OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Xonorabli: Geo. A. IS&&, page 2
of said rsspective oouutias md defined road dtitrfots,
for the mmosoe 856 uses mors msairioallr set rorth
i;z this A&; includiq tiif2payme& of ~r~inkpal, interest
and sinkir.~ fuhd requirements of all eligible obUgations
maturing an ar;S Proip Se&ember 1, 1949, to tind jni$ludi.ng
August 31, 1941, an6 eaoh year thereafter until all euah
eli *a1bl e oblizatlons sre fully mid: and the monevs
co&g into t%e oredit of Lix,e-c&mt~~ and road M.&&at
hi&way fuuL with the State Treasurer and all mneys
rtaalnlng the:.eiu from the prepious year shall be reaeived
and h%ld by him as ex-OffiOiO'!bV3~Urer Of the oOuati%8
a02 defined road Uistriots and shall first be eubjeot to
tie appropriation for the payment of interest, prluaipal
unit sinkirig Amd maturing rmi time to tims on gaitI
eligible obligations end then for'the other uses spaolfied
anii permitteE in this Act.' (Cnosrssoriug ours)
Clearly t&is seotiotl of c:?g Rot oan be oo~M~~ed as
an'apDroQrlatlon or the funds allocated to the Eoard of County
and District 2oad IqIebtednsas. It is equally as plain that
suehap2ropriation is for the bienaiuin begiming September 1,
1939, and ondin:; A:qust 31, 1941, fmd t%t the Zuads 60 appro-
priated are rFrst 'co be used for the purpose of paying 9rihoL
pal, iuterest end siaking Wud rsq+.lre~nte of .eJ.l&lJ.gible
obligations mutwtia on and fran 3e~ptmntvsr 3.. lW9, to and
in~ludlng August211, LQ4l i- .P it i iIll
%hat suoh ob&igations a@ &it%?$&qnt L”y&$% Si” 1941,
can rsaelte no further aasletanaa frown th& Aatb until &he
Legialatum has spea$fiaa$ly appropriated funds therefor.
Otherwise, .tha appropriation wOuld be for a psriod of time
longer than tno ~~sre in tlolationof Section 6 of Artisle VIII
of t21eConstitution of Texas,~which reads as followed.
Wo money sW2 be drawn from the Treamxybut ia
pursuauoe of apeai~ie appxo&aLions madeby 1%; nor
shall any appropriation of money be mQie for a longer
ter;i:than two years exoept by the first leglslaturo to
aasomble under this Constitution whiah xay nrake the
necessary appropriations to aarry on t&3 L;cqermont
until the aasenblage of' tixeSixteenth Legislatureta
&Ulifeotly, then, sukM&mtion j of 3eotiou'zJ oftbs bill,
beiq an ap,propriation m+asur%, canaot last loa~@Z thm t?w
irp 3113, tbrefore, expires by its own term on .August 31,
.
2x purpose of 11. il. 688 a:i& its predecessors is
clesxly deolardt in Soation 1. It iS f3X~re08ly d8clhl-8CttG
be t!ke ?olioy of the state to take over, acquire, purchase
and retain the interest and ewiti::s of the various czountios
ad defined road districts in and to the higlmays not pre-
vious&y taken over, aaqvired and purchased, consti.txting
a part of the system of deafgnated State iZi$hwl&ys,and it
is determined that tha further provision of tlr, hct should
constitute fair, just and quitable ooqensa@en, repayment
and reimbursement to said couhtles and Qefined mad &i,stri.ots
iGr their.ai8 aud assistance to t&/State in the Oonstruotion
of State Highways, and thit suoh provisions would fully &is-
charge l3ae legally iraplied obligation of the State to 80 oom-
pensate, repay aila reimburse the agencies oft&3 Sta$e r0r
ezpenses inourred at the itistanoe and solicitation of the
State, as well.aa for expjnaes inourrcd for the benefit of
the State. !i'heauooeeding ;?rovieions sat up the machixierg
for carrying out that aealared polio,-.
He are of the opinion tha? the purgose Of House
5i.11 688 was lrerely to fix the metho& of attalui.lc the
objeotlves declareir in Motion 1, and that Seotion 0, sub-
se&ion j thereof, oonstituted the as>rogriation of funds
necessary to effectuate its lxoviaions for the biennium
beginnin=, September~l, 1959, and endins hugust 31, 1943..
It eannot be said that the purposes of the Aot
nay not yet be aarried out thou& we mist hoid that no
appropriation of funds has bean aabe for such purposes
for the hext biennium.
A statute oannot be repealed by non4& unless
acooqauied by tlta eatablishmnt of an opl;oslte~legislative
policy ox by the.anactmnt of irreconcilablastatutea or
by elimination of the object of the statutes,-’ Sale 5E Cd,,
page 920. House 3111 6SO beaosles inqerative by reason of
the failum of fun&s with whioh to aarry out && purpose.
It 'is our opinion that the law has not srpired and that vthen
such funds as are nerresaary to oarrg on are jg-ovidei4by the
Legislature the law znay reawna operation. The lauguage use&
by the Court in the Interstate Forwarding Coqmny v. Vimyard,
3 s;.‘;.* (20) 947, 5eemt persunsive of the vioW here token,
*the law remins in full force anb effeot althou& so to speak,
in a stete of hibernation beaause of non-anforoement."
Therefore, in reply to your quaetion number one,
we mat anmer in the negative.
Conoroble Geoi A. Eight, pa& 4
'ri'ith
raferenoe to yoUr seoond c;uestio-?and t&e
suzzeste8 amendment to sub-seation j, Seotion 6 of Eouse
Bill GE8, we t-&n!: that the l.ast phrase, "for the purgosea
m(: uses more specifiaally set forth in this Act, eta.-
shoulil be zade to ra:xl "for the purposes and GSBS mre
spaclfionlly set forth in Eotiee 35.11 686 of the Forty-
sixth Legisldxre, Regular Gession'~. %'ith tlds phrase
properly substituted la your proposed qmendrnent we are of
t&e oninion t?t$Itliouae 9111 08e will agaLa become operative
if a&d aze%dzmnt be lnoluded in n Fe-en~ctmmt of Section 6
in its estiraty published at length.
Yruatlngthat the foregolag ikllg answem your
inquiry, we me
Youys vsry truly