opinionsholdingto the contrarywere overruled,the letteropinionof Mr. Sturgeon,supra,being particularized.(ConferenceopinionNo. 2880,Report and Opinions,AttorneyGeneral,193S-1932,p. 165).
At the requestof Hon. T. M Campbell,Jr., Fire InsuranceCommiseioner, a letter opinionwas writtenby AssistantAttorneyGeneralBrann Fulleron November23, 1927 advisingthat the city of Denton, Texas, could ineure its municipalbuildingwith a mutual fire insurancecompany,the statute auttorizingany "publiccorporation"to hold policiesin mutuals. Quoting SenateBill 213 of the Thirty-eighthLegislature(Article'4867, R. C. S. 1925, now Article486oa-S,Vernon'sAnnotatedRevisedCivil Statutes),the opinionof Mr. Fuller then used the followinglanguage:
"Accordingly,the Legislaturehas In an unequivocalexpressionauthor- ized municipalcorporationsto beoome members of mutual insurancecompanies and hold policiestherein. As a consequencethereof* * * as far as statu- tory law is concerned,the legal right of a municipalcorporationto become a member of a mutual insurancecompanybecame perfect."'
However,the writer took cognizanceof the decisionsof the Commis~lon of Appeals in the case of City of Tyler v. Texas Employer'sInsurance Association,288 S.W. 409, rehearingdenied,294, S.W. 195, statingthe effect of "dicta"in that case to have been to cast doubt upon the con8titU- tionalityof Article 4867, supra,(Letteropinions,AttorneyGeneral,Vol. 291, 486).
The last expressionwe have been able,tof%nd is in a letteropinion writtenby AssistantAttorneyGeneralRichard Brooksto Eon. John F. Sutton, on August 15, 1938. This opinionfollowedconferenceopinionNo. 2880, supra. (Letteropinions,AttorneyGsneral,Vol. 382, p. 704).
Thus, we find the questionhere presentedby you to have been the subject of studyby this Departmenton at least seven differentoccasions,under five differentadministrations, with three opinionsholdingmutual insurance illegalfor politicalsubdivisions, and four to the contrary,at least one of which indicatesseriousdoubt on the part of the author.
The positionassumed in the brief you submitwith your opinionrequest is that the purchaseof insurancein a mutual fire or casualtycompanywould violate section52 or Article 3 of ths Constitutionof Texas, which reads as follows: Eon. E. G. Moseley,page 4, (O-924)
"The Legislatureshall have no power to authorizeany county,city, town or politicalcorporationor subdlvislonof this state to lend its creditor to grant public money or thing of value in aid of or to any individual,associationor corporationwhatsoever,or to become a stock- holder in such corporation,associationor company."
Section3 of Article 11 of the Constitutionof Texas rsade:
"No county,city or other municipalcorporationshall hereafterbecome a subscriberto the capitalof any privatecorporation,or associationor make any appropriationor donationto the same, or in any wise loan its credit;but this shall not be construedto in sny way affect any obligation heretoforeundertakenpursuantto law."
All mutual insuranceother than life insuranceis authorizedand regu- lated hy the provisionsof chapter9 of Title 78 of the RevisedCivil Statutesof Texas, as amended. The most recent legislativeenactmentis containedin chapter40, p. 90, Acts Forty-firstLegislature,First Called Session,1929. The same is codifiedas Articles@60a-l to &Oa-19, in- clusive,of Vernon'sAnnotatedCivil Statutes.
The statutesauthorizeany number of persons,not less than twentyto become a "body corporate"to carry on the businessof mutual insurance. (Art. 486oa-1, Vernon'sAnnotatedTexas Statutes). "Any person propoking to form any such companyshall subscribeand acknowledgearticlesof incorporation with certainspecifications * * *l),. (Art. 48m -%uch articlesof incorporation shall be submittedto the Board of Insurance Commissioners, herein called 'TheBoard',who shall submitthem to the Attor- ney Generalfor examination,* + *s (Art. 48tia-4). Provisionis made for euch a "company"writingany kinds of insurancewhich may be l&fully written in Texas (Art. 486Oa-6). Specificprovisionis made for writingWorkmena CompensationInsurance(Art. 4860a-7). Foreignmutual8are permittedto transactbusinessin Texas, after complyingwith