Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

---- 246 OFFICE OFTHEA'ITORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS AUSTIN mnorable c&m-ley Iioclburt State Treasurer Austin, Texas Dear Mr. Locrkhsrta propoval* eer- t4ln question0 twm or the 4bms- tter &nil 4eoeBIp4ap at the Acts or the of t&e 44th L6gzL6~ he ore*tion af PO Paul of tho Texas w to m,wo. ter ths sffectlredate of the tXlt8tiTW$ Of the cO6UptPOl~ tment, Trecrsury Dopwtment, neraP4 Dep4rtzmnt, Texas Rystem snl the tuo Huntsville conferredw%th aaoh other aad 8ormd out the pl8n for est4blGahlng the Revolving purd. Under the plan adoptea, the etatie Treasurer depositad the roomy itlthe tW0 HuIMville b&u&# ($a$,ooo %n 6aoh bunk) from Treaary general oash, the theory beixigthat 3.88 aa6e 8 loss should be eustaimd, the 241 Donorable Charloy Lockblast- Page 2 loss would bc chargeable to the Prison System Funds cn the books Of the State Treasury and the State Couptroller and the Prison System recover its loss by disposing;of the sccurltLes required by Rouse Dill No. 78, to be deposited :fiththe General Danager of the Prison System. The Huntsville Banks do not make charges against the deposits main- tained witb them by the State Treasurer but pay claims against the Prison Sys- teu from another account with the undor- standing that the WSX~BBIUI amount to be pi& is $26,000 from each bank. The Prison System setis its claims to the State Comptroller,~who issues warrants on the State Treasury drawn against Wison Funds and these warrants are credited by the banks to the claims account againet the Prison System. ** 4s* sllaprcsentativcsof the State Auclitor*sDepartment, State Comptrol- ler's Department and the State Troas- ury Department have di.soussedthe change as recommended by Dr. King and have agreed that the following qucst%ons be subDitted to you for answeringr "(1) Should the money now on as- posit with the Duntsville Banks be with- drawn by the State Treasurer anilwarrants drawn on the Texas Prison Funds be sub- stitutoat v(2) If your answ~erto question No. 1 is in the affirmative, would the Prison system have authority to use the $60,000 as a revolving fund by clrawixig checks against tha funds on Beposit with the Huntsville bankst "(3) If your answer to question No.2 po in the affirmative, should the vouchers 242 Honorable Charley Lockhart - me 3 submitted to the State Comptrollerby the Prison Systam require the warrants to be issued payable to the Prison Sys- ton or.to the original clPim4ntsP l (4) IS the warranto should be drawn payable to t&e Prison System, what sort of a olsim should be pm- sented to the State Comptrollertor iesu4noe of the warrants? .(a) If your 4n6wer to questions Ros. 1 and S are in the 4ffirnr3t~ve, a.udthe Prieon System p4ys 8n invslid clalra,where does the responsibility 1%e? W(S) If your answer to question To. 1 Is In the negrtiye, 4nd the present plsn is continued 4nd an invalid e14inl %4 paid by one of the Runtsvllle34&s and charged againet the aoeouut titled *ClaimsAgainst the Texas Prison Systems,’ does the bank have the right to offset any loss sustaiaedaga%nst the speclol deposit msintainea there by the State Treaeuryt *(7) IS you rule that the money should be wlthdrauu from the State Preae- ury by w4rrants and the w4rr4nts are is- cued aad d, does the State Treaeurer have ,anyFurther responsibilityfob %ike money withdramt ‘(8) If.;‘yonr 4nswer to question lie. 1 IS In the aff%matjlve,ahould the war- rante for plao%ng the (!50~oi30 Sn the Huntsvillebanks be s&is payable to the Texas Prison 8ystem or to the auntsvllle J&X& and Trust Qomysny, Runtsoille, Tex88, and the Birst Ration41 Rank, Huntsville, Texas, Par credit to the Prison Industrial Revolvine;$naB? C(e) If your answer to question lo. 1 is In the negative and the present plan is 243 contimmd and a 10~4 4houlU otmur, tauld the loss be ohargeable to the air021 In- dustrial ~erolring Fuw on the mom ot the,State Treaeurer and State &xnptrol- l@P?4 Beation 1 ef II.D. w is a4 follms( Qkom am3 af6er t&e Mfeetfve uafe of ths8 A&f, 6he mate Treamrer of the state of vex84 4hal.l.deposit sucEioient amount of poney reoeited by b&m from the #tenerr yanryec 0P 6he Tex84 Prioon ey4tem out ef 884843~ earnedby au% belamgiq to t&s State prloon 6yst4mia '@un6wsllcrTea88 of m.fty ThouspoaBoZlars (~0#000J, or 40 4wh there& 88 84aybe weem- aorp to crsate a fund of Pifty !