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Honorable John R. Coffee Onlnlon No. WW-370 

County Attorney 

Howard County 

Big Spring, Texas 

Dear Mr. Coffee: : 

Re: Whether the Commissioners' Court has 

the authority to contract with a person 

or firm to maintain 

the County Courthouse. 

You have requested our opinion as to whether the 

Commissioners' Courthas the authority to contract with a 

person or a firm for the maintenance of the Howard County 

Courthouse. You state that such firm or person would hire 

and fire their own employees for the maintenance and repair of the Howard County Courthouse, and the contracting 

person or firm alone would be responsible to the Commlssioners' Court. 

Article 2351, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides in 

part as follows: 

"Each commissioners court shall: 

“7. Provide and keep In repair 

courthouses, jails and all necessary 

public buildings." 

In construing the powers and duties of the Commissioners' Court, the courts of this State have said: 

"The Constitution does not confer 

‘on the commissioners courts 'general authority 

over the county business' and such courts 

can exercise only such powers as the Constitution itself or the statutes have 'specifically conferred upon them.' . . . While the 

commissioners courts have a broad discretion 

in exercising powers expressly conferred on 

them, nevertheless the legal basis for any 

action by any such court must be,ultimatelx : 

found in the Constitutionor the statutes. 

Canales v. Laughlih~3,;::147 Tex.~leg, 214 S.W.2d 
Honorable John R. Coffee, Page 2 (w-3'0) 

451 (1948). 

Article 2351c, Vernon's Civil Statute?. provides 

that in counties having a population of more..Ithan 500,000 

the Commissioners' Court may designate a building superlntendent who shall appoint all necessary employees subject 

to confirmation by the Commissioners' Court. The Article 

further provldes,that the Court shall have the right to 

discharge any such employees at any time for cause, However, this Article is not applicable to your situation 

since the County does not have a population of over 500,000, 

but even this Article provides that the Commissioners' 

Court shall have the ultimate right to discharge any employee for cause. This Article by implication provides that 

there can be no delegation of the right to hire and fire 

janitorial employees. 

It has been held in Attorney General's Opinions 

No. O-2444 (1940) and No. 0-6085 (1944) that the Commlssioners' Court has the authority to employ and discharge 

Cou&house janitors, elevator operators and similar employees. 

Therefore, In view of the foregoing, we are of the 

opinion that the Commissioners I Court has no authority to 

delegate the maintenance of the County Courthouse to any 

individual or firm. 

SUMMARY 

The Commissioners' Court 

has no authority to delegate 

the maintenance of the County 

Courthouse to any individual 
Honorable John R. Coffee, Page 3 (w-370) 

or firm. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Llnward Shivers 

Assistant 

IS : pfk warn 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Geo. P. Blackburn, Chairman 

Cecil C. Rotsch 

J. Mark McLaughlin 

J. Milton Richardson 

John H. Mlnton, Jr. 

RRVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: W. V. Geppert