- ..j c OFFICE OF THE ATTORlkEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

f :. 

AUSTIN 

I 

1:3norablC Forrester ffanoock 

c.-L72h1sl Dlatrict Mitorneg 

XtiXfiliSChlQ, TtSXlB .' A 

i;car Sir: 
Honorable Forrester Eanoook, psSe #2 

. 

extend or repair such 0ystein8, or any one of 

them, in0l~Cin3 the purchosa of equlpzmt, 

end a>plienoca for the sanitary dispose1 of 

-exorata-and c~fal, ati es ndditicmal Lieourlty 

thcretoz,. by the term of such cnombrance, 

say grant to the purobasor un+r s3le or foreolosure thePounder, a franohise to operate the 

systems ond propextios 80 purchased for a tern 

of not over twenty (20) years after purchase, 

scbjcot to nil lawa rcalatinS mm then in 

force. No suoh oblieatlon of any ouch uyatez 

shell ever be a debt of such city or town, but 

solely 8 chariSO upon the pro~ortiea of ~the syste;n 110 enouzberod, and ,&all. never be rcokonod 

/ 

1 

in dcterrinlng the pou:er of eny ouch city or 

tom to issue any ~botlds for any purpose authorize& by law," 

3IoE &lo cities fina thclr aovme a& authority in 

Seotion 2, Elrtiolo 11 of the Co53tltution and Article llG?j 

of.Vernon*s Annotated Civil Statutes, both of which rend 

ldenticslly. Artiolo 1165 is the Enabling hot, onaot~d by 

the Le&slature subsequer?t to the adoption of Section 5, 

Article ll., as an atcon~ent to the.Texas COnStltuCion. .Sald 

nrticle reads 06 follms~ 

l Wit& hnvin~ r?ore then five thousand (5000) 

inhabitants may, by a mjorlty vote of the qualiSick voters of said city, at e.? election held for 

that purpose, sdopt or awml their charters, subjeot to ouoh linitntions a8 nay be proooribed by 

the Lc$,slatum, and providinS that no olm%r 

nholl contain any provloion inoonsistert with the 

Constituttion Of the State, ox of the Sonerril~iawa 

enaotcd by the Le(;iolctwe of this B&W; said 

cities r&y levy, essem and aolloct such taxes 

cu my be nuthoriced by law or by their ohnrtorsr 

but no tax for any purpose ohall ever be laMul 

for ahY Gho year, whioh oholl exoced tu0 end onohell: per ocnt.of the tGxabk3 prGpO;rtY Of OUCh City, 

ocd CO debt shill cmr bo created by any city, unleas at tk,o aatie the provision be rsdc? to C33CSs 

. 
g,norable Forrester Hancook, page 93 

. 

~~.collci3t annuelly a suffioient sun't0 pay 

the lntereet thereon and oreete a sin'king 

fund or et ,least t-i70 per cent t,hereon; ena 

& 

rovldtd thrther, that no oity ohsrtor'shr?ll 

e 3ltereil. aocnded or ropmllod ottcnor thsn 

every. tivo ycero ." 

. 

Article 1175 10 a Ccneral law enumerating oertain 

p@ra.that my be exercised by Eome .We citd.ea whioh have 

sdopted a oharfor or-the amendment above quotod. This artlcle reads; in part, as f OllGii&~ 

nCitios a&opting the chnrter or aned!mnt 

hereunder ohnll have full. pmcr of loon1 self- 

; 6ovcrnment+ Among the other powers that may 

1, be exercise0 by any such oity, theSollcYAn3 

rz Iy?by enumerateU Sor@eater oortaintyr 

%eo. 10. The . power to control and menego 

the Sloences of en 

its Slo~l yew an i 

such oltyi to prcsoribc 

Siac51 orraa~6mnt; the. 

'. pwar to issue bond8 ulon the crcdlt of the city 

for the pwpose of idc i ng pcrrOnent pub% improvemcnts or for other publia purposes in the 

exGunt'&ncl.to tbo oxtent provided by such oharter ond conslotent with the Constitution cf this 

Stnteg * * *'. 

