OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable C. 11. Cavness ;
State Auditor
Austin, Texas
Dear Mr. Cavnessr Opinion Ho. O-7454
Re: Construction of Artloles
You request an opinion Worn this on the above
subject matter, as follorsr
vIn connection with 0
records of the Texas&i
ly request your opinion 0
to the paymen
Their praotl
tion of his
000 for over one
0 for over ten years
0.00 if over trimty
Id out of Legislative ap-
aally, the Convicts Dls-
oh oonvicts are also ls-
viat is released on a Conditional
ves clothing and $6.00 paid out of
the Legislative funds (Convicts Discharge Revolving
Fund) and a railroad or bus ticket from Huntsville
to the County seat of'the County to shioh he has
heen paroled. He is not paid the additional b3.00
sited in Article 6196.
sWhen a convict is released on Reprieve he is
not furnished with Prison olothing (the usual khaki
pants, shirt, etc.) but is given only such make-
Honbrable C. A. Camesn - page 2
shift alothing aa aan be found in the Prison Store
in Auntsville, in most aaseo east-oft alothing
taken from incoming convicts+ If such convict has
no money, he is furnished with a railroad or bus
ticket from Huntsville the same as for thcisegiven
Conditional Par&mm. The Prison purahaees this
fioket out of It8 Eduoational and Reoreational lrnnd
which Is not a Legislative appropriation. Thi6
Fund 1s areated bj Caeh reaeipts from the Prison
Rodeo, visitors fees, eta.
ll. Doea Artlole 6108al repeal Artlal~e6196t
"2. Regardless of how you rule on question 1,
is the Prison Sjmtem eompljlng with existing stat-
utes under the present praotlces desoribed above?
And if not, pleas8 tell us and then your opinion
as to what are the statutorily required praotices~"
1. Arflole 6196 was repealed by House Bill No. 69, ch.
212 of the 40th Legislature, 1927, in Seotion 1, as follors~
"All of Title 108 of the Revised Civil Statutes
of 1925 exaept
Artiole 6202 thereof is In all things
hereby repealed.'
2. We hand you herewith oopy Of this department's
Oplnlon ?io.O-1860, whloh we think will answer many If not most
of your questions. Supplementing this opinion, however, we beg
to advise spealflaall~ an tollorsr
(a) Aa to the prebent praotioe of furnishing a aonvlct
released on oonditional pardon Tith transportation 'to the county
aeat of the ootmty to which he has been paroled", we think the
practice la in violation of Artlole 6203, Sec. 10, which requires
that the ticket tarnished be 'from the place of his discharge to
the place of his conviction and sentence”-
(b) TIth respeot to the praatioe of furnishing eonviots
released on reprieve with east-off clothing taken from inooming
aonviotm, re think that only rmoh olothing as is voluntarily sur-
rendered or discarded by the inoominfi convict may thus be given to
prisoners released on reprieve.
. .
honorable G* HO Cavness - page 3
(a) With reapeel to the praattae of furnltihingtrans-
nsrtation to aonriots r8leas8d on reprieve out Of the Eduaatfon-
al and IteoreotionalFund, a fund created by coah rooeipts from
the Prison rodeo, Tiaitors fees, eta l n we b e g to mdvise that o u r
statutes make no~provisibn for furnishl.n~transportation to oon-
viats 90 released. To have been unable to find my cltatutepro-
vidinq for the areation of suah fund , or the expenditure there-
Of. Shoe that fund is not defined by statute, or appropriated
by the Legislature, its atatum IS unoertain. It is evidently a
trust fund areated awl held tar certain purposes. Ii one of
those purposes la to futnisb transportation to conriots releaaed
on reprieveI we are not pr8parOd to hold auoh 8n expendi furs is
unauthorized.
The prewmoe Of Artiole 6196 in the etatute book per-
haps has led to your question as to repeal of that Artielr. You
ail1 see from our Opinion No. O-18U0, that we have held the at-
temnt to amend that Artiole ar it had m
-- ren8a?8d wan inOf-
teotive to restore it.
Very truly yourm