. . 

Honorable 0. H. Gilmer, Chairman 

Committee on Judiciary and Uni:omm State Laws 

House of Representatives 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opin.ion No. O-3654 

Your letter of June 1.0, 1.941,, request:.ng the opilt.inn ef this 

department on the above stated q,uesti.on. has been :receked. 

We quote from you:? ?etkr as fol,lows: 

“I hand you here copy of S. B. No. 346 by Sen,at:cSpears, which i.s pending in. the House Committee on 

Judiciary and Un,l.form Skate Laws, and requ.est. thaj: 

you advise me, as Chairma of this rommE’Zew, whether 

OP not this bill is u.ncoc,,~.il:,rOioarah as a l,ocal 6~ sp~t:i,a!. 

bill. under the authoriky of the :?ecent case rC J. R a Mj.!.kc, 

et al. v. the CounQ of El’. Paso, Texas, et al,.” 

Senate Bi1.P No. 346 pads as fol,lows: 

‘“A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 

AN ACT 

(Captioned Omifed) 

‘BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEX.AS: 

“Section 1. In, all, counties of Texas havkxg % popn,.l.ation of not less than three hun.dred twenty-fi?e thowan,d 

(325,000) inhabitants and not more than three hua.dsed 

fifty thousand (350,000) Enhabitan,ts, as shown. by the ,Federa1 Census of 1940, or any succeeding Federal, Cexsw, 
Honorable 0. H. Gilmer, Chairman, Page 2, O-3654 

a direct tax of not over twenty-five (25$) cents on the valuation of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars on all property in said 

counties, may be authorized and levied by the Commissioners’ 

Courts of such counties for the purpose of erecting buildings 

and other improvements and for equipping, maintaining and 

operating hospitals for the treatment and cure of persons suffering from any affliction, dise,ase or injury, and for the purpose of establishing, maintaining and operating with or without 

the co-operation of the Government of the United States of America or agencies of such government, shelters, storehouses 

and workrooms, and for supplying paraphernalia, mate,rial 

and utilities for the unemployed, indigent and destitute, and 

providing for the direct relief of paupers. 

“Sec. 2. Before any such tax shall be levied, there shall 

be submitted to the qualified taxpaying voters of such counties 

the proposition whether or not such tax shall be levied by such 

Commissioners’ Court, at a regular or at a special election 

called for such purpose by said Commissioners’ Court. Whenever any such proposition shall receive a majority of the votes 

of the qualified property tax-payers voting at such election, 

said Commissioners’ Court shall be authorized to levy such 

tax or any portion thereof as may be necessary and expedient. 

~“Sec. 3. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence 

or word of this Act be held i.nvalid, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Act. 

“Sec. 4. Al.1 Acts, laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, to the extent of such conflict only. 

*Sec. 5. The fact that counties now have insufficient funds 

to erect, equip, maintain and operate hospitals and have had no 

direct legislative authority to establish, maintain and operate 

shelters, storehouses and workrooms and to supply paraphernalia, material and supplies for unemployed, indigent and destitute persons in such counties, and the fact that there are thousands of needy persons in such counties entitled to the benefits 

of this Act, creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the Constitutional Rule requiring bi1l.s to be read on three 

several days in each House be,and the same is hereby suspended, 

and this Act shall be in force and take effect immediately upon its 

passage, and it is so enacted.” 
Honorable 0. H. Gilmer, Chairman, Page 3, O-3654 

Section 56, of Article III of the State Constitution, provides as follows: 

“The legislature shall not, except as otherwise provided in this 

Constitution, pass any local or special law. . . . regulating the affairs 

of counties, cities, towns, wards or school districts; . . . and in all other 

cases where a general law can be made applicable, no local or special 

law shall be enacted; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be 

construed to prohibit the legislature from passing special laws for the 

preservation of the game and fish of this state in certain localities.” 

Chapter 5, Title 71, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, is the general 

law authorizing the commissioners’ court of any county to establish a county hospital and to enlarge any existing hospitals for the care and treatment of persons 

suffering from any illness, disease or injury, subject to the provisions set forth 

in said chapter. 

After carefully considering Senate Bill No. 346, supra. in connection 

with the opinion handed down by the Supre,me Court on April 23, 1941, in the case 

of Miller, et al v. County of El Paso, et al, and the authorities cited therein, we 

are of the opinion that said Senate Bill No. 346 is a local or special law and therefore unconstitutional and void. 

We also call your attention to Section 3, Article VIII, of the State Constitution which provides: “Taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws and 

for public purposes only.” The above mentioned Senate Bill, being a spedal or local bill contravenes this provision of the Constitution as well as Section 56, Article 

III, of the Constitution. 

Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry, we are 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

AW:LM 

Approved 

Opinion 

grnm 

Chairman 

Ardell Williams 

Assistant