# The Attorney General of Texas January 8, 1980 MARK WHITE AttorneyGeneral
Honorable Tom O’Connell Criminal District Attorney Collin County Courthouse McKinney, Texas 75069

Dear Mr.O’Connell: Youesk: Opinion No.PIW-124 Re: Legality of county contracts in which a county commissioner is indirectly interested, and related questions.

May a county legally enter into a contract for the purchase ofroad materials from acompany when said company is in turn paying a county commissioner royalties or other monies for some of these road materials? You explain that the county purchases its needs for crushed rock pursuant by a single bid submitted to the Commissioners Court of Collin County by a company that for many years has mined the material, crushed it, and stereo it at five specific quarries. When crushed rock is needed for road maintenance, the county commissioner responsible for the district maintained sends county trucks to one of the quarries for the rock needed. The company pays the quarry owner a royalty for each truckload of rock removed from his quarry. Your question arises because one of the quarries is owned by a county commissioner and his son. The circumstances of the matter, according to your office, were well known to all members of the commissioners court at the time the bid wasaccepted. InAttorney General Opinion MW-34(1979),weobserved: Article 2340, V.T.C.S., requires that, uponentering the duties ofoffice, a county judge and each member ofthe commissioners court take a written oath that he will not be directly or indirectly interested in any contract with, or claim against, the county in which he resides.

. ..

P. 387nonorame

It has long been firmly established in this state that a contract between a public official and the public body of which he is a member is contrary to public policy and therefore void, if the official has any personal pecuniary interest in the contract. Bexar County v. Wentworth, 378 S.W.2d 126 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1964,writ reFd n.r.e.); Starr County v. Guerra, 297S.W.2d 379 (Tex. Civ. App - San Antonio 1956, no writ>; Me ers v. Walker, 276 SW. 305 (Tex. Civ. App. - Eastland 1925, no writ

. + Thisfice has said that the purpose ofarticle 2340 is ‘to eliminate any conflicts of interest between the county and those whomanage its fiscal affairs.’ Attorney General Opinion No.H-624 (1975). See Attorney General Opinions M-1140(1972); WW-1406(1962). EG compelling circumstances are not sufficient to render such a contract lawful. Attorney General Opinions H-734, H-695 (1975).

... Such a contract may not be subsequently ratified, Limestone County v. Knox, 234 S.W. 131(Tex. Civ. App. - Dallas 1921,nowrit).

... The situation you describe does not involve a contract directly between a public official and the public body of which he is a member, but it does invoive a contract and claims against the county in which apublic official has an indirect pecuniary interest, at least, and perhaps a direct one. The arrangement is violative of article 2340, V.T.C.S., which isdesigned to eliminate such conflicts ofpublic and private interests Attorney General Opinion H-354 (19741,cited by one of the briefs submitted to us, does not support a contrary conclusion. There, it was determined that a county might purchase gasoline from a comoration owned bv the brother of a countv commissioner
“assumingit to be true that no county commissioner has an interest, dire& orindirect. in the corporation.

. . .‘I s at 3. See also Attorney General Opinions H-1309 (1978);H-993
‘(1977);H-329 (1974). Cf. Attorney General Opinion O-6044 (1944).

- This office does not pass upon disputed matters of fact in its opinion process, but applies the law to the facts given us. Under the facts given here, it isour opinion that the contract is illegal and void. See Bexar County v. Wentworth, 378 S.W.2d 126(Tex. Civ. APP.- San Antonio 1964, wxref’d n.r.e.); Penal Code §39.Oh V.T.C.S. art. 2340; cf, Attorney General Opinion H-354 (1974). SUMMARY Where a county commissioner receives royalties on the sale ofrock to a company which in turn sells the rock to the county, the contract for sale ofthe rock to the countv isvoid.



# -&?h$&&

MARK WHITE Attorney General ofTexas

P. 388Honorable Tom O’Connell - Page Three (MW-124)

JOHN W.FAINTER, JR. First Assistant Attorney General TEDL.HARTLEY Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared byBruce Youngblood Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITTEE C.Robert Heath, Chairman Jim Allison David B.Brooks Walter Davis BobGammage Susan Garrison Rick Gilpin Bruce Youngblood

P. 389