THE ENERAL 

### 0F TEXAS:...

t Hon. Cullen B. Vance County Attorney Jackson County Edna, Texas Opinion 

### No.V-567 Ret Theauthority 

### ofthe Commissloners~ Court to apply the proceeds of a’special hospital maintenance tax .toward,the construction Dear Mr. Vance; of a county hospital.

Your request for our opinion on the herelnabove captioned matter reads, in part as follows:

“OnJanuary 26, 1946, an election was held throughsrrt~,Jaaksaal,la~ty on the question of whether or not the qualified voters of Jack,son Countywanted a County Hospitala This election was held on a Petition signed by 

### 557persons, I amattaching hereto a copy of the Petition, omitting the signatures, however, together with the Order of the Commissioners~ Court, as entered in ,VolumeICPage 529 of the Minutes of the Commissioners1 Court calling this election, The results of the election as shownon Page 81 of Returns of Eledtions revealed that 730 affirmative votes were cast and 132 votes were cast against the Hospital+ USubsequent to the election, Mauritz Brothers of Ganado, Texas, deposited to the credit of Jackson County the sumof $.75,000000 toward the construction of a hospital9 This was later supplemented~by an additional gift of $25,OOO,OO. Other gift’s from various in$$viduals and firms .a$;r;Fted the sumof approximately $6,- 0 @

“Following the above referred to election the Commissioners’ Court levied a specla 1 hospital maintenance tax and there has nowaccumulated in this fund the sumofHon. Cullen B. Vance - Page 2 (~-567)

approximately $34,000.00. TheCounty is attempting to get a Federal Grant toward constructing this project, but due to rising prices, apparently is going to take considerably moremoneythan is nowavailable, unless the County can use the $34,000.- 00 nowaccumulated in the Special Hospital Maintenance Fund. preciate an opinion J shall, therefore, apfrom your Department as to whether or not this moneynowaccumulated in the Maintenance Fundcan be used by the Commissioners’ Court of this County toward the construction of the proposed hospital.”
held; In Attorney General’s Opinion No. V-518 it was

“Inasmuch as your opinion request reflects the establishment of such a hospital from current funds, the costs for the purchase would necessarily comefrom the Permanent Improvement Fund, and the costs of the operation andmaintenance from the General Fund.” In the case of Carroll’v. Williams, 202 S. W. 504, the SupremeCourt of Texas said;

“Moreover, in this instance the attempted transfer of moneywas not from a fund raised for ‘streets * * * and other permanent Improvements,’ but was from the general fund for ‘county purposes,’ which is an entirely distinct and different fund, andwhich as we have attempted to show cannot be applied, lawfully, on roads and brldges.

“Taxes levied ostensibly for any specific purpose or class of purposes designated in section 9 of article 8, supra, must be applied thereunto, in good faith; and in no event and under no circumstances maythere be expended, legally, for one such purpose or class of purposes, tax moneyin excess of the amountraised by taxation declaredly for that particular purpose or class of purposes6 But this rule would not prevent the proper expenditure, for such purpose or purposes, of anyunexpended balanceHon. Cullen B. Vance - Page 3 (V-567)

in the corresponding fund brought over from any previous year or years.” Applying the principles annourked.in this case to the situation about which you inquire, tax moneyraised for hospital maintenance purposes comes from the general fund levy, whereas tax moneyfor the establishment and construction of a county hospital comes from the permanent improvement levy. Therefore, the Commissioners’ Court is without authority to appropriate hospital maintenance funds for hospital construction purposes, for such appropriation would constitute an unlawful transfer and diversion of constitutional funds. Article VIII, Sec. 9, Const, of Texas; Carroll v. Williams, supra.

This opinion is not to be construed as passing upon the validity of the maintenance tax levied by the Commissioners* Court, nor upon the sufficiency of the election which was held for the purpose of establishing a county hospital.

TheCommissioners’ Court is not authorized to use moneyin a Hospital Maintenance Fund (General Fund) for the puf;rp;sev;;Iconstructlng a county hospital, Sec. 9 of the Texas Constitution; ‘Carroi1v. Williams, 202 s. w. 504. Yours very truly, ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS

WTW:wb BY Assistant

APPROVED:

.

ORNEY GENERAL