Case Information
*1 6
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN Eon. SamT. Iifflt
County Attorney
Fanola County ;// Carthage, lexae / Deam sir: \ \ *2 Eon. Sam T. fiolt , pago $2
am& the oocaa;lselansxs~~.p~o~~ota oi the oounty.
The aounty road and bridge fun& @roper ir derived from two aouroesr oounty taxes and autqmo- bile registration taxes. slnaf3 YOU mentim w00uILty rum that UB
derire0 fmm automobile registrations*, we gathar that you are prinolpallp interested In that par- tlon of the oounty road and bridge fund aoorulng wdex A.rtiale 6675a et Vernon’e Annotate4 Civil statutes, The Automoblla Registration A.ot. mii0fiition 0f that porti= 0r the may road and brid&e fund oonrlstlng of autenobfle~ reg- lstratian iee8 1s governe& by Seotlon 10 af Arti- 916 66%~~ supzh The pertinent provlsloru of aald motion read as follows:
*None of the monies do plaoe4 to the oredit of the Road and Bridge Fuad of a 00unty~hdi be ~eat4~~th0 arm Qr oomp6nsatlon of ,qny couqty Judge or County CaPzPliseioner, but all said MOII- lee shall be used for the oonstruotlcm and malntemnoe o? lateral roads in suoh oounty under the ouper~islon ot the County En&laeer, ii there be one, and -if there 1s no sueh engineer, thed the county coi3mlssioner8* Court abaU have author.lty to oomand the aervloes of the Dlvieion Engineer oi the stats El&k- way Dspartruent~for the purpose of nupes- vising the oonatruotkon aad eurveping of lateral roads 5.n their rerrpeotlra COliRtlQ)S. All fuuda allooated oountiea by the pravZe1oo.a or this Act to 6676~141 P.O. Art, (Arts. 6675a-1 07a) my ba used by the crountler 1~ the ymnt of obllgetlema, ii any issued and inourred in the oonstruotlcm of the *3 DOE. Stk5 T. R&i, iJtig8 3
lniprovwnent 0r all roado, lnoluding state Eighwaya or %uoh oounties an6 dletrlota thsrelnl or the lmprorsment of the roads oomprising the Co#nty Rood %y%tect."
The oaee oi Storall Y. shivers, Clv. APP., 75 3.W. (26) 276, Affirmed (Comm. App.) 103 'S.W. ted) 363, &I page 387 OS the latter opinion, aontaics the roiiOmg stataE%nt with respeot to th% abov%.quoted %%%tion~
“AS to t&it portion of automobile regiatretion fees retainad by Van Zandt.
County artiole 5675a-10, Vernon*8 Ac- notate d Civil Statutes, expressly pro- vldes hcws%m% shall be expanded, md for that reaew. it i8 obvloua that ar- tic16 6740 has no application to %amesa
Ee hare been unable to find any oth%r luw gO~%d.Cg the diEWOsitlOR Oith%%e fUndI# iFOE automblle raeietratlon fee8 In the oounzty road and bridge tuntl. The purpwe a% stated in Ar- tiole 6875a-10 1% the "oonetruotion %.nd maintEa- acoe or lateral roada” or”paynmnt oi obli&catioaaa inourwd .a~ the 00n9truotioc or iqmm5imt 0r all roada in the oounty - aounty or 6$at%.
There is co fmmula for the spending of thio p%&A.oular portion of the oount road and btidge fucd. brtzole 6740 haa no qppl oation, aooorib 5: fng the deolsion ai Stovall f. Shivara, %upra, 'She responalbllity'for the proper %xp%ndUure of the%% fund8 rest% prlaarllg upon the (louda- cilocqra* Court. we wleh to quote rurther from the opinion otthe 0%&m. OS A&+p* of T-8, S%%I (a) ln the Stovall Y. Shlmrs Opi.~ioh
"By artlole 2342 of the Revised Statutecr, It 1% provided that the %BII eraloamissicner%, together with ths *4 Iion. SasxT. Ilolt, page 4
aounty jud&e, shall aoqmea the *aes mlssfon%re oourt.' SuOh oourt is mm* LBctitly a unit, anQ la the agenay OS tha wholo county. The respective mam- here of the oonmieelonerrr oourt are thareforo prlmarlly reprsmmtatlver of the WLOl% countyI,8nd not merely repro- 3or;tatives or twx ree+3otive preoinot~.
