. . 

THE.ATI?ORNEYGESERL%L 

OF~EXAS 

Acsmn-. TEXAS 

April 24, 1948 

Hon. L. E. Klq 

County Attorney 

Sablne County 

Hemphill, Texas 

Opinion Ao. v-553 

Re: Authority of Commissioners’ Court to atDear Mr. King: 

Your 

as follovst 

“Can 

tach land to a Stock 

Law District vhich is 

not adjacent thereto. 

lrequest for an opinion Is substantially 

the Commlsslon8rs’ Cou.Pt of 

the County, upon the petition of 13 

freeholders, none of whose land adjoins ‘. 

the Stock Law District that vas created by the Municipality, order the terrltory attached to the Municipality, where 

there 1s~ a tract of land betveen the 

bnlclpallty and the 13 petitioners vhose 

ovner has not petitioned to become a part 

of the Stock Law ~Dlstrlct? 

“I have advised the Commissioners’ 

Court that they could not join the~Munlcipallty (which has a Stock hv District) 

and run their lines through the tract that 

adjoined the Municipality (but vaa between 

the Munlclpalltg and the petitioners) ulthout the consentnof the ~ovner of the tract 

so Intervening. 

Article 69311 V. C. S., 1s as follows: 

“UheneveP there is territory,betveen 

two (2) subdlvlslons of a county~ vhlch 

have adopted a stock lav, or vhen there 

Is territory adjoining a subdivision vhlch 

has adopted a stock lav, in a county, or 

in an adjoining county, and In uch territory there are less than fifty 7 50) freeholders, an election shall be ordered on 
’ . . . 

- 

Eon. L. B. gin&, page 2 (v-553) 

a petition of a majorIt of the freeholder8 

residing in such temltory by the Commfssioners Court of the County in which the 

territory lies, and the election shall be 

held as provided by lav in Other cases relating to the adoption of the at 

If there be less than twenty (20 P 

ck law. 

freeholders In such intervening or adjoining 

territory, then on petition of a majority 

of the ovners of the land to said Commlssloners Court, the said Commissioners Court 

shall Issue an order extending the stock 

law to said territory and the same shall 

be included in the territory of such adjOi.I%lllg subdlvlslon; in cases where there 

Bse no freeholder8 DD such iut8rV8XliIlg or 

adjoining territory, then on the petition 

of the ovner or ovners of the land to said 

cosmissioners court, the said Court shall 

issue an order extending the stock lav to 

said territory, and the same shall b8 lneluded In the territory of such adjolnlng 

subdlvislon; and any 'person or persons who 

ovn lands adjoining any other lands vhich 

have been added to territory in vhlch a 

stock law prevails, shall have the same 

right, and on petition of the owner or 

ovners of such lands to the said Court, 

the said Court shall issue an order extending the stock law to said territory, 

and the same shall be Included in the 

territory of such adjoining subdlvlsion." 

Your factual situation reflects that the land 

of the petitioners does not adjoin then Stock Lav Distrlct but that~there Is a tracts of land Intervening betveen the Stock Lav District and that of the petltlonera. 

v. c. s., 

The construction placed upon Article 69 1, 

In the case of Tubbe v. Sample, 62 S.W. 7 26) 

362 (Clv. App. error diss&ssed, 1933) is to the effect 

that any defined territory vhich adjoins a Stock Lav 

~lt~~~rsp be added to such district upon petition of 

jacent to ihe 

In requiring the attached lands .to.~.be addistrict or subdlvislon to which they are 

added for stock lav purposes, It vas the evident intent 

of the Legislature to prevent the attaching of segregated tracts or territory not actually CoMected with the 
.* - i . 

,. - 

Hon. L. B. King, page 3 (V-553) 

stock lav district, thus insuring that suCh district 

shall at all times be a single, veil defined subdlvlslon. 

It will b8 readily seen that the tract of land 

referred to in yOUI' request does UOt Come Vithin the 

meaning of Article 6931 and, therefore, it 18 the opinion of this department that the ~ommlssion8rs1 Court my 

not join land to a Stock Lav District 'which is not adjacent but has an lntervening'tract of land b8tW88n the dlstrlct and the territorg to be jo%ned. 

SUMNARY 

A Comlssloners~ Court'mag not attach 

land to a Stock Law District where such 

land is not ad-jac8nt but has an lntervenlug tract of land b8tW88n the Stock LaW 

District and the terrltorg to be attaCE8d; 

Yours very trulg, 

ATTORNEY GRNEXALyOF TEXAS 

BW:lIlW 

B9Z-JJ 

Burnell Ualdrep 

Assistant 

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