April 2, 1969 

Honorable Paul Spillman 

County Attorney 

Colllngsworth County 

Wellington, Texas 

Opinion No. H- 367 

Re: Legality of expenditures 

by commissioner ‘s court 

from Road and Bridge funds. 

Dear Mr. Splllman: 

Recently you requested an opinion, whether the commlssloner~s court may legally expend money f’rom the motor 

vehicle registration fund , or the lateral road find, or the 

additional 154 annual ad valorem tax fund, or the farm-tomarket road fund f’or any or all of the following purposes; 

(1) Rural fire service calls by municipal 

fire department. 

(2) Service 0P county tax evaluatlbn engineer. 

(3) County commissioners’ salaries. 

(4) County judge ‘s salary. 

(5) Salary of the county judge’s secretary. 

(6) Expenses of working or contracting for 

a county tax roll. 

depari7)ntCounty automobile i’or the sherllf’s 

. 

digeni8) Expenses of hospital care for the In- 

. 

Subsequent to your request, we have been advised by 

you that your county has not consolidated Its tax money Into one 

general fund pursuant to Section 9 of Article VIII, Texas Constitution; consequently, the motor vehicle registration fees 

-1811- 
Hon. Paul spillman, paw 2 W-367) 

which are placed In the regular road and brld 

,6675a-10, Vernon’s Civil Statutes) and the 15 if 

e fund (Article 

additional annual 

ad valorem tax fund (special road and bridge fund) authorized by 

Section 9 of Article VIII, Texas Constltutlon, remain separate 

funds subject to being used only for the purposes authorized by 

law. 

With the exception of the county judge’s salary and 

the county commIssIoner8’ salaries, which we will discuss shortly, 

none of the above listed purposes could be financed from the 

regular road and bridge fund or the special road and brld e fund. 

Dallas County v. Plowman, 99 Tex. 509, 91 S.W. 221, (19067. 

“All county expenditures lawfully authorized to be made by a county must be paid 

out of the county’s general fund unless there 

Is some law whI$h makes them a charge against 

a special fund. Bexar County v. Mann, 138 

Tex. 99, 157 S.W.ti 134 m41) . 

Articles 38831 and 2350(l) of Vernon’s Civil Statutes, 

deal with the salaries of oounty connulrrsloners and county judges 

of the various counties. 

Section 12 of Article 38831 Is quoted as follows: 

!‘The salaries of the offlclals named In 

this Act shall be paid out of the Officers’ 

Found and/or General Rund of their respective 

Salary 

counties with :he exception that the salaries of 

county connnlssloners and county judges ma be 

aid In accordance with the provisions o 

k- 

*- 

on 2 of House Bill No. 84, Acts of the Forty-ninth 

Le Islature, Regular Session, 1945 

(17 of Vernon’s Civil Statutes). ” 

Article 2350 

added . ) 

Fimphasla 

Article 2350(l) is quoted, In part, as follows: 

“The salary of each County CommIssIoner 

and each County Judge may be paid wholly out 

_- - . . .- - 

Of 

the County General Fund or, at the optlon or 

the CommlssIoners Court, may be pald out of 

tie County General Fund and out of the Road 

and Bridge Fund in the following proportions: 

count 

s 

J d tt d t -fI 

cent 75~)g~fn&chos%~“iess~~b~ pa:: ‘2 

of the Road and Bridge &Und, and the remainder 

aut of the General Fund of the County, and 

- 1812 - 
xon. Paul Spillman, page 3 W-367) 

each County Commissioner's salary may, at the 

discretion of the Commissioners Court, all be 

paid out of the Road and Bridge Fund: . . .* 

(Emphasis added.) 

It appears from our reading of the two above quoted 

statutes, that the commissioner's court w pay a part of the 

county judge's salary and all of the commissioners' salaries 

from the road and bridge fund, except that portion of the Road 

and Bridge Fund obtained from registration fees may not be used 

for salaries but must be used for the construction and maintenance of public roads. Art. 6675a-10, Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

Therefore, it is our opinion that none of the purposes inquired 

about by you can be financed from the motor vehicle registration 

fees. 

The farm-to-market or lateral road funds are controlled 

by Section l-a of Article VIII, Texas Constitution, and Articles 

7048a and 6674g-7, et seq., Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

Section l-a of Article VIII, Texas Constitution, is 

quoted, in pert, as follows: 

I . . .Prom and after January 1, 1951, the 

several counties of the State are authorized 

to levy ad valorem taxes. . .not to exceed 

thirty cents (3OC) of each One Hundred Dollars 

($100) valuation. . ‘provided the revenue derived 

therefrom shall be used for construction and 

maintenance of farm to market roads or flood 

control . . . . " (Emphasis added.) 

Section 3 of Article 7048a is quoted, in part, as 

follows: 

"Taxes levied and collected under provisions 

of this Act shall be credited by the commissioners 

court to separate funds known as the farm-to-market 

and lateral road fund, to be used solelv for farm-tomarket and lateral roads within such county. . . ." 

(Emphasis added.) 

- 1813- 
Hon. Paul Spillman. page 4 (H-367) 

Article 6674g-7, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides 

certain excess state funds will be apportioned to the counties 

to be used strictly for lateral roads. Attorney General's 

Opinion No. O-4023 (1941). 

Clearly, none of the purposes inquired about by you 

are for the purpose of constructing or maintaining farm to 

market or lateral roads: therefore, none of the said purposes 

can be financed by using the farm to market or lateral road funds. 

SUMMARY 

The fees from motor vehicls registration 

(regular road and bridge fund) and the funds 

from the additional ad valorem tax (special road 

and bridge fund) cannot be used for the purposes 

stated herein, with the exception that the 

commissioners court may pay a part of the county 

judge's salary and all of the commissioner's 

salaries from that part of the road and bridge 

funds not obtained from registration fees. 

The farm to market or lateral road funds 

of the county can only be utilized for farmto-market or lateral road purposes. 

Prepared by James McCoy 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED, 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

-1814- 
non. Paul Spillman, pege 5 W-367) 

Kerns Taylor, Chairmen 

George Xelton, Vice-Chairmen 

James Quick 

Rick Fisher 

Bill Corbusier 

J8slcolm Quick 

W. V. Geppert 

Staff Legal Assistant 

- 1814a-