Hon. Charles E. Hughes 

County Attorney 

Bowie County 

Texarkana, Texas 

Opinion No. C-779 

Re: Whether the commissioners 

court may expend county 

funds to pay for telephone 

service between the offices 

of the county and district 

clerks at the county seat 

and the Texarkana Telephone 

Exchange. Whether the 

District Clerk of Bowie 

County is authorized to 

establish and maintain a 

full time branch office 

Dear Mr. Hughes: in the City of Texarkana. 

In two letters to this office you have requested 

opinions in regard to the above referenced matters. Two 

questions are involved, which may be stated as follows: 

(1) May the Commissioners Court of Bowie,County 

expend county funds to pay for telephone service between the 

offices of the county and district clerks at the county seat 

and the Texarkana Telephone Exchange, thereby allowing members 

of the public as well as county officials to make direct telephone calls, not subject to long distance charges, between 

Texarkana and the offices of the county and district clerks 

at the county seat in Boston, Texas? 

(2) May the District Clerk of Bowie County establish and maintain a full time branch office in the, City of 

Texarkana? 

The following constitutional and statutory provisions 

are applicable to discussion of your first question. Article 

XVI, Section 6, of the Texas Constitution provides:, 

“sec. 6. No appropriation for private or 

individual purposes shall be made. A regular 

-3736- 
Ron. Charles E. Hughes, page 2 (C-779) 

statement, under oath, and an account of the 

receipts and expenditures of all public money 

shall be published annually,, in such manner as 

shall be prescribed by law. 

Article 2351, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides in 

part as follows: 

"Each commissioners court shall: 

"1. . . . 

"7. Provide and keep in repair court houses, 

jails and all necessary public buildings. 

11' 

. . . 

"10. Audit and settle all accounts against 

the county and direct their payment. 

" 

. . . 

"15. Said court shall have all such other 

powers and jurisdiction, and shall perform all 

such other duties, asnare now or may hereafter 

be prescribed by law. 

part that: 

Article 3899b, Vernon's Clvil Statutes, provides in 

'Section 1. There shall be allowed to County 

Judges, Clerks of the District and County Courts, 

Sheriffs, County Treasurers, Tax Assessors and 

Collectors, such books, stationery, including 

blank bail bonds and blank complaints, and office 

furniture as may be necessary for their offices, 

to be paid for on the order of the Commissioners 

Court out of the County Treasury; and suitable 

offices shall also be provided by the Commissioners 

Court for said officers at the expense of the 

county. And such books and stationery as are 

necessary in the performance of their duties shall 

also be furnished Justices of the Peace by said 

Commissioners Court. Provided all purchases 

herein must be approved by Commissioners Court, 

and must be made under the provisions of Article 

1659, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925." 

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Hon. Charles E. Hughes, page 3 (C-779) 

Article XVI, Section 6, of the Texas Constitution quoted 

above prohibits the expenditure of public funds for'private or 

individual purposes. The fact that such private or individual 

purposes may incidentally be served as a result of public moneys 

being spent on public purposes does not automatically place the 

expenditure under the ban of Article XVI, Section 6. The Supreme 

Court of Texas in the case of Barrington v. Cokinos, stated: 

n .On the other hand an expenditure for 

the direct accomplishment of a legitimate public 

and municipal purpose is not rendered unlawful by 

the fact that a prfivately owned business may be 

benefited thereby. 

1960). 

338 S.W.2d 133, 140 (Tex. 

A county commissioners court clearly has the authority 

under those portions of Articles 2351 and 3899b, ~quoted above, 

to provide telephone service for the clerks of the district and 

county courts. Whether or not such service should be provided 

is a matter within the discretion of the commissioners court. 

. . . The presumption is in favor of the validity of the act 

or order of the commissioners' court, 

its jurisdiction." 

when the matter is within 

cited). 

15 Tex.Jur.2d 276, Counties El 47 (and cases 

The fact that the proposed telephone service in this 

case would cost $185.00 per month as opposed to present long 

distance charges of $20.00 per month would not in itself be 

sufficient to say that as a matter of law the commissioners 

court would be abusing its discretion If It decided on the more 

expensive service. Thia office cannot Interpose its judgment 

on a matter solely within the discretion of a commissioners 

court. 

