OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

HonorableSzm Baln CountyAttorney Leon County Centerville,

Texas

Your request f gueotion~
and Comissioners wer to t&e the ing expensesand ng varrants or ered upon the olatn have not been paid,"

Vernon's AnnogatedTexas Civil

of each veclc

each County Tax.Collecit in the County Dapository of his

cedingweek until the mount so deposited for the current calendaryear shall have reached a total 6ua of Fifty Thousand (&O,OOO.OO) Zollarc. NTheretiftcr,

and until the motit 80 deposited for the y&w shall havo roached a total of One IIundred

Sovonty-fiveThousmd ($175,000.00) Dollarohe 3hztll

doposit to tho cre2i.t of naid Fund on Monday of each IJCO~C an amount equal to fifty (505)per cant of colloctionnmde hwwur,der during the precoclin~ voel:.

~~‘ww”tC1md ,“~n”vC”“..D .I-- ._, ,. I-.,,..._.,... ^ _..,.^......._ _- .----..-- -..-..- .- -.,...... -.., --.. -- -.--, Honorable 8rm Bnin, Pago 2

"Thereafter,

he shall make no further deposits to the credit of said Fund during that calendar All collectionsmade during any week under ~~?~rovicionu of this Act (Arts. 66758-l to 6575a14; P. C, Art. 87oa) in excess of the mounts rcquired to be deposited to the credit of the Rond end Dridge Fund of MS county shall be remittedby eaoh County Tax Collector on each Honday of the eucceedingweek to the State Rlghway Departmenttogethervith carbon copies of each license receipt issuedhereunder during the precedingweek. Re shall also on Monday of each weok.remit to the Dopartment as nov provided by Law, 811~ transfer fees and chauffeurs'license fees collectedby him during the precedingweek, togetherwith carbon copies of all receipts isoued for oald feea during the veek.

"He shall e&o accompauy all remittancesto the Highway Departmentvith a completereport of such collectionsmade end dispositionmade thereof, the form and contents of &aid report to be preecribedby the State PUghway Department. Rone of the monies eo plaoed to the credit of the Road and \ Bridge Fund of 8 county &all be used to pay the salary or compensationof any County Judge or County Commlssioncr, but all said monies shall be’used for the constructionand maintenanceof lateralroads in such county under the supervision of the County Engineer, if there be one, and if there is no euch engineer,then the County Commiasioners'Court ohall have authority to command the eervicee of the Divialon Engineer of thho State EL,&- vay Department for the purpoae of supervisingthe constructionand surveyingof lateral roads -in their respeotive counties,.All funds allocated to.tho countleaby the provisions of~thiaAct (Arts, 6675a-1 tia

6675a-14; P. C. Art. 807a) may be used by the couutlea in tho payment of obligations,If any, issued and incurred in the constructionor the improvementof all roads, Including Stnte nighvays of such counties and districto therein; or the improvementof the roads comprisingthe CountyRoad 8y8tom." 1 ' I

The above mentioned otatute oxprosolgprovideshov motor roglrtrationfees coming to the County ehnllbo expended. It Olga provideo that such foos be placed in the Road and Bridge Fund of tho county.Bonorable Z3r.m BeAn, Page 3

Section 9, Article 8 of our State Oonztitution prescribes the naximum rate of t=os for generalpurpo2ezI, for roads and bridges, for juries, and for permanentimprovementorespectively. The monoy~wiaing from taxes levied and collected from each of the above enumeratedpurposea are conotitutionalfunds.

The Commiseionora~ Court has no authority to trmafar money from one conetitutionalfund to another,or to expend, for one purpose, tax money raised ostensiblyfcr anotherpurpose. The Immediatepurpose of the provision1s to limit the amount of taxes that may be raised for t&se oeveralpurpomzo, reapectivoly,and it la aleo designedto inhibit excessive expenditureafor any of such pwpoo~s ma to require that any and all moneys raised by taxation for any purpoee ahall be applied to that pwpoce and no other, Carrollvs. Ifllliams, 202 Se Ii. 504j hit V. Kill COUIlty, 1.16 9. W. 359; Tex. Jw. Vol. 11, p. 609-10-U; Henderson v. Bock, 262 s. w. 94.

