OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

3onoreble Joti 3. Shook 

Criolinal Distriat kttOrA0y 

iktxar Courty 

tiA kntClAh, ','aX06 

Dear sir: opinion kio. O-7090 

recent data encloslng 

bijroulosls Cotitral 

srhicth lu ttc+r 
~rtlcle 2351, V. Aa 0. 9.. preaoriben oertaln powers and 

iii;g,;r 00nni00i0Aur5* 0dmt3. Th0 RertiArrnt yarts reed aa 

“&&Oh COnoliSfibiOAGFe OOUl!ti 5hallt 

II* * r 

-10. Audit sud tiottls all socounts a&stint the 

Oountp end dirsot their peymunt. 

"15. Said oourt 4hall have all auoh Other powers 

and jurisdiotlon, anh shall psrfom all suoh other 

dutier, a8 are now or CiLLIy hereoft6r be pe+x?iba~ by 

la*.* 

The City-county Tuberoulosla Cortrol Doard is directed by 

SeOtiOA 6A Of Art. 44378, v. km C. S. t t0 ttXp%Ad, in it8 dinoretlon,the fuAde therein oreated to provide ecoAoLzic\ aid to 

&4lgent persons sUff+riAg fros tuberoulWia au6 da;umdbAt mmbsrr of their izmdiate iemily. is the cozisaiocero* court 

required to audit and direot saynent 31 each individual 6ract 

3rlor to snp actual pyfient to the indiaeAt tubarcuiar? 

Osotion 6r of Art. 4437a, whioh orestes the City-csuuty 

Z'ubsroulosie CoAtrol joard, reads in part es foUowsr 

*ijee. 6h. (a). The ~overnln~ bodies of t3e 

oou&ty, 8Ad Of the Oity Or Oit&3&Sitti S&id 

county ado@.A& the ;;rovii+one hereof aa herein 

provided, are hereby authorized to oonduot a 

joint progren of tuberculosis control witkirr said 

city or cities and oounty, huvir;& for Ita obJeot 

the protection of public heoltii by tha SlhViotiOA, 

suppression and pWWitiOA of tA6 spread Of tubsroUloa~a: suoh ;rozza% my Include coogdratioA vlith 

all. public or ;;riVbte 8~.8::Oi,a1&, $Wibral, Ststd Or 

looal, h0ViAg tAe aa& ObJeCtlVb, alid shall inolude 

provj,d& ecor.oiklo cid In ti?O diSCP3tiOA 35 thQ 

Yourd h.G:re ;s;',tr cL‘~~,LC&, ll&iiir i;bLdC;11 CGrGii CQsea heraiAafter gxvfded, to izdii;aAta sUfferi 

fro:1 tUbtirou:oais acd to dersrdcct nanbers of tiieir 

im*diattj f&Qily 00 B >drt. Jf tii6 tiltal fX+btZUAt Of 

ad SQ SA aid in t:ia prsvontiou of Lke s;:rtmd Or 

the disease, for iilrr FrotuOt:oA Of tie >UbliO Cealth. 
t 

: mr John RI ShooJC, page ) 

“(bl. TM County Comdasloner~ Court 18 hereby 

authOrfZC4d t0 l4Vy 8 diP3Ot ~IUUA~~ t8X Of IIat t0 Bxoeea 109 on the :lOO.OO valuatlou, which shall. be in 

addition to the tax authorized by Seotion 3 herein, 

an& the funds.Lroduced thereby shall bo kept aeroarat4 

j!ron otlxr funus cati as.511 be wt4 001 i; 1 y for tile 

urF2oaea twt forfin in tni3 victim; yrtivided that auoh 

evy of taxes shall be rlrot 8ik5htt3a to the qualities 

taxpaying voters of the county 8Ea a nejorlty vote shall 

be naoeeeary to levy the tax. ?he ~overnicg body of the 

city or oities aotis& herewAder shall llk4iVla4 bo authorlzea to levy a direct tea. or not to exceed 53 on, 

the &lOO.OO Valuation t3 ~ixd.C4 funda to be USed for 

ths aana purpoae, . . . 

"(0). For the purpose of admlhlstretlo~ 0r this 

tr.ectlon, in the event such oountg and city or oltlea 

ewe&e in auoh pro&ran and vote auoh speoial tax48, 

suoh olty or oltles aca county 8imll have power to 

create a City-County Tuberouloola control Joard, to 

be composed of five or fcore menbera, . . . 

a* * L 

423 

“(8). The Board shall have power to oerry out 

the terns OS this asotion in order to alleviate, 

auppress and pravent the 8preafl of tubarouloals 

within the oowty, OS a pub110 &halt!: fuwtlon, aubjeot to the provlaFon8 hereof. Yh4 funds derived from 

the opeclal tcxes herein sut,?orlzea s&l1 04 co:i?)ic~a 

tofzther by !DiZZ 8C:CiSii C1' LLI~ GOLLT.~:J s~.li city 3r 

oitlaa wd be tlx:iosLxsi bp or wiser tie ciirectim of 

*fad such 3ocrd nub ect t3 t-s 

that auoh furzis shall be er&uaeci to provuie nocceaarp 

eoohonio aid to lndlgect persons suffering from tuberouloeia and dependent iwnbers of their irm4iate fenUp, 

upon o4rtiflOatlOn in eaoh case to the Board by the oity 

or county haalt2 offlcar, to the effeot thet the porrons 

reoeivi.ng such aid are iadl~anta, and that they or4 

bona fide residents of the county und have been for 

more than Six rxnt2S; anil such funds r?-ay also be 

exwnded to g-pvide t’s adsiinla tre tlon esjxmses heraunder, 

inoludlhC aa,sa InVeatlCatlon ana neocaaorg 4quiym4nt 

and amvices, but for no otkmr purpoaem. 

