A&st 6, 1952 

.i.opi'.R:; ~l$.~~S&&.d~r,.J& CpinioniNo. V-1494: 

County At+rnizy. 

Live oak County .F(e: A&hor4ty,of the Co&isGeorge West, Texas sioners' Court to levy 

and.collect a tax for 

the::purpose of iuiproving 

afid.a.mainta$nln&Tips 

StatePark;:: 

.?Cih a..Cqmls~i~nq-8' Court.levy and collect'a,l~@i,fti~.:the purpoiie.of':$iiiprovlng and:. 

maintalniqg.aYpark now.owneO by:$he .State :oP 

Tex@ 

.'A number of yea& ago an individuai.&nveyed.either to the State of Texas, or the 

State .?arks.B~ard~.+ .tract of-..l+nd.in Live 

Cg&.Coun~y,~.n~ 'the CLty .of m.ee*Riverq,. 

fo~~.,p~k .pupposesi.~ Private .donzit$oqs .have . . 

been.qbta$ned and.the -land ps+rti$Q! .$npro,ved 

apd,,,used.as a publIc.,parki ~t-~s:%nowq.,as.- :: 

'Tips-.~Staj?e Park. .$y ltiormat3on~3.s that,the 

State..~has expended.no.money:3'~~t.he..improvemetit 

.or,wintenar& .df;the Pqk or .at.most the H$ghtiay Dqparfmtint, may. have,.made..&ome. improvement 'I 

onthe. approaches from the highwas in and.-out 

~of...the park.- Parties,ititereste+d.i,I%? the park 

.desire 'the Commissioners' Court'to.call an..' 

election for the purpose.of determining whether 

or not. to.levya. tax..for .the purptse of lmprovlng .a+maintajning the> park;::..: 

. We.,as&ume$romthe &$ovq.statement 'thattitle 

to then TiLps-lSt,ate..Pi&~Q~in.the St&e.of Texas rather 

.thEin Live O&County. 

The d&islons: pfl,$he Texas: co&ts.hav& rec.. 

: peated~gl.hel~.;:that the .qo@.ss:io.ners:l c.ourt. is a court 

of limited jurisdiction and has only such powers as’are 

conferred upon it, either by express terms or by neces- 
Hon. R. E. Schneider, Jr., page 2 (v-1494) 

62G 

sary impllcatlon, by the: Constltutlon~and statutes of 

this State. Chlldress County v. State, 127'Tex. 343, 

92 S.W.2d 1011 (1936); Von Rosenberg v. Lovett, 173 

.S.W. 508 (Tex. Civ. App. 1915 . 

Hall, 280 s.w.289 (Tex. Civ. 

Koper v. 

VrcrS. 

iprg2gy;'A$t. 2351, 

Article 6078, V.C.S., authorizes the commissloners'.court to ezpend money for .lmprovlng 'iind operating a Park which Is being operated by the!State Parks 

Board. . It provides in part as follows: 

."Each'Commlssioners Court is authorized 

%o levy-and collect a tax not to exceed five 

.(5) .cetits'oti each one hundred-dollars assessed valuation of the county for the purchase 

and Improvement of, lands for .tise.aa county 

pa&s.;-:No such tax Shall be ltivied and collected until the proposition is submitted to 

and ratified by the property taxpaying. voters 

.of thb'county'at a general or speclal~ election 

caXled,:for that puppose, provld&d,.~&two- -' 

thirds:-majority of the propertytaxpaylne;. 

voterti of such county, at an electioriheld~.for 

such purpose shall determine ln,favor of said 

tax. ; ~~. .~. 

!~Saction'2. All parks acqu$red:by'aG 

thorit$tif 'this Act ~.+iall .be under‘ the-coritfiol 

and management of .the cbuntg iicqulring-the: 

'same,, provided~ that the Commissioners Court 

may by ,,agreement with the Stiate Parks Board 

thin the land :over.tia the State Park&Boa?d 

'to be .operated Eis a public park; the expenses 

of the Improvement and operatlofi.of-such~park 

to~be,pald by the c‘ountg and/ol(,coopez?ative‘ 

~Federal-.agencies according to the agreement 

to be.made between such'county and the.S$ate 

Parks .Board:" 

It is .our opinion -that Section 2 of this act 

contemplates the expenditure of coiznty funds on parks 

which are owned by the counties but which have been turned 

over‘to~the State .Parks Board to be~operated by it. The 

.statute does not-authorize a ~county to .transfer ownership 

to the State Parks B.oard, nor does It authotiise, county 

to expend county monies on parks which 8re ?wned,by the' 

Boara, hit merely authorizes transfeFof pqssesslon to 

the Board 'and permits the,courity to prov'ide :~ftidti,jfoti.
Hon:R. E. Schnelder,~- Jri,:,page 3.. 

improvement and operationof the-parkivhlle it-.&s; In 

the possession~of~the Board?' 

Article '@Sl.e, .V:C.S .,-'aiso.authorizes counties to.~levya~+axfor,the.lmprovement.,and operation of 

parks owned b.y the counties .but operated by the:..State. 

Parks Roard..:.Y~Sec~tion.3 of this statutereads:. 

"All parks acquired by authority of this 

Act shall be under the control and management 

of,the city or c~ounty acquiring same or by the 

city :andLco.unty jointly, where'they haveacted Jointly iin acquiring s.ame, ,provided. 

that the Commissioners1 Court and.the.City 

Commlsslon or City.Councll.may, .by agreement, 

with the State Parks 'Board, turn the land over 

to.'the State Parks.Board to beg operated.as~ a 

'publiccpark,: the expense of the:tmprovement 

and .operation of such~~~park'to be paid~by the 

aounty and/or'c&ty, according to::th~e agreement 

to beg made between such.munlc%palities Andy the 

State Parks.Boai?d~. 

"~A11 counties and Incorporated clties'are 

.authorfze,d to levjr a,tax of not:'exceedlng:,five 

(5) 'cents:on ~the,-Cne Hundred ($1C0~00)~~Doll~s 

property ;v+.u&+on to,create.a fund, for $he ~ 

improvement Andy operation of such parks. 

Here again, It is OX& opinion that the statute does not 

authorize a county to,expend:lts funds for' the improvement Andy operatlon.of a park which 'is owned by the, State. 

Parks Board. ., 

We have been unable to find any statute which 

would authorize a countyto'expend Its funds for the 

improvement and operation of'a park which is owned by 

the State of Texas or by the State Parks Board. Therefore, we agree with you that the Commissioners' Court' of 

Live Oak County Is not authorized to, levy and collect a 

tax for the purpose of improving and malntainlng~Tlps 

State Park. 

SUMMARY 

Commissioners' courts may not levy and 

collect taxes for the purpose of'improving 

and maintaining parks which are owned by the 
Hon. R. E. Schneider, Jr., page 4 

State of.Texas or ,the State Parks Board. Articles 6078 and 6081.:e, V.C.S., authorizing 

counties to levy a tax for the Improvement 

and maintenance of county-owned parks which 

are being operated, by the State Parks Board 

under agreements between the counties and 

the Board, does not apply to parks owned by 

the State or by the Board. 

APPROVED: 

J. C. Davis, Jr. 

County. .Affalr,s Division 

.ery g. Wall. 

RevIewIngAssIstant 

Charles D. Mathews 

First Assistant 

Yours very truly, 

PRICE DANIEL 

Attorney.General 

BA:am