EA ORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

The Honorable K. L. Berry 

Major General 

The Adjutant General of Texas 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. ~~-836 

Re: Can a Commissioners Court 

and the Council or Commission of a city or town 

appropriate money to pay the 

necessary expenses of the 

administrative units of the 

National Guard and the Texas 

State Guard Reserve Corps located in their respective 

counties or in or near their 

respective cities or towns, 

under the provisions of Articles 5885 and 581gc, VerDear General Berry: non's Civil Statutes. 

By your opinion request of March 14, 1960, you ask 

the following q~lestlons: 

"1 # Can a Commissioners Court and the 

Council or Commission of a city or town in 

this State appropriate money to pay the necessary expenses of the administrative units of 

the National Guard of this State located in 

their respective counties or in or near their 

respective cities or towns, under the provisions 

of Article 5885 of the Revised Civil Statutes 

of the State of Texas? If the answer to the 

above question is In the negative, can such appropriations be legally made under any other 

laws of the State of Texas? 

"2. Can a Commissioners Court and the Council or Commission of a city or town in this State 
The Honorable K. L. Berry, page 2 (Ww-836). 

appropriate money to pay the necessary expenses of the administrative units of the 

Texas State Guard Reserve Corps located in 

their respective counties, or In or near 

their respective cities or towns under the 

provisions of Article 58glc, of the Revised 

Civil Statutes of the State of Texas? If 

the answer to the above question number 2 is In 

the negative, can such appropriation be made 

under any other laws of the State of Texas?" 

Article 5885, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which follows, 

provides that: 

"Each Commissioners' Court and the Council or Commission of each City or Town in this 

State is hereby authorized In their discretion, 

to appropriate a sufficient sum, not otherwise 

appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of 

the administrative units of the National Guard 

of this State located in their respective Counties and in or near their respective Cities or 

Towns, not to exceed the sum of One Hundred 

($100.00) Dollars per month for such expenses 

from any one such Court, Council or Commission 

for any one organization; and in addition, in 

behalf of their respective Counties, Cities or 

Towns, to donate, either in fee simple or otherwise, to the Texas National Guard Armory Board, 

or to any one or more of said units for conveyance to said Board, one or more tracts of land 

as sites upon Mich to construct Armories and 

other buildings suitable for use by such units; 

and any and all such donations heretofore made 

to said Board are hereby validated and any such 

donation heretofore made to any such admlnlstrative unit, either as a corporation or otherwise, 

and conveyed or to be conveyed to said Board, 

is hereby validated." 

Under the above quoted provisions, the Commissioners' 

Court of a county and the Council or Commission of a city 

or town are legally authorized to pay, within the limits 

prescribed, the necessary expenses of the administrative 

units of the Texas National Guard. 

Section 5(a), Article 58glc, provides that: 

"The Commissioners Court of each county 

and the Council or Commission of each city 
. . . . - 

The Honorable K, L. Berry, Page 3 (~~-836). 

or town in this State is hereby authorized, 

In the discretion of each, to appropriate a 

sufficient sum not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100) per month, not otherwise appropriated, to assist In paying the necessary expenses 

for the administration of any unit of the Texas 

State Guard Reserve Corps located in their respective counties and In or near their respective cities or towns; and any and all such 

donations heretofore made by any Commissioners 

Court or any Council or Commission of any city 

or town to any such~ unlt,or units of the Texas 

State Guard Reserve Corps, is hereby validated." 

Under the above quoted provisions, the Commissioners' 

Court of each county and the Council or Commlsslon of each 

city or town are legally authorized to pay, within the limits 

prescribed, the necessary expenses of the administrative units 

of the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps. 

By your letter, you stat;e that in one city payments 

have been placed in abeyance because of the doubted constitutionality of these statutes in view of Section 52 of Article 

III of the Texas Constitution which provides: 

"Sec. 52. The Legislature shall have no 

power to authorize any county, city, town or 

other political subdivision of the State to 

lend its credit or to grant money or thing of 

value in aid of, or to any individual, association or corporation whatsoever 0 D *" 

We have examined these statutes with relation to the 

Constitution and other legislation, and we are of the opinion 

that the said statutes are constitutional. The National Guard 

and the State Guard Reserve Corps are arms of the State and 

were created for the public generally. 

In King v, Sheppard, 157.S.W.2d 682 (Civ.App. 1941, 

writ ref., w.o.m.1, th hording of the Court was that the 

State is not an indivl&al 

Af 

association or corporation within 

the meaning of Section 52 Article III. 

We, therefore, respectfully advise you that your questions are to be answered in the affirmative. 
The Honorable K. L. Berry, page 4 (~~-836). 

SUMMARY 

Under Articles 5885 and 5891c, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes, the Commissioners' Court 

of each county and the Council or Commission of each city or town are legally 

authorized to pay the necessary expenses 

of the administrative units of the Texas 

National Guard and the Texas State Guard 

Reserve Corps. 

Yours very truly, 

.WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

William H. Pool, Jr. 

Assistant 

WHPjr:ms:mfh 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMI!ITEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Richard Wells 

Marvin H. Brown, Jr. 

Leon F. Pesek 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore