OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
lIonarable R. Byrne Brttsyfleld, Ccraaissioner, \
Cir6mtm'm Pension Cemmisbion
Au8tin, Tarsa
Dear Blr. 8atterTielUt Opinidn 80* O-7444
Ret Clsrifio8tion of A. 0. Opiniw
Ilo. O-81183and othsra
ment
an opinion on
tamnt should be killed b
moo ot tho portormance
emant or if he should die
es not In aensequence 0P
fr duty aa a tireman; may
paymontr on the date he roulc: hare
reaohed the bgs of fifty-firs years?
l2. If a flromnn sbo has retired after having
soyred 20 yearo on a iire department but be-
fore he had reaohed the ago of' 55 years
should be killed or die from any oau8e not
in eonsequen6e of his duty aa a rirement
Bonorbble Ho llyrue satterfield - page 8
dtoald his Board be&in paying his depaadats
their benefits promptly after hia death or
would It be oompelled to withhold payntmt o?
suoh benefits until the fireman rould have
reacPbed,,the age ,of 66 jeara?
s,
“In giving your opinion on the above -- Opinion
O-8831 -- you say as fo1100sr
*'We call partiaular attention to the lfatement
ia tbe above rtatuts whlob reads 'or abrll die fror
any aauae whatsoever 8iter ho baa beoome entitled to
a rltlloranoe or pemeion a er tiflthfen linoe th8t phrase
will perhaps, bed TO think does, oontrol the proper
disposition and ansuer to Joar questions.
wtUnder the prorisfonn of the quoted statutes
above when a fireman haa mened 80 yettrtt, regardless
of his then agel he *may apply to the Board of Trnr
tees for, and it shalY he the Boerd’s duty to issue,
a oertifioate shoring the completion O? such se~rvl0e.s
#'Reading the quoted sentenoe from Beation 13
and the Yast-quoted section from the amended seation
6 as we eon tttrue same a fireman who has served trmty
years is then entitled to and the Board must glre him
a pension Oertifloate.
lt6eotlm 12 provider that if a fiream dies iron
any oause after he has beooae entitled to his penaicn
oertifioate him widow is entitled to payments as pro-
tided in said aeotlon.
atIt is omr opinion, therefore, that regardless
of rhetber the firernan is aotlre or retired at tho
time of his death If he has served 8atirelj for the
80 year period he is entitled to his pension certifl-
oate and if ho thereafter dies his sldou and children,
It any, are entitled to receive Oompeneation rrom the
date of his death in the respective mcna as prorlded
isr in maid Aot. t
*Then on May 11, 1945 we asked Por the Sollosing
opinion:
“If a fireman resigned iron his tire departmmt
On April 18th, lQ44, roufd he be entitled to a 80
lbnar8bls ii. Byrne SItterfield - page 3
year omM?ioak as protided ht the 8mendmemt wbioh
was e??eotfte on LIaroh S3rQl 1946’. (row 4ortoetod
th a lffeotirs date ia roar opinion).
.Ia giving your oplnion - Opinl NOQ8W3 -
you mled as ?d.lou~r % .
"lfe think it plain ?roa tbs npseitio tamgttage
of the newly rdded mbtter to Seotion 6 that the Legis-
lature intended that 8117 lllglble and qualifiediire-
man, who shall hare ampleted ttteaty ymrs o? mrrioe
befare reaching the age ot flity-flro yearat would be
mttitl8d to tlte eeetiiieate a?mdng amoh nwleer
whether meh esmpletlm is befew or biter ths eiieot-
Ire dmte of Senate Dill 89, prerided it 1s cm or af-
ter the first dby o? April A* D. 1939~’
lThsn on Wdmtary 6, 194b IO mubnltted this quas-
tiont
s ‘We hbre an lnstanee whore a firssmn bad servsd
for 24 ye8rs and three umths in a Tssss fire depart-
areat and on Alar e0, 1918 ho dies e? a he8rt aftaak.
