OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUBnN
Ron. B&t FOrd, Ad&nIstrator
Texas L&quor Control Beard
Au&In, Texas
Dear %Irr
Opinion No. O-1608
Rer May the Texas L
Your request r0
stated question has been
this department.
d by the Board
Q to time ror
a8 may be neaesaary
@tIon of and obtaining evi-
tl ens or the provielone of
rotlsion wan written Into the
01 aat upon the reaommendation
of this Board to provide a auahlaning fund
for ths payment of expenses that mI@ arise
In the judgment or the Board In making in-
veetlgatlone or violations 0r the aot. Under
the general rule, of aourae, the appropria-
tion BpeeItieallJr made In the amended a0t
elfeatlve septembsr 1, 19157, was no logger
Hon. Bert Pord, Page Z
availbble after September 1, 1939, but the
Boardimade further reooyendatlon to the
Legislature for a fide* to the general
appropriation bill whIah wae adopted and
+hiah.~you will find appearing In that sec-
tion of the appropriation bill providing
appropriatiolJs for the Liquor Control Bcerd,
reading as rollowe:
“chit is further provided that re-
ceipts .raom the sale or oonflscated
beverages an4 equipment as provided
In ths .Texas 1Iquor aontrol aat shall
be available for defraying expenses
as stipulated In said act, and .the
dame are hereby appropriated for said
purposes.’
“It is presumed that this rMer to the
appropriation aat aontlnued the effectiveness
oi the: partioular provtalon above referred
to In the Texas Liquor oontrol aat.
Vurrently this Board is drawing upon
wh!t ia known as the *ConiIsoated Liquor
Fund, 1 ror the payment or salaries or speafal
Investigators employed as the demand arises
to supplement the work or cur regular forces.
*We rpould like to know whether or not,
in your opinion, slnae a seemingly broad ex-
oeptlon to the general restrlations Or the
appropAation aat ir provided for this Board,
the Beard may draw upon the oonfiscated bever-
age fund ror the ,,,,rt
pa or traveling expen:es
bf lnsjieotcrrb lilro se paid rrom said iunti.
The generil’ appropriation bill of the 46th
Legislature or Tezas provider apgroprlatlons for the Texas
Liquor Control Board and we tInd In the eeotion of the
appropriation bill providing appropriations for the Texas
Liquor cotirol Board the f 01lowIne rider, to-wit I
“It Is further provided that rWeIPtt3
Hon. Bert Ford, Page 3
rrau the sale of aonfiraated bevera es and
equlment am provided in the Texas i&UJr
Control Aat shall be available ror defrayI@
expenses as rtIpul;ated In said aat, and the
same are hersby appropriated ror said pur-
posem.*
Artiale 666-30, Vernon’s Texas Annotated Penal
Code, 1923, reads aa follows:
*Any IllIoIt beverage as that term Is
derlned In this Aat, and all Illegal equip-
ment for manufacturelillg any alcohollo bever-
ages Is hereby dealared to be contraband and
the same may be seized without warrant by
the Board, or any one of Its agents or em-
ployees or by any peaae orrlaer and amy per-
son found In the possession, or In oharge
thereof, may be arrested without warrant.
All oontraband aloohollo beverages so seized
shall be turned over to dther the sheriff ‘of
the aounty in which suoh seizure is made or
to any authorized pepresentaflve or agent
of the Beard.
*The Board shall have the pawer and
authority to assemble seizures of alcohoblo
beverages and aonaentrate them at a plaab
In thir state where the .eale thereof wIl1
be deemed most advantageous.
“All oontraband aloohollo beverages
remaining in the hands of the eherlii shall
be sold by him at publla auotlon to the high-
est bi4der, atter due notiae of such sale has
been posted for a period ob at least ten (10)
dapa, but no sali, of liquor shall be made
to any person unlirrs he Is a permittee who Is
privileged to have poesesslon themor. No
dellvem Of liquor so sold shall be made t0
any permittee unless and until the proper State
tax stamps have been purohased and afflxed a6
required by this Aat.
It Is rurther provided that Immediately
after the sale as herein provided,, no alahhlia
biVWage aold ht pub110 auation by a sherI.fr
shall be delivered within a period of five (5)
days arter euah sale during whiah time the
Hon. Bert For&, Page 4
Board may In ite disaretion reject any bids
and order t.he liquor disposed of In any
manner herein provided,
“It Is rurther provided however that
In all euoh Instanaes where alooholla bever-
ages are offered for sale at pub110 auation
the Board shall have the, rlght and authority
to bid thereon. In the event the Board Ie
the highest bidder such alooholia beverages
ehall be delivered to the Board artes the
payment oi the expeneee oi the sale only and
nhell be sold by the Board ae herein provided.
*All alooholla beverages which may oome
Into the passersion of the Board under the
provisions of this ~8eotIon may be mold by the
Board at either pub110 or private sale.
*All Illegal equipment shall be dedtroyed;
provided, however, that euah equlment which
possesses any appreotible value shall be made
Inoapable ti rurther illegal use and may then
be rold by the Board or Administrator at prl-
rate rale.
*All oosts and expense Inoldental to the
seizure, male, and assembling of all contraband
IllIaIt beverages and illegal equipment shall
be deduated from the proceeds of the sale there-
or.
*The net proaeeds~from all sales as pro-
Hon. Bert Ford, Pages 5
whlah may bo mado for the use of the Bcmrd.”
(underraorlng our8 1
It will .be noted that tlm above quoted eeo-
tlon of the Texas Liquor Control Aot provides that lruoh
t’und may be used rrom time to time for deiniylng suah
expenses aa may be neoessarfr fnr the Investlg tl
Andyobtaining svldenae for the violations or ~he”~rkI-
siona or eaid Aat. ”
It Is obYIous t&t .the Invcetl$ation of vlola-
,~ tione of ths Taxas. L&quor Control Aat and the obtaining
of evldenae of suoh vjo&atIons require travelin
little, If any, Invegtigetlon~aould be ?fTT%X.
obtained with referenoe t.o violations of th; Texas Liquor
Oontrol Aot, without traveling. Traveling expenses of
the Investigators of the Texas Liquor Control Beard would
certainly therefore be a nsoessary ‘expense In the lnveatl-
gatlon of and the obtaining oi evldenoe of violations or
thb Texas Liquor Control Aot.
Thererore, you are respectfully advised that It
Is the opinion of this Dapartment that your quaetion should
be answered In the aifirmativa.
Very truly yours
ATTORNBT
OEHERAL OF TEXAS
BY
Wm. J. Fanning
Assistant
WJF:AW
APPROVED
NOV 80; 1959
(8) Gerald C. Mann
ATTORNEY OENERALOF TRXAS APPROVED
opinion oommlttee-
BY BWR
ohairman