## GENERAL

Honorable Ernert GUI* 'Comity Attorney El Paa0 county El Paso, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-2739 Re: Maythe commissioners' court eet upa county welfare office as another office and department and appropriate funds for the maintenance thereof?
Your recent request for an opinion of this department upon the questions aa are harein etated has been received.

"I have your letter of September 24, enclosing copy of Opinion Bo. o-2721, and stating that opinion request No. O-2739, assign+ to myrequest of September 11, had been withdrawn ae Opinion No. O-2721 answered the questions which I asked.
"I have read over the Opinion No. O-2721, but donot find that it ane.were specifically the question which I wished answered. The Opinio? No. O-2721 etatee, a8 I underatend it, t&at it ie permissible to have aJuvenile Board and a County Welfare Board. Iwould appreciate an opinion from you directly advising mewhether the County can appropriate money specifically a8 set out in myrequest .for an opinion. In other words, maythe County eet up a County Welfare office as another office and department, and appropriate funds for the maintenance thereof. The question is not the creation of aCounty Welfare Board, but the creation of another office of the County to be referred to as the County Welfare Office, the appointment of aperson to serve as a county employee, and .the appropriation of funds for the salary and expense of such office. Therefore, before advising the,Commissionem' Court that it mayexpend these furrds, I would appreciate a specific opinion from you a8 to whether or not the County my appropriate funds for the creation of the office of County Welfare officer, and the payment of the salary and expenses of such office....

Honorable Ernest Guim, Page 2 (C-2739)

“In the request of Mrs. Greenhill, referred to in Opinion NO.0-27.?l, she etatee:

“‘Weare in receipt of word fromEl Pa80 County that it 18interested in eetablirhing a County Child Welfare Unit 8nd to participate with the State in undertaking ruch 8prograa8
“Aastated in myletter ofSeptember 11, regueeting an opinion, 1,advised the Commisclionerr’ Court that they could not expend moniee to pay the ealary of atate employear. If the proposed unit ie to operate aa a State office, and the County ir to contribute, then I muet requeet a further opinion from you ae to the legality of thie, eince I have heretofore advired the Commireionere’ Court that ruch payment could not bemade.

“Therequest of Mrr. Greenhill doea not meet the ie@ue in thia caee, I would deeply appreciate your adviein& urnfully regarding thlr financial contribution to which rhe refera. It has been myunderstanding heretofore, from your opiniena, that before the County can expend any funds there muetbe an exprese grant of power, aed f’urther, where one e?eaaeie provided for carrying gut apurpare, there WI bePOImpLIed pawer to utlliee other mean@, Tamoxtramely daubtrul of the authority of the Co~iarlonerel Court, BBI have heretofore stated in mylatter of September 11, andbefore advlriag thein to makeany expenditure@, Xwould like to have your og$nlon thereof. Ofcow%, I rhall be guldad byany ruling that you mayrmka."
In connection with the above quoted letter, wequote from your first letter regarding the question nowunder conrideration a.~followe:

“TheBtste hae heretofore maintained, in $1 Prro County, a dirtrict reprer~ntativa, operating under the ChildWelfara Act (Article 695-c, R.C.5.) all of the ralary of thir worker having been paid from State andFederal fundr. The State now demaadethat the County take over the operation of the office and contribute to the msintenence of the affice, while the State will alro contribute to the maintenance of the office. ,I

. . .Sectionr 4end 5of Article 695a, Vernon’s &otated Civil Statutee, readr as followe:

Section 4. “The Commireioneret Court of any county may appoint in raid county #even peraonm, rerident therein, who shall nerve without compeneation and hold office during the pleamre of the Commi~oionere' Court, whoshall constitute a Child Welfare Board for the County, which Child Welfare BoardHonorable Ernest Guinn, Page 3 (O-2739)

Shall select its ownchairman. TheChild Welfare Board shell perform 8uch dutiee a8maybe required of it by the raid Commireioners' Court AndBoard of Control in furtherance of the purporer of this Act. TheCounty Commieeionere’ Court of any county m8yremove any memberof euch County Welfare Board for jUAt CAUAA." Section 5. “TheBoard of Control, through raid County Welfare Board, ahall work in conjunction with the County Commieeionere’ Court, Juvenile Boarde, And all other officer6 end agencier whoaepurpoes ie for the protection ofthe children dercribed herein, and the Board of Control ir hereby authorized to u6e and allot eny fund@, that maybe rprc#.ficslly ApprOpriAted for ouchpurpoeea, bythe Legirlsture, that may be neceseary in jointly e8tAbliehing and maintaining, together Juvenile Board ofother County or City Board or other agency, homee, 6chooln, end institutionr for the care, protection, education and training of the clarr of children nought to beprotected bythe provirionr thereof.”
Section 42 of Article 695c, Vernon'r AnnotAted Civil BtAtutsA, provider: “County child welfare boardr eztablirhed or hereinafter appointed in conformity with Section 4, Act8 of 1931, ,42Ad Legirlature, page323, Chapter 194, &all continue to function aI provided therein.”
Under Article 695c, Vernon’e Annotated Civil Btrtuter, all the rightr, powerz, and dutler o? the divirlon of Child Welfare of the State Board ofControl were traneferred to the State DApArbmAt ofPublic Welfare. It ia therefore apparent that rfter all the righta, **POW**
em And dutler of the DIv~AIoAAof Child Welfare of the Btrtr Board of Control heve bAAAtranrfarred to the Stats DApAFtnlAnt of Public WAlfAre, the State DepAhUeAt of Public Welfare ir authoricod by 8ICtioA 5of WC, Aupra, to work in conjunction with the commillionwlf courtA, juvenile board8 and all other offices and agencier whole purporo ir **iOr** the protection of the children described.

Under the provisionr of Section 4, Article 6p5c, rupra, the member6of aChild Welfare Board for Acounty are required to serve without compensation Andhold their position during the plearure of the commissioners’ court.

Wehave been unable to find any etatute that expreeely or by implication authorize6 a commissioners COW% to create Andestablish the office above meAtioned Andappropriate and expend fundA for the mAinteneace of such office.‘-

APPROVED

OC7! 24, 1940
/I/ Qerald 0. Me++ A!l'TOFNEY(IENERALOFTEXAS

AW:BBB:M Yours wry truly ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS

By /I/ Ardall Willlam~

Ardell William@ Awirtent

OPINION COMMITTEE BY/e/ BWB CHAIRMAN