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OFFICE OF -E ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
- . AUSTIN
-c.yuu(
-0oray
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ri;:,: requesting the
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Said Auditor la hsreb~'
to lnepeot all the booka
offioera, departmenta
State Government and
shall &ike a damplets-and thOrOugh~investi.ga- '~
tlon- or all ouetodiana~ of public iunde and ‘ ,.
disbursing orfioers of this &ate and Shall
have oontlnual aooess to and Oball 'examine~all ‘...
the books, aooounts, reporta, voucher8 and
other reoorda of any offloe,, departmnt, Ju-
stitutlon, Board or Bureau ot ths State, land r
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Boaorable I?Uford D, Battle, Page Z
ddl inveeti&i~ethe efilolenoyof the per-
3onnel and clerical forces thereof, alld ehall
keep a proper .reoord of his investigationa.
All 3resent’auditora OS each and every.depart-
x:snt and institution are hereby required to
fur.tish sselst&noe to said &ditor end to per-
tit an lnspeotlon OS their aevsral reports,
Lt au thea..w
-Art. 1iilsak. In addition to thb other.
dutlee prcvldtid ‘SW aald Auditor; he shall
ttoroughly’eramlns all drpartmente of the St#,e ..,.:.
t;overnment with epeoW. regard to their aoti-
vltiss end the duplloatlon of efforts between
tlepartments, and t& efflcienoy cif the’sub-
ordinate amployqee in eaoh of euoh eeveral
Cepartmente b Se ahall eramine into the work
dona by thl. sutiordlaate employee8 in ..the sev-
xc1 depa'rtaente, of the State.Goverriment. .~_
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TIpon completing the examlnhtio'h of any
da~M%cent he shall furoiah.the head of aald
dc~rtmnt~wlth a~repert &,(a) the eifl6ieqoy
ol‘ time oubordlna~e~employees; (b):.the statue
aua ooaditgan:df all pubMa fauda. in aharge 'OS.
eald degartaient&(oj thq.emount of.:dupllcation.
between work .done.by the'departawnt ao examln-
ed and other .&tipartmentff of the &tats
~_._ _ Gcvern-
,,,;$:i mm; (al sqbn.a, ayatsia ol audltlng;~book-.
.,keepins, an&sytvtea of eooounts as will @ovlde
for a udifcrm: system OS euditirig, bookkeeping,
and system~;oi:‘a,ooounts for everydepkr$msnt ,_‘~ .-
of State. .. IJe:.shall also. maka’~soumm~ndatlon~ .
.j to the safd head of then departments iOr the.
“,‘i eliniqatio~~~oi..duplioation and iaetficienop.'
1L A copy of'&ch.etioh report subsiittdd by.seld
ofii~er to.the heed of department~eh&l be
: forth-crith.furnlshed to the Govern6r, the Spe&r
of the House, .and the President of the Senate?
Nothing onntained herein shall be..oonatrued ..::-.
a8 aut?;orfalng.the.State hudltor to employ or
disoharge any state..emgloyes other than those
horein authorized to be a;rpointe’d .by him for
his dapnrtmant~i,n : :
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T.&J
.have’..failed ,to find any case where the eppel-
..,::.~,t:.- State have construed the two above men-
lat.3 cow33 :of;.th@
;,,tloned stitu?$$~ ‘+-however; we think that the above statutes
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Konorable Buford D. Battle, Page S
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only authorize thi State Auditor and 8ifloienor &pert to -
iaspeot all the bwka and reoords of all the otiioera, de- _,
DzrtrJents
.- and in<utlona of the State govement, and
further eapower him to make a complete and thorough lnves- -
tlgatlon ot all Oustodlana ot pub110 funds and disburalng
orricers OS the .State.and give him aooesa to and the au-
thority to examine all the books; aooounta, reporta,
vouchers and other reoorda of aii$.oftioe, depirtment, in-
stitution, board or bureau at tha.State. The above enum-
erated powers and dutieq are apeolfioally set forth in
hrtiole 44lSa-S, aupra. ‘Article 44lSa-4 impoeerr additional. :
tiutles upon the State Auditor and Ettiolency &pert, but
the power and right to audit a county*e revenue8 and ex- .’ .‘: .*
penditures arq dot lnoluded in either of the above mention- ‘.. :
ad statutea. :._‘
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There ‘atie other statutes lmpoalng oertain dutien
upon the State Auditor and requiring the Auditor to perform
certain funotions in oonneotlon fherewithr To illustrate, .,I :
Article 6S9a-3, Vernon’s Anuotated Civil Statutes, requires .I:
the Auditor on or before the lat tiny of Ootober or the year ‘.
