Honorable William L, Kerr 

District Attorney 

Pecos; Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-2594 

Re: Commissioners' courts -- Natatoriums -- County parks. 

Your request for an opinion has been received and carefully considered by this Department, We quote from your letter 

as follows: 

"May Winkler County levy a tax for the Permanent Improvement Fund to pay the costs of constructing a natatorium, housing for same, and 

other constructions appurtenant thereto, without 

calling an election? 

"The proposed site for the natatorium is Kermitt Independent School property adjacent to the 

High School Building in Kermit. Will you advise 

whether the school should give the county a 99 

year lease or transfer the title to the county. 

"The school proposes to have custody of and 

maintain the natatorium after the completion. The 

natatorium will be for the benefit of the public." 

We are also in receipt of a copy of your opinion upon 

the above stated questions where you hold that the first question should be answered in the negative and that the commissioners' court is without authority to expend county funds for 

a natatorium building to be managed and controlled by a school 

district. 

We quote from 11 Texas Jurisprudence, pages 563-4-5, as 

follows: 

"Counties, being component parts of the state, 

have no powers or duties except those which are 

clearly set forth and defined in the Constitution 

and statutes. The statutes have clearly defined 

the powers, prescribed the duties, and imposed the 

liabilities of the commissioners' courts, the medium 
Honorable William L. Kerr, page 2 O-2594 

through which the different counties act, and 

from those statutes must come all the authority 

vested in the counties D . I Q 

I! 0 a D . Commissioners' courts are courts of 

limited jurisdiction, in that their authority extends only to matters pertaining to the general 

welfare of their counties and that their powers dare 

only those expressly or impliedlg conferred upon them 

by law, that is, by the Constitution and statutes of 

the state D . D .' 

The courts of Texas have repeatedly held that county 

commissioners' courts may exercise only such authority as is 

conferred by the Constitution and statutes of~this state. There 

are abundant authorities to this effect. We cite the following: 

"Article 5, Section 18, Texas Constitution. 

Article 2551, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas. 

11 Texas Jurisprudence, pa es 563-566. 

Bland v. Orr, 39 S, W. (2d B 558. 

Nunn-Warren Publishing Co. v. Hutchinson County, 

45 S.W. (2d)651. 

Bogg v. Campbell, 48 S.W. 2d 515. 

Landman v, State, 97 S,W. I 2d 1 264. 

El Paso County v. Elam, 106 3.W. 393. 

Howard v. Henderson County, 116 S.W. (2d) 791. 

Dodson v, Marshall, 118 S-W, (2d) 621. ,. 

Mills County v, Lampasas County, 40 S.W, 404." 

Article VIII, Section 9, of our State Constitution; provides among other things, for the levy of a tax by the county 

for the erection of public buildings, streets, sewers, waterworks 

and other permanent improvements, not to exceed twenty-five cents 

on the one hundred dollars in any one gear. 

Article 2351, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, 

reads in part as follows: 

"Each commissioners' court shall 

"7 a Provide and keep in repair courthouses, 

jails and all necessary public buildings . II . *' 

Article 6078, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, 

reads as follows: 
Honorable William L. Kerr, page 3 

"Each commissioners court is authorized to 

levy and,collect a tax not to exceed five cents on 

each $100 of assessed valuation of the county for 

the purchase and Improvement of lands for use as 

county parks which shall consist of‘not more than 

one hundred acres, and shall not exceed more than 

four in any one county. No such tax shall be levied and collected until the proposition is submitted 

to and ratified by the property tax-paying voters of 

the county at a general or special election called 

for that purpose, provided, a two-thirds majority 

of the property taxpaying voters of such county, at 

an election held for such purpose shall determine 

in favor of said tax. If said court desires to 

establish two or more'of such county parks they 

shall locate them in widely separated portions of 

the county. Said court shall have full powerand 

control over any and all such parks and may levy 

and collect an annual tax sufficient in their judgment to properly maintain such parks and build and 

construct pavilions and such other buildings as 

they may deem necessary, layout and open'driveways, 

and walks, pave the same or any part thereof, set 

out trees and shrubbery, construct ditches or lakes, 

and make such other improvements as they may deem 

proper. Such parks shall remain open for the fee 

use of the public under such reasonable rules and 

regulations as said court may prescribe." 

Opinion No. 0-1083 of this Department holds that a "community recreational center" is not a public building withinthe 

contemplation of Article VIII; Section 9 of the Constitution 

and Section 7 of Article 2351, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas 

and that the commissioners' court would be without authority 

to expend county funds for such purpose. The opinion points outb 

however, that counties have authority to establish "county parks 

under the provisions of Article 6078, Verffon's Annotated Texas 

Civil Statutes. 

Opinion No. O-348 of this Department holds that the commissioners' court Is without authority to expend county funds 

for the erection and construction of a weather forecasting 

bureau building. 

We have been unable to find any statute authorizing the 

commissioners' court to expend county funds for the construction of a natatorium. We are of the opinion that a natatorium 

is not a public building within the contemplation of-Article 

VIII, Section 9 of the Constitution and Article 2351, Revised 

Civil Statutes of Texas. 
Honorable William L. Kerr, page 4 O-2594 

You are, therefore, respectfully advised that' it is the 

opinion of this Department that your first question should beg' 

answered In the negative. However, if the county establishes 

a county park after a proper election is held,for that purpose 

under Article 6078, supra, we think Article 6078~would be 

broad enough to permit the construction of a natatorium In 

said park. 

In answer to your second question, you are respectfully 

advised that it is the opinion of this Department that the 

commissioners' court of a county has no legal authority to 

expend county funds for the erection and maintenance of a community natatorium building with management by a school district or its agents and employees. It is the further opinion 

of this Department that if~a county park was established under 

authority of Article 6078 and a natatorium was constructed in 

said county park that the authority to manage and~control said 

park and park natatorium would be in the county commissioners' 

court and said court would have no authority to delegate such 

control and management to any school district. 

We wish to thank you for your well-reasoned opinions 

which has aided us greatly in passing upon these questions. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/Wm. J. Fanning 

Wm. J.~~Fanning 

Assistant 

WJF:BBB:wc 

APPROVED AUG 19, 1940 

s/Grover Sellers 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEYGENERAL 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/REKChairman