**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS**
AUSTIN

Hon. Chaa. 8. Martin Oounty kudttor zalTfeton

county Yarllll&11,

70~8 Ilarah 6, 1939Hon. ahas. B. &tax-tin, Yarah 6, 1939, Page 8

as follows:

*seotion4. This aot shall ba In roraa and efiaat for a period of two years from and arter the date of Its aneotmsnt.a
wSaotIon4a. Provides that the prorIeIone of this aat shall apply to aountlaswith a populationof not lass than 49,900 end not@ore +kx~+N 48,915 and oountiaewith a populationof i&t lees than 10,570 and not more than 10,380, aaoordlng to the last preoedlngFederal aenaue.m Seation 1 or Artlela 9S79s-1reads as rollowe
Vha Ooqjty C@maieeIonerl~ Oourta and the Ulti Wmmi~eloa df any Inowporated tow within eaid Oouaty oi this Strta ara hereby authorlnrad

to leaee or rent ofifae epaae for the purpose of aidin& end oooperating with tha agenolceof the Stats l nU Faders1 Governments an$agad In the administration or relief of tho unuplo9ad and needy paopla of the 8tate ot Texas, and to @a~ the regular monthly utIlIt)r

bills for l

uoh ofiIae8, euah'as llghte, gas end watert an& when In the opinion of a majority of the OoamWilo~. Court of a ,oqunt~ l

uoh ofiloi epqoc,

is o&eenti81to the proper

l drlaletntlaa'o? eoah yanalee or either the **8tate** or fedwal @owrnmente, l eid t?ourte am heroby 8peolilrally authorIcedtQ &my ror same end for the rqular monthly atlfity bills for euah o?tIoo# out of the Oounty*e 9eaeral Fund by warreat as in the paymeat of Other obligationsoi the Oounty. The provil ion8 ot this Aot l

h8ll apply to oountimehwing e populationo? not Ire8 than forty-sI$ht thouautdnIna hundred and not mora than fortynine thousandaaoordlngto tha laet praasdlng Fsdozal CenSuS.” MOe+4lng t@ tine aat ~odanl QeneY6,mrrleell Oounty had a pcipuletion of 4S,9bt, thee falling tithb~ the tons8 and provisionsOrz AHIolae BMlb-89 and SST%r-1 **aad** baI* the only ootwty in the State aomlng within theHon. Chae. R. Martin,Usroh 6, 1939, Page 3

populationbrackets sat forth In the sbovemsntionsdetatutee sxoept whsreln the last alaese of SeatIon 4a, ArtI; 010 522lb-83, eupra,provides that:

"In aountieewith a populationof not lees than 10,370 and not more thsn lO,JBO, aaaordlng to the last preast¶Ing Fedsral asnsue.*
We are shown by the last Federal oeneue, &&on County had a populationof 10,571 Inhabitants, being the only aounty in the Stats coming within the population braakst est.

out In the last olauee of Ssatlon 4s. Artlale bl?Zlb-83.

We bslisve that Ar&Iols SMlb-23 deelgnatseby dseorIptIon

Harrisonand Uax+on Countlse,whioh In just as sifeatlrshad suah oountieebssn epeaItIaally raentlonod by name In the etatnteand that the applicationof this aot Is so Inilexiblyflxod ae to prevent It ever beins 3 appllqablsto other oountlee,the same being true with refsrsaaeto Artlola 8578s~1 Insofaras It ap Pfled only to EIsrrIeon

County at the tima It went Into ef~sot.
SootIon $5, Art1010 3 of the State Constitution reads In pert ee hollower

%m Leglelatu.rs

hall not, exaspt as otherwlesprorId@ In this OonetI+utIon, pa58 any loaal or l

paoIal laws, suthorltlng.... rsgulatlngthe affairs of oountlee,alt,Ise, towm, wards or eohooldletrIate....and in all othsr aaeee where e gmnoral law oan k medo npplloable,

no looal or epeoial law shell bs oaaoted;prwldsd, that nothIng.hersinoontalned shall be oonetruodto prohibit the Leglelatruofrom peealhg l peaiel lawe Sor the prreervationof (c(old and rieh of this State in oertaln 100a11t1s*~*
In the aaee, Ora9 vs. Taylor, eE7 0. 81 $1, the Suprsms Court of ths United Stats8 defined a loaal law aet

-ho phraes 'loaal law' moans prImmIlT, at least, e lew In faot, If not In form, Is dlraoted only to a l peolila

epotrm

I-Hon. Chas. R. Martin, &m-ah 6. 1939, Pago 4

The aase, City o? Fort Worth vs. Bobbitt, S6 S+?(2nd) 470, holds among other things,that:

