AGO 1993-056.

• Case Date: December 20, 1993
• Court: Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Opinions 1993. AGO 1993-056. December 20, 1993OPINION NO. 1993-056The Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney Courts Tower, Justice Center 1200 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Dear Prosecutor Jones: You have requested an opinion regarding the authority of a board of county commissioners to receive gifts of money to operate a student loan program for student nurses that is used to recruit nurses to work at local hospitals. Your letter describes the proposed program as follows:

[T]he nursing schools of two local universities wish to establish loan programs for student nurses enrolled in their programs. Local hospitals would provide funds to the schools, which would then give the money to the Board of County Commissioners, which in turn would lend the money to a student. The student would agree to work for one of the local hospitals for a designated period of time after graduation, and would pay the loan back during that period of employment.

You have indicated that the reason that the universities want the board of county commissioners to operate the student loan program rather than the universities themselves is to obtain more favorable income tax consequences for the loan recipients.(fn1)

A Board of County Commissioners Has No Statutory Authority to Operate a Student Loan Program

As a creature of statute, a board of county commissioners possesses only the authority expressly conferred by statute and the authority that may be inferred therefrom as reasonably necessary to make the express powers effective. State ex rel. A. Bentley & Sons Co. v. Pierce, 96 Ohio St. 44, 117 N.E. 6 (1917). There is no express statutory authority for a board of county commissioners to operate any type of student loan program, regardless of the source of the funds involved. Thus, whether a board of county commissioners may accept gifts for the purpose of operating a student loan program for nursing students depends upon whether the statutory authority expressly conferred upon the board to accept gifts necessarily implies the power to use those gifts for this purpose.

A Board of County Commissioners May Not Accept a Gift of Money Pursuant to R.C. 307.22 for the Purpose of Making Loans to Students that Will Aid Hospitals in Recruiting Employees

There are two statutes that authorize a board of county commissioners to accept gifts and bequests for educational purposes...