall be fixed by the commissioners court; provided, that no compensation or salary shal+ be allowed except for services aotually rendered. (Underscoring ours).
Article 2351, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes reads in part as follows:
'Each commissioners court shall:
II . . . .
"11. Provide for the support of paupers and such idiots and lunatics as cannot be admitted into the lunatic asylum, residents of their county, who are unable to support themselves. By the term resident as used herein, is meant a person who has been a bona fide inhabitant of the county not less than six months and of the State not less than one year." Article 4418f, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes of Texas, reads as follows:
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Honorable Hill D. Hudson, Page 3, O-3056
"It shall be lawful for the State Department of Health to accept donations and contributions, to be expended in the interest of the public health and the enforcement of public health laws. The Commissioners Court'of any County shall have the authority to appropriate and expend money from the general revenues of its County for and in behalf of public health and sanitation within tts County." (Underscoring ours)
We think that a county health officer Is clearly a county officer and subject to the provisions of Section 14 of Article 16 of our State Constitution. It is our further opinion that the Commissionersf Court has no authority to appoint a non- resident doctor to the office of County Health Officer. However, we wish to point out that the Commissioners' Court has broad powers wlth respect to the aid of resident paupe.rs, lunatics and idiots under subdivision 11 of Article 2351, supra, and also has broad powers with respect to the expendi- ture of general revenue funds of the county for and in behalf of the public health and sanitation within the county. Since Loving County does not have a resident physician within the county there could be no legally appointed de jure county health officer for said county; however, we think the Commissioners' court of Loving County would have authority to employ a non-resident physician (without appointing him County Health Officer) to give medical treatment to resident paupers, lunatics and idiots within the statute and could also emplpy him to perform various services they deemed necessary for and in behalf of public health and sanitation within their county, and could pay said physican for such services out of the general revenue funds of the county.
Very truly yours ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By a/ Wm. J. Fanning WJF:AW/cge APPROVED FEBRUARY 1941 Wm. J. Fanning a/ Grover Sellers Assistant FIRST ASSISTANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE
By BWB, Chairman