*An aat applloableto oOuutIe8having a populationOf fran 3!5 190 to 35,EOOwas sraeIn and clpeolal,

oltlng &eon te. Buraon, 64 Ohio State 4701 Owen OOunty CommIeeIouere vs. 8panelar, 159 **Ind.** 575, and that an act authorisIng bonds by aItIse having between 106,000 and llOoOOO InhabItante by 1920 OOIISUB

bslng a plloable only to one alty hold looal law with n P oonstItutIonal

provIsIon.W Con8tItutIonArtlale 3, Seation 56.
The aaeo, Bsrar Ootmtyvs. Tyman et al, 97 81 (2nd) 567, holds In effsat, that:

*Courts In determiningwhether law Is public, general, spoolal or looal ~111 look to Its eubetanooand praotlaaloperation rather than to Its title, form, phraseology ulnae otherwiseprohibitionand **fundamental** law ~ainet epoolal legislation **would** ba nugatory. The Laglelatura may olaesffy aountlaeon basis o? populationfor purpoaa o? fixin oomp6meatlono? oounty and preolnet oiifoerebut alaesl?laatIoa must bo'baeed

. on real dIetlnotionand must not bs arbltrarIly deolsod to gI+o what ia, In eubetanao,**a** looal 

### or

l peolal law tha form o? goneral law. **Aote** rodualng ealariseof offiasre In soumties o? eOO,Of?O **and** loos than 310,OOO populatlon hold uureasonablo and arbitrary In its sleseIfIoatlon

and void as a epoolal law.'
'We balleva that whether the aats in questionan to ba **regarded** as epaoialand whothir their operation is uniform throughoutthe &tate depends **upon** whether **the** population afiords a fair baeIe for the ol.aeai?iaatioa Of nounties with reraronoo to matter8 to whloh they relate and whether the rasult they aaoolPplleh Is in fast a real ala8si- ?IatIoaupon that **basis** and not a daelgnatlonof a SIP&&la aounty to whioh clone they #hall apply under the gufeo of. 5

=,

Hon. Chas. R. Martin,Maroh 6, 1939, Page S

suoh olassIfIoatIon. The laws In questionware so dram that they are general In tora but In faot only applied, **at** the tI5e they Went intO emat, t0 &ZTiSOn COUUty rith the l xaeptloaabove stated relatlreto Mardoa County.
You further inquire, If any ol the abovomentloned atatqtesara unoonstltutlonal, la the CommIa~Ionera~ Court authorlsedand IS It mandatoryon It to oolleotand reoorer tram the wulour persons the amounts of **funda** paid to them under and by virtue of the abwe **q&f#d** l**ta** tutec4,
The oaee, Ekmsumsva. Botts, S4 Tea. 555, holds

I In effaot that an unoonstItatIotiel lo.tí r kg u la&sg

the ool- leotioa of debts proteotedalerts of oourts aotlng under it.
The Supreme Oour%of the Dnltad States In tho oase of United States ~8~ Realty Ocmpany,163 0. 8. 489, 41 U. 5. (X..

Ed.) glb hold knowledgeor the InvalIdIt]r of aa aot of COngrew ~111 not be **Imputed,** In adrmeo of any authoritative dealaratlonto that **effeot,** to thosa who are aotiag under Its protisloas,so as to praolnde them fra having equltIe8**bwed** on their relIanaeupm the aot.
*An Offleer who, u.thOtrt authorityof law, oolleots taxes Or moemaire fees aa7 bo oompellodto nIm?mr # the pacson~ 

### rrom whm the mosey was rooo.ved. But Sees paid voluntarilyand with ia ,lknewledge of the faots, though under a m.stake of law, onnaot, **under** settledprlnelpleI,be reoovered.* 3 **(S4** Tex. **Star. 476g**  **S8 T**  **IX. Jar.,**  **71593**Xlrahfield ts. .rt.

Worth Uat.. Bank. 83 **Tex.** 4Sg, **18 8E**  **94Si** Oounty of ,& .ve*ton vs. Oorham, **49** Tex. **879, SOS;**  **Qify of**  **Xourton to.**  fee8or, **96** Ter. Bbb, 1S SW 86&I
You ere n8peotfoll~ adrimed that ft 18 the opinion of thle Departmentthat Artiole gWBe-1 **and Arti**  01s bgglb-gSare speolal law8 **and,** therefore **are** unoon*tltutlonal **snd** void and you are rusther advise4 that the CommI88Ioner8~ Court I8 not authoriwd te oolleat andc Hon. Chn8. R. Xartln.Maroh 6, 1939, Page 6

reamer fund8 from the rarIou8 permon8, the amount8 OS funda paid to th8m under and by virtue of the abotementlonml 8ktute8.

Tru8tIag that the foregOlagmm?w8 your Inquiry, we ramin Very truly your8 ATTOlUEY -L OF ‘fl!XAS
BYL2,64%ewA

Ardell WIllIars

**A8818tant**
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