Reference is made to,your recent request which reads, in part, as follows:

"This office has been requested to ren- der an opinionon the questionof payments to a surviving widow of the remainder of the sal- ary'that could have been earned by a Consals- sloner of this County during the remainder of his term of office."

In your brief which was appended to the re- quest and which concluded that your question should be answered in the negative, you submitted the following facts:

"J. IL Holt, commissioner of Prct.2, Panola County, Texas, died July 1, 1948.

His surviving widow, Mrs. Etta Flnklea Halt; now demands that she be paid fin a lump sum an amount equivalent to the salary that wouldhave been earned by her husband for the remainder of his term in office. IIis.

salary vas.$300.00 per month. me Commis- sioners' Court, being in sympathy with the widow, now desires to pay the amount, and has passed an order that this amount be paid out of the General Fund. The Commlssionerst salaries are paid out of the Road and.Bridge fund in this county as the necessary trans- fers to effect sawe were made at the begin- ning of the year.

Eon. Nathan M. Hoit, page 2 (V-658)

I= the case “f 7 lveston H. & S.A. Ry. v. Uvalde County, 167 S-W. 26 (Clv.App., 1942, error re- fused) the court said:

"The Commlssionerst Court of a coun- ty has only such powers ads are expressly or by necessary implication given It by the Constitution and statutes of this State."

We have not found any provi~ion'ln the Constl- tution or any statute which authorizes &%nmiselonersl Courts to make such a payment. On the contrary, Section 52 of Article III of the State Constitution provides, in part:

"The Legislature shall &3ve no 'over to authorize any county, city, town :r B other polltloal corporation or subdlvlslon of the State to iend its olredit or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of', or :?$.,, . to any individual, ass~ciajilon or oorpora-

tion whatsoevea . . .

Since, ths.payment In question would only.be a gift &&not in payment rtor servlc&s *endspea by::tw olaimant,~ana in view of the foregoing, lt~ Is our opln- ion that you are oorreot in your ooncla~lon that the cOrmPiaSiOwrS' cOUI!t a!%~ not pSy t0 the SUrViVing Iii&II of a deceased County Commissioner the remSinder of the salary that poula have been earned by auoh County Com- mIssloner during the remainder oS.hls term of offloe.

The Commlsslon&5~Court may not piy to the eurviving widow 0s a aeoeasea Coun- ,ty Commlaeiqner the remainder of the salary that ooula have beed earned by suoh Coun- ' ty Commfasfone~ during the remainder of his

term 05 offioe had he lived.

Yours very truly, ATTORlVEGENERALGFTlEXAS I @ .By li&%ik @@u BA:b:mw Assistant