‘..
55
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVER SKUERS
A’~TCJRNI~GENERAL
Honorabl c chuae I sbbel 1
Seeretwy of State
Aumtln, Texas
Rear Mr. IE48ell: Opinion No. o-6612
Ret The fop
relralotloapro
., rent to the Co
lE.J.R. 13 h
an eleotlon Au
mail on the
otlon address-
Ion 1 of ArtioXe IT of
all 8mendmentamust
ore the eleotlon and In
t 68te for darting pnblioo-
Betoral newspapershave notl-
Id reaolutlonin13reached them
li!xtlon before the 23 and roald like
should start publlaatlonon dune let.
or of tha abore situationI will be pleased
to havenyou anmer the follorlng inorder that I may
be governed lmthe m8tterr
.(l) 3honld thle offloe authorize the pub-
llo8tlon of 2.Z.B. 13 beglnnlng in the Issue of
Jnne let In riem Of the fact the f’iretissue ~111
not be three months before the eleotion?
~Honor8bleClan&e Isbell - page 2
.
s(2) Would me be authorloed to pay for
woh publlaatioabeginning later than three
months before the eleotion?*
Yom 8re reqmhfully adtise~dthat it Is the opinion
of thim Depwtpsnt both oiyour questions should be answered in
.+ie...aegtfre
.
:.. Beation 1 of Art1010 XVII of the'Cinstltutlou,insofar
in the same Is pertinent.,Is as follormr
** 0.0, rhleh proposed umendueuts &ml1 be
duly pnbllshsd onoe a week for four weeks. son+
nnolng at least three msuths before au eleotiou,
the tlme,of whloh shall be epeoifiedby the LegIs-
la&are, In one weekly newtspaperof eoob county,
in which suoh a newspaper nmy be published,**s.*
The reqairementof the Constitutionwith respeat to
the time of suoh publlaation,Is mandatory.
This Departmsnt in 8 thoroughly-uonsiiderodopinion of
d8te July 9, 1923, addressed to Honorrble~C.W. Payue, 8otlug
Beoretrryof Stator written by Hr. L. Cm Sutton,Ass1stantA.t
torney Qeneral, and approved by the late Judge W. A. Keeling,
the then Attorney General, mid: ..
"You are respeotfullyadvised that It is the
opinion of this Deprrtasnt that the beglnning of
paElio8tlon of a propo6M eonstitationalamend-
ment at least three months prior to the @ate of
the eleotioa is absolutelyemsentlal to the valid-
ity of the adoption of the amendmentby reason of
oonstitatlonalmmdate. l 0 la’
&uy supportingauthoritieswere oited in the opinion,
and we need not to elaborate the point here+
since the eleotioa is to be held on August 25, 1945,
and slnae the three months of the Constitutionmust be WsplOtO
'before' the eleotlon, It follows that Hay 24, 1945, was the
la&, &ay upon which the publioatlonaould hare begnn. No pnb-
liaatlon begnn later than that would meet the mandatory require-
57
Eonarable Claude Isbell - p8ge 3
rent of the ~onstltutlon,and thereforewould be leg8117 ln-
effectual+ In other words, snoh a belated publloatlonlm not
one mthoriaed or permitted 8y law, and thereforeIt would
mrve uo lmful purpose, and of oourse would not authorise
payment ox&of the treasury to the pnbllshe*-
We cuprem no opiulon,by lmpll~tl~n or btherwlw,
8; to.the leg81 00n~uenae~.of a f8llurb of due publlaatlon
(in psrt only of the oountlea)of this proposed mnexMImx&
aou.fSnlug6ur auwer striatly to the quemtiona pat by’ you.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEX QRNRRAL OF
WED ~IdAY 29 1945
OS-RR