OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable Wea~sr H. iiku
Chairman, State Board 0r Control
hlrtin, hxa8
Oplnlon Ho. o-
Dear Birr ate Board or
and the appro-
,000 per annm,
lettu of Xovambu
15, 1945, revue i do p a r funt
o n t& 8lb o T0
rubjoot, 'rhloh
5 thlr wmlng that
l Bill'jU, after ssttln~ up the method by whloh
all soquS.ro title and ocntrol over the South Texas
Tubsroulosls %natorium,proridss ao follows:
. -_
Eon. ~eavec Ii. Bak.r, pew 2
Veo. 3. There ir hereby appropriated to the
South Taxer Tuberoulorle Fenetorlum, upon the cs-
tsblirhmant or same aa herein provided, for the
support I operation and neintanaaos of ao~:e, the
eua of Twenty-five Thousand (#25,000.00) Dollara
ror each flsoal per ending August 31, 1946, ond
Aueuat 31, 1947. . . .
“900. & Ii nny eeotlon or proviolon or this
hot shall ba deolarad unoonstitutiofial, the ramain-
1118 motions or provlaions heraof shall not k
afiaotrd br ruoh invalidity; az~d the Lop,lsleture
hrraby deolarse it would have eneotsd auoh rrmeln-
lng motions and provlslon8 regemllcse or suoh
unconatitutlonsl provlalomot tNs Aat."
on June 25, 1945, s. B. 311 we9 riled wlth tll* Seurtery
or .%sto without the Covunor’a signature. It doea not appear on
tha rsoa or said bill that the Comptroller oertlfled au to tba
availability oi funda far the pament of tho appropriation OOD-
tuined thrrria; nor doee it appear that it ma paosed sribh a
four-rirtha vote or the total mombsrahlp or e60h 80u80..
Saotlon 49a or Artlola III, Constitution or Toma, 18
quoted, in part, aa r0110wat
wpT~ and artrr Jwuary 1, 1945, no bill OM-
tainlng an appropriation &all be oonsldered ID
paneed or be sent. to thhr Cotunor for oonrlderatlon
until and unless thr Oornptroller or Pub110 Aooounta
endorses hia ~oertirloato’therroo showing that.tha
emount approprlatad 1s wlthln the amount rstfmatrd
to bo avallabls In tha arrsotea lunar.*
The purpose oi thr ooastltutional cmozhent, aa atatea
in thla Department*8 Opinion o-5135, ie to plaos the State on a
cash besla and to limit approprlatione to on amount not to lxoeed
the oaah ahd antlolpated ravanue or the funds ira which said ap-
propriation ie mdo, except *in cn.?e of mertqnoy end lr+$ratlve
pub110 neoaaelty and tith a iour-rirth’a vote or the total member-
chip of erch Eouaa. . . .I1 (Qioti;tiou rra? Too. 49a, Art. III,
Const. or Texas. )
In Oplnlon o-6626, a similar quentioz wua oonnidered
with rszpsct to an approprlotioa of “~~11 moneye to be deposited
. t+J,~
.
to the oredit ot tha County and Road Lilstrlot Nighwey Fund,
trcm saptambar 1, 1945, to August 31,‘1947.” In that lnrtance,
it WCCheld that a eartIfloata by tha Comptroller was not neo-
aaaary sin08 the bill only 8pproprIated the moneys to be da-
poaitad In tha arraotad rund; ati, therarore, the appropriation
could not ba In axoaaa ol tba oaeh and entloIpatad mvan~aa of
acid fund.
T h a praae.nt lltuatlon la dIatInguIahad, howovar, br
the r80t that tha approprlatIon Is aua
l 8p 00ir i0 act up for
the first tinra and I8 not an allooatIon 0r md8 llrrody rppro-
prlatad under lxlatlo(l law. .Xt la thar~rom tha o9InIoa of thla
department that Sonata Bill X0. 311, Aota 1945, 49th La~lalatum,
clearly ralla within tha grovlalona and rapuiramanta of Art1018
III, 2aotIoa 49a. uonatItution or Toxaa~ that tha 00rtiriw8 by
tha Comptroller la raqulalte to the oonstltutlonality or tha
epproprIatJOn, and that the Boar4 ot Control is not ruthslrad
to expand tha appropriation iw the purpoaaa act out in aaId
bill.
Tha question oontalnad in the ChaI?man*a lattor of
Novambcr 15 Is lrlmItad to the authority or tha Board or Control
to expand tha appropriation and nakea no inquiry cc to tha
oonatItutlonalItg of tha other provlalona or, cola bill. This
opinion Is limited to tha question asked and doss not purport to
approvm or dIaapprova the oonatItutIonalItg of tha cot.
Yours vary truly,
ATTORkdY OXNFRALOF T’IXAc
i,,
:
..\
Jams Noel,
Aaalatsnt.