VERNON'S TEXAS CIVIL STATUTES
CHAPTER 6. PARTICULAR COUNTIES, LAW RELATING TO
Art. 6812b. Counties of 198,000 to 400,000 population
Rules, Regulations, Plans and System
Sec. 1. In all counties in this State having a population of more
than one hundred and ninety-eight thousand (198,000) inhabitants,
and less than four hundred thousand (400,000) inhabitants according
to the last preceding Federal Census, and wherein is situated an
incorporated city having a population in excess of two hundred and
fifty thousand (250,000) inhabitants according to the last
preceding Federal Census, the Commissioners Court of such counties
shall have full power and authority, and it shall be its duty to
adopt, at a meeting of said court of which the county judge and at
least three (3) of the county commissioners of said counties shall
be present and cause to be recorded in the minutes of said court,
and put into effect such rules, regulations, plans and system for
the maintenance, laying out, opening, widening, draining, grading,
constructing, building and repairing of the public roads of said
counties, other than the State highways located therein, as the
available funds of the counties will permit so as to facilitate
travel between the communities thereof, subject to and in harmony
with the duties of the county engineer as herein specified. Where
such rules, regulations, plans and system have already been adopted
by the Commissioners Court of such counties and are of record, it
shall not be necessary to repeat the same in the absence of public
necessity therefor, but same may be amended and supplemented from
time to time as the public needs may require.
County Engineer
Sec. 2. The Commissioners Court of each such county shall appoint a
county engineer, but the selection shall be controlled by
considerations of skill and ability for the task; such engineer may
be selected at any regular meeting of the Commissioners Court, or at
any special meeting called for that purpose, and such engineer
shall hold his office for a period of two (2) years, his term of
office expiring concurrently with the terms of other county
officers, but may be removed at the pleasure of the Commissioners
Court. Such engineer shall receive a salary to be fixed by the
Commissioners Court not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000)
per year, to be paid out of the second-class road and bridge fund;
such engineer before entering upon the discharge of his duties,
shall take the oath of office prescribed by law, and shall execute a
bond in the sum of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), with a good
and sufficient surety or sureties thereon, payable to the county
judge of said county and his successors in office in trust, for the
use and benefit of the road and bridge fund of said county, to be
approved by the court, conditioned that such engineer will
faithfully and efficiently discharge and perform all of the duties
required of him by law and by the orders of said Commissioners Court
and shall faithfully and honestly and in due time, account for all
the money, property and materials placed in his custody.
Classification and Record of Roads
Sec. 3. The county engineer shall, under the direction of the
Commissioners Court, and as soon as practicable, classify all
public roads in such county, and such classification when
completed, and when approved by the court, shall become a part of
the permanent records, of roads and bridges, of said counties. He
shall prepare a suitable map on which shall be delineated in
appropriate colors the various roads which shall be designated as
first, second and third class roads; said map shall show to which
class each road belongs and the nature of its construction. He
shall make a complete indexed record of each county road in the
county, together with all bridges; said records shall show when
each county road was dedicated to the use of the public, a complete
description as to location, measured length, width of right of way,
character of construction and terminals of same.
Each road shall be indexed in said record by the same number and
name as it is delineated on said map. As new roads are opened and
improved, and the existing roads are widened or improved so as to
change their class, such facts shall be added to the record of such
roads in the "Records of Roads." Such information shall be made
available to the public; provided, however, that any omission in
respect to the above requirement shall not invalidate any contract
for the construction or repair of any road or highway in said
county, and where such classification, records and indexes have
heretofore been prepared there shall be no necessity to repeat the
same in the absence of public necessity therefor, but same may be
amended, added to or taken from as the facts and public need may
demand.
Inventory and Appraisal of Equipment; Disposal and Purchase
Sec. 4. The county engineer shall at the end of every three (3)
months, acting in conjunction with the county purchasing agent of
said county, make a complete inventory and appraisement of all
tools, machinery, equipment, materials, trucks, cars, and other
property owned by the second-class road and bridge fund, and
transmit the same in written form to the Commissioners Court and the
county auditor, which written report shall be kept as a "Permanent
Inventory Record" by the county auditor, and when any of said tools,
machinery, trucks, cars and other property and equipment become
unusable, the Commissioners Court shall enter an order upon the
minutes of the court, stating such facts and the reason for
disposing of such equipment and shall have authority to dispose of
same as it deems best. When in its opinion it is necessary to
purchase other machinery, supplies, tools and other equipment and
materials, the Commissioners Court shall enter an order on the
minutes showing the necessity therefor. All equipment purchased or
acquired as herein specified, shall be shown on the "Permanent
Inventory Record."