“if). The Yoord shall nake quarterly reporte to 

the covorninc boerda of the county arrd city or oitiee 
3on. John R. Shook, page 1, 

sating hereunder, atatlng the oondition of the funa 

and expenditures made therefrom, and the servlcea 

. perforned; and the county, and olty or citlaa partlclpatlng, shall have the right to axamlna and audit the 

books and reoorde 0r said 3oard.W (unaaraoorlng ours) 

%a note that the tuberculosis fund provided for is to be 

kept separate from other funds of the county, but is to be 

eon;blned wit& the funds provided by the city and then expanded 

by the Board subject to the limitations of the section. It la 

~i@iflcant that the fund la first to be ooablnad with the olty 

f& and then expended under direction of the Board, and the' 

Board, not the oourt, la vested with discretion 88 to the 

~~onomlo ala to be extended. 

We have found no authority holding that a grant to an 

lndlgent tubaroular, auoh as here provided for, is an *aooount 

rcainst the county" within the neanlng Of S80. 10 of Art. 2351, 

but even if it vrera, whioh we do not daoida, it is our opinion 

that Sea. 6A of Art. 44378, tC8 more recent stetute, does not 

cmte;lplete that the comissioners' court shall audit ana dlreot 

pyrcent in advance of eaoh individual grant to an indigent tuberoular. 

A contrary interpretation would require a great amount of 

drtailed work on'tha part of the OOmi8siOC8r8' .oourt and would, 

la effaot, have it perform again ~8 lar&a part of the duties 

placed by statute on the Tuberoluloals Control Board. The oourt 

oan satisfy Itself, throw the quarterly report of the ijoerd 

and through its right to examine and audit the books and records 

Of the 3oard, that the funds are, or are not, being expanded in 

Woordenoe with the law. 

Artiole 5, Seotion 18 of the Texas Constitution readis in 

Oart that the oomlaslonara~ aout *shall exercise such powers 

and jurisdiotlon over all county business as la oonl'erred by 

this constitution and the laws of this state, or as my ba 

hereafter presorlbed,W Xe note that our supreme Court has 

aaid in Clark v. Pinlay, 45 S. ;‘i. 343, with referenae to this 

i-Ovislon thatz 

9esldes, UEd8r the provision Guoted, the power 

of the oomlsslonera* court extend4 only to suoh 

business as la intrusted to it by the constitution 

and to such as the le~lalotum my confide to it. 

The'provlslon does not inhibit the legislature from 

con;nlttlng a matter of county business to sane other 

agency." 
. 

_ 

431 

. 

50th John R. 8hook, page 5 

HOW93 Biii 240 Of th6 49th Legislature provldes a budget 

ryrtem for counties having a population in excess or 225,000 as 

acwn by the last preoedine, or any future United btotes census 

rsd is applicable to, 3exar County, Your latter quotes thereffom the romwing parts: 

“‘The County Auditor . . . on or tiedlately 

after January 1st of each year, he shall prepare a 

budget ‘to cover all of the proposed expendftures of 

the oounty goverment for tho current fiscal and 

calendar year . . . and no expenditures of the funds 

of the county shall thereafter be made except l,n 

strict aompllance .wlth said budget.* 

a * + l 

WWpon the adoption of any i;eneral or special 

bud&&as hereinbefore provided and its certlrication, 

the County Auditor of each county thereupon shall open 

an appropriation account for each ~zin bud&eted or 

special item therein, and it shall be his duty to 

charge all purchase orders or requisitions, contracts, and salary and labor allowances to said. 

apprqpriatlons. ( 

swathe County Auditor’ shall make to the Codssloners’ Court not less than monthly a complete report 

showing the financial condition of the county . 4 . 

the report shall contain a complete statement of the 

balances on hand at the beglnnFng and close of the 

month, and the aaregata receipts to, and ag&reeate,, 

disbursements from, each fund, . . .** 

The County Auditor or Bexar County has advised us that the 

WWted income from the tax authorized in Sea. 6~ of Art. 4437a 

:* included in the county budget and an appropriation accouht 

‘<meor ie set up. 

hcain, Sec. 6A of Art. 4437a is the more recent ex>reasion 

‘: le~ielative intent and, ir in conflict with Zouae i3iLl 240, 

‘Gh we do not decide, would control. 
. . 

4.32 

\ . . . 

goon. John R,. Shook, pegs 6 

It 1s OUT opinion that the Commissioners’ Court may Jawfully order the payment of such funds to the City-County Tubercdosis Control 3oord in accordance with the 3oardQa request 

,ead that ii. B. 240 of the 49th Legislature does oot prevent 

the County Auditor iron lawfully Charging the payment as a 

dlabursemnt under the appropriation account set up. 

Yours very truly, 

A!l!TOI&XY CJSRAL OF ‘EliAs 

BY