Your question cells for our opinion as to whether or not the ComMsaloner of the Land Wfioe, under the faots and olroumstanoes related in your letter, has the authority to Issue a permit to Ylnolalr Prairie 011 Company authorizing that oompany to areot’a roadway aoros6 State owned submerged tract No.666.

Seotlon 23 of Artlale 4 of the Texas Constitution creates the offloe OS the Dommlssloner OS the General Land Orfloe, but presorlbes no spaoliio duties of suoh otilaer other than that he shall perform “Etaoh duties as are or map be required of him by law”.

Artlole 52151, R. C. S., 1925, presariber tha general duties of the Commlmelonor of the General Land Offlae in the rollowing lan@age:

Vhe Commissioner shall superintend, eon- trol and dfr8ot the official oonduot of all sub- ordlnata ofl’laera of the General Land Offloe, and execute and perfo~rm all eots and things touching or respaotlne the publla land of this State or ri@ts of individuals In relation thereto, as may be required by law, and make and enforoe suitable rul,es oonslstent therewith. He shall plve lnfor- mation to the Governor and ~egislaturs aona6rnlng the pus110 lands, or ths General Land OU’iae, when required.*

The statutes In force at the time Sinolair Preirie Oil Company secured Its lease on submerfied traot 683 in Nueoee Bay did not speolfloally empower the Land COnmissioner to issue a permit of the nature now requested by Sinolafr Prairie Oil Company. It Is a well settled prtnolple in this State that publia ofrlasrs possess only suoh pWerS as are 8Xpresdy UpOn them by IsW Or are x-

OOeiWr8d *3 423 Honorable Baaoom Glles, Page 3

d aesaaril lmplled from the powers 80 conferred. They

ei3allY perform acts not authorized by exlatlng laws. See 34 Tex. Jur., See. 67, 440; Galleghan v. MoCowan, 90 S. Vi. 319 (Clv. App. Writ of Error Ref.); liarlingen Independent Sohool Diatrlot v. C. R. Page & Bra., 48 S. W. (2) 983 (Conan. App.).

Section 8 of Chapter 271, Aota 1931, whlah

was In efteot et the time of the leasing of tract 688, provides:

*AI1 Islands, salt water lakes, bays, in- lets, marshes and reera owned by the State within tide water limits, and that portion of' the Gulf of Mexico within the jurladlotlon of Texas, and all unsold publio free aahool land, both surveyed end unaurveyad, shall be aubjeat to leaee by the Commlaaloner to en9 person, firm or corporation for the production of the minerals except Gold, allver,'pletlnum, olnnabar and other mete&s, that may be therein or thereunder, ln aaoordanoe with the provlalone or thla Act and aubdlvlalon 2, Chapter 4, Title 86, Eevlsed Statutes of 1925, relating to leasing public areas, Insofar as same la not in oonfliat here- with."

Subdivision 2 of Chapter 4, Title 86, R. C. s. 1925,:.(Artlolea 5353-5366, Inolualve, R. C. S. 1925), to- gether with Chapter 271, Acta 1931, whloh aonfer upon the Lend Oommlaaloner pr?YJer and authority to lease the area in question and prescribe the prooedure to be followed In making leases do not, in our opinion, either expressly or by necessary lmplloatlon, authorize the Land Commissioner to issue a permit of the kind now requested by Slnolalr Prairie Of1 Company under the facts submitted by you.

Accordingly, we answer your question by stat- lng that, in our opinion, under the hots In Submitted our letter and the file aocompanying the asme, the ornmlasloner of the General Land Office has no authority E to 1~5~0 a permit to Sinolalr Prairie Oil Oompany to construct a roadway aoroas submere.ed tract 685.

In oonoluaion, we wish to make olaar that in this opinion we are not passing upon the question Of the *4 Honorable Bssoom Glles, Page 4

right of the Sinolafr Prairie Cl1 Company to a ray o? neoeseity over tract 685. Oar opinion is confined to a holding that under existing statutes the Land Co+ nissloner is not authorized to Issue a permit of the kind requested.

Yours very truly ATTORHEY Cl!NEHAL OF TEXAS , -.

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