.~ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Aumrx~. - 767ll 

-t.lllLt iwrcmmwaAuguet 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 a public 

horpital may contfact with a private 

horpital for care of charity patientr. 

You have requested our opinion concerning the authority of the Ector 

County Commireionerr Court to c,ontract with and make pcym?nte to a private 

hospital for obst,etrical care of charity patientr when there ia a county hoepita 

in the County. 

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

If there ia a regular l rtablirhcd public hoepita in 

the county, the commirbionere court &all provide 

for rending the indigent rick of the county to ouch 

hospital. 

However, article 4491, V. T. C. S., providea: 

Any commirrionerr court of any county which 

ham no city with a population of more than ten thousand 

ptrronr, may contract for a period not exceeding one 

year, with any regularly incorporated society or hospital or municipality within the county maixitaining a hoapital, or with any other adjacent county, for the cart of 

any or all of the 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 much hospital, the board of managcrr may contract with any regularly incorporated society or hoapital 

or city or town within the county maintaining a hoapitel, 

for~the care of rome of the rick, injured or diacaacd 

pcrronm applying for admiaaion to the county hospital. 

In our view the acopc of article 4491 is unclear, for the second sentence 

contain* no exprerr limitation concerning counties containing a city of a population 

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

of over 10,000 persons. Prior to its 1925 rcvirion and codification, the eecond 

sentence of article 4491 applied I#[ w] here a county has established a hoepita aa 

required by Section 15 of, this Act. . . . ” Acta 1913. 33rd Leg. , ch. 39 at 77. 

Section 15 of that Act applied to “each county which . . . has a city with a population 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statute ae originally enacted by the Legislature contained two independent authorizations, the first concerning counties without a city of a population of more than 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 a particular county, in our opinion there is no restriction thereon. 

Thus the second sentence of article 4491 is not limited 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 

not within the statutes pertaining to county hospitals and since its enactment was 

prior to that of article 4491, in our opinion it should not be construed to conflict 

with the authorization contained in article 4491. 

While there is dicta in the cast of Willacy County v. Valley Baptist 

Hospital, 29 S. W. 2d 456 (Tcx. Civ. App. --San Antonio 1939, no writ), which 

could support another conclusion, article 4491 was not considered and the county 

involved did not maintain 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 of Managers of Ector 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... 

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

XL&fy?D 

. 

, rst raistant 

Opinion Committee 

jad: 

pa 2944