Employees
Sec. 5. The Commissioners Court shall employ all help necessary for
the discharge of their public service. Such employees shall
receive such compensation as may be fixed by the court, but in all
such cases an order shall be passed and entered on the minutes of
the court, showing in each case the public necessity for such
employment and the amount of compensation to be paid each employee
and the fund out of which it is to be paid.
Daily Time Sheet
Sec. 6. The engineer shall keep, or cause to be kept, in duplicate a
daily time sheet which shall show the amount of time and the
character of work performed and the place where the same is
performed by each person working for the county on road maintenance
or construction, and such other records in connection therewith as
the Commissioners Court and the county auditor may require, one (1)
copy of which shall be furnished the county auditor, and one (1)
copy shall be retained in the office of the engineer.
Master Plan
Sec. 7. The county engineer shall, when funds are available and when
authorized by the Commissioners Court to do so, make a careful and
thorough survey of all roads at that time opened and constructed
with a view of determining what new roads and connections of roads
should be opened and constructed, as well as what roads should be
widened and improved. In making such survey, he shall take into
consideration the convenience of the traveling public, and
especially the convenience of the citizenship of the county, so
that each community or part of the county shall have easy and
practical connection with the other and with the State highway
system of roads in said county, thereby furnishing to the
citizenship of the county a convenient means of ingress and egress
into and out of every city and town, as well as every other
community in the county. The roads indicated in such surveys to be
opened and constructed, as well as existing roads that are
designated to be widened and improved, shall be located and
designated with a view of giving the entire county an efficient road
system. The Commissioners Court shall, in selecting roads or new
roads, as well as the improvement of existing roads, look to the
density of the population, the amount of traffic that will normally
flow over such roads. Such survey, when completed by the engineer,
and when adopted by the Commissioners Court at a regular meeting
thereof, shall be known as the "Master Plan." When such "Master
Plan" has been completed, and adopted by the court as herein
stipulated, the same shall be made in permanent record form and kept
by the county engineer, and after such adoption, all new
construction, widening and permanent improvement shall be done in
accordance with such "Master Plan" with a view of ultimately
completing the same, both as to location and character of
construction. The construction and completion of said "Master
Plan" shall proceed as the available funds of the county will
permit, and each unit of such construction shall be made in
accordance with such "Master Plan." The order in which the roads or
projects in the construction of said "Master Plan" are constructed
shall be determined by the county engineer, with the approval of the
Commissioners Court and in determining the priority of roads or
projects, the engineer and court shall take into consideration the
necessity and convenience of the public and shall give priority to
those roads or projects that will result in the greatest service to
the greatest number of the citizenship of the county, looking at all
times to the entire county as a unit and wholly disregarding
precinct lines.
Adoption and Alteration of Master Plan
Sec. 8. The Commissioners Court shall, when said "Master Plan" is
submitted to them for adoption, or if after adoption an amendment or
change thereto shall be deemed advisable, set a date at a regular
meeting of the Commissioners Court called for that purpose, and
give public notice thereof at least two (2) weeks in advance of such
meeting and the purpose thereof, inviting the citizenship of the
county to be present and protest any part of said "Master Plan" and
also to make such suggestions as they deem pertinent in connection
with same, or any change therein, but the decision of the
Commissioners Court shall become and be final and conclusive as to
said "Master Plan", and no succeeding Commissioners Court shall
have the power or authority to alter and/or change or amend any of
the provisions thereof except by unanimous vote of the
Commissioners Court. Provided, that where such "Master Plan" has
once been adopted, there shall be no necessity to repeat the same in
absence of public necessity therefor, but same may be amended and
altered when public necessity therefor is shown, and after notice
is given as hereinabove provided.
Subdivisions and Additions
Sec. 9. Many subdivisions and additions, for residential,
industrial and commercial purposes, lying and being outside the
corporate limits of any city, town or village, have in recent years
been platted and such plats and dedications approved by
Commissioners Courts and filed for record in such counties. And
many more such subdivisions will hereafter be prepared and
submitted to Commissioners Courts of said counties. The platting
and dedicating of such additions and the consequent sale of lots in
such subdivisions have caused the rapid development of such
subdivisions and consequent increase of traffic in, on and along
the dedicated streets in said additions and subdivisions, and it
shall be the duty of the county engineer and the Commissioners Court
to cause the "Master Plan" to be conformed to such needs and demands
of such subdivision by constructing adequate highways leading from
such subdivisions to the county seat, provided that from and after
the passage of this Act the Commissioners Court, before approving
the plat or plan of any subdivision lying outside the corporate
limits of any city, town or village, as required by Article 6626 of
the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas, 1925, as amended,
shall require such subdivider to enter into a written contract and
agreement with the county that such subdivider or dedicator will
grade, and gravel, all streets and provide all necessary drainage
structures within such tract of land so subdivided. Such street
improvements and drainage structures shall be in accordance with
standard plans and specifications prepared by the county engineer.