Be was fifty-four years of r&e rt the time o? his
death. that his beart 8ttaok ttan not in
Asswming
conBequeneeof the p#rfOt5anOe Of bls duty as a ?%I%-
man and In view of t?m ?aOt that he had serted more
than 20 years bat had not rerohsd the ags a? 66 years
bnd the fsrthsr frot that b@ died prior to the em&f-
mttmt o? the amendmeat to seation (I of the Aat and in
the llgbt ot your opinions O-M%81 and O-kM8~, ‘1s hfs
ridor entitled to her beaefits from the Aot and
should the benefits be tetruautfre to the Urts of
her hash8nd's deathtt
,In your Opinion O-T&@ you ruled es ?ollo~sr
"In OUT Opinion Nor O-8878 sd&esssd to fowt ap-
proved Waroh 8, 1944, it was pointed out that the
third olass o? meahars lsbntioned in seotion 18 lb o ?e
re?erreU to to required death *aStar’ the ?ireman bau
beoome antitled to an allormoe or psnsion eerti?laate.
Under ,the iaote berefn presented, hore?er# the fireman
died Ma7 20, 1@42, at the ags of 84 yerrs and apparent-
ly without laaklng nny appllOatim to the Board of Trus-
tees for any retirement osrtifieats- B’twthermore, to
bs qualified under the Aot , suoh a fi~paan met have
lIqnor8ble MOByme 88tteriield - page 4
puo&o& the 868 of 86 Je8C8$ in rdditfon to baring
mewed
lo tir ely
ior 8 period of 90 JUMPS, to besome
entitled to bs retired horn luoh sorvioe or on-
titled to 8 6brtlifOato.’
+b. 8md&mmt of seatim 6 of t%e stmtwte,
eonaidqrod in our O-6531 8nd O-8883,
Opiahn8 Hoe.
ld to rbiab you rr?erl bwwme e??OOfiTe Soptombor
4, 1946, 8nd suab maendmentdoss not bate 8 ratro-
gotire otteat 80 to dsse8eeA nmsbers who iailod
ta posaera the rtatutery qu8litiO8tdoam 8t the tine
of tbelr de8tb. ’
l'YouSPO respeotiully advised that under the
t8atr mbmitfsd your qussfbur 8~0 ms*ered in the
segatirb. ’
"One point th8t bmtrrbos us ia th8f in ynr Opin-
ion No. O-6883 you 8pp8rently mle that *MEL olQlble
8nd qn8litled ilrem8nt rho shall b8re aarploted 20
ye8ri of serrico botore reaohing th0 8ge o? 68 yomrs,
would be antitlod to tbo oorfiflaate abowlnr mob aer-
viao, wbother snob oomplotlon is %o?ore OP S&r the
gffesfire date of Sen8te Bill $9, brorided it is ol,
pr tter the 1st. d Y of April 1939' %bea In your
O&an lo. O-7088 km bold that Iani suoh mendment
dbem not bare 8 ret~oratire o??eot 8s to deoecrmid
mombera rho tailed to posroms the 8tatutorJ qualltl-
08tions 8t the time O? their deatb'.
lVo b8ro tried to interpret JOUP Opinion lo.
O-7082 as ruling tbrt the amendmentwould be 8ntl 1s
rbtro8etiro lnbot8r 80 firemen rho wore partlslpat-
in6 ia the systea ou and after the e??bOtiTb dtBt0 of
tbo amendmeat - Senats Bill 89 a? tbo Rogu18r se8s-
Ion of l@lb, -,but I# not rotroaotiro lnsotbr 88
those firemen *ho died or left the tlro department
prior to the stteotite date of sell8to Bill 89 8s
montianod above. But When Wt) 60 brok to your Opin-
ion Ilo. O-6888 which apparently Puloa that a tiroeran
who loft tbe tire doprrtment prior to tbo eiteotir.
