Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
mnorabie Cohn H. Shook
Crlmlnal Dlatrict Attorney
Bra County
m Antonio, Texas 0plnion lo. O-6448
Dear sir:
80: Lsga11ty 0 to bo ieeu pore or re held by Be lloI rir- tlaa or the ln rece~y\~~eoent dote, ‘n‘e ye read- ing 88 rollowo-
opinion rela- e original request of the ing this requeet, certain personeli- nto the dlsouesion thereof, end oer- ted acouaatlonm hare been directed by the bonding companies toward8 this oliloe, and for this reaeon we deem it advieable to tranemit to you this file with the request that you kindly answer the legal quea- tions propounded by our County Auditor, aa wall 88 an additional question which thle orrice wishes to pro- pound to you.
or the provIslons or fib. 2368h of the HevIeed Ciril Statute8 of the date of Texas, and are suoh bond8, we believe, ti61 ar,e held to be not refundable In the cmae or Jarrereon County v. Sellers, 180 5. W. (26) 5t pags 138.
“It would thererore eeen that if the same are therefore rerun&able, they would be so by virtue only ot the fact that they tire owned and eontrolled by the refunding authority. also rror the letter or tb county
*you will not* thie orfice thnt there 18, clt thu prsrrmt ,&iitor thus, in tlm sinking ibid of the8e meveral bond8, the aggregate 8ua 0r Sixteen ($16,000.00) Dollar*, thouaad wbioh is at thirr time available for tha purpoee of re- tiring a portion of bond8 now in Bexar County*8 hands, and eought by thin oontraot to be refunded.
*The queotionr propounded by the County Auditor ara as r0liow0:
*‘(1 .) Oan them rour bowl imues be legally reiunded, am t&me bond8 1881~8 afo eria bond@ ~FO not op ional bonda? See ookran County Ca8e an Parasaph 3 a r or thie letter) “( 2) Il? these bonds oan be legally refUnded, aan th6y be rerunaed by a bond irreue with a mturity ubaequent to the maturity of the bonds being rerunbed? (bee Paragraph 5 or this letter)
“( tith above referencea belug to the lettsr of tb county Auditor) “In addition thereto, the queetioa propounded by thli# @ifloe 18 aa follow8~
“There being In the verioua afnk~idna; funds or the bead iesuaa quemaioa the sua or gla,ooO.Oo, which ia available tar the pur- pose retiring bonar now nought to be re- *3 run&e&, is It or uot incumbent upon the CommIseionero* Court to apply suoh fund8 to the rettra~ent of the available bond8, and refund only that portion in exoe88 or auoh amunt?
"Your early anewer to the above queatione will be greatly appreoiated by thie offlOe.*
The Ziret question propounded by the County Auditor 18 a8wered in the arrirmatire. The matter of refunding outstanding bonds 18 one for the Conxni88ioner8* Court to determine. 8eotion of artiole 2st@A rradm,in part, a8 follow8:
"See. 7. The Co:nmi8sionerr* Court of any oounty or governing body oi any oity the State of Tcxa8 mny pws all neoessary order8 and ordinanae8 to provide for funding or rerunding the whole or any part of the legal debt oi euoh oounty or city, by oanoelling evid- ences thereof and issuing to the holders or oreditorr, notea, bon&e or treasury warrants with or without coupoxu, bearing intereet payuble annua&l~ or 8eni-annually at a rate not to exoe.4 six per cent r S$) per u&mm. The oi much authority ahall ba rsguhted a@ follow8: uerofae "(a) Suoh Commi8eioner8~ Courts and euoh governing bodism shall have the ri tet all time8 to 188~ raiund- ing bond8 ior the refun a.? ng of any outetandlDg bond8 legal- ly 18eued and outstanding matured intereat on any leglly 18sued outstanding bonds, subject to law8 applicable to the irauanoe of refunding bond8 and without the neae88ity or any notice or right to a referenduta vote.
"i 1 * nut c ed *(o) * * * The runding bona8 hereb shall be payable ssriolly not eroeeding Iortyhpdf year8 iron the date thereof, unless oomi88ioner81 aourte or governing body affirm&ively adjudge that the f lnsnoisl oondition or euoh oounty oity will not permit in 8uoh installments aa will make tbr, burden of taxation rup- port ewe, approximately uniform throughout tin term of 8816 bond Ieeue. 3uoh bonds 8hall be axeouted 18- sued in the same manwr no1 provided by law for the *4 “. JOhh d. &hook, &ge 4 mwrsble
I
l xeoutioh issuance of bond8 to refund outstanding county or olty bonds. Said bond8 shall bear Interest sot eroeedlng six per osnt (6%) psr ahnun, and rhall be approved by the 4ittorney General and registered by the state Comptroller in the same ;Mnner as other oounty or city refunding runding bmkn
TAO CoOhran ColUlty case tild that bond8 ierued under a partioular ohapter were optional whether expressed im the proceedinga cr not, but did not hold that bond8 whioh were not optional could not bs rerunded with the consent Or the holder8 or suoh bonda. Yince the &xar County bond8 tire owned by 8inking rWd8 of oertain othsr bond irruea under the oontrol 0r the Oo3missioner8* Court of &rar County, ad that oolirt ha8 oonsented to the rerunding thsrwi, it i8 tb opinion of this departmnt that the four 18suer of bonda mq be legally rerun&s&. ThI8 department ha8 alwaya approvrd rerunaing of non-optional bond8 with ths oonaent 0r the holder8 0r aame.
The opinion in the oaae of Road Distriot Ho. 1, Jerter8on Ooanty v. tieller8, 12O 8. V. (2d) lM, does not hold ttlat bond8 oannot be refuuaed with the coneent 0r the bolder8 0r the outstanding bondr* on the oontrary it hold8 that they may be rerunded with 8uoh oonsent. We quote the from thm opinion of the Court that oaae: foilowing
-That article dose anthoriu blWi88iOlur8' COUZtE 8ought to be refunded we- then redeemable, or when the oould be redeemed with ths eonoent ot the ownerd ' \rtalio8 our*) in the arrirnratira alao.
The second question 18 anmered The only limit,ition the law 18 that they Ohall mature not exeeed- in ing forty (40) year8 rrcm their date. In answer to the quertion propounded by your offloe, wo ‘,
think it 18 a matter within the discretion or the Oommi88loners* ii any, except that bond8 maturingwithin the ourrent Cooit, year, should bs paid out or the #16,000 in the sinking fund. We are of opinion that the xttorney Oeneral 1s wlthout authorltf require the county to apply this money on iuture maturitioa. In the Oa8e of city or E;aoo f. &UUI, 127 S. W. (26) 879, it was agoad that oertain bond8 were due or would be due during the then ourrent year and that
223.
the oity had i0ma 00u00tea tare* 8urfiolont pay mm. General ooatenaea that said bona8 80 mturing should
Tbr ktt0m.y the money oolieotea for that .purposo ana @hOuld not Q# paid with The Court held that the Attorney G4naral wan oorreot b r0fwia0a.
a that oontrntion.
Your8 tory truly ATTolUUY GZNEXAL OF TEXAS By ub ‘C. 1. Gibron Arrcrlstant c