Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

678 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN QROVER md.LcRR -cv QpIrnAl. ~oaorableUib ~llobrlrt, Pmrldeat Agr1uultural and meohaaieal Oollege or Texar college StMioa, Z*m* apiaion uo. O-6942 requedilag aa cad other fuads, to mUmburae "2. Can the Comptroller OS Public Acoouatr le@ly iswe uarraat8 lo favor of the Collw3e la papeat 0r~p~oll~ drawn agaiomt the eppro- prlatlour from the Oetae~alRevenue Fund edd othes funds to~reimbur80 the College Sor pclpOat8 We bjr urirrg itr looal fund aa l r~volvlag fuad? - -I--- .--.-.- gonorable Olb Qllohrl8t, paae 2 “This ruling 18 requested for the reason t&t ve are having couslderable difficulty la employ- ia8 laborers paid fkom State Appropriations on acaouut, OS the deley la making thtlr earnlugs available. Under the most favorable oondltloas they do not receive their wages for a veek or more after they are due. For many years prior to the flsoal year 1931-32 the College paid it8 laborer8 88 set forth la Guestlon Iio. 1 above and va8 reimbursed a8 set forth in Question Ilo. 2. This method of payment was authorized by at least one, Isglslaturs, namely the Fortieth, a8 set forth in Chapter Ho. 101 of the General and Speaiel Laws o? ltr First Called Session. “we have been authorized by the State Audlt- or to say to you that he has full informatloa on thl8 subjeat ‘and perhaps ‘can assist you la knov- Lug all of the faoto and the dlfflcultle8 under vhloh ve have to operate at present by making all payment8 Srom State Appropriation8 directly to the payee.” Item No. 410 OS the aurreat approprlat ion for A. & II. College oontalned la Iiouse Bill No. 173, Chapter 377, Aot8 of the 49th Iaglrlature, appropriates $129,036.00 for the ourrentfiaaal year Sor ‘general malntenanos, lnaludlag sup- pllrr, matprlal, labor, equipment, travelllrg: and oontlngent txprnw8. Subrectiona 3 and 4 of the general provlrlonr lp- 011&d to Bows Blll Ho. 173 are a8 iollovmc “Subsection (3). Instltutlouel Receipts. lo property belonging to any of the Instltutlon8 herein provided for, or any agency thereof, shall be sold or disposed of vlthout the consent of Its governing board, end all prooeeds from the sale of auoh property, from labor pereormed, from the sale of materials, orops and supplies, from feca, and any and all other receipts shall be- oome and are herbby appropriated 8s maintenanae or oontlugent fund to be expended uudor the direction and vlth the approval of the govern- ing board bavlag jurladlotlon. Bald governltag boarde are lthorlred to use out of the prooeedr 6SO g-able Oib Ollohrlst, page 3 of said reoelpt8 and fUnd8, la aacordanae with t~e~provlSlon8 of this Aat, suoh amoUUts a8 they sba3.1 deem neoessary for the support, &?iinten- enoe, operation and lmprovcmeats of said lastl- tutlons. Any balanoer remginlng to the credit of any O? said 1UstitUtlonti local funds at ##id ln8titutlonr or la thx State Treasury at the end of any fl8csl yew We hereby reappropriated for the above-mentioned purpo8e8 for the suaoeedlrrg YW* RSubseotlon (4). Local Deporrltorlee. The ,governlng boards of tha respective lnstltutlon8 for which epproprlatlono are made In this Act are hereby authorlxed to oolect depository bar&s for the safekeeping of local funde colleotsd by soid lnstLtutions. The Boards shall require said depository banks to furnish adequate surety bonds or securltlea to be posted for the aesuwnoe of ssfety of such deposits. The daposltory bank or banks so xelacted are hereby authorized to pledge their SOOLWltfeS for assurenae of safety for such funds. All looal funds 8hall be de- sited Intact in thooe deposltorles ulthla five r 5) days from date of collootloa. The governing boards may require the.depoeltory SO designated and selected to pay latereot on dspoxlt8 at a rate to be agreed upon by 8ald deposltorle8 and s8i.d boards. "It la hereby dealxred the legislative la- tent that the governing boards and heads of the mover61 Stato l~stltutionx of.hi&ar learaltq -~ 1 . shall not borrov moneyfrom any person, firm or corporation to be repaid out of looal funds, other than es speol?loallf authorixed by leglrlative lna o tment . ” In our OpJ~ioa lo. o-4111, this department had under WMderatlon a question in iraw respects similar to the pob- hxvhlah you have submitted. We quote excerpt a from said ~i#iOU 88 fOllOV#X avTh18 offiae desires your opiaion 88 to vhether or aot any of the three ?OllOVlUg trM8- wtlonr are oomtruy to lwr I’.... “~Case 330. 