date o? senate Ii*11 89 9 entitled ta tbo oortitiO8te,
then we booame oon?used* Ve fail to see any ditter-
on00 ln8eirr 8s the ratro8otirenoss is oonaernou be-
tween a firom8n who died prior to the etteotlre data
of the amendment and on0 who left the fir0 depert-
meut betoro the etieotlvs date of the 8wndmout, pro-
vided ot oourme that it applies to the fireman who
left the tire department and has not re-entered the
tire sowieo.m
‘F=;
. ., ’ Il.32
Bmorable It. Byrne EPttePtis~d - page fi
IOU oOrro0tly quote Our ruling in Opinion Ho. O-bM3,
wbioh for oonrsnienoo we ropredaoe here, 8s tollow~t
.‘*e thinkit pl8in from the 8peOitiO lS?l-
gumgo of the nqwly added m8tter to Reopn 6
that tho Logisl&tu~o intended that any sliglblo
and qualified fireman, wbo Sb811 bmwo smplstod
twenty years of rsnioe bstoro rsaohin6 tbe age
of fifty-fiwo ~OPPS~ would b.eontltlsd to tho
osrtitiomfs Showing SUO~ Sopvise, whether suoh
SempletiOn i8 before or Sfts? tbs e?fsOtiTs date
et SonSto Bill 89, provided it is On OP Site?
tbs 1st day of April, A. Do 1999+*
There is no sentlist botwsen tbmt bolding md Opinion
NO* 0-7088, S8yilIgl
'The SmCUdIMYUt Of SsOi 6 ~nf tho stStUt9 Oon-
Sidered in our Opinions HOSO0-6531 and O-01)83,
and to whiob you refer, booune ef?oOtirs Septem-
ber 6, 1846, and such 8mOndmsnt doss not bate 8
retro8otits etieot 8s to daoeassd memboP# who
tailed t0 pOsS+sS the StStUtOpy qUS~i?iOSti~S
at the tiPjo of their death.”
As we UndepStSnd JOUP IOtter, your Om?USiOn in prob-
sbly brought Sbeut by the use o? the phrase letteotire date* of
the Act., and we can readily understand JOUP positions AS ws
pointed out to you in Opinion Nob 04883, the body of 8. B. go.
89 oarried the emergsnoy clause to bsoome efieotire on Its paa-
MOB, tbe rote bowsrsr wmS insu??iOisnt to make it stteotiVs
fPOm its pass8go. so that it beSame le@lj, Ot'fsOtiwO nfnety
days after the adjournment of tbo LegiSlature. That means the
Bill and Aot beouao operative -- in toroe aS law -- ninety dajm
*?tOP SdjeUPlllIIC'llt. But whsn It did fbur booome effeotlto, the
Aet beoame ottootirs ior all puPpOsss SOOOPding to its pPOVis-
ion*, ms of Which was #On and after thb 1st day of April, AeD.
1038, Buy psrsotPr oto. This Aot was not rstrosotirs in the le-
iT81, OonStitutionml SsnSe, and spoke 8s 18W Only tram and after
its e??sotlro date ninety days miter adjoupnmsnt. But when it
did spomk It oleerly shows that iatter the 18t dry of April,
A. D. 1839, firemm who bsd at that time or thereafter might
hate twenty year.' Sspvios, PS therein stated, are entitled to
Septain rights. The irot that the twenty years serrioe would
date baok beyond the et’feotire d8te of the Bill is of no im-
Poptanoe in the oonsldsrrtlon. It 1~ permissible for a Yaw to
OQntain that feature. Thus, a law may, under the Constitution,
haas a proviSion upon a Status or duration, reeohing into the
flOnOFSbl6 8. Byrne Ratterfiofd - pegs 6
p88t SW7 number Of YSSPS.
It is t?UO th8t OUP OpiniCWt NO* d-70@ dsO~8Pss
thnt:
*Snob amsnhaent doe6 not bare 8 A POSOtiTO
e??SSt 88 to dsoeessd UIOmbePSm ?Siled &j :'
PQs8.a~ t& $tStUtOq m~i?iOStiOU# St tbo
m g their &e&&e Empha Si a snpplsd-;-
that .t8i~6Ut %a 8OCUP8t6. It merely m68?1s tblb 8 tire-
mnn whe died prior to the etiestirb date of tbb 1946 list deem not
‘eeme rithia tbe prorl~ime of said Aot I 8IthOnk;h during him li?s
time be h8d sewed mere than tWOnt7 ycnra 80 8 ?iPem8la~
VSP~ tru17 yours
COMMllTCL