The Euty of the ooxmieslonerrr oourt 1m to transaot the buslnea6, proteot intereats, and promote the welfare OS the ootmty 88 a whole. ting the powers OOnferr@d UpOn sUOh COW by hi010 2951 are the rolloming: The power to lay out and establish, ohange and die- oontinue road6 anb hi&ways, the power build bridge8 an& keep them in co- pair, and the power to exeroise general aontrol over all roa6a,QIghways, farrim, and bridgea in their aountiea. They have the power to la a tax not tia es- teed 15 oente on the 100 vduatlon 'v for roads and bridgarr. This fund is,
o? course, for the benefit OS alJ. roads and bridges of the county+. Tbsae pro- visions of the law, aa well &a other8 WhiOh lnl< be mentioned, olearly oon- tamplate that the oomalssloner~ oourt or eaoh oounty s&U regard the road8 and htghwayn OS the cowty ae a ayntem, to be laid out, ohangbd, repaired, im- proved, ana malntalned, aa far ae prao- tloal, ae a whole to the beet interests '. and welfare of all the peopk:;Uf the oounty. It ie clearly oontenkplated that all road6 and bridgee of the dounty shall be x&ntalne&, repaired, and irib proved when neoesmry, as th8 &x:ditlarr stay rsqslrs, ragarUa.sus OS the pre~lnd in which scum aray bs loaatsd 80 far a8 the funds till equitably $ish’y.* *5 lion. Sata T. !klt, page 6
AS for that portlim or the Omnty road anti brie8 riutd consisting of oountp taxes, ar- tiolc 674.0, Revised Civil statute*, prorIde&:
'The- oormleoioners oourt sheU me that the r=aC and bridge fund of their oounty is judialously and equltabu ex- pcnded on the roads end bridges of their county, and, as nearly so the oondltion and necessity of the roads will pentilt, it ahd.l be expended in eaoh oowty ooa- nSseionars preoinot in proportion arcount oollectad iosuah preolnot. Money used in builda permanent roada shall first be used only on first or seoond- olass coadn, and on those w:lioh shall have the right of way r~mdfd rrae of aoot to m&a as straight a road a8 i8 praotloable and having the graatest banua ordered by the aitisearr of aoney, labor or other property."
Thts artlole hae beeJI aon8tSwd by the COISL of hpp. of the State OS Tfixa~r Stomll v. Shivurs, suprar
vie quote therefK@isi as rollmmr *It till be observed that Yhe a&%1- cle in qusetion provides that the road and bridge fund shall bs judfoiously and equitably expended on the roads and briazes or the oounty, and, .aa nearly.
