Hovember 30, 1948 

Hon. Wm. IL Honsley 

Criminal District Attorney 

Bexar County Court House 

SW Antonio, Texes 

Opinion Ho. V-728 

Re: The authority of the 

Commissioners' Court 

to ilreus time warrants 

to finance improvements at Bexar County Agricultural and 

Livestock Rxhibltlon 

Building* 

Dear Sir: 

Reference ie made to 7our recent request In 

vhlch 7ou included a letter to 70'00 from the Ron. Charles 

W. Ande~8on, Count7 Judge or Bexar Count7, vhich readsi, 

la part, LI follovsr 

9he Comuirsionsrs~ Court respectfully requests that 7ou ask the Attorney @enera1 whether or not it Is authorized to 

. lasue $115,000.00 of interest-bearing time 

warrants for the purpose of’ improving the 

grounda of the Bexar Count7 Agricultural 

and Livestock Exhibition Buildinn. includinf the lFdac?v grading, le?&ling and 

ti lln~ t ereo an the construction of 

walka,-sidewalks, drives, parkwa7s, ourba, 

dralna,~r,etainlng walls, fencing and llghtlag of mid grounds. 

“The Court vould like for you to submlt in your rsguent for an opinion the fact 

that the Count7 authorized $1,750,000.00 of 

Bexar Count7 Wwanent Improvement Warranta, 

Serlee C, 1946, dated Januar7 lsth, 1946, 

for the purpose of pay- the contract price 

for constructing ARrlcultural and Livestock 

Exhibition Bulldlngr for Baxar County, Tox48, 

and purchasing the heosmary sites thereof, 

and paying claims inourred for other necesaary incidental sxpen444 in connection therewith, and that a oontract vaB let which has 
. 

Hon. Mp. N. Bensley, page 2 (V-728) 

taken practlaally 411 of thou4 funds, leaving none for improving the grounds. SInas 

there are no other funds available for the 

above stated purposes the Coalsalonera 

Court considers It necessary and dea’irable 

to lsrue additional varrants and would like 

to know vhether, in the opinion of the Attorney General, It is authorized to do so 

u$;;~;o Constitution and laws of the State 

# . . . 

rI am attaching hereto a certified copy 

of the order of the Commissioners’ Court of 

September lsth, 1948, authorizing the Warrants In question which 7ou may transmit to 

the Attorney General,Sor us4 by him In rendering an opinlon+~w 

For ths purpose of this opinion, we assume 

that there are no legal obstacles to the issuance of 

said warrants; 1. e,, we assume that the assessed valuations of Bexar County would authorlao such lndebtedness, that no previous contract Sor these improvements 

has been entered Into, and that the Bon& and Warrant Law 

is complied with. Further it Is orpreaslg uuderstood 

that w4 are not passing upon the sufficiency of the warrant proceedings had in this oonnectlon since we are not 

furnished with the transcript of the proceedings necessary for euch lssuance,~ 

In your request you also Included the order 

passed b the Commleslonbrs~~ Court on Au@st 30, 1948, 

which aa I led for the lssuancs of vwrante not only for 

the lmprovsme~te to bo made on tha Bexar County A rlcultural and LIvestock Exhibition Building but also k or the 

purchase end installation of a heating system in the 

Bexar County Training School for OIrls. However, it Is 

expressly understood that we are not passing upon the 

question of whether such warrant may bo Iseued for the 

purchase OS the heating plant In this opinion. 

Article 23726, V. C. S,, la, in part, as fol1ovs: 

“Section 1. All oountler In the State 

acting by and through their respsctive Commissioners’ Courts may provide for annual 

exhibits of horticultural and agricultural 

produots, livestock and minors1 products, 
- 

Hon. Wm. IL Hensley, page 3 (V-728) 

and such other products a8 are of lnteroet 

to th4 cosslnulit7. In ounne~ctlon therewith, 

such counties ma7 also eatabllrh and malntaIn musoum6, Including the erection of the 

necessary bulldlnge and other improvements, 

in tholr ovn counties or In eny other county or cit.7 In th4 United State$, where fairs 

or expositiona am belq held, 

The authorit of the county to Issue varrantr 

for ths construotlon of these buildings aOd pay SOP 44m4 

out of the Permanent Improvement Fund has boon u held by 

the court In the case of Adams v. M&ill, 146 S. 1 .(2d) 

332, error refused. Therefors, IS the improvement4 Inquired about In the opinion request are permanent lmprovements, It la clear that time warrants may bs Issued therefor. This Departmont has held in a hoapital 

opinion V-7Qol that these types of Improvements oould be 

pal4 for with perme,nent improvement moneys. Since the 

contempleted Improvements are a part of the original oonstructlon of the Exhibition Buildings, we believe there 

is no doubt but that the Improvement8 Inquired about In 

the opinion come within the scope of holding In the previous hospital opinion. 

If the qualified voters do not want the addltlonal warrants lsauod, they are not without a remedy. 

They have the right under Article 2368a, V. C. S. to 

Silo a referendum petition and require that the question 

of issuing such warrants be eubmltted to the voter8 of 

There was no referendum petition filed at 

% t%%e original $1,750,000.00 worth of warrants 

were Issue& by the Commlaeioners~ Court. IS suah remedy 

Is not invoked within ths statutory time limit,, It is 

our opinion that the additional warrants may be lasued 

for the purpose of making suoh Improvements as submitted 

b7 70~ In your request. 

SUMMARY 

The CommIssIonerat Court is authorlsed 

to Issue additional warrants for the ~nnp048 

of improving the rounds of the Boxer-County 

Agricultural and f lvestock Hullding. Art. 

23726, V. C. s. 

APPROVED: , 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GRRERAL OF TEXAS 

BY