OFFICE OF THE A’ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS’ ~’ 

AUSTlN 

GERN.m c. MAll” Lnomm0m.*IL ” 

Dr. George 1. car -. 

Texaa State Board of Bealth 

Austin, Texas 

. 

‘:’ .Dear tirr 

,~ 

: 

thio.department, 

, 

-. 

the Cornoxan, ereated 

m of Axtlcle 

exea. The 

the. Board 

ap aertala 

o ao~er raid die 

inion rr08t my otti& - 

e power to snforoe 

hose in whloh they 

oenses to be oharged 

thin the 

, 

empowers the Comrnlssloner~r 

to dealgnats the lines 0r eny 

or vim0 thereln aituated 

and to appoint a Board OS Health ror it. The 

Distrlot oreated by the Commiseioner's Court Or . 

vlotoria County doer not includa any unlnoor~orated town or village but oo~era an area or two 

and .one-halr miles rid. on each side or W. 9. ?iil3hway :!o. 59, 57, and 77. Inasmuch as the Statute 
Dr. Ueorge if. Cox, page 2 

speclifaally states that the iiealth District so, 

oreated, shall be within the dsslgnhted lines or an 

unincorporated town or village there is a great ’ 

doubt in w mind as to the power of the Commisaloner*s Court to orsate a Sauitary Distriot within 

an area whereih no uninoorporated town or village 

is situated. 

w’ft ooourred ‘to m’e that perhaps your ~Orrlce 

had reoelved a ruling from the Attorney General as 

t0 the Limits Or the pOW6?3 WhiOh the cO~88iOII~~'~ 

Court is given under the artlole. 

“‘1 would appreciate it very muoh Ii you nil1 

give rm tha benefit or any inr0rifai0n whioh you 

might hare on this mattar.fw 

“. 

We note that you then transmit to ua a oopy of the 

order or the Dommlssioners Court or Victoria County oreating 

the sanitary dlstriot mentioned in the above quoted letter . 

and ask our edvloe as to whether a legal aanltary dietriot ‘? ~~ 

has been established and now exists in the srea described by 

the order. 

vie quote that portion of the order, as submitted 

118, as followm 

..” 

wProridlng ror oreation of a sanitary district 

according to Article U.35 (22484.9) (Aoh 1889, 

p. 139; Aota let 9.c. 1901 p. 29) in oertaln areas 

0r Victoria County; 

.health board; author f 

roriding r0r appointment 0r a 

alug It to promulgate rubs 

and rsgulstions tar runotloning; aettlng forth the 

boundarlos for said area; and deolaring an 6mergenCy.R 

to 

Artfci0 4435 or the civil Statute 0r the Stats or 

Texas 1s as follows: 

“The commissioners court of any oounty In which 

an unincorporated town or vlllsge may be situated, 

shall have power to designate the lines of suoh 

to-a or villago, and may appoint a board of health 

ror it, ooneisting or time persons, two or mO;zigr 

whom shall be regular practicing physioians. 

oourt when such appointnents are made ehall at once 
Dr. George W. Cox, page 5 

notify the State Bealth OffLoe?. Said board shall 

$.t 

y’ 

elect one of their membars as presidiug OiflOar; 

g ; 

and euch presiding orrloer, if the pramlses of any 

oltizen residing v&thin the presorlbed limits of 

said town or village are ti an unclean or unhealthy 

oonditlon, shall notffy him of the fact, and that 

!i .-: he must prooeed at once to olean the same. Aots 1.889, 

: p. 139; Acts 1st C. S.,l901, 9. 29.” .i.’ 

We think it olear t&t the above artisle.&& does 

not authorize the Commissioners Court to create a sanitary 

dlstrfot outside an uninoorporated town or village. As stated 

in your letter, the dietriet created by the Comalssloners 

Court ooters an area two-and one-half miles wide on each side 

of U. S. Blghways Nor. '59, 87 and 77. 

In this Stats a Commlsaloners Court Is a ooart of 

limited jurlsdlotlon and has no powers or duties except as 

olearly defined ln the Constitution and Statutes. 11 Tax. Jur., 

p. 563, Commissionore Court,ts. Vallaoe, 15 9. V. (2nd) 535, 

Citing Constitution, Artlole 5, Sec. 18; Baldwin Is9 Tratfs 

County, l,O T& Civ. App.; 199, 88 S. U. k60. 

It is our oolnion that the Comlssioners Court of 

Viotoria County acted-without authority in creating the sani- ‘. ‘: 

tary dlstrlot herein attempted to be oreated ana that a legal 

sanitary district has not been established ln Victoria County,. 

under the Zaota heg,e,ln submitted. _; ‘, ‘.. . . : 

_.* * .i ‘_ ‘. : ; 

,...- ;>‘.-. .i ..~ : Yours ~t&y truly - :T.: ..-..: 

. 

.’ ,. 

ATTORZF, GIlWUUL OF ‘I’m9 

BY 2!&@. - 

Fred C. Chandler 

Assistant 

FCO; JP