April 5, 1957
Honorable Henry Wade, Opinion WW-86
District Attorney, Dallae County, -
Records Building, Re: Whether or not the monies
Dallas, Texas, collected by the Chief
Probatlon Officer of Dellaa
County, Texas, for child
support in divorce cases
under orders of the Dls-
trict Court should be
depoeited with the County
Treasurer upon receipt of
Dear Sir: same.
Your opinion request submitted by John B. Webster,
Assistant District Attorney, dated March 6, 1957 and received in
this office on March 20, 1957, reads in part as follows:
“The County Treasurer of Dellas County
recently requested the opinion of this office
as to ‘whether or not the monies collected by
the Chief Probation Officer of Dallas County,
Texas, for child support in divorce cases under
orders of a District Court should be deposited
with the County Treasurer upon receipt of same’.
‘We necessarily have construed this question
to mean whether such funds are required by law to
be so deposited. We also necessarily construe
the question to apply only to those cases in which
such a deposit would not interfere with the proper
handling of such funds by the Chief Probation
Officer under the terms of the judgment of the
District Court .”
As stated by your inquirty, Articles 5142a and 5142c-2
of Vernon’s Civil Statutes, govern the receipt and disbursement
of certain funds for support of wife and children but these
Articles appear to apply on1 in wife and child desertion cases.
Further, although Article 51 t 2-1 of Vernon’s Civil Statutes
provides for the maintenance of a “child support office”, this
Article makes no provision for the receipt and disbursement of
the funds with which this inquiry is concerned.
Honorable Henry Wade, Page 2 WW-86
Article 1656a of Vernon’s Civil . Statutes
_. . , appears
. ^ to . be
the only statutory provision governing tne alsposlslon OI- sucn
monies when collected. This article was originally enacted by
Acts of the 43rd Legislature, Regular Session, Chapter 98, page
217 and as originally enacted, provided in part as follows;
‘Article 1656a. The County Auditor In counties
having a population of one hundred ninety thousand
(190,000) or more according to the last preceding or
any future Federal Census shall prescribe the system
of acticunting for the county and the forms to be used
by all persons in the collection and disbursement of
county revenues, funds, fees, and all other moneys,
whether belonging to the county, its subdivisions or
precincts, or to, or for the use or benefit of any
person, f lrm, or corporation; . . . . Should the
County Auditor deem it to be to the best interest of
the county or deem it necessary in order that the
provisions of this law may be better enforced or In
order that the legislative intent to conserve the
funds be carried out, he shall have the right to
rescribe that all of the f,ees and moneys herein re-
erred to shall be turned over to the Cqunty Treas-
uper by such officer as collected, and such money
shall be deposited in the county depository in a
special fund to the credit of such officer and draw
interest for the benefit of the county, which funds,
when so deposited In such depository, shall be se-
cured by the bond of such depository . . . .
Iemphasis added).
Article 1656a was amended by Acts of the 44th Regular
Session Ch. 122, p. 330. The amendatory act reads in part as
follows :
“Section 1. That Article 1656a, added to Title
34, Subdivision 2, of the Revised Ci~vil Statutes of
Texas ) of 19’25, by Section 1 of House Bill 875 passed
at the Regular Session of the Forty-third Legislature,
same being Chapter 98, Page 217, of the Act,s of the
Regular Session, 1933, be and the same is hereby
amended so as to read hereafter as follows:
“Article 1656a. The County Auditor in counties
having a population of one hundred ninety thousand
(190,000) or more according to the last preceding or
any future Federal Census shall prescribe the system
of accounting for the county and the forms to be used
- -
I
Honorable Henry Wade, paf3e 3 ww-86
by the District Clerk, the District Attorney and
all county and precinct officers and ,by all persons
In the collection and disbursement of county reven-
ues, funds, fees, and all other moneys collected In
an official capacity whether belonging to the county,
Its subdivisions or precincts, or to, or for the use
or benefit of, any person, firm, or corporation; . .
. .A11 of the fees, commissions, funds, and moneys
herein referred to shall be turned over to the County
beasurer by such officer as collected, and such money
shall be deposited In the county depository in a spec-
‘ial fund to the credit of such officer and draw inter-
est for the benefit of the county, which funds, when
so deposited in such depository, shall be secured by
-la. on 0 sue
Ehe e 0s or . . . . .
