A~JSTIN 11. Tmas 

PRICEDANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Fdu’um’y 21, 1952 

Hon. S, Taylor Brlt8 Opinion Ro. V-1412 

County Attorney 

Atascoea Couatf Ret Authority of the CommleJourdanton, 'has slonera o Court to buy 

improved real estate 

from Jourdantan Indepencient School Dlstrlct to 

provide adclltlonal pubDear Sir: lit office epace, 

Your reqwrt fa* an opinion of this office reads in part as follows: 

"The Ccaualsslon8~a* Court of Atascosa County, Te%ati, vhlch sits at Jourtlanton, Texas, th8 County Seat, has entered 

Into an agreement and contract vith the 

Jourdanton I&ds@endent School Mstrict 

Wh8r8bg the said school district agrees 

to sell and the CommisslonersP Court agrees 

to buyz:certaln real estate and Improvements 

situated at Jourdanton, Texas, for a consideration of $70,000,00, (For full details under contract dated January 14, 

1952, se8 true cop 

marked 8Exhlblt A 4. 

attached hereto and 

*The purpoee for which these bulldlngs are to be used Is set out In the mlnUtes of' th8 said CO~lsslOn8rS' COUPt Under 

date of May 14, 1951,. to wltl 

*Wherpeas th8 Ataecosa County Cot&- 

house has becam lnadeqllate and additional space la needed for public offices; and 

aWhev8a8, the Commlssioner8 8 Court 

ha8 mt8f-e determined th8 advlaabllity 

and aamkj of providing additional public? OfiiC8B; Q m o ' 

nTh8 conslderatlon Of $70,000*00 to 

be paid by the Commissioners1 Court for 
Eon. 3. Taylor Brits, page 2 (V-1412) 

said rekl. 48kts ~1s to be paid Zn cr8h 

aims the unlncumbe~d~balaaca, in the 

County POrmRneat Improwwnt Funds as : 

or Januwy~l, 1952,~~U $76,368,41* ZIG 

1951 btulget of Atascosa Ccnmty hem a pee 

vieion for pamt 41 $15 025.00, v0* 

C4IlEtFUCtiOS Of buildIngsi 6na the 1952 

budget trreltute8 a proper provIsion f0r 

paymn6 of $55,000*00 for c4Mtrutt1on 

of bu%m, a January 14; 1952, thaCaumlmlayIII* Co-t oi Atascosa County, 

Toxao, 8nm4a the PoUovlag order an 

ths m%autrtI of the Courti 

l P QDP Qs, the Cwmi8sb a 8r c o eí ur t 

Oi Sta ;r saCounty 4 w l,c o a a t~Ia ti4o n f 

6b4 COWtIWCtiOn OP pUrCh484 Of buiiaing8 

to be used ior county 0filcee;proviaed 

in the County Budget of August, 1951, 

rm th4 gp4mitm8 oi 415 025.00 f~00i 

the Pernanent Iqrovmment &uU, In 1951. 

"'A#!3 -S, 6wh~~pdWitwe wa$ 

net am4 in 1951 a0 ~4dnwat4a, it sow 

b4c’m4s an aergoaay, by reama of rrausual 

aad unmremoa a%swImetanrm wbtch aould 

loti by reasonably cUlLgent thought have 

*'cm, tba 1952 bu@!t of 

Atascoea County Is hmeby aaiuled to aqthorloo tihs oxpontUture 'of )15,025.00 

from the Ps-nt XqwotemW Fund for 

the coaot~tlon d purah484 ai btildin&ts 

in the ycrar of 1952 la addition to the 

~55r000*oo sot uy f0.F that pUPpOE in 

o~Qina1budg.t. 

*wtsb the above emracDsat to the 

I952 bwlget, a total of 470,025.00 la authorind fos l&e aon8tructlm OF pt~chatlo 

of bullW#ao" 

/, @mm46 upon th6 abowe cit4a n44a4 

and psp#es for which t0 be U84d Sad fh4 

timutea IS fbsruiag aamo~ 18 such a u.gchase by the +aaarissicmre GOWt 14ga 'i) f 
Hon. J. Taylor Brlte., pago 3 (V-1412) 

Thi3 records in the office of the Central 

Education Agency refleot that the Stat8 Board of 

Education ha8 approved th8 e,ahool dlstrlct's appllCation for th8 sale of.thd land ln question, a8 re* 

qufred by Article 2773, Y.C.S. t 

Subclhviston 7 of ArkLcle 2351 V.G.S., 

authorlses th4 cI)OBPLIaslorwra'~courto 8prorlQ4 ana 

: 

keep In r8palr copt hOuses, jai18 and,a11 necessary 

public build,+!, 

COparifJS1On@I'8 

Ua’lor krticle 2370, V.$.S., the 

aourt may, *n aeceasary, PrOVia 

buildings, rooms, or apartpvlste at the county seat, 

other than tbs courthowe ior holding the eeesiona 

of the 64wity Court8,'Msdrl~t Courts, and for carOn such other public bwlneas~~a may be auBOa'bp th8 CardeElon8rE'COIJrt. 

