MARK WHITE Attorney General 

# The Attorney General of Texas

December 17, 1979

Honor&le Joe Resweber HarrisCounty Attorney 1001 Preston, Suite 6.34 Houston,Texas 77002 OpinionNo. MW-101 Re: Expenditure of county bond fundsfor an additionto e detention home. Dear Mr. Resweber: Your request for an opinionposes the following questions:

**May** monies derived from sale of the bon& which were issued pursuantto Proposition No. One of the April 14, 1973, Harris County Bond Election be used for the construction **of** an addition on to the present Harris County Detention Home? **May** the said monies be used for the construction of a new separate detention home? The bonds ~wereissued under the authority of article 713, V.T.CS., which provides in part, as follows:

[ahe Commissioners Court of a county may lawfully issue the bonds of said county for the following purposes: L To erect the county courthouse andjail, or either7 2. To purchase suitable sites within the county and construct buildings thereon to provide homeIs for dependent and delinquent boys andgirls or for either;

. . . (Emphesisadded. The bonds were voted for the purpose of “purchssing suitable sites within said county and constructing buildings thereon to provide homes or schools for dependent and delinquentboys andgirls or for either.” Webster’s

P- 314HonorableJoe Resweber - Page Two (Mw-101)

New International Dictionary (2d ed 1947), at 572, states that the veib “construct” is synonymouswith the velb “erect.” In the case of Brownv. Graham, 58 Tex. 254 (Tex. 18831, regardinga question as to the authority of e commissioners court to levy a special tax for the purpose of buildingan addition to end repairinga courthouse, the SupremeCourt of Texas said:

It is claimed that the power to erect, repair or complete a public building&es not include the power to make en addition to it. It is true that the county commissioners’ court, can levy no taxes unless the power to do so be plainly and unmistakenlyconferred The authority must be given either ln express WOK& or by necessary implication. 2 Dillon on Mun. Corp. S763. It is no more than a reasonable constmction of language, to hold that power to erect an entire buildingexpresslyauthorizes the construction of a portion of it. It certainly does by necessary implication

. . . . To hold that a county whose court house, with proper repairs end additions, could be rendered commodious and useful In every respect, must pull it down and build an entirely new one, would be to charge our lawgivers with an intent to encourage an unnecessaryexpenditureof the public money. Such a consideration would not, in itself, authorize us to infer a power when not expressly given or necessarily implied Yet whenthe languageused is capable of including authority to do an act not mentioned in terms, such construction of it is greatly aided by considerations of public advantagewhich it wouldcertainly produce. 58Tex., et 256. See also Attorney GeneralOpinionO-7078 (1946). The opinions of this office construing article VII, section 17 of the Texas Constitutionare also relevant to your question. This constitutional provision authorizes a tax “for the purpose of acquiring, eonstnmtlng end initially equippingbuildingsor other permanentimprovementsat the designatedinstitutions of higher learning.

. . .” Although these funds,cannot be used to repair existing buildings, Attorney General Opinion V-848 (19491, they are available to finance a wing on an existing building. Attorney General Opinion V-1427(1952),V-848 (1949);see also Attorney General Opinion H-1248(1978). We believe the languageof article 718,V.T.C.S., would also encompass the construction of an addition to an existing bullding. Therefore, in view of the foregoing it is our opinion that the commissioners court has authority to expend such bond proceeds in the most practicable manner to provide homes or schods for dependent and delinquent children, whether such would be best ,eccomplished by makingadditions to existing homes or schools, or by the construction of new separate homes or schools.

P. 315HonorableJoe Resweber - Page Three (NW-1011

SUMMARY The CommissionersCourt of Harris County is authorized by law to use bond proceeds for construction of additions to the existing juvenile detention home or for the construction of new facilities for such purpose.

MARK WHITE Attorney General of Texas JOHNW. FAINTER,JR. First Assistant Attorney General TED L. HARTLEY Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared by SusanGarrison end D. LaddPattilIo AssistantAttorneys General APPROVED: OPINION

COMMI’ITEE C. Robert Heath, Chairmen David B. Brooks Bob Gemmage SusanGarrison Rick Gilpin Wllliem G Reid SusanLee Voss Bruce Youngblood

P. 316