JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General 

The Attorney General of Texas 

August 28, 1978 

Honorable Homer A. Davis 

County Attorney 

Hartley County 

P. 0. Box 1110 

Dalhart, Texas 79022 

Opinion No. II- 1233 

Re: Whether election on annexation to hospital district may be 

held within three months of election defeating similar proposal. 

Dear Mr. Davis: 

You ask whether, on the facts presented, an election may be held on the 

annexation of part of Hartley County to the Moore County H,ospital District. 

Early in 1978, a petition was presented to the directors of the Moore County 

Hospital District seeking annexation into the district of part of Hartley 

County. The proposal was defeated by voters within the area proposed to be 

annexed. Thereafter, a second petition was filed seeking annexation of part 

of Hartley County into the Moore County Hospital District. This second 

petition covered a different tract of land than the first petition although 

there was some overlap. An election on the second proposal has been set for 

a date in August, 1978. You wish to know whether the second election may be 

called within three months of the first election. You inform us that the 

Hartley County Commissioners have voted to become part of a proposed 

Dallam-Hartley Counties Hospital District, which will require legislative 

action to establish. 

The Moore County Hospital District was established pursuant to an 

uncodified special law adopted under the authority of article 9, section 9 of 

the Texas Constitution. V.T.C.S. art. 4494q; Acts 1969, 61st Leg., ch. 287. 

Section 1A of the special law creating the hospital district provides in part: 

Under the provisions of this Section, territory which 

is not then within (i) Moore County, or (ii) within the 

boundaries of any other hospital district, or (iii) within 

the proposed boundaries of any hospital district which 

the Legislature has authorized to be included within 

the area of a hospital district under article IX, Section 

9 of the Constitution, may be annexed or added to the 

area included in the boundaries of the proposed district 

P. 4923 
Honorable Homer A. Davis - Page 2 (H- 12 3 3 ) 

set forth in Section 1. Territory which is proposed to be 

annexed or added may be in one or more tracts, each of 

which shall be either contiguous (adjacent) to the area of the 

district as described in Section 1, or contiguous (adjacent) to 

territory which has been or is proposed to be annexed to the 

district. 

If the territory in Hartley County fits the foregoing description, voters who reside 

there may petition for its annexation according to the following provision of 

section 1A: 

A petition asking that territory be annexed to the district 

may be presented to the board of directors of the district. . . . The board of directors, upon the receipt of the 

petition, if it finds that it would be in the best interest of 

the district, shall (within 90 days after such finding) approve 

the same and order an election to determine if such property 

shall be annexed or added to the district. 

. . . . 

The provisions of Section 3, with respect to the qualifications of voters in the election therein provided, as well as 

the provisions thereof with respect to the time, manner and 

holding of elections and giving notice thereof, shall apply to 

all elections held under the provisions of this Section. 

. . . The board of directors of the district may consider all 

petitions presented to it, and approve or reject the 

same. . . . 

(Emphasis added). Section 3(a) of the special law, referred to and emphasized 

above, reads in part: 

The district shall not be created, nor shall any tax therein, 

be authorized unless and until such creation and tax are 

approved by a majority of the qualified property taxpaying 

electors of the area of the proposed district voting at an 

election called for such purpose. . . . Such election shall be 

held not less than 35 nor more than 60 days from the date 

the election is ordered. The order calling the election shall 

specify the date, place or places of holding the election. . . . 

The failure of such election shall not operate to prohibit the 

calling and holding of subsequent electtons for the same 

p. 4924 
-, Honorable Homer A. Davis - Page 3 (H-1233) 

purpose; provided, however, that no district election for 

confirmation can be held within 12 months of any proced?& 

district election for confirmation, and, further provided, if 

this district is not confirmed within 5 years of the effective 

date of this Act, this Act is hereby repealed. 

(Emphasis added). We believe Texas courts, if called on to judicially interpret the 

meaning of “same purpose” as used above, would probaby hold under the facts 

presented that the second proposed annexation election is not for the “same 

purpose” as the initial election which failed because the second proposal 

encompasses substantially different territory, even though some land was included 

in both proposed annexations. Cf. Attorney General Opinion No. H-145 (1973) 

(political subdivision could hold one election per year at county expense). That 

being our opinion of the probable construction to be placed on the language under 

the facts presented here, we need not decide whether the prohibition of two 

elections within 12 months applies to annexations by reason of the emphasized 

language of section 1A. In all other respects the annexation election must comply 

with section 3. 

In the absence of an express limitation on the frequency of annexation 

elections, we believe none exists. See Attorney General Opinion V-585 (1948), V-126 

r 

(1947). The matter is within the discretion of the board of directors, which shall 

order an election if it would, in its judgment, be in the best interest of the district. 

. SUMMARY 

The special law under which the Moore County Hospital 

District was established, Acts 1969, 61st Leg., ch. 287, does 

not provide for a specific interval of time between annexation elections unless the elections are for the same 

purpose. 

APPROVED: 

DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant 

p. 4925 
. - 

Honorable Homer A. Davis - Page 4 (H-1233) 

C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 4926