3. A Oeneral Revenue Uarrant of the State was ieaued to an employee for her Oot- ober salary. Although she resigned on Ootober 15th, the uarrent van urltten to her for the ea- tire mo th, end 8he dlsoounted it, keeplug one- half ($2) for hermel? aad the other one-half (l/2) vas paid by the lnstftutlonel oeshler to another employee, vho 8uppoSedly replaoed the orlgkf~lemployee.* I.... ‘An approprlatlon 18 the setting apart from the pu@llo revenues of l certain sum of money ,for a ‘speolfled puFpoae, in suca mauner that the excoutlve OfflCOrS 0s the governmht are author- ized to apply that money, and no more, to that purpose, and to no Other+ .Wordr and Phrases, l Fwmaaeat Bditlon Volume 3, Pe 8 %19 et seq. State v. Hoore, 63 U.U. 3?3, 3’# 50 Rob. 88 bl dmer. State Rep. 5381 CIoCombr v.‘Dalles~Coun~y (Clv. App.) 136 S.W. (2dj 975. has the %very l@ p r o p r i8tlo a effect 0s cre- ltlnR a speolal fund, vhlch lo to be expended only for the pu~po8e for vhloh the epproprlatlon uas made. To drav a wpllrxuxt against the cppro- prlatloa, o8teasibly to apply the funds to the purpose ror.vhloh they we provided, and then to deporlt the money to the oredit 0s the loaal ruad of the’oollege, is to apply the money eppwprlrt- ed to a purpose for vhloh It 1188 not authorlzod by the Legislature. It ?OuOVS that each 0s the SIrat tvo foot 8ltuatloa8 set Out la sour letter present lnstanoes of unauthorized and therefore illegal dlver#lon# of the pub110 moneys lUVOlVe& %lth respeot to the third fast situation presented la your letter, you are advised that varrants agalnet the appropriations We to pay the 8a~aries of emp~oyeet of the varlou8 depert- manta end lnrtltutloar of learnltq$ of this Steto sre la no instanae to be dram la fever of the dopwtment head or school authorlty~ but 10 each ease the varrant against the approprlotlon 18 to br &ma in favor o? the psrsoa renderlag the _. 682 yssorsblo Qlb Ollohriot, psge 5 serolas for which the approprietion 1s provided, end Zor 00 greeter emount thsa 1s actually due sriah per son. The epproprlatloa provides euthor- lty for the department of school head to eater Iato aoatraots vith reiereaae thereto, but the moneypovlded is not to be draw from the Treas- ury by the department or school head and by him dispersed In cash to the employeesj the claim OS the employee for payment from the approprletloa 18 to be presented to the Comptroller 00. the in- stltutlonal payroll, oertlfled as aorreat by ths school head, and the warrant Is to be dreva la favor of ths emplo e himself. See Artloles 4344 4350 4355 556, 4358 aad 4359, Revised cmi st&t~t8, 1925. ‘“It follows thatt la the thlrd lastenae given la your letter, the verreat should have been dreva’ Ia favor OS the employee, as payee there- of, only for the amount satuallg due her es sel-, ary, to vlt, salary for one-half month, end a claim should have been presented to the Comptrol- ler for the issuance of a separate warrant egalast i: ... the same approprlatloa Sor the amount OS salary duo the employee vho repleaed her. The aatlon of the school authorities In oertifyiag the OlaiP Sor the Issuaace of a varraat for an e&Ire months’s salary to the orI&Iael employee, vhea only oae-half months’ salary vas due to. her, and in delivering the varraat to the original em- ployee Sor the full month’s salary, procurIng aash Sxwa the orlglnal employee, the payee of the varraat, Sor the one-half months’ salary not dus her, end paylag over the aesh.dIrect to the em- ployee vho raplaaed the orlglaal employee, vas vithout authority of lav, aad therefore illegal.” Ue think the language OS the above opinloa is ap- vllcsble Ia this Iastaaae. Ue find no provision la the stat- atcc or ia the appropriation bill vhiah vould authorise the pmrrt of labor alaIms la the manner that you suggest. We aote the statement IO your letter that ths meth- ol wggested by you vas authorlsed by the Leglsletwe In 1927. UCthink, hovever, that the aoatiauous fell~e of the LegiS- lature sinoe that tima to eaaa$ similar provisioas In subse- wr it lpproprletIoas 1ad10at.8 .the it did not vent the preot10* 683 . , 8snoorsble Olb Qllohrlst, pugs 6 caatlnued. We think swh aatloa, or rsther lneatloa, oa the St of the Le~islatum Is partloularly slgnifloant ia vleu a: s-be fast that for the past several pars, thn depsrtmeat- i ::astruotloa on the part of the Comptro‘ilsr hss bsea that -qll vsrrsats Bust be msds psyable to the employsees. Accordlagly, ve sasver your Iaqufry b7 statlag that -are Is no prrnnt legal luthzrlt7 for foll?rLag the ppcll . PLkoc o~rttd Lo J3V z.vttrr. 2rurtie.g that thls sufiIaIsatl7 sasvers 7our ia- W-Y, v* am m ;*sd# . f AsaIstaat JA3grdb i / ‘-- .