Arrxmm $1. TEXAS 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

March 31, 1948 

Hon. H. P. Querra, Jr. 

county Attorney 

Starr County 

Rio Grande City, Texas 

Opinion No. V-532 

Re: The validity of a ~Comlulssloners' court order that all road employees shall be hired and all road materials shall be Wchased by the 8 omt, 

aatlng through the 

County Judge, rather 

than by lndivldua~~ 

~oounty commiss10n.ra. 

Dear sir: 

Reference Is made to your recent request 

which reads, in part, as follows: 

"The CommIssionera Court 0r Starr 

County has passed a resolution to the effect that from and after the 28th day of 

February 1948, all road hands, foremen and 

any and all persons WW employed on the 

oounty roads, who have been employed by 

the commissioners of the respective precincts, be discharged and that upon their 

discharge, the Commissioners Court &all 

employ akl mob county road workers In 

the various precincts. The resolutionalso provides that all materials and supplies 

necessary in the malnhainancr bZ such roada 

shall be purchased by the court and not by 

the respecttve commtssloners and further 

provides that the County Judge 1s thereby 

appolntod the sole person authoriaed to 

employ such m&ma &ml make all purchases. 

This resolution vaa passed, two oonasissloners voting for it, two against It and 

the County Judge voting for it. 

"The two comisslraers who voted 

against the resolution, consider that 
Hon. H. P. Cuerra, Jr., page 2, (V-532) 

it Is an attempt on the part of the two 

oommlssloners who voted for it and the 

County Judge to gain control over all 

road matters within the precincts of 

these two commissioners who voted against 

the resolution. They considerthat this 

would be tantamnmt to relieving them of 

their duties as comuxLss1oners for their 

respective precincts which they assumed 

upon being aleCted and that It would effect a delegation of their duties to 

someone who Is not charged by law with 

the performance of such duties. . . 

‘1 request yo6r opinion aa to the 

legal effect of the rasolutlon which I 

have described above. 

You also advised us that Starr County Is not 

operating under the optional County Road Law. 

Article 2351, V. C. S., provides, in part, 

that: 

“Each commlssloners court shall%... 

“3. Lay out and establish, change 

and discontinue public roads and hlghways. 

“4. Build bridges and keep them in 

repalr i 

“5. Appoint road overseers and apportion hands. 

“6. Exercise general control over 

all roads, highwayg, ferries and bridges 

in their counties. 

Article 6713, V. 0. S., 1s as follows: 

, 

“Except when road commlssloners are 

employed, the county commissioners shall 

be supervisors of public roads In their 

respective counties, and each comml.aslon- * 

er shall supervise the public roads within 

his oommlssloners precinct once each month. 

He shall also mke a sworn report to each 
Hon. H. P. Ouerra, Jr., page 3, (V-532) 

regular term of the cOBfIdBB~OnerS court 

hsld in his county during the ysar, showing% 

“1. The condition of all roads and 

parts 0r roads in his precinct. 

“2. The condition of all culverts 

and bridges. 

“3. The amount 0r money remaining in 

the hands of overseeps subject to be expended upon the road8 within his precinct. 

“4. The number of mile posts and finger boar&h defarsd and torn down. 

‘5. What, Lf any, new roads of any 

kind sheoLd be opened ln his preoin&t, and 

what, If any, bridges, amlverts, or other 

impPOVement8 are necessary to place the 

roads In his precinct in good GOnditiOn 

and ths probable cost of such improvements; 

also the name of eve- overseer who has 

failed to work on the road, OF In any way 

neglected to perform hls duty. 

“Said report shall be spread upon the 

minutes of the cou&, to be considered in 

Improving public roads and deter$.nlng the 

amount of tares levied therefor. 

penditure 

counties, 

Article 6740, V. C. S., provide8 for the exof the road and bridge fund of the various 

and Article 6741, V. C. S., provides that: 

“The commlssloners court may make and 

enforce all reasonable and necessary rules 

and orders for the working and repairing 

of public roads, and to utillre the labor 

to be used and money expended thereon, not 

in confliot with the laws of this State. 

Said court may purchase or hire all necessary road machinery, tools or toams, and 

hire such labor as may be needed In addltlon to the labor requ&redWof citizens to 

build or repair the roads. 

If Starr County has appointed a road supsrln- 
. - 

Hon. H. P. ffuerra, Jr., page 4, (V-532) 

tendent for the county or one such superintendent for 

each precinct of the county, pursuant to~Artlcle 6743, 

v. c. s., then Article 6751, V. C. S., la applicable 

and is as r0ii0ws: 

'The coamlssioners court of any such 

county Is authorized to purchase or hire all . 

necessary road machinery, tools, Implements, 

teams and labor required to grade, drain, or 

repair the rwds of such county, and said 

,court is authorized and empowered to make all 

reasonable and necessary rulea, ordora and 

regulations not in conflict with law for laying out, working and otherwise Improving the 

public roads, and to utilize the labolr and 

moneynexpended thereon, and to enforce the 

same. 

