.~ 

# THE ATTORNEY 

# GENERAL OFTEXAS Aumrx~. - 767ll 

# -t.lllLtiwrcmmwaAuguet 25, 1975
The Honorable Bill McCoy County Attorney, Ector Cou.nty **Room** 223. 

### Courthourc Odemra. Texar 79761
Dear Mr. McCoy: Opinion No. H- 675 Re: Whether a county with apublic horpital may contfact with aprivate horpital 

### for **care** of charity patientr.

You have requested 

### our opinion concerning the authority ofthe Ector County Commireionerr 

### Court to c,ontract with and make pcym?nte to aprivate hospital for obst,etrical care of charity patientr when there ia a county hoepita inthe County.

Article 4430, V.T.C.S., provider in part:

Ifthere ia a regular 

### l rtablirhcd public hoepita in the county, the commirbionere court &all provide 

### for rending the indigent rick 

### ofthe county to ouch hospital. However, article 4491, V.T.C.S., providea:

**Any** commirrionerr court ofany county which hamno city with apopulation of **more** than ten thousand ptrronr, 

### may contract 

### for aperiod not exceeding one year, with 

### any regularly incorporated society or hospital or municipality within the county maixitaining a hoapital, 

### orwith **any** other adjacent county, for the cart of any **or** all ofthe sick, diaearcd or injured inhabitanta of the county, upon ouch

### terms and conditionr a# they may by agreement think proper. Where a county hair ccrtablirhed muchhospital, the board 

### ofmanagcrr 

### may contract with any regularly incorporated society or hoapital or city or town within the county maintaining a hoapitel, for~the care of rome ofthe rick, injured or diacaacd pcrronm applying for admiaaion to the county hospital. In our view the acopc ofarticle 4491 is unclear, for the second sentence contain* no

### exprerr limitation concerning counties containing 

### acity ofa population

p. 2942The Honorable Bffl McCoy - Page 2 (H-675)

ofover 10,000 persons. Prior to its 1925 rcvirion and codification, the eecond sentence of article 4491 applied I#[w]here a county has established ahoepita 

### aa required by Section 15of,this Act.
. . .” Acta 1913. 33rd Leg. , ch. 39at 77. Section 15ofthat Act applied to “each county which
. . . has a city with apopulation of

### more than ten thousand persons. . . .”**Acts** 1913, at 77. Thus the statute ae originally enacted by the Legislature contained two independent authorizations, the first concerning counties without a city of a population ofmore than 10.000 persons and the second concerning counties containing such a city. Since the second **rentcncc** of article 4491 contains no limitations concerning the size of cities within aparticular county, in**our** opinion there is no restriction thereon. Thus the second sentence ofarticle 4491 is notlimited by the first; any county maintaining a county hospital may contract with a private hospital for the **cart** of some of its patients. Set Attorney General Opinion8 M-85 (1967), C-334 (1964). - Article 4438 does not expressly prohibit such a contract. Since it is notwithin the statutes pertaining to county hospitals and since its enactment was prior tothat ofarticle 4491, in our opinion it should notbe construed to conflict with the authorization contained inarticle 4491.

While there is dicta inthe cast of Willacy County v. Valley Baptist Hospital, 29S.W. 2d 456 (Tcx. Civ. App. --San Antonio 1939, nowrit), which could support another conclusion, article 4491 was not considered and the county involved did notmaintain a county hospital. Accordingly, we believe article 4491 muet control your question. Of course article 4491 provides for a contract executed by the Board of Matigers of a county hospital rather than by a commissioners court. SUMMARY The Board ofManagers ofEctor County’s county hospital may contract with and make payments to a private hospital 

### for obstetrical cart of charity paticntn.

General of Texas

p. 2943. I...

. -

The Honorable Bill McCoy - Page 3 (H-675)



### XL&fy?D

. , rst raistant

Opinion Committee jad:

pa 2944