Such contract shall be for the benefit of any person or persons,
firm or corporation who may thereafter acquire by purchase or
otherwise any lot or lots in said addition or subdivision, and the
faithful performance of said contract as to the initial
improvements of said streets shall be deemed a part of the
consideration paid for said lot and be read into the contract of
sale of same, and such contract shall be enforceable at the
instance, and suit if necessary, of the owner or owners of any of
said lot or lots in a given subdivision suing singly or as a group or
class. After such initial street improvements have been completed
in accordance with such plans, said streets then become and remain a
part of the county road system and shall be maintained by the county
unless and until included within the corporate limits of some city,
town or village capable of maintaining its own streets.
Payment of Employees
Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the county auditor to compute the
pay for all employees under the court's supervision from time
sheets furnished him by the engineer, and no check or warrant shall
be issued in favor of any such employee without the approval of such
auditor. It shall be the duty of said auditor to see that no
employee is paid for time not actually served by such employees and
to this end he shall have authority, and it is hereby made his duty,
at such time or times as he deems advisable, to check any or all of
such employees while they are actually engaged in work. Nothing in
this Act, however, shall be construed as repealing or being in
conflict with the provisions of Article 2372g-1, Vernon's Revised
Statutes of 1925.
Special Counsel
Sec. 11. The Commissioners Court shall have the authority to employ
special counsel, learned in the law, to advise the court or the
Commissioners thereof in all matters wherein the services of
counsel may be required, and also to conduct the litigation of the
county in which the interests of the county may be involved, which
employment may be made for such time and on such terms as the
Commissioners Court may deem proper and expedient.
Surveys, Plans and Specifications; Gradings; Drainage; Culverts
and Bridges
Sec. 12. Before actual construction shall have begun on any road or
highway so to be improved, the county engineer, under the direction
of the Commissioners Court, shall make careful and accurate surveys
of the roads and highways to be improved, and shall file with the
records of the courts plans and specifications and estimates as to
the cost thereof. Provided, that the provisions of this Section
shall not apply to work done by county convicts. As far as
practicable, all such roads shall be thoroughly graded and drained,
and all roadbeds, bridges, culverts and drain pipes shall be of
durable material, the bridges to be of steel or cement and the drain
pipes of vitrified clay or of material equally durable and lasting.
All culverts and bridges on first and second-class roads shall not
be less than twenty-four (24) feet in length and of sufficient
strength to support all forms of motor traffic, and the weight of
all farm and road engines.
Acquisition of Land; Condemnation
Sec. 13. Whenever in the judgment of the Commissioners Court it
shall be or become necessary to lay out and construct any road or
highway in or through the county or any part thereof, whether said
road extends through any city, town, village, hamlet, community or
otherwise or whenever it shall be or become necessary in the
judgment of the Commissioners Court to occupy any land, in town or
county, for the purpose of constructing, building, opening,
widening, straightening, draining, grading, improving, repairing
or maintaining any public road or highway of said counties or any
part thereof, said court, through the agents and employees of the
county may enter upon, occupy and take such land, paying therefor,
if the owner thereof and said court can agree on the price thereof,
as to the value of the land so taken and the amount of damage, if any
there be to the remainder, but if such owner and the Commissioners
Court cannot agree with respect to such value or damage or both,
then said county may proceed to condemn such land for any of the
purposes hereinabove mentioned in the same manner as now or may
hereafter be prescribed by law for condemnation by railroad
corporations and may condemn land for right of way under such
proceeding with a right to invoke the Statutes, in so far as the
same may be applicable for the exercise of the right of eminent
domain by railroad corporations except that, in no case, shall the
county be required to give bond or to deposit more than the amount
assessed by the Commissioners in condemnation; provided, however,
that nothing contained in this Section shall be held to repeal the
provisions of the General Law now in force or that may hereafter be
passed relating to the opening or construction of public roads by a
jury of view, but this Section shall be held to be cumulative
thereof, and the Commissioners Court of said county may, at the
option of said court, in such cases proceed under the provisions of
such General Law or under the provisions of this Act according as
same may be best adapted, in the judgment of said Commissioners
Court, to expedite the relief sought to be obtained.