The purpose and scope of the foregoing Amendatory Act,
as set forth in the caption, are as follows:
“An Act to amend Article 1656a, Title 34,
Subdivision 2, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas of 1925,
being House Bill Bo. 875, Chapter 98, Page 217, General
and Special Laws enacted by the Forty-third Legislature
at its Regular Session, 1933; providing that the County
Auditor in certain counties shall prescribe the system,
forms, and reports to be used in connection with the
receipt and disbursement of county revenues, funds,
fees ~ and moneys received and disbursed by county and
precinct officers so as to Include the District Cl.erk
and District Attorney; providing for the repeal of all
laws in conflict herewith; providing that ff any part
of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional, it shall
not affect thenvalidity of the remainder, and declaring
an emergency.
The caption of the Amendatory Act restricts the scope of
the Amendment to the inclusion of the District Clerk and District
Attorney among the officers who may be subject to the regulations
of the County Auditor. It is noted, however, that the body of
the Act undertakes to amend Article 1656s In other respects r,ot
set forth in the caption. One such attempted amendment, which is
germane to our inquiry, would strip the County Auditor of discret-
ion relative to requiring certain monies to be deposited with the
County Treasurer and make it mandatory that such monies be so
deposited as collected. We emphasize that this latter amendment
was not set forth in the caption.
Honorable Henry Wade, paw 4 ww-86
It is well established that an amendatory act must be
limited to the purpose or subject stated in Its title or caption;
and as to any subject or matter included In the body, but not
mentioned In the caption, the Act is void under Section 35 of
Article III of the Constitution of Texas, which reads as follows:
“No Bill . . . . shall contain more than one
subject which shall be-expressed In Its title; but
If any subject shall be embraced in an act which
shall not be expressed In the title, such Act shall
be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be
so expressed.”
The foregoing general rule finds substantiation in the
case of Landrum vs. Centennial Rural Hi School District No. 2
(Tex. Civ. App.) 134 S.W. 26 333, whichctates:
“No rule is better established than the one that
where a title or a caption of an act specifies the
particular field of the amendment, and that it is to
cover or state a particular purpose to make a change
In a prior statute, the amendment is limited to the
making of the specific change designated in its title,
and orecludes anv additional contrarv or different
amendment than that stated In the tiile. Rutled e v
Atkinson, Tex. Civ. App., 101 S.W. 2d 376;.-w&s-;
4 Tex. Cr. R. 500, 116 9 .W. 2d 1076; Sutherl
%% .%oard of Trustees, Tex. Civ. App., 26l,s.W.489.”
Article 1656a, as originally enacted, vested wide d:s-
cretionary authority in the County Auditor relatlve to prescrib-
ing the method and manner of receiving, depositing and disbursing
monies collected by the various county and precinct officers
named In said artl,cle, which authority would apply to monies
collected by the Chief Probation Officer of Dallas County for
child support in divorce cases. Since the amendatory act, for
reasons stated, was void, insofar as it sought to amend this pro-
vision of the original act, the County Auditor is still vested
with such discretionary authority unaffected by the amendatory act.
You are therefore advised that monies collected by the
Chief Probation Officer of Dallas County for child support in div-
orce cases under orders of a District Court, should be deposited
with the County Treasurer upon receipt of same if such is required
by the County Auditor pursuant to the provisions of Article 1656a
as originally enacted.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance given us by the
very able brief submitted by Mr. Webster in connection with your
Honorable Henry Wade, we 5 W-86
request.
SUMMARY
Monies collected by the ohl&f probation
officer of Dallas County, for child support In
divorce cases under an order of the District Court,
should'be deposited with the County Treasurer upon
receipt of same If such Is required by the County
Auditor pursuant to the provisions of Article
1656a as originally enacted.
Very truly yours,
WILL WILSON
Attorney General of Texas
BY
Assistant
LP:pf:rh
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE:
H. Grady Chandler,
Chairman
Wapland C. Rivers, Jr.
Byron Fullerton
Milton Richardson
REVIEWEDFOR THE ATTORNEYGENERAL
BY:
Geo. P. Blackburn