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Honorable 0. C. Olsen C0unt.y Attorney Wlnkler County Kermit, Texas Dear Sir: OpinionNo. O-6824
Re: Whether a petltlon to the Commlasloners~Court of Wlnkler County requesting theeatabllahment of two countyhospitals from the proceeds of one bond election Is legal; If not, will Itprevent an election on a secondpetition for the establishmentof one hospltal?
Your request for our opinion on the above questions reads as Pol,lows

z "To the Honorable J. B. Salmon, County Judge of Wlnkler County. Texas. therehas been preaentedwhat Is purported to be a pktitlonFreadingas follows:

TO THE HONORABLE ", PETITION

COMMISSIONERSCOURT OF WINKLER COUNTY, TEXAS: We, the undersignedproperty owners of Wlnkler County, Texas, do hereby petition and pray that an electionbe ordered In and throughout said Wlnkler County, submitting to the qualifiedvoters of said County, the proposition for the issuance ef bonda of said county in the sum of One Hundre~d Fifty Thauaand ($150,000) Dollars for the purpose of acquiring sites, construction, and equipment of two hospltal units in Wlnkler County; saidsums to be allocated as follows: $100,000 for the building and equipping of a modern hospital to be locatedwithin the city limits of Kermit,Texas, and $50,000 for the building and equipping of a modern"On the same day that the above ,purportedpetition

was delivered to the County Judge oi,Wlnkler County, Texas, but at a laterhour ln that same day there was presented to the same said County Judge a petition praying for the calllng.ofan election for the acquiring of a site, and the establishing,erection, construction, and equipping of a CountyHospital inWlnkler County, Texas; such hospital to be located In Kermit, Texas, "TheCommissioners Court of Wlnkler County, Texas, has asked that I secure from you an opinion on the following:,~ “1.

“2

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“3

. Does the CommissIonera Court of Winkler County, Texas, have the authority to establish two (2) modern hospitals from funds, or proceeds of one bond election?
Is this purportedpetition as above set out a lawfulpetition since It aske for the doing of somethingnot authorizedby law? If this purported petition la unlawful, can it bp dimregarded by the Commissioners'Court of Winkler County, Texas, a%%be declared by them to not be such a petition a8 would prevent such CommLssloners'Court from 8&&w. upon the petition that was delivered later in that same day as the above eet out purported petition was delivered? ilon.G. C. Olsen, page 2 (0-6824)

hospital to be locatedwith&the city limits of Wink, Texas; and whether or not an ad valorem tax shallbe levied on all taxableproperty in said county for the purpose of paying the interest on said bonds and to provide a sinking fund for the redemption thereof at maturity.

‘My opinion on thismatter Is as followe: taking the matter by 1, 2, and 3 abover

“l., Under Article 4478,V..A,.C. S., authority is given to Commissioners1.Courtsto establisha :countyhospital, and throughout that said Article the singular and never the plural is used. It la my opinion that the Commissioners' Court of Wlnkler County, Texas, could build only one hospital at this time, and thereafter under Article 4490 they couldmaintain more than onehospital.’

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Hon. ff.

C. Olsen, page 3 (C-6824)

“2. 'This

purportedpetition la not a lawful one since it Is for the calling of an election for the doing of something that isnot authorizedby law to be done.

“3

. Since this purported petition is unlawful, it does not have to be regardedby the Commissioners Court of Winkler County, Texas, for any purpose, and It is not such a petltion as would require twelvemonths to pass before the CommissionersCourt could act upon the petition that was delivered to the County Judge of Wlnkler County, Texas, later on that same day as the above pur orted petitionwas delivered. Article $478 states that 'qualifiedproperty tax paying voters' are the one to'petltlon,and not 'property owners' as the above set out purported petltion recites. "Accordingto the 1940 Federal Census, Wlnkler County had a population of 6,141.

“Due to the fact that Senate Bill 191 of the United States Congress probablywill soon become a law, and Winkler County, Texas wants to be In a position to participate In the benefits of that Bill, I have been requested by the CommissionersCourt of Wlnkler County, Texas to rtspectfully ask that you give this matter your preferred attentlon and let your opinion come forward as soon as possible.
"Ihave searched and failed to find any cases in point on the matters expressed In this letter." The general rule relative to the proper Interpretationof statutes la that the intention and meaning of the Legislature must be aaoertafntd from the language of the statutes read as a whole. Title 71, Chapter 5, Articles 4478-4494a,Vernon's Annotated

### CivilStatutes,em the statutes giving power to the Commlaslontrs'Court,t

### o tatabl~ b countyhospital and to enlarge any tistfag hoapitels. Thtcruatatuttsmake provision for a 'a countyhospital," and all of said statutes that set out the power of the variousparties authorized to build, equip and manage saidhospital deal only with 'a countyhoapital." The onlyprovisions in any of said statutes that could be construedto mean more than 'a countyhospital" are Article 449~Y~~~: is applicable In countieswhich may have a city of rnox?&

t;han10,ooOpersona, and Article 4494, which autharizts two or more adjacent counties to join for the pur-Hon. G. C. Olsen, page 4 (O-6824)

poses of this law and erect one ormore hospitals for their joint use, but neither of said provisions applies here. It is our opinion, therefore, that it was the intention of the Legislature to authorize only one countyhospital in a county such as Winkler County where it is not sought to joinwith any other county for such purpose. Accordingly, it is our opinion that the Commissioners Court of Winkler County does not have the authority to establish two hospitals from the proceeds of a bond election under the facts stated. We do not think the purported petition for twq county,hospltalsset out in your request is a lawful petition, since, under the facts stated, the Commissioners' Court has no authority to establish two countyhospitals in Winkler County. We are also of the opinion that the petition for two countyhospitals can be disregardedby the Conunissioners' Court, or, In otherwords, it can be denied by the Court, and the secondpetitionmay be approved or rejected by the Court as the law and the factsmay require.
Yours very truly, ATTOHNEY GENEHAL OF TEXAS

JWB:LJ

APPROVED SEP 29 1945 /s/ Carlo8 C. Ashley FIRSTASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL By /s/ Jas. W. Bassett Jas. W. Bassett Assistant

THIS OPINION CONSIDEREDAND APPROVED IN LIMITED CONFERENCE