(01~. App. 

The court, 

t 7 

in the cash of Stovall v. Shivers, 

7 8. w."(2d) P76, aTfIrmed 129 Tex. 256, 

103 9. w. 26 363, said: 

'By AFtlole 2342 of the Revlsod Statutes, It ia provided that the several commissioners, together with the county judge, 

shall composb the lcixnmissloners GOtad.' 

Such court Is IJEinifeBtly a unit, and Is the 

agency of the whole county. The respective 

members of the colamissioners court are therefore primarily representativss of the whole 

county, and not merely representatives Of 

their respective precincts. The duty of the 

commissioners court is to transact the buslness, protect the interest, and promote the 

welfare of the county as a whole. Among the 

powers conferred upon such court by article 

2351 are the following: The power to lay 

out and establish, change and discontinue 

roads and highways, the power to build bridges 

and keep them In repair, and the power to exercise general control over all roads, lU.$hways, 

ferries, and bridge8 in their counties. 

We believe that the resolution Is merely cumlative Insofar as It states that the Commissioners1 

Court shell employ all such county road workers In the 

various precincts, since it is incumbent upon the Commissioners' Court to perform this duty under the statutea, even in the absence of such a resolution. True, 
Xon. 11. P. Cuerra, Jr., page 5 (V-532) 

each Commissiona) may recommend to the Counniaaloners~ 

Court that it employ certain PSPBOnS~ to work on the 

county roads in his respective precinct, but the Commissioner himself has no authority to e$log road hands. 

Nor do we believe that the Commissioners Court may delegate this power to the County Judge. 

The same rule or lav Is applicable to the 

Commisalonera* Court relative te purchases made by the 

county. We shall quote only those statutes which deal 

with county purchases which we deem pertinent to your 

Inquiry. 

Article 1659, V. C. S,, provides, la part, 

as r0ii0wS: 

“Supplies of every kind, road and 

bridge material, or any other material, 

for the use or said county, or any of 

Its officers, departments, or instltutlona must be purchased on competitive 

blda , , . . In cases or emergency, purchases not In excess of one hundred and 

fifty dOllal’ may be made upon ZWquiBition to be approved by the commissioners 

court, “without advertising for competitive 

bids. 

Article 6729, V. C. S., provides, In part, 

a8 r0n0vS: 

"Th0 CO~iBBiO~Sl'B COUZ't IE%y'USe 

either timber, earth, atone, gravel, or 

other necessary material most convenient 

therefor to build, repair, or maintain 

any public road or any part of any public road in the county without regard 

to the location or extent thereof or the 

funds from which said repair or maintenance la paid. In such case the owner of 

any such material shall be paid a fair 

and just compensation therefor as may be 

agreed upon by the owner or tfis agent 

and the commiBBloners court. 

The aot further provides in the event the 

Commissioners1 Court ancj the owner of the material fail 

to agree upon the price to be paid for such material 

that the COdBSi0IKWS t Court may condemn same. 
Ron. H. P. ffuerra, Jr., page 6 (V-532) 

Article 2368a, Sec. 2, as amended In 1947, R. 

3 a, 50th Leg., provides, ln part, as follows: 

'Qec. 2. No county acting through 

it8 Commi8sioner8 Court and no city In 

this State shall hereafter make any contract oalllng for or requiring the expenditure or payman% of Two Thousand bllara 

($2,000) or more out of any fund or funds 

of any county or subdivision of amy ooUnty 

creating or~imposing an obligation 6r llabillty of any nature or character upon such 

county or any subdivision of such county, 

or upon such City, without first sUbmittiE%gV 

such proposed contract to competitive bids. 

It further provides for advertisement, etc., 

together with a calamity clause. 

We think it abundantly clear from the above 

statutes that it Is the duty of the cO3UIIiBS~On~rS’ Court 

to m8.ke such purchases and further that the power 18 a 

non-delegable one. Rence, the Commissioners' Court may 

not authorize the County Judge to make such purchases. 

By virtue of the foregoing, it is the opinion 

of this Department that the resolution passed is Of no 

force and effect insofar as it attempts to dele$ate to 

the County Judge the power to employ road hands and to 

make purchases for the county. 

SUMMARY 

That portion of a resolution passed 

by the Commissioners' Court of Starr County Which provide8 that all COUnty road employees shall be hired and all road materials Shall be purchased by the County Judge 

Is invalid, since this duty Is Imposed upon the Commissioners' Court. Arts. 1659, 

2368a and 6729, V. C. 3. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNFX GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY 

Assistant