BE the oondltlon an& neoessity of the roads ~111 per&t, shall be expended in eaah oounty oommlmeloaera preoinot In proportion to the wuat oolleoted in such prprsoinot. In our opinion,there is obviously nothing ia t..is attiC vhlah oompels the oosaaiealoners oourt to divide the road and bridge fund aa- *6 Xoai. Sam T. iiolt, page 6
oordlng to any Slxed mathematloal for- mula, and apportion mine ln advanoe for the purpose of being ex?ehaed ir eny given preoinot. The use of the vora *expmded* to our ffiinc~ clearly 8ug- gee&l) that said fundo shall be appar- tloned and raid out rra time to time as the necessity for their use arises in the ordinary adr&istration of the aounty affairs.'* I+ + * '%WAthatandJng this, the oonmie- sionera ao*urt mw3t give effeot to said artiole 6746 exoept when the neoesel- ties of thu road6 and bridges require a departure from %t. That article re- spirss that the road and bridge fun46 OS all oountlea shall be judlelously aad equitably expended, It further ra- qulres that suoh fund.8 shall* ar near17 a8 the oonditlon and neoessity of the roads will~pmz<. be expended in each o~salcmer8 preolnot in ~roportloh to the aamuht aolleatsd In euah pre- alnat. The aomlnant aurporre o? this statute f4eeBg to be to require t&t the road ana bridge tuna shall be expended in eaoh odselonerm preolnqt In pro- portion to the amount oolleoted there- ia. In this regard, the statute means that eeoh preolaot shell prima fa8ke be entitled to its own funde, and In the absenoe of anyreaaonr, to the oon- trary they ehould be a0 rivfdea ana expended. However, the: duty to ex- pend the riukd5 in the i.:oportIon above rsentialea ie not (~1 absalutely inrlt3x- ible-one, This 18 evlaent from.the ra0t that the actalnant purpose af the statute is qualift to the extent that the oourt by olear Lmplioation ie *7 Eon. 3amT. k;olt, page 7
giren the right expand the road fh5a bridge fimmd in a proportion other than in the proportion Ln uLloh they are ool- leot6d when the conditions of the roada Ln the raspaotlva praalnota oroatea a neoeaslty bo Uo do. We think, however, that tho requirement to ax,-,end the fund in the proportion mentioned oannot be avolde6 exoept in oases or 00naitions of neoeeslt~. or oourae, the oc~mls- alonsre oourt baa the right to e4xerolt36 Its rround judgaent in aetatiing naoossltg, but it oannot aot arbltre+ lly in rogacd to such li?atter.W
Xn answer to your question we wfah to ad- vise that the dirtrlbutlon of the mnlos in the oounty road and brid$e fuadia governed byarbl- 66?6a-l0; ArCi [015] and the cule laid 6740 down in the ease of 3tovall v. 3biver8, au@%.
As for that portion or the oouaty.roaa and brl6ge Pund aon818tlag of l utomblle re@8- trfdion fee8 pa%& into th0 fund of @iale 667ba, s5otlon 10, Is aontrolllng. It i8 Out opl5lon Chat la expaadlng this port;lon of the fund for the purposes expre8,sl.y set cut in reutlan 10 of artlola 6675a, the eemmieelonere* oourt of the oounty shell regard the roads tuta highways of the ooun~y aa a ~yiat6Mii to be built kmproved and maintained ae a Whole to Che best faterests aad welfare of all the people of the aouaty and of ~11 the preolnots or th0 oOuntyc
In reepeot tothe oauntp rcaised tponles, %aey mist be mjudloioumly and equitably" axpead- ea. While the statute (hrti. 6740' lrupra) oon- tern&ate8 that the monLa8 shall $ ex,7enlsb I5 eaoh oomleeionsre pre@inat in mportlon to the amouat oolleoted in auoh preoinot,~the oom.ilc oionesa* adurt is not oaerpeued to falloff any mathenratiaal r0mu in dividing the fund+ *8 Roll. SaElT. nolt, paga 8 caess or condition8 or neoesslty dwiirg
the oomAsslmers* oourt*a departure rrom the rule w:iich is that %3aoh preelnat c&all prIma taoie be antitled to ita own fund.”
Under the statutes and.'the,'a~~ve,:deOibion neither or the standarda eat rorth 10 your lat- tar are oontrolling - "'funds * * * should be divided into r0m equal part8 ror eaoh OOIEGO- sionere prsoinot, or should .+ + c be dlvlded ao- crordlng to the amount 0r peraentqge or mile8 0r roads to be naintained in saoh pracinot t * * w
Trusting that wo have runy allaware& your inquiry, we are
Yours vary truly ATTCRHp;y GXNi;~ CF T?iJ&S BY
COMMITTEE