Honorable Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. C-552 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

Austin, Texas Re: Validity of appropriation 

to the Upper Red River Flood 

Control and Irrigation DlsDear Mr. Calvert: trict. 

You have requested the opinion of our office on whether 

the Upper Red River Flood Control and Irrigation District can 

use the appropriation out of the General Revenue' Fund of the 

State to the Upper Red River Flood Control and Irrigation 

District. The Legislature in the current General Appropriation 

Act (House Bill 12, 'Acts of the 59th Legislature, Regular 

Session, 1965) made the following appropriation to the Upper 

Red RIverFlood Control and' Irrigation District: 

"UPPER RED RIVER FLOOD CONTROL AND 

IRRIGATION DISTRICT 

For the Year Ending 

August 31, 1966 

There is hereby appropriated out 

of the General Revenue Fund to 

the Upper Red River Flood Control and Irrigation District for 

the purpose of placing a water 

gauging station at the Prairie 

Dog Fork Bridge In Hall County, 

and for the purpose of placing 

a siltation gauge at said site 

and for the necessary expenses 

of travel, research, and other 

expenses necessary in collecting information necessary for 

a study of the water potentialities of the Prairie Dog Fork 

of the Red River, the sum of...... $5,000” 

The Upper Red River Flood Control and Irrigation Districf 

was created by the provisions of Article 8280-122, Vernon's 

-2667- 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 2 Opinion Ho. C-552 

Civil Statutes. Ye quote the pertinent parts: 

"Section 1. Theze is hereby created 

within the State of Texas, in addition 

to the districts Into which the State 

has heretofore been divided, a conservation and reclamation district to be 

known as the 'Upper Red River Flood 

Control and Irrigation District' 

(hereinafter called the District) and 

consisting of that part of the State of 

Texas which is included within the 

Counties of Driscoe, Hall, and ChildfFess. 

Such District shall be and Is hereby declared to be a governmental agency ,and 

body politic and Corporate, with the powers,, rights, privileges, and functions 

hereafter specified, and the creation 

of such District is hereby declared to be 

essential to the accomplishment oi the 

purposes of Section 59 of Article 16 of 

the Constitution of the State of Texas, 

including (to the extent hereafter 

authorized) the control, storing, preBervation, and distribution of waters 

of the Prairie Dog Fork of Red Rdver and 

its tributaries for the purpose of protecting the lives and property of the 

inhabitanta of the territory affected by 

the Prairie Dog Fork of ,Red River, its 

tributaries, and the streams to which it 

is a tributary, and in addition the 

reclamation, conservation, draining, and 

irrigation of lands within the District. 

Rothing in this Act or in any other Act 

or Law contained, however, shall be 

construed as authorizing the District to 

levy or collect taxes or assesmnents, or 

in any way to pledge the credit of the 

State. 

'Sec. 2. In accordance with the limitations 

and provisions of this Act, the District 

shall have and is hereby authorized to 

exercise the following powers, rights, 

privileges, and functions: 

-2668- 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 3 Opinion No. c-552 

"(a) to control, store, and preserve, 

within ,the boundaries of the District, 

the, waters of the Prairie Dog Fork of 

Red River and its tributaries, for the 

reclamation and Irrigation of the lands 

of the District, and to use, distribute, 

and sell the same, within the boundaries 

of the District for any such purpose; 

"(b) to prevent or aid in the prevention 

of damage to person or property from the 

waters of the Prairie Dog Fork of Red 

River and its tributaries; 

"(m) to make contracts and to execute 

instruments necessary or convenient to the 

exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, 

and functions conferred upon it by this 

Act; 

"(0) to do ,any and all other acts or things 

necessary or convenient to the exercising 

of the powers, rights, privileges, or 

fun&tons conferred upon it by this Act or 

any other Act or law. 

"Sec. 8; Any and every indebtedness, 

liability, or obligation of the District, 

for the payment of money, however entered 

into or incurred, and whether arising from 

contract, Implied contract or otherwise, 

shall be payable solely (1) out of revenue 

received by the District and not held in 

trust by virtue of any prior lien or aFreee, or (2) if the Board shall so determine 

out of any fund received by the District 

from grants or loans made to the District by 

the United States Government OF corporation 

or agency created by or designated by it. 

(Emphasis supplied) 

Section 59 of Article 16 of the Texas Constitution 

provides for the creation of such a flood control and irrigation district as 1s being here considered and expressly 

declared that the carrying out of such purposes or uses shall 

be "public rights and duties." We have heretofore held in 

-2669- 
- . 

Honorable Robert S. Calve&, Page 4 Opinion No. C-552 

Opinion No. C-436, that this constitutional provision and 

statutes enacted pursuant thereto are to be construed together and given a broad and liberal construction in order 

to effectuate the Intent of the people and the legislature. 

We also held that such a statute in view of the mandatory 

public purpose and duty carries with It by necessary 

implication the authority to do whatever is reasonably 

necessary to effectuate soah purpose. 

It is well settled that water, floor control, and 

irrigation districts possess such power8 as are expressly 

granted by statute, and also those necessarily or fairly 

implied, that are essential to the accompllsiament of the 

declared objects ana purposes of the districts. 94 C.J.S. 

293, 294, 71, Waters, Seca. 321, 243(5); Attorney General's 

Opinion C-436, supra. 

It affirmatively appears from the purporea and powers, 

ressly granted and those necessarily Implied, by Article 

!zO-122 that the Legislature had the authority to make the 

$5,000 appropriation out of the state's Qeneral Revenue 

Fund, for the stated purposes. 

Section 8 of Art. 8280-122 merely requires that the District, in Incurring any Indebtedness, liability, or obligation 

for the payment of money, shall pay for'same only out of 

revenue recelved'by the District.and not held in trust by 

virtue of any prior lien or agreement, or out of any fund 

rek8ived by the District from grants or loans by the federal 

government or agency created by or designated by It. We do 

not construe the legislature~s language to prohibit expenditures by the District from state legislative appropriations. 

We construe the section of the statute as permitting the 

District's expenditure of such a state legislative agproprlation as was here made. Such state revenues are revenues 

received by the District and not held In trust by virtue of 

any prior lien or agreement!. 

The word "revenue" as ueed in the statute is neither 

explained, defined, nor limited In its meaning. It should be 

considered to have been used in its usual, ordinary sense so 

as to Include any public moneys received by a state agency 

or Its subdivisions from whatever source derived and in whatever manner. 

"Revenue"; 

See 37A Words & Phrases 262, et seq., under 

and 1965 Pocket Part, p. 32, and caees cited. 

-2670- 
. - 

Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Page 5 Opinion No. c-552 

Giving the statute and the word "revenue" a liberal and 

reasonable construction in the light of the declared public 

policy of this state in such conservation legislation, we 

therefore hold that the appropriation out of the General 

Revenue Fund to said Distrlat may b8 validly expended by it 

for the stated purposes. 

------- SUMMARY 

Article 8280-122, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, creating the Upper Red River 

Flood Control and Irrigation District, 

is sufficient pre-existing law to provide 

a basis for an appropriation, and the 

appropriation in question may be expended 

by the District for the,purposes stated 

therein. 

Yours very truly, 

WAOQORER CARR 

Attorney Qeneral 

ByL&.U 

Kerns B. TayWr 

Assistant 

KBT:dl 

APPROVED: 

OPIEION COPMITTEE 

W. V. &ppert, Chairman 

Linward Shivers 

Phillip Crawford 

Malcolm Quick 

Scott Garrison 

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY QENERAL 

By: T. B. Wright 

;2671-