THEATTO@NEY GENERAL 

Ol?+rExAS 

AUSTXN ~~,'T-EzxAs 

PRICEDANIEL 

ATTOIINEY GENERAL 

Jule $1, 1949 

Eon, Sam Lee Opinion Rio, V-841. 

Coumty Attorney 

Brasoria County Re: Authority oi Commleeionerr~ 

Angleton, Texas Court to meats a drainage 

district in a conservation 

and reclamation dietriot, 

Dear Sir: 

We refer to your letter in whlah yew l wb%t 

the ro11onin.g queetion: 

Y!he Commlsrlomors~ Court of Brazorla County, Texas, has entertainsd a 

petftim presented to It pursuant to the 

mithority granted in Articles 809'7 and 

809l'& R.C.S, for the purpose of creating 

a drainage aletriat in a portion of Braaerir Oounty, 

*Rra+oria County ia a part Of the 

Bratos River Conservation and Realemetlon 

District. The whole of Braeoria County, 

Including the proposed area out of which 

it is desired to create a drainage dietrlct, is a part of the Brazes River Conaemation Qnd Reolamatlon Dietrlct. Thie 

diatriet WLS areated by the Leglelature oi 

the Stats o? Texae by the Aotm of 1929, 

4Irt Lsgislatu~e, Seaond called aesbion, 

am wnad atid the text of the law $8 round 

ls&footwate under Section 2 of Artio&e 

m The A,ot *(~a ma+4 IrJ tfka M&ad 

uglrSatur0 $9 Its first call& S*m3lon, 

Page a9 ahapter 5.0s the Cfeneral *ad Spw 

aial Seaslori La%r, @nd the lm& ,oS the 

mehdunt i,s fc&& in the Rwisbi CM1 

Statutes in the poaket part, lstiola 8'1971, 

Seotlon 5, 

"Therefore, my question to you is as 

r0ii0r4: 
Eon, Sam Lae - Page 2 (V-841) 

I. . 

“Does the Commtesionorb~ Court of 

Braaorla County, undar Article 8182 and 

8103, have the power to form a new drainagr district out of a part of the terrltory lomted in Braaoria County rhero 

tho~(b is nc present uaa mirtinq drainage 

dl8triot and reolmtlen dlbtriot, In the 

4vbnt ,that all af Bra34ria County is a 

part of the BraPros River Comarvatfon and 

Reclamation District aa pwvlded by Beatloa 5, Title 128, chapter 8, R.C,S, .shom 

a4 rootnate Mder Article 81971, B.c.s.w ‘your question lnvolv4e the construotion OS 

Aoti 1945, 40th Leglrlature, pago 186, Chaptqr 143, 

whfoh i4 4140 Seotionn l-8 of Article 8193-l of V4rnon’s Civil Statutes. Ths caption or th4 Act readst 

"An Act to provide for the abolition 

4f araiw4 districts in all 00untle8 in 

tnlr Stat0 whom cl3019 rhallh4vr been 

ar4et.d OF may heraaftor be amat4d by the 

kgirlnture, ar under it4 l ihOrity, a 

il4.d e4ntrol distrlot or aonsenation 4r 

realemotion aiatrict compoa4d of 4ll er a 

portion of the territory of suoh counties, 

pursuant to the provlslone pna under authority of Section 59 of Article XVI of the 

Constitution, rhoso territory Includes such 

drainage dlstrlate; providing for the pagrent of the outatanalng bonded and other 

lndebtednbsees of such districts; authorIsing and requiring actiona by the Commlnsiolasrsf court; providing ror eleatlons, 

for the paymnt of.outstandlng bonaoa and 

other indebtedness, for the l4vy and collection of taxes; and dealarlng an emergent y e ‘I (Esnphasls added throughout) 

The subject in the caption la the abolition 

of drainage districts on all counties where there have 

been or may hereafter be created by the Legislature or 

under Its authority, flood control, conservation or 

reolamation dietriots. Prohibiting the creation of new 

drainage dietricts is not mentioned in the caption, 

Article 8193-1, Section 1 reads: 
HO% Sam lie46 - Page 3 (V-841) 

‘Ia all counties in Texas, where there 

ahall have been oreated, or ahall here&top 

be Oreated. , II a flood control diatriet; 

or conaervatlon ana Ceolamation aiatriot, 

- 

retofore 

ed unaer the authority 

beea organieof and pursuant to 

the provisions of Chapter 7, Zltle 128, Revised CIvIl Statutes, 1925, &rtIcles 8097, 

et seq., which lib wholly wItsin the boundaries of such flood control district, or 

oonaervatlon and reclamation district, such 

drainage districts may be abolished in the 

manner provided by this Act; and when ao 

abolished, no auoh drainage district shall 

thereafter be organized which shall inoluae 

within its boundaries any portion of any 

territory theretofore incorporated within 

the boundaries of suah flood control diat;:E;igr conservation and realamation aias&ion 2 provides-that-upon pet+tion of reeldent 

that 

taxpaying voqere 111 baon arainage dietriot praying 

an election be ordered for the prpoae of detemin- 

. . . . _-_ -_ _. ing wnewer or not sum aras.nags Qiatrlct or districts 

had.% OUtatandina bond indebtedness be abollahed. the 

Gomaibioners~ Coiirt ahall order an election to be liiia 

within the flood control or conae,rvatIon aha reclamation 

4% triot for the purpose of a t rmI in 

ii&im 

h th t 

inage dietriot oti dia&&ts”ah%~ te $i~lPie~~d 

nnd the outstanding bonded and other indebtedness ehall 

be amumed by auoh flood control or conservation and rec1aPution dlatrlct within the boundaries of which &uch 

