OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

SROVERSELLERS 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Honorable A. 3. Xickertaon 

county Auditor 

ziontgeaery County 

conroe, Texas 

Deer Sir: 

Ye ha+6 reoei 

heroinabore oaptio 

our oplnlon on the 

uote fro5 your letter 

t th8.COmsllmher 110 euthortty to 

rty ,8X88&& thOa8 80t 

ion 1, Art. 1269h. 

$35,000.00 per year oovering Operational and 

naiotenenoe ao8te or thir airport. This iis a 

burden Whioh the OOtAOty deiinit8ly doe8 not f8Bl 

that it oM~esouQ8. Therarore, any oontraat 

whereby Oper6tionel end nzainten8Ilc8 008t8 tight 

be entirely aaeummi by a lessee wouh3 enable this 

00unty to keep the airport opsn without expense. 
Hon. A. fi. HiOk8rSOJX, page 2 

nParagraph r, Of S8OtiOf.l 1, Art. 1269h, give8 th8 

governing bodler OS inaorporated aitlea oerkin poworr 

to 8811 oonvey or 18888 airports. In order to f88il%- 

tat8 th& nmtter, would it b8 pO88ibl8 for Kontgomery 

COUnty t0 OX8OUt8 8 18888 t0 the City Of COnrOe Whereby 

the City in turn could 8xeaut.o 8 lea88 to an individual 

firto? Although this night eppear to be aaaompllahing 

that lndir8atlg whiah th8 aounty aannot aoaompll8h 

dFr8OUg Under your opiniona, it would enable the 

0oUntg to m8k8 a sat#$raotory dieporltion of it8 

airport problem& 

*In the event that you find this method Invalid, 

kindly 8dVi88 Qi8 88 t0 Whether Or not then i8 8Iij 

valld~prooedUr8 whlah the oounty might follow in timking 

a lease of it8 airport to an individual iira or oorporatlon." 

Artlab 12&h, V8BlOll’8 AMOt4ted Civil St6tUt88, prOVia 

in part 88 fO118W8, 

%e0t1on 1. A- That the governing b@dy Of 8aly inrated Oity in thin Stat.8 El8y r808iV8 through &it 

dlaatlon, end fr h8mby UnpOWered to 80.Qtim, by 

puro&888 without aondemation or by puraha88 thmm&h 

aOnd8inUatiiXI prOO88diu8, and th8r88fter nmintalnuad 

operate a8 en airport, or 18a88, or 883.1, to th8 

Fed8l-d ~OV8d58llt, tmOt8 Of land slthor WithhI OS 

without the aorporate limit8 of 8Uah oitJr and Witti 

th8 oounty in whlah 8U8h aity i8 8itu8t8d, 8d th8 

C@Wd.S8iOL18r8' Court Or 0w OOUatJr 06y lik8Ui88 8Qguin, a8fnt8ln and operate ror like purpore traat8 

of land with* the limit8 Or th8 OOWtY. 

"B- That the ~OV8rnin~ boaJ Of any inaorpor8ted 

oity iKI thi8 @tat8 IQlly mO8iV8 thOUgh gtit Or d86iO8- 

tion, end 18 h8nby emponer8d to to aoqUir8 aoqusm by Dy purah888 pUrOntr88 

without aondemation, and thereafter hereafter mnintain medntaln and 

opmto a8 an airport, or loam, or 8ellto 8011 t0 tJ~8 th8 

Federal CIoV8I%Unent, traet8 Of land td wfthout the the OOUUtyUiIty 

in whih 8UOh oity iS 8itUated, ~rOVid8d 8aid 8aib tmOt8 tmOt8 

61'8 not within riV8 (5) ai. Of 8XIOther in?OrpGmt8d inoorparatrd 

city that h88 a population Of or mOl'8 more ttta!l yan ---_*a__ fift88U xifti8U * hundred -.---, 

(1500) people, aoaording to the l08t gr808ding 98d8r8l 

CtmlU8. 
5’72 

ffon. A. x. ~OkOr8OU, p8g8 3 

‘C- That the goVeming body of any inoOrpOmt8d 

Oity in thi8 Stat8 my, 8nd i8 h8r8by ampow8r8d,~ ao- 

@Z-O through oond8mnatlon prOO88u8, treat8 of Iand 

lOQ8tOd without the OOUity in whiah 8ald olty 18 1ooat8d, 

provided said traat8 of land are within SIX (6) miles 

Of the OOUtY boundary Of the aounty ln whiah 8aid aity 

18 loaated, aad am not within riV8 (5) mile8 or another 

lnneorporated olty having a population In 8xoees or iiit88n hundmd (1500) p8Opl8, aaoording to the lart pro08ding Federal C8n8U88 and that s8id aity may th8r8aft8r 

malntdkln aad op8rato a8 en airport, or 18a88, or 88U, 

8aid treat8 $e, the Federal QOVrrnm8nt; provided, however, 

that the gra& her8ln mad8 to aoqu$ma land through eond8JlUlat~On prOO8Oding8, without the oountp in whlah said 

Oity 18 loaatad 8hR11 8Xpir8 011 D808ab8r 314.942, 

th8t tmOt8 of iand aaquired prior to that date, an& 

but 

Ulid8r the authority Or th18 Aat, Blsy oontinue to b8 

Op8r8’t8ds ha88d, 01 8016, e8 prOVid8d in thi8 Aat. 

l D- In l ddi@On to the pow8r her8in gnntad, th8 

~CUUWi88iOnOr8’ cOU&Of th8 88V8r8i 0OkUiti88 Or thi8 

8tat8 am h8r8bg authoriaed to l8aa8 any airport that 

may ba aaquimd by the aounty, an h8r8in provided, t@ 

any inoorporatad aitp or munleipaJ.lty within muoh 

OOUllty, Or St3 the F8d8l’Ol GoV827Mtent, for t&o purp088 

Or maintaining and operating an airport; and provlded 

further that 8ny incorporated oity h8viRg requimd 

land for an airport, or an airport, under the authority 

Of thi.8 A&, 8h~11 have th8 right t0 lea80 said Zurd or 

8ald airport to the county ln whloh reid lnoorQorata6 

City 18 lOOOt86. 

