OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
oaup 0. MAWW
- .ml-
Honorable George Ii. Chhsppard
Caqtrollm of iPublIc Xaoounts
hustln, Tsxaa
Dear Sir:
, yau stats that
extbooko it boomma
ns84ssrry ror f&Ion ta lneur a
osrtakia
unolrnt snd that yea dosIr
tha opinion of 0 qusation whether
the state mra
AvaSlab3a Sob
cay be n48488ary
4 lnauxxed ftr th8
the Constitution, gmvidea
be the duty of the Btets
an ta set aaide a aurrioisat
tha said tax to proviM Sr44 text-
use or attendin$the pub
ctliraren
1s of tbia stats; . . .*
Rsvlsed C%~vil $tetutes, reads .a8fa&-
"1ch8Stste BoJMI Ot Sdi~atlon to hereby
authoriztsdand eapw6rQd. and it i8 nab4 ita
duty to purohase boo&e rrosithe oentraotors OS
textbooks oaad in publio ~XWJ eohoole or this
Sate, dtndto dfstribibpte th;he~(fsowitbout other
cost to the pu;;ilsottcndi~ &u&i school& .&i~thln
ttfs Stclte in t.F.63
manner and upon the conditions
he~elnafter set out.*
In thb Car&r61Departmental Appropriation Bill of the
Forty-sixth Laeislatureths La~lslaturs eoufht to mire
definita provieion for items of expenditure to be made by
the Textbook Divlsloriof the Department of Education, out
of the Avallabls school Fund, for euah admlnlatrstire 4x-
pen64 es Is Involved in the purohase snd distributionof
free textbooks. In so doing the lmglslature did not nske
any provision for traveling arpeneso to be iaourred Sn
connaotloo therewith.
There belug no other provision of the Ccmstltutlon
lirnltin~tb4 power 0r th Board or Eduaation with refer-
4~04 to expmditures :~rau this fUAd to pur4h464 and dis-
tdbute text books, suoh 66 traveling expeneer, the &rant
of power to the Ststo Board of Eduastlon, under the term
of tbs above-quoted ooustltut$oml provision *to set
said4 4 6urfioi4nt smouut out 0r the said tax to provide
free textbooks,” la but the grant of the power end the
duty to appropriate 8ufflalent moneys out of the s &al
fund r4r4rroa to ror travsling expenees. To *QTOY r ds=
ime textbooka. to vurnSsh* or *supply* them. The
power and the duty to detemilar how auah money nrapbe
neoeeaary to Vurnisb- free textbooks carriea ulth it,
ee a a40466ary inoldsnt, the power and the duty to .pro-
vlda the funds neasssary to defray the travellrigexpaasst,
lncldent to ths distribution ol auab textbook&
Yihere,by the Conntltutlon, a gotierIs to be ever-
bea by a psrticulnr orrioer or brsnoh of th4 state
~overnarent,the ex4roisa of that pawer Is dsnlsb, by
lnpllcatlon, to all others. It Is to be areraised alone
by, or unc?er the dlroction of, tbose to.whom the p4opl4,
through their Constitution, have oonflded it. Elkat 'I.
more, 67 Ter. 307; Ollleniv. mull, 58 Ter. 298; Wrks
'0. %%58t,102 %3X. 11, 111 8-B. %?6. Our GUprtliIIe
Cmrt,
in the ass4 ti Aneriaan Book Compsny v. Marrs, SS3 S.W.
817, said, aoaoerninc:the above-quoted provisions Oi
Artfole VII, Seotlon 3, of our Constitution,that %hls
grmt of po=er 1s exclusiv4 sad leaves directly with ths
Board the sole pawer and duty of determlnin(5how nruch
uoney my bs neaessary.*
The power and the.duty of d4te~ning and aettine
aside iunds EUfrfChnt to -provide fraietextbook@ having
Hon. George I?.Sheppard, i%ge 3.
besn, by the Conctltutlon, exolusively vested in the Board
of Xduoatlon, it may not b8 lmpalrod or defeated by le(:is-
latlve or executive notion eeekin~ to limit lto ex8rols8 by
pleoln~ restrictions on the amount to be expbnded Sor
travetiw expennoo.
In the Departmental Approprfat 8n Bill tha Lsgialature
ha5 atteraptedto make an appropriat$- on.dT admlai8trative
erpenoes neaeasary to prov%da rree'taxtbooka out ol the
AVailable Sahool FUnd, whlah, by,redqon of.ltgrfa\lUre
to provide travallnf expanaec for th% illstrlb&tin tjt
taxtbooke, neoee8arilg lnvol+ed an unwarranted and unoon-
stitutlonal invasion by the Leg.Mature or ths parer oon-
fsrred upon the State Board of 'Zdu8atlonto provide s~f-
tlolent m0neys for ths aocosnpliehmentor suoh purposes.
This power having been denied to it by the Constitution,
it8 attemptsd exeroiae is a nullity.
You are therefo'readVi88d thst in OUT opinion the
State Board oi Zduaation may set aside oUt of the ~vvoil-
able School Fund euah mount 8s will he auifloient to da-
fray the traveling expenses neoa5sary to be inOUrr8d in
the pUrCbae8 and dlstrfbutlon~of free textbooks .to the
sob001 ahlldrea of this State. Under the oonstltutional
prorlsion referred to, it IS not only wlthln the prorlnoo
or the State Board of Bdueatioa 80 to do, but the Conatitu-
tion srpresely makes it ita duty to do 80.
%'NX8 very tN1y
A!lTOR!!SYCZRZZALOFTEXAS