Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-78 Page: 2 of 6
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The Honorable C.E. "Mike" Thomas, M - Page 2
library alone at a lower cost.2 The district attorney objected to the bar association's plan because,
he asserted, it would subsidize local attorneys. He observed that the service provider would not offer
an open access account for the library without including accounts for the attorneys in the county.
According to the district attorney, private attorneys currently pay $145 to $275 per month for online
legal research services, but under the bar association's proposal, their costs would drop to an amount
between $25 and $50 per month.
You specifically ask whether the local bar association's proposal would impermissibly
subsidize the local attorneys by providing for their online research with the filing fees collected for
the county library fund. While this office does not construe particular contracts in an attorney
general opinion, we will address a public entity's authority to accept certain contractual terms when
the question can be answered as a matter of law. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JC-0068 (1999). The
question we examine here is whether a county may use its law library fund to obtain online legal
research services for the general public under a contract requiring the participation of private
attorneys to their benefit.
A commissioners court's authority to act for the county derives only from the constitution
and statutes, whether that power is express or necessarily implied. See Guynes v. Galveston County,
861 S.W.2d 861, 863 (Tex. 1993). Chapter 323, subchapter B of the Local Government Code
authorizes a commissioners court to establish and maintain a county law library. TEX. Loc. Gov'T
CODE ANN. 323.021-.025 (Vernon 1999 & Supp. 2003). The commissioners court "shall
annually appropriate an amount necessary for the proper maintenance and operation of the library."
Id. 323.021(b) (Vernon 1999). To defray a county law library's costs, the code authorizes a county
to collect a civil case filing fee for deposit in a special county law library fund. Id. 323.023(a)-(b)
(Vernon Supp. 2003).
Section 323.023(b) of the Local Government Code allows the fund to be used only for county
law library and judicial purposes, namely:
(1) establishing the law library after the entry of the order
creating it;
(2) purchasing or leasing library materials, maintaining the
library, or acquiring furniture, shelving, or equipment for the library;
or
(3) purchasing or leasing library materials or acquiring library
equipment, including computers, software, and subscriptions to
obtain access to electronic research networks for use by judges in the
county.
2See Letter from Honorable Hardy L. Wilkerson, District Attorney, 118th Judicial District, to Honorable Ben
Lockhart, Howard County Judge (Nov. 22, 2002) (attached as exhibit to Request Letter) (on file with Opinion
Committee).(GA-0078)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-78, text, May 30, 2003; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274973/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.