Requests for Opinions
RQ-0660-KP
Requestor:
The Honorable Ryan Guillen
House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock
Texas House of Representatives
Post Office Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Re: Texas State Board of Pharmacy's reciprocal disciplinary authority (RQ-0660-KP)
Briefs requested by October 22, 2026
For further information, please access the website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-202604196
Justin Gordon
General Counsel
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: September 30, 2026
Opinions
Opinion No. KP-0531
Ms. Cheryll A. Jones
Kinney County Auditor
Post Office Box 1219
Brackettville, Texas 78832
Re: Commissioners Court authority to approve and make purchases without approval of the County Auditor (RQ-0618-KP)
S U M M A R Y
A purchasing contract is void if it is executed by an individual who was not delegated authority to enter into the contract under Texas Local Government Code section 262.001, and if the commissioners court does not subsequently approve the contract. A void contract cannot create a debt in violation of article XI, section 7 of the Texas Constitution. We lack sufficient information from which to determine whether the contract at issue here was exempted from the competitive-purchasing requirements under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 262, subchapter C, or whether the Commissioners Court followed the competitive-purchasing process set forth therein.
The Commissioners Court may not authorize the payment of goods and services without the approval of the county auditor, but the arbitrator may not arbitrarily withhold approval. Nothing in the language of Texas Local Government Code subsection 113.064(a) precludes a county auditor from auditing a claim for payment for goods or services before the county receives them. And a county auditor may audit and approve a county's purchase of a vehicle without a signed requisition, provided that the purchase otherwise complies with the law governing county finances.
Opinion No. KP-0532
The Honorable Christina Sanchez
El Paso County Attorney
320 South Campbell Street, Suite 200
El Paso, Texas 79901
Re: Independent school district authority to lease certain facilities and allow alcohol service by lessees (RQ-0624-KP)
S U M M A R Y
A board of trustees of an independent school district generally may lease district property to private groups when the lease does not interfere with the property's educational purpose. Education Code subsection 37.122(a)(1) prohibits alcohol possession for consumption, sale, or distribution on public-school grounds or in public-school buildings. A lease cannot override this restriction, and a school board cannot authorize a private lessee to do what the district itself is forbidden from doing. Any provision attempting to permit alcohol on such property risks rendering the entire lease void and leaving the district unable to enforce the lessee's rent obligation.
Opinion No. KP-0533
The Honorable Donna Campbell, M.D.
Chair, Senate Committee on Nominations
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
Re: Eligibility for service as a commissioner on a governing board of an emergency services district under Health & Safety Code § 775.034 (RQ-0627-KP)
S U M M A R Y
To qualify as an emergency services commissioner, Health and Safety Code subsection 775.034(a) requires a person to be either a qualified voter in areas served by the emergency services district or an owner of taxable land within the district. A qualified voter residing in a municipality outside a district's boundaries that receives emergency services from the district may qualify to serve as a commissioner. However, ownership of property in an area that is served by the district but that is outside the district's boundaries does not satisfy the requirement that taxable land be within the district. Districts may appoint individuals who are ineligible to serve as commissioners for other roles, but those appointees may not exercise core powers reserved exclusively for commissioners.
Chapter 775's conflict-of-interest provisions do not prohibit a person from serving simultaneously as a municipal officer or employee and as an emergency services district officer or employee. Constitutional dual-officeholding restrictions may prohibit an individual from holding both a compensated municipal office and a compensated emergency services district office. The conflicting loyalties aspect of common law incompatibility generally renders the two offices incompatible when the municipal and emergency services district positions both possess the authority to contract with the other government entity.
For further information, please access the website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-202604195
Justin Gordon
General Counsel
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: September 30, 2026