Honorable Oscar B. McInnis Opinion No. M- 925

Criminal DistrictAttorney Hidalgo County Courthouse Re: Questions relating to Edinburg, Texas 78539 transfer of real property by Hidalgo County Housing Authority under Article Dear Sir: 1269k,V.C.S. You have requested the opinion of this office concerning the authority of the Hidalgo County HousingAuthority to transfer real property to a non-profit corporation. We quote fromyour letter requesting the opinion as follows: "At sometime in the past under authority of Article 1269k,V.C.S., therewas established in HidalgoCounty the Hidalgo County Housing Authority. This Housing Authority administers two (2)housingprojects in,this cbunty--one located atMcAllen and the other at Weslaco. "Ithas been suggested to the Commissioners' Court that HidalgoCounty enter into an agreement with Cameron County,to form a Regional HousingAuthority." In your letter requestyou then ask if the Hidalgo County Housing Authority can legally declare all its property excess, transfer it to a non-profit organization,without consideration, said non-profit organizationhaving a provision in its Charter to the effect that if it sells the property and dissolves, the assets would revert to Hidalgo County, then the non-profit organization sell theproperty to the Regional HousingAuthority, dissolve and turn theproceeds of the sale over to Hidalgo County. Your questionmust be answered in the negative for the following reasons: Article 1269k, Section 23b, sets out themethod by which a regional housing authoritymay be created. That Article provides, in part, as follows: -4515-HonorableOscar B. McInnis, page 2 (M-925)

"If the CommissionersCourt of each of two (2)or more contiguous countiesby resolution declares that there is a need for one housing authority to be created for all of such counties to exercisepowers and other functionsherein prescribed for a housing authority in such counties, a public body corporate and politic to be known as a regional housing authority shall thereupon exist for all of such counties and exercise its powers and other functions in such counties; and thereupon each county housing authority created for each of such counties shall cease to exist except for the purpose of winding up its affairs and executing a deed to the regional housing authority as hereinafterprovided;.

. .'I The clearmeaning of the statute leaves no doubt that if an existinghousing authorityplans to become part of a regional housing authority, then all theproperty owned by the county housing authoritymust be transferredto the regional housing authority in the manner set out in the statute. Also, in the event that the HousingAuthority has certain propertieswhich are no longerneededby the HousingAuthority in carrying out its functions, then the HousingAuthority may sell saidproperty, and the proceeds from such saleswould go to the HousingAuthority and not revert to Hidalgo County. Attorney General's Opinion C-760 (1966). SUMMARY The Hidalgo County HousingAuthority has no statutory authority to dispose of any property by transferring it without consideration to a nonprofit organization. 4 You& very truly,

Prepared by Linward Shivers AssistantAttorney General ey General of Texas

-4516-Honorable Oscar B. McInnis, page 3 (M-925)

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Kerns Taylor, Chairman w. E. Allen, Co-Chairman Melvin Corley Austin Bray Howard Fender Wardlow Lane MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Legal Assistant ALFRED WALKER Executive Assistant NOLA WHITE First Assistant

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