OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVERSELLERS 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Honorsbli H. Z. raubfoa 

Xmlrtsnt Fxeoutive 3eorstary 

CSm, Fish end oyster Comn,lsrion 

AWti5, lbXS8 

rasr sir: 

r of November 7, 194s. 

xe are ,attaohing a 

e type or mlmagel3snt lioense .~ 

Of the prOXfiPity Of th0 open sOa 

Fslo >lnto County, ue would eppreoiate 

5 nt your earllost 00n~enienoe.~ 

The l3r8x08 River Con~rvotfon and Reobmation Di8- 

triot is (1 Stete A@S5Oy areated end employed by the State, 

wreuant to the provlulonr of srotion 39, Artlole 16, of the 

State corietitution, to ooneerve and .&velop the wters 0r the 

Erazos River and tba land sfieoted Wweb:. It ir 15 the nature 

Of I quasi-publio oorporatlon, and bein@ a component part of 
Ronorable 11.. E. Faubion - page 2 

the state, it derives all of its pokers and. authority by 

expreos delegation from the state. iLike similar subordinato 

gtate Agencies, it has only the powe?s and duties which are 

clearly set forth and defined by the Constitution and Statutes 

of the state. 

v. A* c. s.; 

Titl% 128, oh. 8, special Acts, page 536, 

Acts 1929, 41St Legislature, 26 C. S.;Sp. I,.. 

page 22, ch. 13, as anended; 37 Tex. Jur. 065, Lower Colorado 

River Authority vs. KcGravr, 125 Tax. 268; Crouoh vs. Posey, 

69 S. W, 1001; 37 Tax. Jur. 950, Sec. 81. 

Although we are well aware of the worthiness of the 

,~ 

,, oause In this case, there is nothing in the 1anSuage of the 

Act establishing the Erazos River Conservation end Reclamation 

Distriot whioh either expressly or by olear inp&ication authorizes the proposed contract here. Wha.tever authority the District has to dispose of or burden Its property is.derived 

from Section 12 of Tit10 128, chap. 8, vol. 21, Special Acts, 

pp 536-546, V. A* d. S., as amended, which is set out in the 

following language: 

“Sec. 12. Nothing in this Act shall be oonstrued as authorizing she Distriot, and it shall, 

not be authorized to mortgage, or otherwise enounber any of its property or’ any k ind, real~op;ecr 

sonal or mixed, or any interest therein, or 

quire any such property or interest subjeot.to a 

mortgage or oonditional sale, provided that this 

section shall not be construed ss prevonting the 

pledging of the revenue of the Distriot as herein 

authorized. Nothing in this AOt shall be construed 

‘as authorizing the sale, release or othor d’isposition 

of sny such property or Interest by the Dlstriot, 

or any receiver of any of the District property, 

.or ,throug,h any court proceedings, or otherwise; 

provided, however, that tho District may sell.for 

.oash any such property or interest in on ag’grogate 

value not exoeeding the 8um of One Rundrod Thousand 

(~lOO,OOO.OO) DOllaxS in any one year if the Board 

by affirmative vote of clevon of its members shall 

have determined that the property or interest is not 

necessary to tho business of the District, and shall 
Ronorable 11. R. Faubion- page 3 . 

have approved the termsof any such sale it 

being the intention:of this Act that excipt by 

sole 06 in this section oxppre3nly auti-iorlzed, no 

such property or interest shall ever come into 

the ovtilership or oontrol, directly or indireotly'i 

of any person, firm or corporation other than a 

public authority created under the laws of the. 

state of Texas. All property of the District 

: ii.:;i-:_ y;.: ~'; 5~.:.:_ ; 

shall be at all tines exempted from forced sale, 

and nothing in this Act contained shall authorize 

the sale of any of the property of the District 

under any judgment rendered in any suit end such 

sales are hereby prohibited and forbidden.* 

(Xm~hasis added) 

4s seenfrom the underlined portion of the above 

Sootion 12, t~he District is expressly limited and cnnnot 

'encumbers its property. TGth resyoct to the nature of 

Iour Droposed Contract, 

other jurisdictionfi,. 

the greet weight of authority In 

and also that vihich we, believe is 

;resently the law in the State of Texas, is adequately 

SfrJted by the Galveston Court of civil Appeals in the case 

Of Anderson et us v. [Iipson, 144 2. :i'. 2nd 948 (&940), .in 

:be rOuOme language: 

.:. ,.:,::~: ,:~> : ~. "The rule laid down by the text writers 

and'supsorted by the great weight of authority 

frox other juris&iotions is that the right of 

one person to hunt on premises owned and in the 

posceseion of another may be acquired by a ernnt 

or lease of hunting rriviloges, and that vhen so 

granted it is not a mere license but Is 811 interest in tho real estate in the'nature of an 

incorporeal hereditament, and that, as suoh, it 

is within the statute of frauds and requiros a 

writing for its oreatlon." AlSO seo C. J. S. 4; 

32 A. L. R. 1527; 17 A?. JUT. 9.57. 
. 

I. z-f% 

2onorable B. E. Faubion - pace 4 

As it is our belief thatthe instrument YOU 

;ropose to execute oomes within the determination .of the 

Soregoing authorities, suah instrument viould then amount 

to an enoumbrance uPon the property .oS the District, whloh 

1s expressly forbidden by the 1onpuac.e of the statute, supre. 

42 G. J. s. 549; BouvierlS Law Diotionary, Vol. 2, p. 1530; 

words and phrases, Vol. 20, p. 605. 

Further, in a former opinion of this department No. 

O-1287, dated Xay 15, 1940, addressed to the Honorable Frank 

I). Quinn, it was held that the Eraxos River Gonservstion and 

jgeolamation District did not have the power to convey by deed 

P determinable fee interest in its lands to another state agency 

because .the District had no pov,er sufficiently speaific to 

dispose of Its property in such manner. Although the deed 

therein recited a consideration of Yen Dollzrs and other 

eood and valuable coilsideration, 11 no actual cash consideration 

~8s to pass between the parties.' The Distriot aid not have 

:he power to d:spose of its property by &ift under those 

provisions of Section 12 of the Act, supra, readins as follors: 

". . . . it being the intention.of this Act 

that exaopt by sale as In this section expressly 

authorized, no such property or interest shall, 

ever come into the ownership or control, directly 

or indirectly, of any person, firm or oorporatlon 

other than a public authority created under the 

laws of the state of Texas." 

The opinion then aonoluded that those provisions 

Qf Section 12 regarding the value oSproperty which may be 

*Old for oash in 'any one'year by an eleven member vote of 

thO.Distrlct provided the property is not ncccssery to the 

~;$~%a of the District applied only to sslcs end not to 

I . 

AS your proposed'controct here is not 6 sale within 

the above statutory provisions, and beoause it would result 
ponorebla H. EL Faubion - page 5 

in en encumbrence upon the DistrfLctsC lends, it is not 

authorized ~by the provisions of Section 12 df the'Act, 

supra, end we therefore answer your question in the 

negative. 

Very truly yours 

A’JT.IYO~XY G3!.ERAL OF TEXAS