*” 863
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable George H. Sheppard
Comptroller of Public Amounts
Austin, Texaa
Dear Sir;
cent letter read-
of License
poaitlon Fees Col-
ember 1, 1943, the Comlaaion-
th the State Treaaurer aa
moneys received by him Prom
the proviaiona of thla Act,
separate fund known aa the
oy fund’ and to be used for
expenaer inaumed in inspeating, regulating and
printing blank forma to be furnished such em-
ployment agenoiea by the Coomiasioner and the
aame, together vlth balanae on hand in ruch fund
on the effective date of this Act, is hereby ap-
propriated for said purpo~e,~ and all suoh ex-
penditures #hall be verified by the peraon to
vhom ruoh paymenta are made and on the epprov-
al or such expenditures by the Comiasioner it
)Itr~oy”~,“,r.r.n” .I -- --r-..---..-
Bonorable Oeorge If, Sheppard, page 2
shall be the duty of ths Comptroller of the State
to drav his varrant on the Treasurer of the State
for the amount or suoh sxpenditures in favor of
the person olaimlng the aame, to be paid out of
the gesIployaent agency fund.' On September 1,
1943, all moneya remaining in ruah l peolal fund
and all moneTa thereafter reoeived by the Cow
mudonor frao llosnse few under this Aot shall
be paid into and beoome a part of the Oeneral
Revenue Fund. *
‘For 8o180years the Bsplo~nt Agenoy Peer
oolleoted under the lav repealed by the above
aot ha?8 been deposited ia the General Revenus
Fund and plaoed to the aredlt of a rpeolal aa-
oount oarrled in the Oomptroller*s Appropriation
Ledgers as ~EmploymentAgenor Ice Acoouut.~
‘The ?orty-fifth Iaglslature appropriated
these feea by plaolng lo the general appropria-
tion bill the r0ii0ving8
“‘All employment agenor licenre fees, to-
gether with any unexpended balanoe oi suoh feea
remaining on hand at the end of any ilsoal year
are hereby appropriated for the purport or ruper-
vising ,employment agenoies and the dlstrlbutlon
of farm labor, lnoludfng salaries aud other neo-
eaaary expenses for eaoh of the ilsoal years end-
lng August 31, 1938 aud Auguat 31, 1939, and that
no 8u emisor or other smployse shall be aid m
than i 135 per month out Of luoh feel. Al P nonha
oollected for employment agenoy lloense fear
shall be deposited in the State Treasury in a
speolal fund knovn aa *The Private Employment
&my Fund.“’
'The For+rlxth Iaglalature plaoed in its
general appropriation blll the follovlngt
"8 For the Years ZauUng
August 31 A”;&31
1940
(Out of Hmployment Fund)
1 Supervisor .* . . . . . . . . * . . . . . $2,100.00 ~2,100.00
2 Asslatsnt Qupervlsor...... 1,500.OO 1,500.oO
865
honorable Oeorge II. Sheppard, page 3
z Stenographer ,...r..
Trmeling
5 Stationery,
expettae8.~.~~~~~
. ..i..*$l.3!i!i.,~
printing, post-
.
age, 0rri0e supplle8, tele-
phone, telegraph and ex-
pre8a~.w~R~~..~.......~.~ 200.00 200.00
Total from lkploysmixt Fund $5,65O.OO 45AO.00 ’
%ubjeot to the llRitationr wt forth in the
provlaions appearing at the end of this Aot, all
enplomnt lganoieq, liOer& fees, togsthsr Vitk
any tutexpanded balauoe of su0h fees remaining on
hand at the end of t& flsoal year, are hereby
appropriatedfar the purpose of supervising sa-
plopsent agenctos and the distribution of fma
labor, f OF eaoh of the time1 gew8 ending August
3i, 1940, attd AU&urt 31, 1941.
*The Forty-seventh LegiabtuP’e plaoed in ita
general appropriation bill the follovlngt
For tke Years pzd
August 31, ? 1,
August
1943
(Out oi Erployissnt &mar Fe:zi2
Sdu-1~ and JUlntenanae t
18. Superviaor,.............$2,100.00
lg. AsLboista& 8UpsrVlsOF.. . . 1,500.OO
20. Steno rapher . . . ...*..*.. 1,3p~
21. Wars !fIng erpensea..~... .
22. StaWmsry, printing, past-
age, c2ftt38 suppltea,
telephone, telegraph and
expreaa..4........b..8~ 500.00 500.00
Total from mlownt Ageucry
Fe.8 $5,950.00 ~5,9500.00 ’
‘There vas no rldor on this bill.
lu the 0108s of the fiaoal year enay Aue-
ust 31 1939, there va8 an unused balance o
&29.2b rhlah va8 carried forvard on the Goap-
troller’s books to the next yew lo eo u p t.
866
Honorable ffeorge H. tlheppard, pago 4
'At the alose of the fisoal year ending Aug-
ust 31, 1940, there vas an Uwred balance of
43,981.X. Thlr balance vaa not carried SorVard
although it oould hare been flprobably uould
have been if the need had arL8eo.
the close of the fiso81 yeu ending Aug-
“At
ust 31,1941, there vas an unused balams of
41.898.27 or that year rscelpta. This balanor
vaa not onrrisd forward be@aure the nev bioae9al
appreiation bill failed to appropriate ‘any
unexpended baluroe' a8 the previous bill had
done.
.At the dose 0s the flaoal year ending
August 31, 1942, them vaa an Unused balanoe of
41,464.5Ji of that year receipts. 'ihia, balanas
uas not aarrled Sorvard for the reason rtated
xiextYi50ve1
‘At the effeatlve date of House Bill NO.
