I_ 

### OFFlCE OFTHEAmORNEY--GENERALOFTEXAS **AUSTiN**



### HonorableR. C. Wilson countyAualtor ',a: '. Gray County FaRpa,Terns A Dear sir:

Yourreoent partmf& on the aboverequ ionOS thisdeatat been 

### reoeivd.

ureau anda park.*
*sAmotatsti

-CivilState Bate OS pamsage0r **issionera Oourf8**  **in all**  **Nmn** 

### ulationat 

### not lessthan tweatyarty 

### (%%,050)andnotmore thoumad (%3,000),~ ~aooording ealngFederalCensus shall nd autb0rifyto provi&er0r 

### faoillt$esantl

such tlmmslal aid af8 tie satd 

### ComRlasioneP~

eourtamay lle%a~mboess~ry to Pedera1or statsgovernwmntagenoleeand bureaus havingadtivftieeor mintmining p8?ojeotswlthf.n thebounty 5.n

whiah the rsald

Cormisaione~s courtis louated. #PSO,% 1.r iietrr 1939,46th &ar&,H. B.

### Roonorable Rv C+ Wil'aoh,

page 2 .'

tion



### be enaots8;:p~o~idO4,.~that.,nothinghereinoontained:ehdU.be‘,aolwtrgeb.,tO.prOh~bit:~the;~legls-

. . ."lature'

;bonr~~paasing-.spea~~l;la*rs, fOr :thepreservatica~.o~~ganrs anil.fleh.Of

this State in ': certainl.OoaUties.~~-. .~:' :~ + :~- .I',-'.:- .; :: ',~ ~.'i' ,,
..,,_ ~,..:.: ~,.~ **?&is: &ie.of,**  **~Saith~,~s~i,Sta~& &.m,ed**  **739;.** 

### ~.heids ineireot.'.t~~.'.if'~~ub~tantiel~reason roi-'olassifgl&g

muuicipalitiesby~,~pdLatioa;appeara, suuh~Olaa~ifioatlon and legislation

apg~ioable~to~snOh~~Ol~s8fficatfon legenerally sustained..,'~Ro~ever, the constitutional prohibitionageinst ,%peciaL

lati~.Oannot

be:.e%adOd

bymaldng laws-~applioabls to apretend& ~Olass, and-thata statuteolassifying muniOi-. palit~es~~by~populatio~-~-ia~.:~~p~Oirt~~~.~-it.th~ populatfon~doea uotafford,a fa~~basis,:-ior~,Ollassiiioation; Li:the.statute nerelg 'dea$gnatea-a sfnglsmania~~~3ity.~er~~tha guise or 

### classifging:bp~pogulation;, and that a valid alasaification ofmunicipalitiesby populationmust not exOh.lde other muuiaipalltie~fromenteriug~.sue~h~OlasS~~~~Oat~On,~~O~ lugthe epecified.populationti i. ,: ;' '. .....;

~,:. attain-ionora& R. c; Wlson, page'3

.n*inso'far as.the courta which u&ztake to define the basis uRon which the 

### ~blasslficntion

ust rest how 

### that the Legislature cannot, by a pretended classification, e7ade a.consiLtuti0na.l restrictioa,we fully ooncur with them. Rut ii" they hold ,thata olassificatioawhich does not manifest a purpose to evade the ConstLtution_isnot~suffi- 

### ,oient to support a statute as a.general law merely because, in the co*urt's opinion, the olasslfioation is unreasonable,we are not prepared to,concur. To what class or classes of persons or things It 

### shouldep-~ly Is,as -ageneral~rule, a legislative question. When the intent of the Legislature is clear, the policy of the law is--a matter which Oo&s not 

### conaernthe courts.'

- -Xf.the classiflcation~of titles or couu- ;ties:is



### basedon population, whether an act is regarded as-special anii'ichether its operatio,n is uniform throughout the State, depena upon whether popupulation affords a fatr basis fox the classification with reference to the matters to which it relates, and whether the result it accomplishes Is in fact the real classirication u?on that basis, and not a aesignnstion of a single city or county to which alone Yt shall agplg; under the guise of suoh olsssifioatlon. parker-Washington County v. 