Drainage of Railroad Rights of Way
Sec. 14. Whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of
said Court that it is necessary for the better drainage of any
public road or roads within said county that the ditches along the
right of way of any railroad in the county should be emptied and
drained, said court may, by an order entered upon its minutes at a
regular or special term of the court, require any such railway whose
ditches or borrow pits are so constructed or so out of repair as to
impede the easy and rapid flow of water accumulating on, along or
near its right of way to the nearest gully, ravine, creek, water
course or outlet, and it shall be the duty of said railway in
reference to which said order is made and entered within sixty (60)
days after a certified copy of said order shall have been delivered
to any general officer of such railway company or to any of its
agents in said county to supply proper and sufficient drainage in
the premises and within sixty (60) days thereafter to commence the
work so ordered to be done and to continue such work with reasonable
dispatch until its completion. In the event such railway company,
its officers and agents shall fail to commence work within sixty
(60) days from the date of service of a certified copy of such
order, or having begun shall fail to finish the same within a
reasonable time, the Commissioners Court may have such work
performed, keeping an accurate account of the money expended upon
said work, and said money so expended being reasonable in amount,
may be recovered from the railway company along whose right of way
said work was done at the suit of the county for the benefit of its
road and bridge fund in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Payment of Road Taxes; Overseers
Sec. 15. In such county the payment of road taxes by labor is
abolished and all provisions of laws concerning overseers shall be
of no further force or effect.
County Commissioners; Duties and Compensation
Sec. 16. Each member of the Commissioners Court shall be and he is
hereby required to devote all of his time (unless prevented by
illness) to the duties of his office, and shall be in attendance at
all sessions of the court. In addition thereto he shall personally
inspect the conditions of the roads and bridges of the county, and
shall see to it that employees under the control of the
Commissioners Court perform their full duties. Each member shall
receive an annual salary as provided by the General Statutes of the
State of Texas relating to the salaries of county commissioners in
counties having a population which conforms to the population of
the counties affected by this Act. Said salaries to be paid out of
the road and bridge fund of the county.
Amount of Road and Bridge Tax
Sec. 17. It shall be unlawful for said Commissioners Court to levy
any road and bridge tax in excess of the maximum rate prescribed by
law, and any member of said court who shall vote for such excessive
levy, knowing it to be excessive, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine
of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500).
Convict Labor
Sec. 18. Said court may require all county convicts of said county,
who may be physically able and not otherwise employed, to work on
the public roads of said county under such rules and regulations as
the court may prescribe, and each convict so worked shall receive a
credit of Three Dollars ($3) per day, one half of which shall be as
nearly as practicable, applied to the fine, and one half to the
court costs, provided that this shall not be so construed as to
relieve a convict from the payment of all costs for which he would
be liable under the General Laws of this State; said court may, as a
reward for good behavior and faithful service, grant a reasonable
commutation which shall in no case exceed one-tenth (1/10) of the
whole time. Said court may provide all such houses, tents,
clothing, bedding, food, medicine, medical attention, supplies and
guards as it may deem necessary or proper for the safe and humane
treatment and for the safe-keeping of such county convicts. Said
court may also provide and enforce and such guards may, under the
direction of said court and in accordance with its rules and
regulations, administer such reasonable and humane punishment as
may be necessary to require such convicts to perform good work.
Said court may provide a reward, not exceeding Ten Dollars ($10) in
any instance, to be paid out of the road and bridge fund for the
capture and delivery of an escaped convict, but no such reward shall
be paid to any guard or persons in charge of or assisting such
convict at the time of his escape.
Bond Issues; Resolution; Election
Sec. 19. Whenever the Commissioners Court shall deem it necessary
or expedient to build, construct, improve, repair or maintain first
or second-class roads of a permanent nature with the proceeds of the
sale of bonds issued for road and bridge purposes under the terms of
this Act, said court, shall at any regular meeting pass and record
in its minutes a resolution setting forth that it is the sense of
said court that public roads and bridges of a permanent nature
should be built, constructed, improved, repaired or maintained and
that the county should issue its bonds to raise money for that
purpose in an amount to be named in such resolution, and said
resolution shall be submitted to the vote of the property-owning,
qualified voters of the county under the law and the Constitution at
any regular or special election which the court may order for that
purpose, and if at such election a majority of the votes cast shall
be for such resolution, then the same shall be deemed to be adopted;
otherwise it shall be deemed to be rejected. Such election shall be
governed in all respects by the laws governing elections in this
State, save that the time for holding such elections, the manner and
kind of notice shall be fixed by the Commissioners Court, and the
returns shall be made and canvassed in the same manner and the
result declared by proclamation of the county judge, which
proclamation shall be posted in at least three (3) public places in
the county, or at the option of the court published one time in a
daily newspaper of general circulation in the county.
Qualifications of Voters; Ballots
Sec. 20. No person shall be permitted to vote at any election
provided for in the next preceding Section of this Act unless he is
a property owner, taxpayer, who has duly rendered his property for
taxation, and a qualified voter of the county under the law and
Constitution of Texas. Those desiring to vote for the resolution
shall have written or printed on their ballot the words "FOR the
Resolution to issue bonds to ____________" and those desiring to
vote against the resolution shall have written or printed on their
ballots the following: "AGAINST the Resolution to issue bonds to
____________" (here insert such purpose of the proposed bond issue
as set forth in said resolution). Such ballots shall be written or
printed on plain white paper with black ink and shall contain no
distinguishing mark or device except as above provided, and if
printed, shall be in type of uniform size and face.