Wei; 13. To buy, own, construct v&thin or 

Yrithout the city liltits and to mafntnin olld 

Oprato a system or oystems of gas or electric 

lightin.-?, pl3ntc.4, tolophoncs, street railmps, 

EcBerngc planta, .Sertiliaing .plc.ntn, abnttoirs, 

~nnicl~~l rallisay terminals, docks, Yrhsrve%, 

Sorries, ferry-laadins5, loading and unlcadlng 

deviobs as shipgc3 Sucllities, or any other 

publio ncrvioc or publdo utility, end to &mend 

nnd rcoel.ve compeas.ution for scrvioe Surnlshed 

Sor privet5 pul~oaes or otherwise, and to cxcrClco the ri.&t of eminent domain as horeine.Stcr 

provided Sc.r ~the eppropriution of lafid, ri@ts 

of my or cnything whatsoever that may bo propcr 

. 
ponorable Forrester Hancook, pa@ $4 

* 

. 

and neoessary.to cffioicntly carry out said 

o.bj’?ct. hny olty ehzll ficve pmer to cofidem the property of any person, fim or cocporation no? ooa+oti~~& cay such business, end 

Sor ths .~urpo,* cf operating a2d salntalning 

any suoh publfo utilltios aad for the purpose 

of alstributlng suoh’eorvloe throughout the 

It $11 .be ‘seen fr0111 a reading of Artioloj 1311 ana 

.1175, ebovo quoted; thnt by a genorcil c?nactz%t, Zione Fiule 

olties are given Me express pcmer to k t.he owious thiEss 

emmarated In each 02’ the t;ro statutea. tlnilcr the @ymw.l 

la1r.a Haze l?u& city J-&Y issue revenue bonds Sor the pururposos 

enumretea in krt1cl.c l.112. ..This mo en nuthori~ty granted to 

both general law oitcs aml fione Xu3.e oitios. tWler the tams 

OS Article 1175, a Iiozo FkiLc o.ltg,~ by adopting chartor' provi-' 

sions authork&ing It to ooquirc the various public ut%lities 

onw2eratea utier SaotIon ,X3 thereof, oould under Section 10 

OS hrtlolo 1175, abo.ve quoted, .issue bondn for such purposes, 

~Scctioo 33 of Article '3175 roads a3 follow3: 

%ihcncver eny city my dcterdne to ocqulre 

kmsy publio utility USIIGJ and occupying tha 

stxeets, nlleya and avenues as hereinabove pro- 
Eonorable Forrester E~Oock, pad0 85 

. 

The .Le&slature of the State haa all power to ensot laws ercert as aay be inhibited by the Constitution 

,of the State or .1!&tion. It does hot have to look to the 

ConstitutZon for a grant of powor to cnaot laws but only 

to ‘ECB if ‘it in inl?lbited fron ectirq,. . And (I city doee 

not, shoe the adoption cf &&ion 5, Article 11, longer 

have to look to the Lozislaturo for a grant of power to 

& (this beiog given by the Constitution), but-only look 

t0 not8 or the Logislaturo t0 800 53 it ha13 plecea my 

llnitations on the pomr to ,a0t gmwia by fzeotion 9 of 

hrtf.ob3 1x1 If the LeS5.alaturc has placed no llnitation 

, 

on the pv.ver of n ,oi ty to act and the provialon is incone1stcnt with no provloion OS the ConetStution or thb general laws of the State, the pow% of the oity is as General 

‘cr.)6 broad as Lo the pcwer, cf the Le&islatura to tact. ‘i;e 

od lonGor mist look to the LeSiolot;ure to yant to a city 

the po%er to ezead its chaster Or to insert thesein any 

given provision, but IYC only look tb the Acts of the Ledalaturc to see if that body by any provision. adopted has 

placed anylirAtetj.on on the ‘poXor of a oity to act in a 

Given ratter, Xf theroln we find no licAtf;tion placed oa 

a .city to ar2ena its chartor in any &von partloular, efia 

cucb provioion is inconsistent with no provialon of the 

Constitution and no Semral J&f of the State, the oity &as 

the authority to .eo er,cnd its ~obartcr and adopt such pro- 

:. 

visions without any &mnt of power further then thst ohterrod by Sect105 5, Brtic&c 11 of the Constitution, See 

the case of~LeSo~a v. State, 190 S, X. 7%. 

It appears therefore that there 6re no lle5.tations 

in the gcmrsl lawe which viould inhibit a ?:OZXI %le city 

Srcn issu.ln+j revenue or self-llquldbtin~ boo.ds to purchase 

a teleohsn~ syst.622. On the contrrry it sppeam that- IIme 

kilo c1tica Pave the express authority by eonersl lew to ab- 

?b 'charter cf such cS.ty. 

uire such a Eysten if such e provision has bocn ~aCop,tod in 

Ka are, tllamfcJrc, Of the 0 

bes adopted a chartor provision aut E 

inion tht 5s ‘a clt 

orlaing t3e aquisi s -ion 

of GUc!lJ 0 oysters @ulU has authorized the issunnco of revenue 

or oclf-liluidatlng bonds to g~rchsoo owe, that it urouldhot be inoonslstent dth t!~e. Ccm titution or ~t’~crol~lOW 

of thlo zitcto. 

‘:.-r’~w” 

---“t-v ._. ---. .~ 
noaomble Pcrrcster &mcook, pngb #c 

- 

CEC-s 

. 

. .