### Kansas City; 73 Ken. 722, 85 F. 

### 781." (Also see the oases of 3x purte Sizemore, 8 3% (2d) 134* and Randolph v. State, 38 SYJ2d 484).
'The"%se of,Hexar County vi'Tynan, et 

### al, 97 SW

_ _ 26 467; holds in effect that the LegZslature may on e proper end reasonable olassfflcation enact a general law which, at the tLne of f.ts enactment, is applicable to only one oounty, provide& the application is not so inflexibly fixed as to prevent It ever becoming applicable to other countfes md that the Legislature mey~cl3s3ify counties on basis of population tor purposes of fixins compensation of county and precinct officers, but such OlaSSifiC3tiOAmust be based .onreal distinction and must not bo sn arbitrary device to give what is in substance a local or special law, the form of a general la;v. And the case furthm holds thst the courts in determi&n2,r~hathora Law is public, ganerti, Spociel Or. .

hnorable R..C. Wilson, page 4

. . looal,Will look to the substance snd practicgl operation‘~ rather than t0 its title, SO?%, phraseology, sinae other- .v&soa prohibition OS the fundmental lariagainst speoial legislationwild be nugatory; ana t0 jirstffg pmiq 0110‘ county in a very linited and restricted classification by. 'theLegislature,~therenu.stbe soze reasonable relation bdsieen the situation of the counties classified and purposos~ and objectsto be attained, au& classitication cannot be cdoptsd~arbitrcrily on a ground v&ich has no foundation in differonce of situat.Zon or circ~xzstsncss

0S'countiss placed in.different classes. The act reducing salaries of officers in counties of'over tvm Rundred and ninety thousand end less than three hundred and ten thousand population vxas held unreasonable hnd arbitrary in its clossifdkation and void as a special law.

: Wi Quote fro= the above mentio~ed,opinion aa,follo=: ~. ,. : ., .:

aThe rule is that soclakification can- . .x i- not.be adopted arbitrarily upon a gro~und which has no Soundation ind5Sforonce of situation ' or circumtances of the nunicipalitles placed ~.::~r.;l~i:,~:; .5.n the different classes. There ml5t be SOi9D reasonable relation between the situation of nuuicipalities classified in the 3urgose and tie object to be attained. There must be sane-. .. thing..,. which in sop1e reasonable dqree accounts for the division into classes.**
Article CZilb-Z,'supra,'appliesonly~to counties having e population of not less than 22,050 and not mre than 23,000, according to the last preceding redera census: The object and purpose of the statute under consideration IS to pernit ccxxissioners~ court of the counties co* xithin the above designated population brackets to provide for facilities znd such financial aid as the said oozxissioners* cotit rxiydeeia

necessary to Federal or state governsxent agencies and bureaus having sctivities Or riaintainingprojectswithin the oountg in which the fmnziissioners' Court Fs locztted, h natural class, xould include al.1the CountieS in "de state. The above m3ntiomd statute authorizes the qp&ssioners’ court in counties having a population of not less than 22,050 and not zaorethan 23,000 the additional p&or and authority ra set out in the statute. Ths numberRotiorab1e.R; C. Wilson, Rage 5

. . of inhabitants residing within the ~county,alone, c¬ serve in my **reaSon&bh** or natural cmner to indicate the necessity or desirability of Remitting such county through its coimlssioners* court to exercise the power and authority 8s provided in reticle 2351b-2. Ue think that the above classification is a mre designation vihichis no classification at all, but,.on the contrary, as inverted and discrim.i'- natory as the law considered by the Supreme Court in the case of Rexar county vs.~Tynan, supra. .' ,~

**AS** above 'statedwe have'here '& -tatice of arbl- ‘

. . trary designatioa, rather than classification. The above quoted statute.attenpts to regulate the afSa$rs of those omutles cozuing

within the~above designated Ropulstion brackets in a'mamer violative of Article ITI, Section ,56,of the State Constitution. Thtii last r,entionedsection of the Constitution, is designed, in part, to insure that the system of comty~gmermeot shall .beas unifom as is possible. It ' is intended to.prsvent then passage of laws which discrinlnatc betvveen

the counties of this state:without adequate am.lsubstantialdifference in the qha,ractsristics of the individual

_cotities indicative, rationslxy, of the necessity for,the' discriminationi

In view of the **foregoi=, you**  arerespectfully advised that It is the opinLon of thin deRart:zmt that the lawunder consideration clearly violates the provisions of mtfcle III, Section 56, of the State Cocstitutlon and its miifest spirit and~purpxe, and it is therefore **UUCOn6titu-**

. tionaland void..

Trustin that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry,we remin

Yours very truly
d?T?o;rn GIxERhL OF Tzxtss *



### s.9 :jm APP OVEDMAY 23, 1940

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