TRE A ORNEY GENERAL
0~ TEXAS
AUSTIN ~~.Tsxan
April 1.6, 1958
Honorable Price Daniel Opinion NO. ~~-416
Governor of Texas
Capitol Station Re: Whether the funds received
Austin, Texas by the State Industrial
Commission In the form of
donations and appro rlated
under Senate Bill 484 are
available to the State
Industrial Commission
despite the faot that
Senate Bill 484 was not
aubmltted to the Comgtrol-
Dear Governor Daniel: ler for certification.
We have received your letter of March 24, in which
you state that the 55th Legislature passed Senate Bill 484,
codified as Article 51903, Vernon's Civil Statutes, giving
the State Industrial Commission authority to a,cce$ contrlbu-
tions for the purposes set forth in such Act, which contribu-
tions are to be deposited In the State Treasury in a special
fund to be known as the "State Industrial Commission Fund".
You further state that the Comptroller has notified the
Commission that In as much as Senate Bill 484 was not passed
to him for certification, none of the funds reeelved as
donations and deposited in the State Treasury are ap:?ropriated
for this biennium, although Senate Bill 484 apgraprlated no
funds except those received as donations.
You ask our opinion on two questions, substantially
as follows:
1. Is it necessary that a bill, @ontaining an
appropriation of only this type, be passe. to the
Comptroller for his certification?
2, If the answer is "no", then Is the State
Industrial Commission authorized to expend any
donated funds deposited in the Treasury during
this biennium?
Senate Bill 484, Acts 55th Legislature, Regular Ses-
sion, 1957, Chapter 319, page 782, reads in part as follows:
Honorable Price Daniel, Page 2 (~~-416).
"In addition to ita other duties, the State
Industrial Commission is hereby authorized to plan,
organize and operate a program for attracting and
locating new industries in the State of Texas; pro-
vided, however, that no S,tatefunds shall be used
for this purpose. The Commission may accept con-
tributions for such purpose, all of which shall be
deposited In the State Treasury in a special fund
to be known as the 'State Industrial Commission
Fund', and such sums are hereby appropriated to the
Commission for the purposes of this Article."
(aphasia added).
Section @a of Article III of the Constitution of
Texas reads In part as follows:
(I From and after January 1, 1945, save
In the case'of emergency and imperative public
necessity and with a four-fifths vote of tinetotal
membership of each house, no appropriation in
excess of the cash and anticipated revenue of the
funds from whloh such appropriation is to be made
shall be valid. From and after January 1, 1945,
no bill containing an appropriation shall be con-
sidered as passed or be sent to the Governor for
consideration until and unless the Ccmptroller of
Public?Accounts endorses his certificate thereon,
showing that the amount apprnpriated is wi,C,hin
the
amount estlmat:d to be available En t?,eaffected
funds, D D s
It is clear from the undereo3rad portion of Senate
Bill 484, above, that the Legislature apsr5priated no money
to such fund or for such purposes, except to ,theextent that
funds were available from specific donations, If there are
no donations, nothing is appropriated, If there are dona-
tions, that and no more is appropriated,
In our opinion, this appropriation falls within the
purview of Attorney General's Opinion O-6626 (1945), which
reads, in part, as follows:
"'You will n&e from the text of House Bill
No. 56 that no stated amount is mentioned In the
bill and therefore the appropriation could not be
in excess of the cash anticipated revenues of the
funds from which such appropriation Is to be made.
The Bill only appropriates the moneys to be
.
Honorable Price Daniel, Page 3 (~-416).
deposited in the affected fund for a given period.
The fund is created by existing law and the allo-
cation of revenues directed to be placed in said
fund has already been made by existing law. House
Bill No. 56 only makes the appropriation of the
fund to the purpose for which it was created and
only in the amount which may be deposited In the
fund. . . . t
11. . .
"It Is, therefore, our opinion that K. B. 56
did not require the certificate Inquired about."
This Interpretation of Section @a of Article III
was followed In Attorney General's Opinion s-64 (1953), which
reads, In part, as follows:
If no balance exists, nothing is
appropriated; If a balance does exist, that and no
more Is appropriated. The only action which the
Comptroller could possibly have taken If House Al.11
39 had been sent to him for certification would
have been to certify that the amount appropriated
in this Section was within the anticipated revenue.
We think this appropriation falls within the
view of Attorney General's Opinion o-6626 (19f?-
5),
which held that an appropriation of all the money
coming Into a soeaific fund, without stating any
speci.Picamount; did not have to be certified,
since the amount appropriated CQUM not possibly
exceed the available revenue.
. . .
I,
If House Bill 39 had been submitted to
the Corn&oiler for certification, the only action
he could have taken would have been to certify that
funds for paying this appropriation would be avail-
able. In keeping with the import of the holding In
Opinion 0-6626, we are of the opinion that certlfl;
cation is not necessary under these circumstances.
In our opinion, and you are so advised, Senate Bill
484, appropriating to the State Industrial Commission accepted
contributions deposited In the special fund, known as the
"State Industrial Commission Fund", for the specified purposes,
is not such an appropriation bill requiring certification by
Honorable &ice Daniel, Page 4 (~~-416).
the Comptroller of Public Accounts.
In answer to your questions, it is not necessary
that a bill containing an appropriation of only this type be
passed to the Comptroller for his aertlflcation, and the
State Industrial Commission is authorized to expend any
donated funds deposited in the State Treasury during this
biennium.
SUMMARY
The funds received by the State Industrial
Commission in the form of donations and
appropriated under Senate Bill 484, are
available to the State Industrial Commis-
sion despite the fact that Senate Bill 484
was not submitted to the Comptroller for
aertification, suoh certlfloation not
being required of this type of approprla-
tion.
Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON
Attorney General of Texas
By
Jo&L~Q,J&,;
Tom I. McFarling
TIM:mg:jl Assistant
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Qeo. P. Blackburn, Chairman
J. Arthur Sandlin
B. H. Timmlns, Jr,
J. Mark McLaughlin
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY QENERAL
BY:
W. V. Geppert