Preparation and Execution of Bonds; Terms of Bonds; Registration
and Enrollment; Sale or Negotiation; Tax Levy
Sec. 21. If, at the election hereinabove provided for, a majority of
the property-owning qualified voters, under the Constitution and
Laws of the State, shall vote in favor of the resolution
hereinbefore provided for and the Commissioners Court shall have
canvassed the vote and declared the result, and proclamation
therefor has been made by the county judge or publication made in
lieu thereof, declaring said result, than it shall be the duty of
said court to prepare and execute the bonds of the county in such
sums as may be deemed advisable by the court, not exceeding the
amount authorized at the election, said bonds to bear interest at
not exceeding five per cent (5%) per annum, payable annually or
semi-annually as the courts shall direct, which bonds shall be
redeemable or payable not more than forty (40) years from date
thereof, and at such intermediate periods, serially or otherwise as
the court may direct, the time of maturity to be expressed on the
face of the bonds and such bonds shall be registered or enrolled as
in case of other county bonds, and the same shall not be sold or
negotiated at less than their par value; provided, however, that
the tax levy for the payment of interest and principal on any issue
of bonds under the terms of this Act shall not exceed in any one case
the sum of Fifteen Cents (15¢) on the One Hundred Dollars ($100)
property valuation, and the amount of bonds so to be issued shall be
limited accordingly; provided further, that nothing in this
language or in the terms of this Act shall be held to impair the
right of the county to issue bonds under the provisions of Article 3
of Section 52 of the State Constitution and the Statutes enacted
pursuant thereof.
Levy of Tax; Use of Tax and Bond Proceeds
Sec. 22. At or prior to the issuance of said bonds, it shall be the
duty of said Commissioners Court to levy an annual ad valorem tax on
all property within the county liable to taxation, sufficient to
provide for the interest on such bonds and to create a sinking fund
for the payment of the principal thereof at the maturity of same.
Such tax and the levy thereof may vary or lessen accordingly as
assessed taxable values may increase or diminish from year to year.
The fund arising from such tax and the levy thereof shall not be
used for any other purpose than that for which it was created, and
the proceeds of the sale of such bonds shall be confined strictly
for the purpose of which they were issued and for all necessary and
incidental expense incurred in the issuance and sale thereof. It
shall be unlawful for said court to transfer any money or fund from
the road and bridge fund to any other purpose, except as outlined in
Section 15 of this Act, than the laying out, opening, widening,
draining, constructing, building, repairing and maintaining the
public roads of said counties and the incidental and necessary
expense growing out of the issuance of said bonds and the sale
thereof.
Account and Disbursement of Bond Proceeds
Sec. 23. It shall be the duty of the county treasurer to keep a
separate account of all moneys received from the sale of bonds of
said county issued for road and bridge purposes, and said treasurer
shall pay out none of it except on written order or warrant of said
court, specifying the contract against which it is drawn or for the
purpose for which it is expended.
Contracts; Alternative Methods; Record of Cost
Sec. 24. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no contract
requiring the expenditure of money derived from the sale of bonds
authorized by this Act shall be made until said county engineer
shall have made and filed with the Commissioners Court maps,
profiles, plans, specifications, and estimates of the work to be
done under such contract and not until said court shall have
considered the same and ordered it of record. Provided, however,
that in the event said court shall have advertised for and rejected
bids, it may in its discretion proceed to do the work mentioned in
said advertisement. In the expenditure of road funds other than
moneys derived from the sale of bonds, the Commissioners Court may
authorize the building, construction and repair of roads by
contract, day labor or convict labor as said court may deem to be
for the best interest of the county. In every instance where the
court chooses to do so under the terms of this Act to build,
improve, repair or maintain roads by having the work done by the
county, then the county must keep a careful and accurate record of
the cost of the work, provided the work referred to in this Section
shall be done under the direction of the county engineer in harmony
with the other provisions of this Act.
Secs. 25, 26. Repealed by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 641, Sec. 11,
eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Transfers to Road and Bridge Fund
Sec. 27. The Commissioners Court is authorized and empowered,
whenever and in such manner as it may determine, to transfer to and
make a part of the road and bridge fund of said county any money now
in the county, to pay interest and create a sinking fund for any
bonds of said county heretofore issued and which have now been
retired and cancelled. Such money so transferred to the road and
bridge fund may be expended by the Commissioners Court at their
discretion in constructing or repairing any of the first-class or
cross roads of the county, such expenditures to be made in
compliance with the provisions and requirements of this Act.