The following statutory provisions are applicable 

to discussion of your second question. Article 1605, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, provides in part that: 

"The County Judge, Sheriff, Clerks of the 

District and of the County Courts, County Treasurer, Assessor and Collector of Taxes, County 

Surveyor and County Attorney of the several 

counties of this State, shall keep their offices at the coFfnty seats of their respective 

counties; . . . 

Article 199 (5), Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides in 

part as follows: 

-37387 
Hon. Charles E. Hughes, page 4 (C- i'i'9) 

” .provided that the District Clerk of 

Bowie County or his deputy shall wait upon said 

Court when sitting at Texarkana, Texas, and shall 

be permitted to transfer all necessary books, 

minutes and records to Texarkana, Texas, while 

the Court is in session there; and likewise to 

transfer all nece S 

and papers from T 'e 

Texas,,,at the end 

Texas. 

Article 199 ( 

in part as follows: 

sary books, minutes, records 

xarkana, Texas, to Boston, 

of each session in Texarkana, 

102),, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides 

1, .provided that the District Clerk of 

Bowie County or his deputy shall wait upon said 

Court when sitting at Texarkana, Texaa, and 

shall be permitted to transfer all necessary 

books, minutes, records and papers to Texarkana, 

Texas, while the Court is in session there; 

and likewise to transfer all necessary books, 

minutes, records and papers from Texarkana, 

Texas, to Boston, Texas, at $he end of each 

session in Texarkana, Texas. 

Article 1605, Vernon's Civil Statutes, quoted above, 

5s the general law regulating the location of the offices of 

the clerks of district courts. This Article provides that such 

offices shall be located in the county seats of the respective 

counties. Article 199 (5) and Article 199 (102), Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, provide that the District Clerk of Bowie County 

or his deputy shall,,be permitted to wait upon a district colrt 

when such court is sitting at Texarkana, Texas, 

and further provide that-the district clerk shall be pe&fitted 

to transfer any necessary documents to Tex%rkana, Texas, . . . 

while the court is In session there; . . . 

Article 139 (5) provides that the District Cturts of 

the 5th Judicial District shall have the authority to . . . 

sit at any time in Texarkana, Texas, to try, hear and determine 

any civil and criminal nonjury case , and may hear and determine 

motions, arguments and such other nonjury civil and criminal 

matters as may come before the Court; . . . Article 199 (102) 

gives identical authorlty to the District Courts of the 102nd 

Judicial District. Those portions of Articles 199 (5) and Article 

199 (102) quoted above which allow the district clerk to "wait 

upon said Court when sitting at Texarkana, Texas, . . .' cannot 

properly be interpreted as blanket exceptions to the provisions 

-3739- 
Hon. Charles E. Hughes, page 5 (C-779) 

$f Article 1605, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which provide 

. . .Clerks of District , . , Courts, . . . shall keep 

that the 

their 

offices at the county seats of their respective counties; . . .n 

The purpose of these provisions Is quite obviously to give authority to the district clerk to perform such of his functions as 

are necessary and complementary to the performance by the 

respective district courts of those functions which these courts 

may perform in Texarkana pursuant to the authority granted to 

these courts by the provisions of Article 199 (5) and Article 

199 (102) of Vernon's Civil Statutes. No other interpretation 

of these provisions would be compatible with any accepted rules 

of statutory construction. 

SUMMARY 

It is within the discretion of the Commissioners 

Court of Bowie County to determine whether or not to 

expend county funds to pay for telephone service between Texarkana and the offices of the county and 

distriat clerks at the county seat. The District 

Clerk of Bowie County may not establish and maintain a full time branch office in the City of 

Texarkana. 

Yours very truly, 

WAQGONER CARR 

Attorney General 

LEBjr:ra:mkh 

By; 

Lewis E. Berry, Jr. 

Assistant 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Pat Bailey, Chairman 

John Reeves 

Harold Kennedy 

Bob Flowers 

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: T. B. Wright 

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