TH=A~ORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS
AUSTXNII.TEXA~
October 16, 1959

Honorable Jules Damiani, Jr. Criminal District Attorney Courthouse Galveston,Texas OpinionNo. W-718
Re: After a countybudget is establishedunder Section 9 of ArticleVIII of the Texas Constitution,can funds be taken out of a General Fund and put into a Permanent Improvement Fund for the purpose of enlarging and equipping an existing County HospitDear Mr. Damianl: al and related questions.

You have requested the opinion of this office on the following questions:

"Once the /Four&d Bud established,under Article %et for the year is Section 9 of the Texas Constitution,can fund; be taken out of a General Fund and put into a Permanent Improvement Fundwith the idea of using these funds to enlarge and equip an existing County Hospital, the CommissionersCourthaving taken this into considerationat the time the General Fund was set in the Budget, theirhaving appropriatedan excessive amount of money for this purpose?" "Canfunds to enlarge and quip an existing County Hospital come out of the general fund, it being provided for by the CommisslonersCourt at the time of fixing the budget, or must these funds come out of the Permanent ImprovementFund?" Section 9 of ArticleVIII of the Constitutionof Texas provides in part:

!I provided further that at the time the CommissionersCourtmeets to levy the annualHonorable Jules Eamiani Jr., page 2 (w-w-718)

tax rate for each county it shall levy whatever tax ratemay be needed for the four (4) constitutionalpurposes; namely, general fund, permanent improvement fund, road and bridge fund and jury fund.

. . ." Thus, the Constitutionmakes specificprovisions for raisingmonies for the General Fund and the Permanent Improvement Fund. It sets out the duty of the CommissionersCourt to levy taxes as needed and the monies arising from these taxes levied and collected for each of these enumeratedpurposes are constitutionalfunds.

The authority of the CommissionersCourt to transfer funds from one designated fund to another is limitedby the constitutionalrestriction. The Constitutioncontemplates that tax money collected from the people ostensibly for one purpose shallbe expended for that purpose alone. The provisions of Section 9, ArticleVIII were designed not merely to limit the tax rate for certainpurposes,but to require any and all money raised by taxation for any purpose to be applied, faithfully, to that purposr as need therefor and not to any other purpose or use whatsoever.

The CommissionersCourt cannot levy a tax for one purpose and use the money for another, and it has no power to transfer this money from one constitutionalfund to another. Ault v. Hill County 102 Tex. 335, 116 S.W. 359 (1909);Commissioners Court of Henderson Countyv. Burke, 262 S.W.y lCiv.App. 1924); Carrollv. Williams, 109 Tex. 155, 202 S.W. 504 (1918);FirstState Bank & Trust Co. of Rio Grande City v. Starr County, 306 S.W.2d 24o (Civ.App. 1957). This rule prevails eventhough the commissioners, in levying a tax to establish a GeneralFund, took into consideration the fact that they we'::acquiringmore money than would be actually needed with the intent to transfer the additionalmoney to another fund.

You second question again states: "Canfundsto enlarge and equip an existing CountyHospital come out of the generalfund, it being provided for by the CommisssionersCourt at the time of fixing the budget, ormust these funds come out of the Permanent Improvement Fund?"Honorable Jules Damiani, Jr., Page 3 (m-718)

It was held in Attorney General'sOpinion V-518 (1948), that where'the establishmentof a county hospitalwas from current funds,the cost of the purchasewould come from the Permanent Impi,ovement

Fund and the costs of the operation and maintenance from the General Fund.

Attorney General's OpinionV-701 (1948)held that the constructionof sidewalks,necessary entrances and exits, driveways and landscaping of a countyhospitalmay be paid for out of the Permanent ImprovementFund of the county. Likewise, it was held in Attorney General's Opinion O-6441 (1945)that the cost of painting an office in the courthouse,where there is no new construction,is chargeable against the Permanent Improvement Fund.
In view of the foregoing, it is our opinion that the enlargement of a countyhospital shouldbe paid for out of the Permanent ImprovementFund of the county. However, the equipping of a hospital is different from enlar ing & same. It was held in Attorney General's Opinion o-6531 (19 5) that the permanent records for the county clerk, district clerk and tax assessorcollector cannotbe paid for out of the Permanent Improvement Fund. Themeafing of "equip"has been held to be synonymous with "furnish

. See Words and Phrases,Vol. 14A, p. 359. Therefore, the equipping of an enlargedportion of a county hospital should be paid for out of the General Fund of the County. SUMMARY Fundsmay not be transferred from the General Fund to the Permanent Improvement Fund (Carrollv. Williams, 109 Tex. 155, 202 S.W. 504, 1918); the enlarging of a countyhospital should be paid for out of the Permanent Improvement Fund while the equipping of same shouldbe paid out of the General Fund of the County. Yours very truly,

JMF:mfh WILL WILSON Attorney General of TexasHonorable Jules Camiani, Jr., Page 4 (w-718)

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Geo. P. Blackburn, Chairman Ralph R. Rash Paul R. Floyd, Jr. Robert T. Lewis
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: W. V. Geppert

‘

.