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kedhtely preoedin& the re&ular blennlal 8eraion oi the .
L~glslatare to ‘aeoure, qompile and submit to the Goverhor
a =epo~% aontalidng the-lnformatlon required by said stat-
:: use. However, we have~ialled to find any statute authoriz-
* the State Auditor and tsirioienoy l%port to audit a
oounty*s revenges a+d expendlturee~
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ArtGiia,1645-1676, inolusive, Vernonis Annotated -,j’
Clvll Statutes,,,‘and .the amftndments thereto, prescribe a
’ definite and certain metho&g%r3iudlting a oounty*s reveouee ‘..
:! and expenditures. by oounty atidltcirs. It is a well recognized ”
‘I prlnoiple of law that where. the ‘Legislature prescribe8 a
definite, oertaln method oi prooedure 16r a olty or oounty ‘.
to. follow, othei rethoda are by implloatlon of law’ ;Oxoluded. ,..~~,:~,.
_. Foster v. Qity,di Waoo, (Sup. Ct.) 25s 8. VI. 1104. -_
Gtm&ly s$eaki& it is’ stated In Texas Jurls- Y’
prudeme, Vol. 84, p. 43Sr
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*The powers and duties ot pub116 diiioers
_ are quit6 generally presorlbed by the Coastitu-
tion end statutes, and, subjeot to constitution-
al limitations, these matters are under the
;: oontrol of the Leg$slature; indeed, In many
instances the Constitution expressly gives It
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kmorable hford D.,Battle, Page 4
power co preaaribe the datlss oi partfetiar
otff4ers. The therm *dtltie8* in suoh a graat .. . ,
to the Legielsture oomprehende the further
idea o? powei or authority and the legis-
lative aot will be looked to for the arithorlty
of tie offfcer’as well as for a definition
of his duties. Power and duties are ooexten-
OiVe, Rnd an OHiO8r ha8 ao authority to
perform an sot in -spot oi whioh no duty
haar been made to devolve upon hicn.a. -
ft is farther’stated ln Texas Jurlsprudenoe, 001. 94, :.-"
p. 440: :_
Vublio offloers and governmental and
uddnistrativs boards poseras only such powers
as are expresely oonferred upon them by law
or are neoeasarily implied front the powersso
ooirierred. They cannot le&ly pertorn aote
not authorlzad by. rxlstlng law, and the repeal.
or a 8tatu$v auth.orlsfng an oirloer to do a
partloulsr tw; or ot the statute that
meat.88 the offioe, neaessarlly revokes and
terminates his powerf
;Luotlng further Srom Teeme Surisprudeaos, Vol. 34,
p. 443, it is state@
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*Statutee.irhioh presorlbe and limit the
exerolse OP offlolal duty are strlotly eon-
strued ln rsspbot oi the powers qmfer~sd and
the mannerof their exeroIs8, and such poaeru
are not to be enlarged by oonstruotion. ) .t . ..
*‘It is e&&.y well settled, however,
that a law whioh oonfers a power or imposes a
duty upon an o~ilfioer or board oarrles with it
by lmplloation,the authority to do such things
as are reasonably necessary to oarry into ei-
fact the poser granted or the duty imposed.
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AS above stated we have failed to find'any statute
expressly authorizing the State Auditor to audlC a countyts
revenues and expenditures; neither do we find any statute
from which suoh power or authority may be aeoessarlly impLied.
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iionorable 3uford.D. ffattle, age 5
*mror9. it 18 our opinion that the State AUditox'
and
Wflclency &pert has no sorer a* autborlty to go Into any :
Pema oounty end ineke a oomplete audit or'the countybi re~e- : ;.'
nues and expenditures: We aannot speoffloally ansrsn-yootlr CT
second qaeetion w2thout the pressntatioa or all the faota. s'
that are or may@s Involved. ': i
Your8 iew truly
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