Han/R. E. Beasley

County Auditor Collin County McKinney, Texas

Dear Sirt Re: Can Collin County legally pay her proportionate share of expenses incurredby the County Judges Association in sending out questionnairesfor candidates for the legislature to ascertain their attitude on the bond assumption bill? And related questions.

Your recent request for an opinion of this Department on the questions as are herein statedhas been received. OpinionNo. C-2475

We quote your questions as follows:

“10 Can Collin County legally pay the expenses of the County Judge for attending the meetings of the County Judges Associations?

“2

. Can Collin County legally pay her proportionate share of expenses incurredby the County Judges Association in sending out questionnaires for candidates for the legislature to ascertain their attitude on thebond assumption bill?

“3* (a) Can Collin County legally pay the travelllng expenses of county commissionersfor trips to Austin on officialbusiness7 (b) For the purpose of lobbying?lt

We quote from Texas Jurisprudence,Vol. 11, pages 563-4-5 as follows:

“Counties,being componentparts of the State, have no powers or duties except those which are clearly set forth and defined in the Constitution end statutes. The statuteshave clearlydefined the powers, prescribed the duties, and imposed the liabilities of the commissioners’ courts, the medium throughwhich the different counties act, and from these statutes must ceme all the authorityvested in the counties

. O

. Commissioners’ courts are courts ofHon. R. E. BeasQy,, page 2 

### (o-2475)

limited jurisdiction in that their authority extends only,tomatters pertaining to the generalwelfare of their respective counties and that their powers are'only those expressly
or impliedlyconferred upon themby law that is,by the Constitution and statutes of'this State."

This departmenthas repeatedlyheld that in the absence of a valid statute, the commissioners1 court has no authority to allow any sums of money to its members for expenses.

In our opinionNo. O-810, itwas held that there is no statutory authority authorizing the commissioners' court to pay the expenses of district and county attorneys, sheriffs, judges, collector, and county commissioners, tax assessor and

to their respective officer's conventions. Therefore, your first question is respectfully answered in the negative.

Your second question is also answered in the negative because the commissioners' court has no legal authority to pay expenses incurredby the county judges association in sending out questionnaires for candidates for the legislature to ascertain their attitude on the bond assumptionbill.

Itwas held in our opinionNo. o-1926 that the members of the commissioners'court of Limestone Countywere not entitledto expensemoney for trips out of the county on official business of the county.

In our opinionNo. O-2117, itwas held that the members of the commissioners'court of Brewster Countywere not entitled to the expenses incurredby them in attending a meeting before the State Highway Commissionwith reference to the designation and letting of contracts on State Highway No. 

### 3 U.S. No. 90. We are encloslng copies of the above mentione d opinions for your convenience.

In view of the foregoing your third question is also answered in the negative.

Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry,we are

AW:ew Encls. APPROVEDJUN 

### 29, 1940 /s/ Gerald C. Mann ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS Yours very truly, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By /s/ ArdellWilliams ArdellWilliams, Assistant APPROVEDOPINION COMMITTEE By BWB, Chairman