It is settled law in this State that the Com~izaloners'Courts have no powro or dutlcs except those Glich are clearly sot forth and dofined in the Constitutionand statutesof thia State or neceosnrily implied therefrom.

.., Opinim Ao. O-937 of thi8 dcpartmcntholds th&

the CommIasioners' Court doos not have authorityto transfer funds from tho Road and Bridge Fund to tho C-worn1 Fund. It is further Dtated in eald opinion that "the ComMaoioncrsl Court is not authorizedto transfer any moneys from one oonotitutzfonal

fund into another. Such tran8for,if made, vould constituteo diversion of such funds and be invalid."

Articles 1625, 2626 and 1627, Vernon'3Annotated Fexna Civil Stetutea,roadn as follows:

"kct. 1625. Each county treasurer shallkeep o. veil-boundbock In which he ehall registerall I clSims egalnst his county in tho ardor of preeentation, and if more than one ie presented at the same time he ahall register them in the order of their date. Be shall pay no such claim or any part thereof,nor shall the anme, or any part timreof, be received by any officer in payment of any indebtedneas to tho county, L:ltil it has been duly regi8terOd In accordancewith tho provisionsof this title. All clalns In each class 8hal.1 be paid in.the ardor in which they are registorcd."Honorable Sam &in, Page 4

“Art.. 1626. C~SIIIIS ag&w R 00&y am be reSIstered in three olaoses, as fol.lovs~
9. All jury ~crip’and scrip Lasued for fsed3.q jurors.
“2. All scrip Issued under the provisionsof the road lav or for vork done on roads tid bridges.

‘3. All the general indebtednessof the county, ticludixq feeding and guardinSprisoners, and pauperst claims. ”

nm. 1627. Said treasurer shall enter ench clt&z in the register, atatlng the class to which it belongs, the name of the poyec, the amount, the date of the claim, the date of registration,the number of euch clolm, by what authority issued, and forwhat service the same vas Issued, and shall ttrlte on the face of the 01aLu Its registration &umber, the vord cregistered,c the date of such ;;E;;zai$ion,and ~ha11 sign his name offLcia3ly t
The case of Wilkinson v. Pranklin County, et al, 94 8. W, 1190, (TexarkanaCourt of Civil Appeals) (I!rit of Error Refused) held that an order of the Commissioncrst Court requiring the county treasurer to pay currentvarrantsdrawn 8gainst the county general fund in preference to warrents of prior yaara dravn a.@.nst the general fund was void and the court held that varrcJl%i iosuad during prior ~oe.rs vkich’ bore preferentialreSistrationnumbers to currentyear varrants vere payable out of the general fund for the current year in preference to current year warrants. Also see the case of Clarke PCCourts vi San Jack&o County, 45 S. W. 315, 316.

I The case of Iiovard et & v. Rendorson County, et al, 116.

S. W. (2d) 479, holds among other thlnSs, that the County Co~missloners~Court is vithout authorityto bLnd the county by contract or othoruiseto pay olaimn in cash vhereby such claFns vould be given preference in pessnt over other registered cl.aLms of the county.

.

,HonorableSam Bain, pago 5

Since the Legislaturehas specifically provided that registrationfees shall bo expended for specificpwpoaes, those fees may not be legally expended for any otherpurpose, nor nay they be cretitqd to any fund except the Road and Bridge pund as directedby the statutej and when eo creditedthe COD nisoionerstCourtmay not trt-msfcr them, or any part thereof, to any other fund of the county.

It is our opinion that your question shouldbe answeredin the negative, 8nd it is so anewered.
Yery truly yours ATTORNEY

GICIEFSLOF TEXAS

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APPRCVECMAR 28, 1941 

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ATTORNEYGENERALOF TFXAS