Jg; I.83 S,W,2d 1s (Toxr Clv. Ap 

WaB h8ia that t&4 te$m 'pub11 

a8 used in ArtlC18 2351 means a building used 

primarily for public or govsrmwata1 purposee8 t$t 

18, to house public 4l' ge*SrolaOntal ag8Wi88. 

was further held that "tb paver to provide includes 

the poWOr to pUlrChlllOs* xt i6 Cldar, th8r8tO2'8, 

that the C'XQQi8Si4&4X'8 ' court ha8 the authority to 

purchase addltiom41 iwcrsaary public buildinga, Although you do n& state lB your Cequ88t vhlch public OffiCO8 vi.11 be hOW8a in the building, the 

resolution8 0r the co~.a810nerss court recite that 

the additiona spat8 IS {to be acquired for "public 

offlceu," and for "county offla48.4 Ye assume that 

the buGUl,ng Is to be WSa Only for authorlaed purpOee81, Since the cawiaeratbn for the contemplated 

p~??~h&s~ i8 to b4 paid In cash from funds now on 

hand Zn th4 Permanent frpprovement Pund, the authority of the commis81onelre court to finance the purChaE8 thl' 

'Y 

h the laeuSn48 of'bond8 or tlm8 Warrants 

is not lnvo V8a. Accordingly, the holdings inAtt'g 

Sen. Op. v-1278' (1951) and O-7036 (1946) p mentioned 

in your brief, are not relevant here. 

Under Article VIII, Section 9; Constltutlon of T8xa8, andArticle 2352, V&&5,,, taxes 

levlsd for the Permanent Improvement Fund mi%y be 

- used for the "erection" of public buildings. In 

keeping r&h the holdlags In Dancy V* Davidson, su ra 

and Brown ?*-Graham, 58 Tex. 254 (lW5) -+- 

the opinion that the term 'er8CtlOn" in~1"u~8P~~- 

C&W8 and that the c,ost of the building is prOp8Ply 

payable out of the Permanent Improvement Fund. 

i! 
Boa, Jr Taylor Brlte, pagrr 4 (V-l&X2) 

ers ’ 

The $kncy case held that the cmniss~~nCOU??t order there InvelVad ~8s iwairlofent to 

drwt an $menChnsnt 0r the countg budget tumtp the 

provisions of Artlc,le w-11, V,,G.S+, reading: 

* * meJo #w budget has been 

rimi; &va'ovrd by the colmJ3sloneT~' 

Cawt, the but&et, an approved by tha 

Court sWL.3 be riUQ tith the Qlsrk af 

,the Cow&y &xwrt, and Uxes levkad &may 

ia acsurdtise therewith, a&d no expend&- 

twe ef the fund8 of the coutrty shall 

tlmwafter be wide, exeepd in btd.ct 

eem#Uancs ~5th the bwl&# a8 adopted 

by the Court; Bxcepe that emmgeimy 

expanditures, in 088,s or grave publia 

I)*Cbs8ity, to meet umuw~l and anfolreseem conditions .vNch oould not, by 

reasonably tIYlt@nt %Wmght aad attention, have bee11 inclkn%eQ in t&&s arigina?. 

budget, may Fmm t’lnm to time be authorbmd by ths GtW’t ,a8 aaue&‘Wents to 

the o~lginal budget. In abl cases where 

such amendst6mt.s to the origkaal budget 

are made, a capy ai the ardsr oi the 

Court iaiwW&q the bu 

24 

et shall be. filed 

with the CZsrk of the ounty Court, and 

atWok to the budget originally adopted. ” 

The apinion pointed out that the order d&d not con- 

:;~~a rinding that emergency conditions did in fact 

. @t In its holdlarg the cot@t mcognlzed the 

power of the eomail,bs$mm?s~ court to amend the budget so as to prortds for Qba purchase of additional 

baild&ngs if emergemcp ~efflditions do In ract exist 

and if woper procedure is followed. 

While the ordbp ruleptea by the bommleslonersv court of Atescosa Oounty FM January IBM, 1952, 

doss SW% follow the sua* statutory language. or aet 

out in detail t& facts ciaatinga grave public neeeasity fop ameadabn~ of th@ budget, we are of them opini~ that tbs WUOT i8 f3tiri~iwt to meet the 0 

tia+ne a8 to form z.n the ctse i .Y 

ecHowever, d ,, the 

PdcessaPy iW$s justify% amezment or the budget 

existed at She tiaM the expenditme waa tmmrred, the 

C~S~%ORW~ 8 murt may later ammd the order so a8 

to raileM &Ir aemlttiam which misted at that time. 
Hon. J. Taylor Brlte, page 5 (V-3412) 

Morr,lson Y, K&ler, 207 s,WLWg51 '(Tex, Clvp App* 

7 

public 

error ref. n.r.e,). What constitutes grave 

necessity” depends upon the ~raats In each~~ 

case and is a question fbr the primary detemlnatlon of the cosW.ssloue~‘s~ court in~the exercise 

Att’J’C+ehr bps. O-1022’. 

It is not within ths province 

of tbli office to pass on fact questions and we are 

not expressing an opinion as to the sxls~encs of 

facts warraa,$&ng an amendment of the budget In thls 

case. 

SaeaAKp 

Where the county courthouse has becae inadequate and additional space is 

needed to house county officers or agents, 

the commlssioneraf court is authorized to 

purchase buildings for this purposer The 

court may amend the county budget so as to 

provide for the purchase of such buildings 

if the conditions Andy requirements of Article 68qa-11 V.C.S., are met.’ 

Davidson, 183 S.Y.28 195 (Texr 

1944, error rer.). 

APPROVRDs 

J. C, Davis; Jr. 

County *Affairs Dlvislon 

Yours very truly, 

PRICR DARIRL 

Attorney General 

Mary IL rrall 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D, lkathews 

First Assistant 

.Asslstant 

BAtmh