Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-110 Page: 2 of 6
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Hono Jep So Fuller - Page 2 V-110
defined by written law, no power should be exercised
unless authorized by laws It is important to bear in
mind that the Commissioners' Court 4oes not have the
same freedom of action which private employers enjoy.
Their authority is confided to them by law9 and by that
law it is limited That authority may not be dlegat4
or surrendered to others since it is a public trust to
be disharged by public officials as rided bby law
In the case of Mills CoUzz y p
(1907), 90 Tex 606, 40 CTSoW 4T3-i3'_i404 the
Court of Texas said,
"It is not true o that the con-
stitution confers upon the CommisSioner'
Court any general authority over the omune
'ty's business, but merely gives tha such
special powers and jurisdiction over all
county business as is conferred by the cons
stitution itself and the laws of the State,
or as might be thereafter prescribg0o We
had occasion to consider this question in
the case of Bland v, Orr (Text Supo) )9 So
Wt 5589 and reached the conclusion that
such courts could exercise only sk~b powers
as the constitution itself or the lgisola*
ture had specifically conferred upoa them"
The Supreme Court of Texas reiterated the above
rule in Childress County v_ State (196) 92 ao W0 (2S)
1011, 1016, saying_
"The authority of the Com missioners0
Court of Childress County to make Ol-
tracts in its behalf is strictly I datt
to that conferred, either expreSsly or by
fair or necessary implication by thae ~s*-
stitution and laws of this Stateo~
Nor can the Commissioners Court limt Its. reeo
dom of contract with its employees as to the eonditiCo#
or stipulations of employment* ThUs County offle*rs who
are authorized by law to contract for the building of a
courthouse cannot delegate suh authority to a pr1vte
indi vi dual
The Commissioners9 Court could not delegat*
to an architect their authority to make a contract -to
construct a courthouse0 Russ&v~~, vGage (1886), 66 Taq.
428, 1 Se W0 270,
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-110, text, March 28, 1947; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth264930/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.