264 there vaa au Unexpended unenoumbered btianoe
of approximately $1,500.00 in the aurrent fiaaal
year aaaount . The fess nov being aolleatsd under
the nev aat are being depo8lted ia a 8peOlal fund
in the Treasury vhloh, in keeping vlth the aat,
is titled Qmploysumt &enoy Fund.’ It Is repa-
rate and apart from Oeneral Revenue Fund.
‘Xttorder that the Labor GoIa8is8ioner and
the Coagtroller night kKiOVjust Vhat mOMy8 are
nov available for expenditure in thla oomeotlon
your anavers to the following queatlona are re8-
peatfully repueatedr
'1. Doea House Bill lo. 264 appropriate and
nov make available for expenditure all or elthsr
Of the baleno remaining UQU8edin the Employ-
atent Agenoy Fee Aoaount at the close of the fla-
aal yeara ending in 1940, 1941, or 19&2?
“2. Doea Bouoe Bill Ho. 264 appropriate
the Ra loysmnt Agemy Fees aolleoted ainae Au&rut
31, 19&2, and vhiah nov remain unexpended and
867
aonorable Oeorge R. Sheppard, page 5
unenaumbered in the apealal aooount in General
Rlvenue Fund?
“3. IS you SnSVeP queatlon No. 2 in the
negative, then Pro the fees at111 available un-
der ths general appropzlation bill for tie pay-
ment of the itsme set out in that bill?
“4. If yo3 anever either question 1 or 2
In the afflrmatlve, then would the Oomptroller
.be authorised to transfer auy OS auah balance or
balaaoss front the Oensral Revenue Fund into the
lRmployment Agenay Fund’ referred to as a rpe-
oial rum
m. . . . I
Your attention ir dlreoted to the partloulu vording
and phraseology of the above quoted seotlont
I The ComUesionsr ahall deporlt vlth
the 3&t; l!reaIurer all moneys reaeived by
him. . . to be held’& ieplrate fund knovn aa
the tenmloment agen ’ . . . and the 8R.M
together with balane d In auoh fund on t&e
effestlve date of this Aot, la hereby approprlat-
8d, . . , @to. , , .s (amghaSi8 0~28)
In enacting the above qxoted provirion into lav, the
Legielature may have arsumed that there erlrted a balance on
hand in s fund~:designated aa the *employment agenty fun&.” If
euch were the caac it Was a mistaken assumption.
It Is true, as pointed out In your letter, that the
45th Legislature emoted into lav the follovlng provlrionst
I All moneys oolleoted for employment
ageney’lktae tee6 shall be deposited in the
State Treasury in a lpsolal fund knovn en ‘The
Private Baploxmsnt Agenay Fund.lv (IWpheal%‘-
oura)
In sn effort to render 8ffSetlVe the obviously ln-
tended appropriation in Section 4 of Rouse Bill Ro. 264,
aupfa, ve might assume that the Leglalature Intended to ap-
propriate vhat may have been asrunsd to have bean an uousad
868
Xonoreble Goorgo B. Shepprsd, peg. 6
balmwe in ‘The Private 3Wployment &genay Fund.” Upon further
examlnatlon, however, ve find a8 emphasisad in your letter,
that the 46th Legislature simply appropriated ‘the unexpend-
ed belanoe of 8uch fee8 for the purpore of rupervlslng em-
ployment 8gencier . . . ior eroh o? the rimsal yrerr ending
Augurt 31, 1940, and Augu8t 31, 1942.’ Shoe the 46th bgir-
lature did not rpeoify thet the fee8 oolleoted in 1940 and
1941 nor the ‘unexpended balanoeg in the “Privete Employment
Agenoy Fund” should be plaoed in a rpeola; fund, the ef’ieot
vaatt;s!e the unexpended balinae lrom The Private Baplo
together uIth the fQer oolleoted In 1940 and 194’ a,
into uhet’ls oom8only reierred to e8 the germ%1 lund, there-
by depleting the rpeoiel f+und oreeted by the 45th kgirleture,
There then remained no belanoe on hued ia “The Private Ba-
ploynent Agenoy Fund.” The 47th Legislature apgroprieted
PO money to the ‘i’dVAt. fhploylobnt &8nOy Fund nor 1)88 8ny
unexpended be&me appropriated. The unexpended belanae on
hand on the erreotive date or Haute Bill No. 264 uar not in
may rpeoiel fund nor in any other ‘ruoh fund” a8 OoAteapleted
in the bat.
Ye aennot aonrtrue the langtLag* u8ed a8 evinaing
a legirlatlve intent to eppropriate vhat you term the balance
in the eooouut oarried on your books a8 the “mPployme&~
op Fee Aoaount.’ fhi8 bel8noe io not a balanoe in a rpeaial
rund, but 8imply repre8XGTie Ufferenoe between the amount
or certain fee8 depoalted to the credit or the general fund
and the vZthdrawal8 from the general fund iOr oertaln author-
lted pUXpO808. Thh ooiue8 about by Virtue Or the legirletive,
praotloe. from time to time In the .biennlel 89 oprlation
bi118, to 5ewure the Labor CoPrPPis8ionQJr’8 aut I?ority to drev
egain8t oerteln appropr~atlons from the general fund by the
yardrtlak 0r the amount 0r ire8 thet he depo8lted to the
credit of the general fund. This 18 entirely different from
6 “rpeal81 fund.” The lenguege ured by the bglrlature in
thi8 Aat evldenoe8 the puTpore to appropriete a belame In a
Qp00m mid,@ end In our oplnlon, the root that the 8pOGhl
fund doe8 not exist doe8 not authorize u8 to eonrtrue the bill
to appropriate any sun 0r money rma the generel fund.
Your riX8t three quertion8 8re thererore en8Yered
in the negative which render8 W maPeP to quertfon Ho. 4
unneoe8mry.
Your8 very truly