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 CommissionersCourt and the Council or Commission of a city or town appropriatemoney to pay the necessary expenses of the administrativeunits 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 5885and 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 CommissionersCourt and the Council or Commissionof a city or town in this State appropriatemoney to pay the necessary expenses of the administrativeunits 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 5885of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas? If the answer to the above question is In the negative, can such appropriationsbe legallymade under any other laws of the State of Texas?
"2. Can a CommissionersCourt and the Council or Commission of a city or town in this StateThe Honorable K. L. Berry, page 2 (Ww-836).

appropriatemoney to pay the necessary expenses of the administrativeunits 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 questionnumber 2 is In the negative, can such appropriationbe 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 ishereby authorized In their discretion, to appropriate a sufficient sum, not otherwise appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of the administrativeunits 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 permonth 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 ArmoryBoard, or to any one or more of said units for conveyance to said Board, one ormore tracts of land as sitesupon Mich to constructArmoriesand other buildings suitable for use by such units; and any and all suchdonationsheretoforemade to saidBoard are hereby validatedand any such donationheretoforemade to any such admlnlstrative unit, either as a corporationor otherwise, and conveyed or to be conveyed to saidBoard, is hereby validated."
Under the above quotedprovisions, the Commissioners' Court of a county and the Councilor Commissionof 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:
"TheCommissionersCourt of each county and the Council or Commission of each city.. .. -

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

or town in this State ishereby authorized, In the discretion of each, to appropriatea sufficient sum not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100)per month, not otherwise appropriated, to assist In paying the necessary expenses for the administrationof any unit of the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps located in their respective countiesand In or near their respective cities or towns; and any and all such donationsheretoforemade by any Commissioners Court or any Council or Commission of any city or town to any such~ unlt,or units of the Texas State GuardReserve Corps, is hereby validated."
Under the above quotedprovisions, the Commissioners' Court of each county and the Council or Commlsslonof each city or town are legallyauthorized to pay, within the limits prescribed, the necessary expenses of the administrativeunits of the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps.

By your letter,you stat;e that in one citypayments have been placed in abeyancebecause of the doubted constitutionality of these statutes in view of Section 52 of Article III of the Texas Constitutionwhich provides:

"Sec.52. The Legislature shallhave no power to authorize any county, city, town or otherpolitical subdivisionof the State to lend its credit or to grantmoney or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual,association or corporationwhatsoever 0 D *"

We have examined these statuteswith relation to the Constitutionand other legislation, and we are of the opinion that the said statutesare 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.2d682 (Civ.App.1941, writ ref.,w.o.m.1, th hording of the Courtwas that the State is not an indivl&alAfassociation or corporationwithin themeaning of Section 52 Article III.

We, therefore, respectfullyadvise you that your questions are to be answered in the affirmative.The HonorableK. 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 administrativeunits 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
RichardWells Marvin H. Brown, Jr. Leon F. Pesek

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Leonard Passmore