%ii- In addltlon to the power whlah it may now have, 

the governing body of en inaorporeted Oity 8hau have 

the power t0 8811, OOnV8y, Or 18a88, all Or OXiJ QOrtiO3ll 

of any airport8 h8mtOfOr8 8atabli8h8d or that my be 

h8r8att8r 88tabliah8d, Or 8w iand tiOq?liXOd UAd80 th8 

proVi8ion8 ot thi8 Aot, t0 th0 United Stat88 Of AS8Ii88 

for any p~rp080 deemed by th8 ihOV8rxlQlont Of th8 iJnit8d 

states naaeesary for National D8fanO8, Or iOr air laafi 

purpoaaa, or any other pub110 purpose, or t0 the Stat8 

of hfP8, of eny branoh'& th8 Stat8 Gova~nt, Or to 

any other per8on, rim or aorporatlon, to oarw out any 

pUrpO88 n80888ary or inaldental to National Dsienre or 

training itiaidentsl theretoi end thet suoh governing 

body @ha11 provide rulea and regulattone ror the proper 

use of any euoh airport8 in aonneotion with th8 purpoa88 

8tatsd herein.* 
573 

The OOUlBt8 Of Tax88 haV8 r8Q88t8du h8lb that oounty 80~0 

J@8iQIl8 r8' OOurtS NW eX8rOi88 Only ruoh OUthOrity a8 18 eonferr8d UQOn thaa by the COLI8titUtiOil and 8t8tUt88 of thi; State, 

8ither by express t8rms or by lmplloatlon. Thor8 ara many autJ!@riti88 t0 this 8ff8Ot, and we cite the follOW$,ng: 

tit-i018 5, 88OtiOI.l 18, ‘&X88 hl8titUtiOn; 

ATtiOl8 2351, R8ViHd Civil St8tUt88 oi !l'8=8j 

T8X88 JUri8QrUd8JXO8,.VOl. 11, pag88 563-566; 

Bland T* Orr, 39 s. w. 5581 

#IUU%-Wl;X+ZVn Publirhing Company v. Kutohimon County, 

45 5. W. (2d) 6513 

Xogg v* Campbell, 48 6. W. 2d) 5151 

Landmen v. State, 97 8. W. I 2d) 264; 

Bl -80 COUnty V. rihU8 106 S. W. (24) 

DOb8On V. M8r8h811, llh 8. W, (2d) 621; 

2791; 

id1118 COwlt~ V. LamQOra8 COUAtJl, 40 8. W. l+O& 

Our Opinion No. O-6878 read8 ln part a8 r0ii0w8: 

"In answer to your rir8t qu88tlm we r8f8r you to 

our Opinion No. O-3865, i oopy of whloh i8 herewith 

OnOlO8Od, whhorclin it 8t8t88: 'It i8 our oplnlon that 

the &II&88iOR%r8' &lirt ha8 !A0 authority t0 18888 8&l 

airport to any party axoept tho88 88t out In pamgraph 

D of Seotion 1, AFtiD 1269h.q Thu8, the Gf3r~ml88lon8n~ 

Court oan only lea88 aa airport to tang inaorpim8t84 eity 

or muuialpallty within 8uoh oOUnty Or tha Fad8ral GOVeraIaallt. * ft 18, th8r8fQr8, th8 Opinion Of thi8 d8p8rtIWt 

that the ~Ornmi88tOJi8r8' COUt 88iUlOt 18888 a OOlUlty owned 

airport to an indivldual.~ 

(Al80 888 Oplnlon No. O-3865, a aopy of whlah ha8 already bean 

iMii8d t0 YOU). 

Both of the abOV8 ODilliOZi8 h+ld that the @WllQi88iOn8r8' (%Uti 

aould not lea88 a county mvned airport to nn AndivXduel.. 1s th8 

Coarmiarionar8~ Court OS blontgwnery County were to loos8 th8 oounty 

airport to th8 City Oi Conro8 80 that the Oity in turn aould leas0 

88ib Sirpert to en individual iirnt, 88id COIMiia8iOU8A'8' COiU% Would 

be doing 8Omething indimatly that they OOuld not do 6imd.Y. It 

it3 811 8188IMtery 8nd fUndamOntal QrinOipl% Or law that a x%iTeLts8ionar8' Court aannot do anything lndireatly that they oannot ao 

dir8atly. 
H(CI~. A. &:. tiiokeraon, page 5 

In view of the foregoing, your quertion ia enmere in the 

negative. You are 8180 advlsad that we do not know of a valid 

prooadure whiah the county might follow in making a lease of 

its airport to an individual firm or oorporation. 

This opinion 18 not to be oonrtrued as per8ing on the authority ~of the governing body of a olty to cell or leeee a oity 

airport. The provirlonr of Artiole 4399, V. A, c. s., prohibit 

urn from paaring on auoh a question, 

We truat that wa have uatiafeotorily answered your inquiry. 

JCDtLJ 

Your8 very truly, 

AT’l’&UC$Y CiiiXhaAL OF ‘lKXA9