The Boone County Court has no authority to convey by gift to the Boone County Agricultural and Mechanical Society real property belonging to the county.

COUNTY COURTS: The Boone County Court has no au- thority to convey by gift to the Boone County Agricultural and Mechanical Society real property belonging to the county. OPINION NO. 13 January 19 > 1970 Honorable A. Basey Vanlandingham State Senator, District 19 FILE 0 /~ 12 Glenview Plaza, Box 711 Columbia, Missouri 65201 Dear Senator Vanlandingham: This official opinion is in response to your request for an opinion in which you ask whether the Boone County Court can convey real property owned by the county as a gift to the Boone County Agricultural and Mechanical Society . Section 262.290, RSMo 1959, authorizes the incorporation of nonprofit county agricultural and mechanical societies for the purpose of promoting improvements in agriculture, manufacture and the raising of stock. To effectuate this purpose, the statute further permits such county societies and associations to purchase, hold, lease, rent and receive quantities of land not exceeding 100 acres. Thus, it is clear that Boone County Agricultural and Mechan- ical Society may accept gifts of real property to effectuate the purposes for which it was incorporated. The real question then is whether the county court may make a gift to such society of county real property . We are enclosing Opinion No. 42 rendered August 19, 1948, to Marvin C. Hopper, which holds that a county court cannot give away county property unless authority to do so is given by a statute. The only statute which could be found that sanctions donations by the county courts to county agricultural and mechanical societies and fair associations is Section 262.350, RSMo, which provides in pertinent part: "The county court of any county may, if it be deemed expedient, appropriate out of the county treasury for the benefit or any society regu- larly organized as a ••• county fair, .•. or any other organization or incorporated so- ciety having for its object the holding of Honorable A. Basey Vanlandingham county fairs or the advancement of agriculture or its allied industries, a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars in any one year. The money so appropriated shall be drawn by the treasurer of the society on proper warrant; provided said money shall be awarded by the board of directors or other proper officials [of the association or society] in premiums or expended by them in the purchase of premiums, •• • provided further, t hat in all counties in this state of the second class the county court of such county may, if it is deemed ex- pedient, appropriate out of the surplus re- maining in the county treasury, for the bene- fit of any such society , a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars to be used as in this section above set out, or in any other manner that said board or directors may deem best." This statute contemplates donations only in the form of money to county argicultural and mechanical societies . Had the legisla- ture wished to permit the county courts to donate real property to such societies, this statute would have been the one to reflect such intention. CONCLUSION The Boone County Court has no authority to convey by gift to the Boone County Agricultural and Mechanical Society real property belonging to the county . Enclosure: Op . No. 42 8-19-48, Hopper -2-