“tcpli/polk County buy Gaeoiine, Oil and Crease zrom t&s Arkanear Fuel it 011 Oompany, of Shnr6por$, Ia. through it* agenoy a* Corrlgan, Texas and oao o? tiv~Comn~is~lonofs half in- terest in the agonayI~a

Arti 373, Vern0.0~‘~ Annotated Texas Penal =odo, read8 a0 follovmt

Honorable 3h. L. HIMOII, Jr., Pas* 1

*fr any offio*r of any oouaty, or of any city or town, shall beoono in any manner peou- nluily Intersstod In auy oontraota nade by auoh oouaty, oity or town, through Its agents, or otherwIe8, for the oonrrtruotlon OT repair of any bridge, road, &met, allay or house, or any other work undertaken by suoh dounty, city or town, or sh6ll boooma IBtsm8ted In any bid or propowl for such work or In ths ~u~ohaee OP sale of anything marls for or on Of 6uoh OOUty, Oily Or t.Ora; 02 Who ~aOOOUllt f-Op Op X’OOaiV, O3ly m0B.y Op till 00BtmOt property, or the repxwrontative of either, any emolument or advantage whatsoarer In oon- eidsratlon of auoh bid, proposal, oontraet, purohase or sale, ha &all be fined not les8 than rift7 nor wee than five hundred dollars.**

In the ease of Rigby v1 State, 10 S. W. 760, a oountp oommlaaioner eold two mler to his county and wacl botiPted under the sbova quoted artiole of the Penal Cade. %?i quote iron the oourt’s dsolslon an followclr

Manifestly, the Legislature, in enaot- ing the statute, intended thereby to proteot omntieil, oities and towns from offloial poulattfon. Suoh pasulation was the ~41 sought to bo mt~prea~ed~ and the oktut.

mtrikar at the very root of the evil, by mah- ing it an 0ireM0+ for any orriasr of ewn- ty, oity tarn to bsooab interentsd peou- n$arlly in nattorcl wherein such oorporationa The purpose of auoh artatute are lntoreated. 1s to prevent offiolal WagiF’ from baing remd and operated to prey upon the tr6a- SUP~CI~ or oountierr, oitiea and torrmr) to pm- rent the 0frioOrs of m&Oh oorporatlons rrt3= ueing their offioial knowledge and influenO0 to their individual psouniary advantage iB the rinanolal transaotIont3 OS such.

Our oon#truotIon of the statute ie thAt.1; inhibita every orfioer or a oounty, olty or tam fpcjm selling to or puroha~ing from suoh any property whatever.m oar-oration

It IS OUT opinion that the oontraot and sale men- tioned In your letter is in violation 0r Artiole 373, Penal *3 .

Honorable E, L. Hinson, Jr., Page 3

Code or Texas, and we answer ymr question Ir; the negative.

yurthsnkore, we oall your attention to Artlole 2340, Vernon*s Annotated Texas Civil Ctatutaa, which provides:

nBe@re entering upon the dutierr of their offloo, the oounty judge and eaoh oomissIoner shall take the offioial oath, and shall also take written oath that he will not he direot- ly lndireotly interested in any eontract with, or olals against, the oountp ie whioh he exoept suoh warrant8 a# nay'ieeue to resides, him as fee8 of offioe. Eaah conmissioner ahaJ.1 exeoute a bond to be approved by the oounty judge in the aum of three thousand dol- lars, payable to the oouaty treamrer, oondi- tioned for the faithful performanae of the duties of his oi’fIo4, that he will Parr over to hia oounty all moneys Illegally paid to him out of oounty funds, a6 voluntary payments \ or otherwise, and that he will not vote

give his oonsant to pay out oountg fund8 ex- cept for lawful purpoam3.*

VerY truly your8 ATTCRNEYGEHE3ALOP TKXAS By fig. +-&L /-- Wm. J. Fanning AssfstaBt WJF;GO