i

OFFICE OF ‘WE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN



### Honorable

Ralph Brook County

Atternoy 

### Lubbook County Lubbook,.

Ton@

day 

### of S'anq,A.D. el 88entioa

at thr that theyha6 in the a 

### 8wa ofmoney ia 

### ~aO,OOO.OO)

Dollarr, anofoaf& 

### Gomlrrioaora
oar* 

### ofanyrqalrr 

### onthe rat of the oouaty,and 

### the Gouatt 

### Court briryr furtherawareoi the ewritytol

rsirrt thrgo~emnmn8 in rablewag to proaaouta the prerait 

### warl 

### galnat

aggrm*lto 

### nationa,

### 1818theoplaloaor tha courtthat I)W,OOO.OO0r the runa 

### 8hou.ubr 

### inreatodin govmmat boaar.


### "ITI8l!iWOWCBL

RESOLVED

that 

### aaidFl?tJ Btousan&

($ao,OOO.OO)

Dollara **be lnvomted**  

### in

IBonorable Xalph Brook, Page 2

Government Bonds upon approval of the Attorney General of the State of Texas. 

### 0. v. Faraue tounty Judge, Lubbook County,

Texas

0.L Horton Eounty Comleeion0r, Preoinot

x0. 1

Ben Eanskrr County Commisslonsr, Precinot

NO. 2

Edaar E. Gray County Commieaioner,Preoinot

x0. 3

Kewton Stokea County Commissioner,Prscinot

l?o.4’

‘118oonnsotlonwith this rtatter,I wll.1 state that there ~111 remain available in the permanent improvement funds of Lubbook County, Texas, a sum or approximately 415,000.00, whloh amount will be eufriaient to take oare of all neaeesarp repairs and fmprovemente upon county property.

“In looking into the law relative to this matter, I have found rrtiole 036 of the iWised civil Statutes of Texas, whioh provldae as tollOWiS:

“*The legally authorized govarnlag body or any county, city or town, or the trusteee of any eahool distrlot or eohool:Community,may Invest their raspeotive sinlrin$zunda for the redaptlon and payment of the outstanding bond8 of suoh aounty, olty or town, or oommunity, in bonda of the Gnlted States,war savings certificates,and certificatea or IndebtedneaP,ieaued by the Ssoretary of the Treasury of the Gnlted States, andHonorable Ralph Erook, Fage 3

in bonds of Texas, or any county of thie State,
or of any lnoorporatea oity or tom. 110such bondo shall be purchasedwhich, according to their terms,mature at a date sUbsequent to the time ofmturlty of the bonds for the payment of nrhlohsuch sinking fund was areated.'

*Under thin article the county would be authorized to lnveet any sinking funds that It might have for the redemption and outstanding

### bond8 of the county. i?i%?"b::~ unable to find a- cam or artiole providing for euoh Inveetment of the permanent lmprovenent fund, however, It would seem to me 

### that If the county could Inveet the sinking funda in Enlted States Cmvernment 301168,that thr county ahould also hare the authority to Invest the permanent Improvement 

### fund in Governn;entBonds BiAOe the permanent fund repreeenta a aurplur and Is not needed or required to retire any outstanding indebtedness and it would
seem tome that euch Ed lnveetmentwould reat with the dI#cretloA of the ComaIaslonera Court and If they, in their OpiniOA, thought that $SO,OOO.OO oould be diverted Into GoQerAmeAt Ponds and the county property atill adequately cared for, that such action would be legal.

"The County Commissioners CoUft would llke your opinion on this question: 'Can a part of the permanent inprovement Punde be legally invested in u. S. Goverment Defense BoAde?*Vq

The Constitutionpreeoribee the maximum rate of taxes for general purpoi3eB, for roada aAd bridges, for juries, zid 

### ror permanent improvements, respectively. (Section 9, i&iole VIII, State Constitution). :+he monies arising from taxes levied and collected for eaoh of the enumeratedpurposea are OOAetitUtiOAAl fUAdSi 0Ad the COITJUISSIOAera COUrt has no power to transfermoney from one fund to another, or to expend, ror one purpose, tax money raised oetenaibly ror another purpose. The immediate purpose of the provision is to limit the anount of taxes thatmy be raised for thsee several purpoees, respectively; but It is also designed toHonorable Ralph Brook, Page 4



### illhibit 

### e~oe~i~eexpenaitur48

### iorany suchpurpose, ana to mpire that any and all

### money8 raised by taxation for any purpose shall be Qpplled to that partlotiar purpose and to no,

other. x0 i6tpua power to transfer money 

### rr0m
ona to another of suoh oonetltutiohaL fuuds, or expend such 

### runde for another pumose, la derived from the raot that the origidal fund coazalnsmore than enough tomet the current demanda against it. Suoh exoesamay be retained In that fund, end applied to auooesding yearr to the very purpose for whloh Lt was raised, thereby possibly raduolng the future tax rate for that purpose. Carroll Q. ~illllama,202 S. W. 504; Commisslonerst Court of Henderson Go. ‘1.Burke, 252 .S. %. 94i Texas Jurlsprudenoe, Vol. 11, p. 609.

It 16 stated in our 0 inion No. O-4297, Vhe authority to invest pub110 funan P n their custody ha6 beenexpressly oonferredupon oertain pub110 orrloera by the Laglslature In some instanoes and by the Conetitutlon In others, In eaoh fnstanaewhere thispower Is given, the charaoter of the seaurities Inwhioh such a;oneys may be invested has been careiullypresuribed. In every aaae where the Leglslature har authorlsed lnveatment of publlo funda, It haa named bonds of the United State8 Government amng the seouritles in which such funds nay be fmpestad, reoognlzlng the obligations of the United State8 as the safest of seour1t1ss. If the power to invest your surplus funds exlsted, ve oould oonoelie of no safer lnvestmant.‘txe enoloae
a copy of said opinion 

### for your convenienoe.

We find no provlalon of law authorlzlng the Comnlcaioners* CouA to invest any portion of the permanent lmprovenent fund of the count:! in any seouritlee whatsoever. iiowever, on the other h&ml it is apparsnt. rrom the above mentioned oases t.hzat any and all money raised by taxation
ror any purpose. must be applied to tnat particular purpose and to no other, and t:lutthe Coruvlasioners’ Court hae no legal right or authority to ln7est any portion of the constitutional

### runas (which inoludes the permanent lmproveaent tunda) in E. C. Government Lefense Eonds or any other sacuritiea except sinking funds as authorieed by AlWcle 536, supra
. Therefore,we respectfully

### answerthe above etated question in the negative.

Yours 

### varytruly