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The Honorable Alex W. Gabert County Attorney Starr County P. 0. Box 726 Rio Grande **City,** Texas 78582 Opinion No. H- 458 Re: Conflicts of authority between a regional planning commission and the commissioners’ Dear Mr. Gabert: court. You have requested our opinion onthe following questions: (1) What governmental body has the authority to select a county’s representatives to a regional planning commission? (2) Has the Commissioners Court of Starr County delegated its authority over “county business” byjoining the regional planning commission? Pursuant to Article lOllm, section 3(a), V. T. C.S., “two or more general purpose governmental units may join in the exercise, performance, and cooperation ofplanning, powers, duties, and functions as provided by law for any or all such governmental units. ” Starr, Jim Hogg, Webb and Zapata counties have sojoined and formed the South Texas Development Council, a Regional Planning Commission. While Article lOllm, does not establish a procedure whereby members are to be selected, section 5ofthe Article allows “cooperating governmental units . . . through joint agreement [to] determine the number and qualifications ofthe governing body ofthe Commission.” However, the “governing body.
. . shall consist ofat least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/30/o) elected officials of general purpose governmental units. ” Article IOllm, $5, V. T. C. S. The Council has passed a set of by-laws which in part provide for the selection of its members. Itis our understanding that the Commissioners Court ofStarr County has never ratified these by-laws or any agreement concerning selection of county representatives ofthe Council. However, one ofStarr County’s representatives to the Council, the .County Judge who is amember ofthe County Comm issioners Court, did vote to pass such bylaws. p. 2105The Honorable Alex W. Gabert, page 2 (H-458)

The “joint agreement” contemplated by section 5must be passed by the Commissioners Court ofStarr County as “a cooperating governmental unit” for the county to be bound. Article 1011m. section 5, makes such an agreement county business over which the Commissioners Court alone has jurisdiction and power to bind the county. Tex. Const., art. 5, §18. The fact that an individual member of the Court did agree to the bylaws is of no effect, since individual members of a county commissioners court have noauthority to bind the county by their separate action. Canales v. Lauehlin, 214S.W. 2d 451 (Tex. Sup. 1948); Rowan v. Pickett, 237 S.W. 2d 734 (Tex. Civ. App. --San Antonio 1951, nowrit). And since the Commissioners Court has the authority to agree to the number and qualification ofthe county’s representatives to the Council under section 5, it is our opinion that the power to select those representatives rests with the Court until ajoint agreement is executed. Your second question asks whether the Commissioners Court has delegated its authority over “county business ” byjoining the regional planning commission. A commissioners court may not delegate powers involving the exercise ofjudgment unless the court is statutorily enabled to do so. Guerra v. Rodriguez, 239 S.W. 2d 915 (Tex. Civ.App. --San Antonio 1951, no writ); Attorney General Opinion V-532 (1948). Inthis instance it is our opinion that the Court is not delegating any of its authority over county business byjoining the Commission. Section 3(a) ofArticle 1Ollm provides that “nothing inthis Act shall be construed to limit the powers of the participating governmental units as provided by existing law. ” Section 4(b) designates the purposes ofa regional planning commission as those ofmaking “studies and plans, ” the latter ofwhich

‘fnav be adopted in whole or inpart by the respective governing bodies of the cooperating governmental units. I’ (Emphasis added) The statute in noway authorizes any delegation of county business except with respect to the formulation of studies and plans. SUMMARY Until the Commissioner’s Court ofStarr County enters a “joint agreement” concerning the selection of representatives to the South Texas Development
p. 2106The Honorable Alex W. Gabert, page 3 (H-458)

Council, the Court retains the power to select such representatives. The Commissioners Court ofStarr County has not delegated its authority over “county business” byjoining the Council. Very truly yours,

Attorney Geaeral of Texas

DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman Opinion Committee

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