June 23, 1947

Hon. Julian E, Weisler OpinionNo. V-263 CountyAttorney WashingtonCounty Re: Power of the County Brenham, Texas Com.bw.ionePsq Court to purchase land Pop Dear Sir: a county fair,

Your pequeat fop an opinion is as followss aWaahin&.on

County is desirous of acquiringand inp~oving a tract of land, to be purchased in fee by the County, to be used pemanently aa a County FairgPounds. D 0 “Willyou, thetiefore, let us have yollr opinionas to whether the county is authorized,

under the ltw, to purchase lands fop such purpose? Article 2372d,V,C.S., reads in part as fol1owss
“set, 1, All counties in’the State acting by and through their respective CosmiasionersP

Courts may provide for annual exhibits of horticultural and agaiculturalproducts, livestockand mlneral products, and such other products as ape of interest to the community, In connection therewith,such countiesmay also establishand maintainmueeuma9 including the creation of necessarybuildingsand other improvementsin their own counties
OP in any other county OP city in the United States,where fairs OP expositions are being held, %ec, 2, The Commiasionem” Court of the respective counties OP the ~OISIIliSsioners’CouPts of several countiesMy cooperatewith each other and participate with local interests in ming fop theHon. Julian E. WeisleP, page 2

erection of said bulldims and otheP irprovementsas may be neoessare to accomplish the puPpoaementioned in Section 1 of this Act and for the assembling,erecting, and maintainingof such hoPtlcultura1 and agPlcultura1,

livestockand mineral ex; higits, and the expenses incident thepeto, (UndePqcoPing

supplied)

In the case of Dancy v. Davidson, 183 S.W, (2d) 195, the County puPchaseda buildizig u.ndeP the authority of Art. 2351, Sec. 7, V.C.S,, which says: 7~.

"CommlssionsPs9

CoUpt shall D O

..

pro-“ vide and keep in PepalP, couPt housea, landother necessarybuildings." jailsi.,.

,, .- This is the sole statutorysource of power of the ConmissionePsq Court Pelative to county PaLIPs, and if any authopityexists for the purchase of land fop such purpose it must be derived fPom this statute.

This DepaPtment,following the decisions of the Texas Courts,has repeatedlyheld that the Commissioners' CouPt **is** a court at limited juriadictibn and has only such powers as ape confePPedupon it by the statutesand Constitution of this State, either by express terms OP by necessary implication, Set, 1.8 of AFtiole V of the Texas Contititution,

Article 2351, V.C.S.;Von Rosenbergv*~'Lovett, 173 S.-W.

508; Galveston,H. & 5. A. Rye Co; v. Uvaide County, 167 S.W. (26) 1084, 11 Tex. Jnr. 564.

The Cod held in that case that: 'The poweP to pPovide is the poweP to pumhaae. 'We, therefore,conclude that the conmia8ionePs'CouPt in the exercise of ita sound discretionIs legally authoPizedto purchase the bu$ldiug Involved fop the intended puPpose. Directly in point is the case of Hoon v. AllPed, 277 S.W, 787 (nit dismissed], which held that:
"Bext In oPdeP is the fnafstencethat the comiasioneps* GoaPt is without poweP under APt. 610 to issue bonds to pmchaseHon. Julian E. Weisler,page 3

a site OP equiptint for the couPt house and jail as sought to be done here. The question as to the power to issue bonds fop site OP equipment,as an independentproposition, Is not involved. The poweP to Issue the bonds must be derived, fPom the statutePeferred to, and it must be looked to in order to a8CePtainwhether the authority is given. The rule of construction, 'asoften declapedby OUP Supreme CouPt IS" UtWhenevep

a power is given by statute, everythingnecessary to make it effectual OP requisite to attain the end is implied.

. e The grant. of an expresspower carrieswith it, by neCeS8aPy implication, every other power necessaryand propep to the executionof the poweP expresslygranted. TePPellv, Sparks, 104 Tex. 191, 135 9.w. 519.'
"The Pule of construction as declared in the above casea muat control the instant case. o a o In TePPitoPgv0 Baxter, 16 Okl. 359, the SupPeme Court of Oklahoma,in construinga statute identical in substance with ours, held that the poweP given a commisslonePatcouPt to issue bond8 to build a jail necessarilyImplied the power to issue bonds to puPchase a site therefor,and that power to issue bonds to build a cowthouse likewise impliedpaver to issue such bonds to equip the same * D 0 e The conclusionis thePefoPereached that the oPdep fop the election la not void fop vant of authopity to include the propositionfop the puPchase of site and equipment.
In the above cited case the CoUpt held that the expresspower to build necesaapilyf.ISplieS the poweP to purchase a site fop a building.

Applying the principlesof the above casea~to the pPesent question, it is concludedthat the Legialature in granting the CommissionePs9 Court power to build museums,buildings and otheP ImpPovements, did not intend that Said COZIUissiOnePs o Court shouldbe limited to the erection of a atpuctUpeupon the propekty of another;Hon. Julian E. Weisler,page 4

but on the otheP hand intended and implied that the authority to purchase a site OP a fair grounds existed in conjunction

with the expresspower to build.
A copy of the letter opinion of June 1, 1936, vith reference to Ft. Bend County, for which you made request, is hepevith enclosed.

The CommiasionePsn Court of Washington County,under Article .2372d, has the implied authority to purchase land for a county fair.
Yours vePy tPuly
ATTORNEYGENRRAL OF TEXAS

**BY** By Assistant

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