Bonorable J. C. Obvdf 

County Audltor 

Viahhltr Pallr, Texrr 

nion of thlr departI) been reoeirrd. Ve 

s. 

am0 v*8 toted In Pre7, Texar, in the mount 

ose or oanrtruotlon, malnuaadamized, grarrlod or 

Doe8 the Commis~l0~r8’ Oourt have authority to do thte work in the mm@ unnec th8t thex 

provide for other improvementa mad oonetruatloa 

vork on the aounty hlghway 6~etem iarteed OS arklng ior bide Iroe private OontrfWtbIg oenoeraet’ 
538 

Honorable J. 0, Gew4~, p4r #2 

Authority 16 gIoen by Seotlon 62, Artiole S, of 

the Conrtitutlon, to eng oounty, my polItica 8ub4lvl8ion 

of the county’, any number of mlfoinlng oountle4, eta., aotIng under legIalatlve provl8Iba, upon a vete of a two-thlr48 

maJorIt o? the qualIfIe4, rerident, propert tupayerr of 

the dletrlat or tbrrltorj to be affeote4 thereby, In dlitlon 

to all othrr aebta, to lreue bonds In any mount not in esaeao of one-fourth of the r8seaeecld rrluation of the real 

property o? rush 6i8triot or territory, ior, among other purpoaee, the follovingt 

‘The oon4truotlon, aalntenanae and operation of 

maoaUulre4, graveled or pave& road8 ati turnplkee, 

or la aid thereo?.’ 

Your flrrt qur8tIon relate8 to the right of a rod 

dlrtrlct under thr prorl4ion4 o? the ConatItutIoo and purouult 

\ to aa Aot o? the Leglrlature, to devote part of an lsrue of 

bon&r, 8.uly tote4 by the taxpayer4 OS the roe.4 dlstrlot, to 

the purohare a? road ma6hlnery. 

St Ir elementary that the fun48 UsrIve from the 

8ale o? bend8 uy not be 4lrerted fro8 the purpomer 8peolfle4 

b the prope8ItIon submitted to the rhotocs. Aranrar Gouotr 

~4. lklWan-Fultoa Partun Coapmy, 191 8.V. 666; Heathma tn. 

Slngletar~, 12 6.U. (2d) 160; BuggIn ~4. BaQen, 269 S.W. 204. 

It follon that where a aemrture from the pmparltlon 

appearing on the bdlot paper lr alleged, the on17 quertion Ir 

vðer the expenditure oonteplatad Ir within or without th@ 

propo4ltIon on it4 true con4truetlea; or, under o*r wrtloular 

@et of faato, whether or not the puroh84e o? road oaohInery 

would be InoIUeatel and neoe8rsry to the oon4trwtIon. lulntenanoe and operatlon of roadr. Mcme ve.. mallsn, 844 8.W. 2B6. 

Construing pr 

“g 

ositiont to thle end, It has been he16 

by the oourts that %oa n IncluUer a bridge OOn8tltUtIng a 

neoeeclary length in the coa4, an4 that *turnpIkesa means barbrurf~e4 roaQ4. Amnsar Gouaty va. Colman-tulton Pasture 

Caaginy; AU-8 v4. Wullen, rupn. 

By an analogy of re&ronIng this deprrtaent hae held 

that ‘A rumry 18 neoeeaar~ in the l aquI8itIon of a rlglrt-ofray”. (Opinion Bumber O-962). Also, that right-of-way agent0 
539 

Ronorable J. G. GoMy, paee #S 

a8y be pal4 from the bond fun4 (Oplnlon O-1379); that bond 

aoney may be use4 far frnolng land soqulred for right-of-vay 

where bonds rem toted for the purpose of puroharing rlghtof-vay for the u44 of the State HIghway Department In bulldIng state derlgnated highways. (O?lnIon G-2460). 

I? the Commlsslontrr~ Court exerclrer thrlr option 

to oonrtruot tht roads contemplated in 8614 $46,000 bon4 

i44US themerlves, 8&t 8tiprrvlse meme lnatea4 at hiring a 

private oontraotor, then \ue believe that there 14 no doubt 

that road maohinery bought ior ths purpose of oonstruoting 

u14 mlntalnlng these partioular road8 would br lnoldental 

an4 neoeasary In carrying out the purpose for vhloh the bon48 

nre vote4 - that Ir, to oonstruot m4 maintain pub110 roa4s. 

Therefore, It 18 our opinion that money derived fro8 

the 881s of bonds nay be used to purohaee road maohlnery to 

be ua?4 In oonrtruotlng an4 maintalnlng road.r oontemplated in 

ma14 $46,000 bond leeue. 

In anmvering question nuaber tvo, ve find th8t Artlole 

23686 of Vernon’s Annotate4 Rev1884 Gltil Statute8 of Texas provides that exaept In oa8es of publlo oalamity, a oontraot oalllng for the l x p enQltof ur$2,000 e or more from oountf fun48, 

must be rulmltted for oompetItI+e bI4r upon publlohed notloe, 

an4 the oontraot w8t be let to the lonrt urd beat bidder. A 

oontraot requlrlng the expendlturi of less than fi2,OOO end more 

than $600 must be let at oompetltlre bid8 by the Qotmle8loner8’ 

Court, exoept In o&se of public neeereitr or pub110 oalul,ty. 

The purpose o? thtee ~rovlrlons 24 to enablt oountien te obtain the pertomantre of any publlc vork at the lowest poerible 

oort to taxpaycrr. Rowever, the CoauI8rIoners~ Court her the 

option a? carrying on the work itself an4 the provirlone of 

Artlole 23688 @a not apply to any work done under the direat 

aupervIrlon o? the County CoeaIsslanerr and pal4 for bt the 

day. Gul? Bitullthlo Compen;l ~8.. Rueoes County (Coamiarlon a? 

Appeals) 11 9.U. (26) 305; 11 Tex88 Jurlepru4enoe, 843. 

Therefore, it 1s our oplnton that the Gomml8elonerr’ 

Court har suthorlty to do this vork In the 8aae manner that 

they provlde ?or other lmprovementr end oon8truotIon vork on 

ths oountr hlghva,y sgetem in8terd of asking for blde fca 
540 

Bonoreble J. C. Oowdy’, page #4 

prlrate oontraatin6 ooncerns. 

Trulrtlng that thla anawes your quertlons, w are 

very truly youra 

ATTORNEY QDWtAL OF TEXM 

APPROVEDJAN 21, 1941