Hon. Joe L. Cox

CountyAttorney Hale County Plainview,Texas

. 0pini011 NO. v-1085.
Re: Thk authority of the Commiss$onerslCourt to give a veterans service organization a long term lease on : a portion of real property origlnallgac- 'qtired

for road purDear Mr. Cox: poses.

Your request for an opinion is as follows: ?!he:,Conm&sioners Court of Hale County,has asked me to seek the opinion of the Attorney *. ~Generalto the following question: .%any years ago, the County of Hale acquired the title to certain real property in Rale Comty, by deed, for t1Tz purpos,e

of public : roads. Subsequently,rhanges In the roadway were made, leaving a tIeact of land, triangular 3.n shape and belng"?bouttwo acres in size. The County still has ownershipof Lthis land and has made no use of it for a number of years. The VFW Post, of Hale Center, Texas, is trging to gain title to this land. I have advised the~court that, in my \ opinion,the only way the County may divest themselves of title is In accobdanceuith Artidle 1577, VCS, 1925.
'Somemembers of the Court are of the opini.on that the county may make a valid lease of this property for a tern of forty (40) years, at a ground rent of $5.00 per year. I have not found any authority in a Comnis- ~sioner'sCourt to take such action, and the Court has tistructedme to seek an oplnion~ of the Attorney General as to validity of such a lease.*

### 622 Hon. Joe L. Ccx, Rage 2 (V-1085) :

part: Section 1 of Article,l577, V.C.S.,pr0vides~'i.n :

.'The Commissioners Court may, by an order to be entered on lti minutes, appoint a , " '- commissionerto sell and dispose of any real estate of the county at public auction. The deed of such commissioner, made in conformity to such order for and in behalf of the county, duly acknowledgedand proven and recorded shall be sufficientto convey to the purchasersall the right, title, and interestand estatewhich the countymay have in and to the premises to be conveyed. Nothing containedIn this arti-‘~ cle shall authorize any Comvissioners Court tom dispose of any lands given, donated or granted to such county for the purpose of education in any other manner. than shallbe directedby. .law.' 1 The authority of 'the Commissioners'

Court to sell real~propertgis strictly limited to the modes and metttods.set

out in Article 1577 of Vernon's Civil Stat: nteijl, and the court is unautborisedto sell real property except in the manner provided therein,for'when,aright. or bower is nranted and the method of its exerciseis prescribed,%he preqsrlbed~method excludesall others. Ferguson v. Halsell,: 47 v~~(1.8 421 (1877);Cit of Br n iF= Foster v. ci t3 ex. 352, 255 S.W. 1104 1923); Slate?? V. Ellis Co&t= ,L&reeImprovementM"trict, 120 Tex. 272; 36 S.H.2d 1014 !.193lJ

' We,,therefore,agree with your conclusionthat the only way Hale County may divest itself of title IS in accordancewith Article 1577.

Article 157'7,

V.C.S., furtherprovides:

.

. . . the CommissionersCourt of any county in this State having a 7opulationin excess of forty-fivethousand 45,000),according to the last preceding or any future Federal Census,which said countyborders on the InternationalBoundarybetween the United States of America and the Republic of Mexico, may elect, in the manner hereinafterprovided for, to sell or lease any real estate,together with any improvementsand appurtenances thereto, said procedure thereforto be governed. 1

. Hon. Joe L. Cox, page 3 .: 

### 623

(V-1085)

by the followingprovisions: e -. .(I Since Hale County does not fall within the. above classification,the authority to lease real estate,set o':i

in Article 1577 is not applicableto this county. Ue know.of no other constitutional or statutory authoritywhich would authorize the Conmissionersf Court of Hale County to lease the property of the county to the Veterans of Foreign Uars,

The CommisslonersBCourt is a court of limited jurisdictionand has only such powers as are conferred unon it bv the Constitutionand statutes of this State, eitherby-express terms or by necessary implication; Tex.Const. Art.V, Sec.18;Von Rosenburgv. Lovett, 173 S.U. 506 (Tex.Civ.App.1915, error ref.7. GalvestonH. & S.A.Ry. v. Uvalde County, 167 S.U.2d'305 pex.Civ.App.1942, error ref. w.o.m.1.

It was held in Attorney General's letter opinion to Hon. George T. Avery, CountyAttorney of Fannin County, dated February 17, 1948, that Fannin County did not have the authority to lea,se propertybelongingto the~county for the purpose of erectinga radio station.

Since we fail to find any authorityauthorizing the Commissioners"Court of Rale County to lease them property in question,you :are advised that the Court does not have authoritytogive aveterans service organization a long tern lease on such.property.
SUMMARY The Commissioners'Court of Hale County does not have authority to execute a lease on a portion of real property originallyacquired by the County for road purposes. The authority of the Court to dispose of such real estate is limited to the modes and methods authorizedby Article 1577, V*C.S. APPROVEDZ
J. C. Davis, Jr. County Affairs Division
Everett Hutchinson ExecutiveAssistant Charles D. Mathews First Assistant JR:mw Yours very truly, PRICE DANIEL Attorney General

John Reeves Assistant