3Setrlcts 11 Then follows provisiona for posting or 

ptiblfohlng n&ct,s of election In the county where such 

Uettriets bre situated. Ho provision is made for an 

l le@tiea in anr ether County in the flood control or conl ervatian andreclamation district. 

Se&ion 3 providee that the CommIaeIoners~ 

Court may abolish drainage dlatrlcta hav.ing no bonded indobteduosa after notiw and that all prapertg of the 

,iWaiaage Uhtrlot ahakl pa** into oontrol mf the flood 

control er conaemation and reolwtlon district, When 

the Court act&, all of tbo propert of the drainage dlstrlet prcrsss to the flood oontrol or waaervatlon and 

reslamation dlrtriet* 
. 

:, 

Hop. San Lee - Page 4 W-641) 

Section 4 provlaee that the eleotlons provialed for in Section 2 shall be held In the flood 

oontrol or oonaervation and reolamatlon dlatriet and 

that only qualified voterr who own taxable property 

In the flood oontrol em oonsenatlon and reolamation 

distriotr Ma who have rmaered it for taxation #hall 

be qualified to vote in rush eleotion and they ahall 

vote In the’ sleetion preolnot of their reridenos. 

Section 6 provides for return8 of the eleotlon to the Danai8rlonerr~ Court, deoLarlng the remilt of the election, an&levy of tam8 to pay drainage district indebtedness. Clearly, au& an eleotion 

may only be held In the oounty In whiob the Ommirrionl r8’ Court war authorized to not. 

Section 7 provide8 that upon the effeotivr 

date of much election all of the property of the dralnage district shall pass into the control and Jurladlotlon of the officers of the flood oontrol or oonaervatlon ana reclamation dirtrict. 

Sootion 8 roabs 

NAfter the abolltlon of ruch drainage 

districts, as hereinabove provided, no other drainage dintriots shall be oreate 

rlthln the boundarlee of the flood control 

diatriot.or oonservation and reolamatlon 

district e The pr6vZslons of this law’shall 

oontrol in the oountles to which it applied 

over the provision8 of any other laws authorMIng or regulating drainage districts. 

Aeta 1945, 49th Leg., p. 186, oh+ 14Sait 

We are of the opinion that Article 8193-l 

applies only to the abolitioa of draiaage dlrtriotr in 

fi00a control or oonservation and reclamation aimi0t8 

oompo~sd of all or a portion of the territory of oaPb 

oount 

1 

and does not prohibit the creation of drafnagb’ 

ai#tr cts in such flood control or conservation and 

reolmaation districts whloh are oompoaed of more than 

one county; or whloh does not embrace territory of a 

drainage die~triot whloh ham been abolished. 

A large number of countlelr and parts of counties are oontalned In the doecrlptlon of Brazes River 
Bon. Sam Lee - Page 5 (V-841) 

Conservatfon and Reclamation DIstrIat, (Acts, 1929, 

Forty-first Legislature, se00nd caned sea8lon, page 

22, Chapter 13# as amended In Acta, 19310 Fortg-eeoand Legislature, First Called Session, page Bu Chapter 5, Seotlon 1) and we assume that no fi00a control district 0mp0taa of Brasorla County OP a portion of it has been created, by reason of which Sraeorla County ia not wlthin the ~ovIsIons of Article 

8193-l of Vernon’8 Civil Statutes, 

AS It appears In Subsection (d) of Section 

9 in Vernon's Civil Statutes, Volume 21, page 539, 

the law under which Brazoria County Conservation and 

Reolsmation District exists and operates, the creation of dlatrlcts such as Drainage Dfstrlcts, wIthIn 

said Brazorla County are expressly authorized, It 

reads: 

g(a) It Is, however, further provided that If the eleotors of any defined 

area within this district desire they may 

become a Water Control and Improvement DIstrict for the purpose of Independently providing, operating, ana maintaineng improvementa designed peculiarly to aerpe such defined area- such contained defined area 

may be so constituted under the appliuable 

operation thereof shall be constructed and 

operated In such manner as will conform to 

thie district plan to the greatest practlcable degree, (As amended Acts 1935, 44th 

Leg., pe 56, oh, 19, sec. 4)," 

Article 8193-1, V.C.S, provides only 

for abolishing drainage districts situated 

wit&In the boundaries of flood control or 

conservation and reclamation districts composed of all or a portion of the temitoq 
: ’ . .