Record of Vote on Expenditures
Sec. 28. The records of the Commissioners Court shall show in detail
every vote for expenditure of any of the funds mentioned in this
Act.
Shade Trees; Signboards or Signposts
Sec. 29. The Commissioners Court may, where funds are available for
that purpose, plant shade trees along the side of the public roads;
the Commissioners Court may protect all shade trees along the side
of said thoroughfares and erect, place and keep a substantial
signboard or signpost at every point where a public road forks or is
intersected by another public road and such signboard or signpost
shall contain a legible inscription directing the way and giving
the distance of the next important place on such highway. Any
person who shall willfully remove, injure, deface or mutilate or
injure the growth of any shade tree along the side of a public road
or any signboard or signpost thereon or thereabouts shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished
by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25) nor more than
One Hundred Dollars ($100).
Financial Interest of Members of Commissioners Court; Violations
of Act
Sec. 30. It shall be unlawful for any member of the Commissioners
Court or for any county officer to be or become financially
interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with said
county for road work or for the purchase or sale of any material or
supplies of any character or in any transaction whatsoever in
connection with any of the roads of said county, excepting only his
own salary, fees or per diem. If any such county commissioner or
such county officer shall willfully violate any of the foregoing
provisions of this Section, he shall be punished by a fine of not
less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500) nor more than One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail of said
county for not more than one (1) year or by both such fine and
imprisonment and in addition thereto shall be forthwith removed
from office as provided for by General law. If any member of said
Commissioners Court or any such officer shall willfully violate any
of the other provisions of this Act, he shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine
of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500) or by imprisonment in
the county jail of said county for not more than six (6) months or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
Fines and Moneys Collected Applied to Road and Bridge Fund
Sec. 31. All fines for any and all violations of any of the
provisions of this Act and any and all moneys which may be collected
by or on behalf of said county on, under, or by virtue of any
contract which may be executed under the provisions of this Act
shall be applied to the road and bridge fund of said county.
Definitions
Sec. 32. The terms "Road" and "Highway" as used in this Act shall be
held to include bridges, viaducts, causeways, culverts, roadbeds,
ditches, drains and every part of a road or highway as such terms
are commonly understood whether herein specified or not.
Judicial Notice of Law
Sec. 33. This Act is and shall be held and construed to be a public
act of which the court shall take cognizance without proof thereof,
and in any court proceedings wherein the provisions of this Act are
drawn in question, the necessity for pleadings or proving same is
hereby dispensed with.
Law Cumulative; Conflict or Inconsistency
Sec. 34. The provisions of this Act are and shall be held and
construed to be cumulative of all General Laws of this State on the
subject treated of and embraced in this Act when not in conflict or
inconsistent herewith, but in case of such conflict or
inconsistency in whole or in part, this Act shall control said
county.
Partial Invalidity
Sec. 35. If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause
or word of this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional, the
remaining portions of same shall, nevertheless, be valid and it is
declared that such remaining portions would have been included in
this Act though the unconstitutional portion had been omitted.
Acts 1951, 52nd Leg., p. 471, ch. 299. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th
Leg., ch. 641, Sec. 11, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Art. 6812b-1. Counties of 160,000 to 185,000; county engineer;
duties
County Engineer
Sec. 1. The Commissioners Court of any county having a population of
not less than 280,000 nor more than 300,000 may appoint a County
Engineer, but the selection shall be controlled by considerations
of skill and ability for the task. The engineer may be selected at
any regular meeting of the commissioners court, or at any special
meeting called for that purpose. The engineer selected shall be a
Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. The
engineer shall hold his office for a period of two years, his term
of office expiring concurrently with the terms of other county
officers, and he may be removed at the pleasure of the commissioners
court. The engineer shall receive a salary to be fixed by the
commissioners court not to exceed the amount of the salary paid to
the highest county official, to be paid out of the Road and Bridge
Fund. The engineer, before entering upon the discharge of his
duties, shall take the oath of office prescribed by law, and shall
execute a bond in the sum of $15,000 with a good and sufficient
surety or sureties thereon, payable to the county judge of the
county and successors in office in trust, for the use and the
benefit of the Road and Bridge Fund, of the county to be approved by
the court, conditioned that such engineer will faithfully and
efficiently discharge and perform all of the duties required of him
by law and by the orders of said commissioners court and shall
faithfully and honestly and in due time account for all of the
money, property and materials placed in his custody.
Classification and Record of Roads
Sec. 2. (a) The county engineer shall, under the direction of the
commissioners court, and as soon as practicable, classify all
public roads in such county, and such classification when
completed, and when approved by the court, shall become a part of
the permanent records of roads and bridges of said county. He shall
prepare a suitable map of which shall be delineated in appropriate
colors the various roads which shall be designated as first,
second, and third class roads. The map shall show to which place
each road belongs and the nature of its construction. He shall make
a complete indexed record of each county road in the county and all
bridges. The records shall show when each county road was dedicated
to the use of the public, a complete description as to location,
measured length, width of right-of-way, character of construction,
and terminals of same.
