HonorableHoughtonBrownlee,Chairman,
Committeeon ContingentExpenses
The Senate
Austin,Texas
Dear SenatorBrownlee:
OpinionNo. O-5111
Re: Authorityto )XIYadditionalcompensation
to the JournalClerk and his assistant,
under facts stated.
Your requestfor an opinionfrom this departmentis as follows:
"A resolutionadoptedby the Senate at the close of the regular
sessionof the 47th Legislaturecontainsthe followingparagraph:
"'Resolved,that there shall be Printedseven hundredfifty
volumes of the Senate Journals . ". . . The printing,of such
Senate Journalsshall be done in accordancewith the provisions .
of this resolutionunder supervisionof the Chairmanof the
Committeeon ContingentExpense. . . . When the accountshave
been certifiedto by the Chairmanof the Committeeon contingent
expenses,said accountsshall be paid out of the contingent
expensefund, etc."
"Ass&iingthat the proper printingof the Journalsinvolvesa large
amount of correctingand editingof copy and ofpefreading and indexing,
did the foregoingparagraphauthorizethe Chairmdnof the Committeeon
ContingentExpensesto incur any expensefor this work in additionto the
salariesof the JournalClerk and his assistantfor 90 days?
"The resolutionprovidedthat these clerksbe retained90 days each,
presumablyfor the purposeof doing said editing,proofreading,
indexing,etc.
"At the expirationof this period,these clerks reportedto the
Chairmanof the Committeeon ContingentExpensesthat they had
laboreddiligentlybut had not completedthe work and that they
wished to return the Journalmanuscriptand other materialsinto his
custody.
HonorableHoughtonBrownlee- Page $ (o-5111)
"Aftersome discussion,the Chairmanof the Committeeon Contingent
Expense (underautnoritj-of‘iheabovekuotedparagraph)employedthe
same two clerks t.1continuekheirwork long enough to make possible
the publicationof the Journals. And the questionis: Can they
legallybe paid for these services?"
Your questionshouldbe answeredin the negative. Our reasonsfor this
answer are fully statedby a similarruling in our CplnionNo. o-5044,
addressedto the Hon. Geo. H. Sheppard,Comptrolleroi Public Accounts,
a copy of which we hand you herewith.
The Legislaturehaving most specificallyauthorizedthe extra serviceof
these clerks for ninety days each, we can not enlargethe employment
beyond that time. Without such enlargerlent, there is no preexisting
law for payment.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
s/ Ocie Speer
By
Ocie Speer
Assistant
CS:mr/ ldw
Enclosure
APPROVEDFEB. 19, 1943
s/GroverSellers
FIRST ASSISTANT
AT!2ORWEYCSNSRAL
APPROVEDOPINIONCOMMITTEE
BY B. W. B.
CHAIRMAN