(b) Each road shall be indexed in the record by the same number and
name as it is delineated on the map. As new roads are opened and
improved, and the existing roads are widened or improved so as to
change their class, such facts shall be added to the record of such
roads in the "Records of Roads." Such information shall be made
available to the public; provided, however that any omission in
respect to the above requirement shall not invalidate any contract
for the construction or repair of any road or highway in said
county, and where such classification, records and indexes have
heretofore been prepared there shall be no necessity to repeat the
same in the absence of public necessity therefor, but same may be
amended, added to or taken from as the facts of public need may
demand.
Inventory and Appraisal of Equipment; Disposal and Purchase
Sec. 3. The county engineer shall at the end of every 12 months,
acting in conjunction with each commissioner of the county, make a
complete inventory and appraisement of all tools, machinery,
equipment, materials, trucks, cars, and other property owned by the
respective commissioners, and transmit the same in written form to
the commissioners court and the county auditor, which report shall
be kept as a permanent inventory record by the county auditor. When
any of said tools, machinery, trucks, cars, and other property
becomes unusable, the commissioners court shall enter an order upon
the minutes of the court, stating such facts and reason for
disposing of such equipment and shall have authority to dispose of
same as it deems best. When in its opinion it is necessary to
purchase other machinery, supplies, tools, and other equipment and
materials, the commissioners court shall enter an order on the
minutes showing the necessity therefor. All equipment purchased or
acquired as herein specified, shall be shown on the permanent
inventory record.
Master Plan
Sec. 4. The county engineer shall, when funds are available and when
authorized by the commissioners court, to do so, make a careful and
thorough study of all roads at that time opened and constructed with
a view of determining what new roads and connections of roads should
be opened and constructed, as well as what roads should be widened
and improved. In making such survey, he should take into
consideration the convenience of the traveling public, and
especially the convenience of the citizenship of the county, so
that each community a part of the county shall have easy and
practical connection with the other and the state highway system of
roads in the county, thereby furnishing to the citizenship of the
county a convenient means of ingress and egress into and out of
every city and town, as well as every other community in the county.
The roads indicated in such surveys to be opened and constructed, as
well as existing roads that are designated to be widened and
improved, shall be located and designated with the view of giving
the entire county an efficient road system. The commissioners
court shall, in selecting roads or new roads, as well as the
improvement of existing roads, look to the density of the
population and amount of traffic that will normally flow over such
roads; such survey when completed by the engineer, and when adopted
by the commissioners court at a regular meeting thereof, shall be
known as the Master Plan. When such Master Plan has been completed
and adopted by the court as it is stipulated, the same shall be made
into permanent record form and kept by the county engineer, and
after such adoption, all new construction, widening and permanent
improvement shall be done in accordance with such Master Plan and
with the view of ultimately completing the same, both as to location
and character of construction. The construction of said Master
Plan shall proceed as the available funds of the county will permit,
and each unit of such construction shall be made in accordance with
such Master Plan. The order in which the roads or projects in the
construction of said Master Plan are constructed shall be
determined by the county engineer, with the approval of the
commissioners court and in determining the priority of roads or
projects, the engineer and court shall take into consideration the
necessity and convenience of the public and should give priority to
those roads or projects that will result in the greatest service to
the greatest number of the citizenship of the county, looking at all
times to the entire county as a unit and wholly disregarding
precinct lines.
Adoption and Amendment of Master Plan
Sec. 5. The commissioners court shall when said Master Plan is
submitted to them for adoption, or if after adoption, an amendment
or change thereto shall be deemed advisable, set a date at a regular
meeting of commissioners court called for that purpose, and give
public notice thereof at least two weeks in advance of such meeting
and the purpose thereof, inviting the citizenship of the county to
be present to protest any part of said Master Plan and also to make
such suggestions as they deem pertinent in connection with same, or
any change therein, but the decision of the commissioners court
shall become and be final and conclusive as to said Master Plan, and
no succeeding commissioners court shall have the power or authority
to alter or change or amend any of the provisions thereof except by
unanimous vote of the commissioners court. Provided, that where
such Master Plan has once been adopted, there shall be no necessity
to repeat the same in absence of public necessity thereof, for same
may be amended and altered when public necessity therefor is shown,
and after notice is given as herein above provided.
Subdivisions
Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the county engineer and the
commissioners court in each respective precinct to cause the Master
Plan to be conformed to the needs and demands of existing and new
subdivisions by constructing adequate highways leading from such
subdivisions to the county seat. Provided that from and after the
passage of this Act, the commissioners court, before approving the
plan or plans of any subdivision lying outside the corporate limits
of any city, town, or village, as required by Article 6626, Revised
Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, as amended, shall require such
subdivision to enter into a written contract in agreement with the
county, then such subdivider or dirt dealer will grade, and gravel
all streets and provide all necessary drainage structures within
such tract of land so subdivided. Such street improvements and
drainage structures shall be in accordance with standard plans and
specifications prepared by the county engineer. Such contracts
shall be for the benefit of any person or persons, firm or
corporation who may thereafter acquire by purchase or otherwise any
lot or lots in said addition or subdivision, and the faithful
performance of said contract as to the initial improvements of said
streets shall be deemed a part of the consideration paid for said
lot and be read into the contract of sale of same, and such contract
shall be enforceable at the instance, if necessary, of the owner or
owners of any lot or lots in a given subdivision, suing singularly
or as a group or class. After such initial street improvements have
been completed in accordance with such plans, said streets then
become and remain a part of the county road system and shall be
maintained by the county unless and until included within the
corporate limits of a city, town or village capable of maintaining
its own streets.
Inspections of Plats, Subdivision Plans and Land Encompassed;
Advice to Commissioners Court and Developers
Sec. 7. The county engineer when directed to do so by the
commissioners court of the county, shall inspect all plats and
plans of subdivisions to be recorded within said county, and make an
on-site inspection of the land encompassed within said subdivision
and advise the court as to the roads, drainage, sewage, and all
aspects of said subdivision and terrain. The county engineer when
and if required by the commissioners court, shall affix his
signature to said plat along with the county judge and the
commissioners court upon any plat approved and accepted by the
commissioners court and filed in the county clerk's office. The
county engineer will offer advice and suggestions to said developer
and commissioners court in order to promote conformity with any and
all rules and regulations for subdividing as laid out by the
commissioners court.
Inspection of Various Utility Districts Within County; Map
Sec. 8. The county engineer when directed by the commissioners
court shall make such inspections of any and all utility districts,
water districts, sewage districts, and any other type district
formed within the confines of the county, to ascertain whether or
not said districts meet the state and county requirements. The
county engineer will keep a map setting out each and every type
district created within the county and make it available for public
use at any and all times required to do so.
Assistance on County Functions
Sec. 9. The county engineer when requested to do so by the
commissioners court or by a commissioner shall assist said
commissioner in connection with any county road in said county, any
drainage problem, public buildings, health and sanitation
district, planning commissions, and any other function or service
over which the commissioner or commissioners court might have
jurisdiction.
Employees
Sec. 10. The commissioners court shall employ all help necessary
for the discharge of their public service or for the discharge of
the duties of the county engineer. Such employees shall receive
such compensation as may be fixed by the court, but in all such
cases an order shall be passed and entered on the minutes of the
court, showing in such case the public necessity for such
employment and the amount of compensation to be paid each employee
and the fund out of which it is to be paid.
Work Records; Daily Time Sheet
Sec. 11. The county engineer shall keep or cause to be kept, in
duplicate, a daily time sheet which shall show the amount of time
and the character of work performed and the place where the same is
performed by himself and each person working for the county
engineer, and such other records in connection therewith as the
commissioners court and county auditor may require, one copy of
which shall be furnished to the county auditor, and one copy shall
be retained by the engineer.
County Commissioners; Duties
Sec. 12. This Act shall in no way diminish, alter or eliminate any
of the duties presently handled by the commissioners court or by any
individual commissioner. Each member of the commissioners court
shall be and he is hereby required to devote all of his time unless
prevented by illness to the duties of his office, and shall be in
attendance at all sessions of the court.
Cumulative Effect; Conflict or Inconsistency
Sec. 13. The provisions of this Act are and shall be held and
construed to be cumulative of all general laws or special laws of
this state on the subject treated in this Act when not in conflict
or inconsistent herewith, but in case of such conflict or
inconsistency in whole or in part, this Act shall control.
Severability
Sec. 14. If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause,
or word in this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional, the
remaining portions of same shall nevertheless be valid and it is
declared that such remaining portions would have been included in
this Act though the unconstitutional portion had been omitted.
County Engineer; Release From Position
Sec. 15. If at any time the commissioners court at any time feels
that the county engineer position is no further of any necessity or
benefit to the county, then said commissioners court has the
authority to release said engineer without any obligation to fill
said position or vacancy.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 2483, ch. 809, eff. June 8, 1971. Sec. 1
amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 593, ch. 237, Sec. 127, eff.
Sept. 1, 1981; Sec. 1 amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 597, Sec.
53, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Sec. 1 amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch.
669, Sec. 171, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