#hans- 8nU Pollars ( 0,oao) to be known a8 the Iadustria I%tol* ?wd of the plant,~ 4ho0 anU print 4hop aml *t&r Szulnstrieaand delivery of $YMehed pmduat4 a4 prwided 9.81 the Iansru Appropr~fS0n 1111 ir eciibBy&m, and 6380&ate Tre84urer uhal1.taU Fund up t0 the rsrirnrm funda 8bWe pmY%&U, and iaridfuUle ehrll be n@ed i4r th4 p‘Omp6 Paysrsnt tn oaah ef all equal alwunt4 lntfie~~~tnillel~ and Trunt Company at iiudo*Zlle~ Rm44, and the Piret llatimal Bank at Sunte- ,rille,Cexae, and mid baaitashall de- posit with t&e @enerU yona(te~of tbtj Prieon system, bonU4 or 06her 4eeurl- ties to be apprmsd by tho Attterney OenereS4f the State of B-4 4uffi- dent to 444ure said dep44ft.4 244 nonorable Charley Lockhart - Page 6 It is the opinion of this departmentthat your questions should b0 answersd as hereinafter etated, observingfor conveniencesake the nu&er- lug given by you. 1. Question NO. 1 should be answered in the affirmative. Section 1 Of the Act in question author- ising the State Treasurer to create the revolving fund requires him to create the same out *of money received by him from the General Kanager of the Texas J?rieon System out of money eaxned by and belonging to the State Prison Syetem in Iluntsville,Texas.' The fund as it has been 0reated and now exiets was not, there- fore, constituted out 0f the proper m0nies, but on the contrary,appears to have been created with Treasury general caeh. This mistaken method should be eorreot- ed in the manner indicatedby this answer. 2. The Prison System would have authority to use the revolving fund for all lawful purposes,but not by *drawing checks against* it as a depositorwould. Seotion 4 of Ii*3J.Ilo.78 declareat "Payment Ipadefrom the Induo- trial devolving fund shall be mpde upon duly autbentiootedoertiti- cate by the G+eral &tanagerof the State Prison System and shall be paid by the State Comptroller of Public Aaoounts by proper warrants drawn on said fund as now rewired by law for the payment of other charges a&net the State of Texas.* This claarly indicates that the Revolving Fund thus set apart ie neverthelessa State fund, sub- ject to be drawn ag8inSt by State authority and n0t to be checked out upon the check of the State Prison Sye- ternor any representativeof the Syiystem. 3. Vouchers submitted to the State Gomptrol- ler and the warrants b884d thereon should be in the nam of the person entitled to payment from such fund. The vouchers need only to be properly authenticatedby the priscm System to authorize such payment. 245 Honorable Charleg Loc~khart* Page 6 4. If by svarrantss in oonneationwith your question4, you refer to warrant4 issued to or for the benefit of olainmntsfor sales to the Prison System, this question is ansvored by what we have said in ans- 4er to question 3. If, however, the word swarrantssis used in this question4 as indicating the means of oreating or restoring the de leted x&ni4um 4um of the RevolvingFund, our answer to thPs question 14 that the 4453 8h0uia be in favor of the deposit&ebanks for deposit by State TreasurerIndustrialRevolving puad Texas Prison System. 0. Any authorized adsdnietrativeofficer of the Prison System who approves, or otherwiseauthorize4 and induoes the exeoution aM paymentof a warrant out of the RevolvingBund when no valid olaim exists there- for, would be oirilly liable for aa,ylose thereby to the Btate of Texas directly, or by aubro:ationto sny other person or offioer who had been compelled to pay euoh a loss. Of oourae, any person invoking the doo- trine of subrogationor 4eekWig a recoupment or lndem- ndty An auyw%se would himself have to be free from any negligence or oulpabilltywhatever in respect to the sdsapplioationof the fund. G. This question need not be answered in view of the fekt that we have not answered question No. 1 in the negative. Under our Interpretationof the Act in question,$e State Treasurervsduty and liability abide 8nd oontinue with respect to the RevolvingFund until the 4ame has been lawfully paid out to proper olainmnts,or otherwisefully aocountad for. In other words, the Revolving Fund iteelf 14 publio money in the posseosionof the State Treasurer to be disbursed and aooountedfor as other public funds Oosdng into his hands. 8. Thfs question has already been answered in this reply, to the effect that the instrumentsof deposit should be payable to the'respeGtiVcdopoeitee banks. 9. This question need not be 8n4wered, in 246 Bonorable Gh*loy t0crYhart- p6go v hew of the fact that we hate not answered question 80, 1 in the nagativer We oco nOtamasdfulof Itoml~ in thoBfen- nial appro@ation mde by tb-e44Nh begiolature for the Prison ayetern* Thin Itos 8-woppopiatee the $60 000. 00 originally approprirtod for the oro*tion of this ~,andsPJreoo~bber8ppcopsirb~ooa~thelwre 44uroo of an eddition8l @0,000.00, llmking total a in th@ia;lpst;rialammingRmdot ~100,ooo.00. St 8uthori6o4 thePen4ral Manager of the Pri4on8y4tsata issue 8 touoher upon the plmd %hWb ahall be Bent to theBoard of Control and the l&ate Goorptrollerfor op provalaxlmgiskmtion,ud laid Wmptroller ball is8nedhtUy refura eaid vouohW~ if found lm be oor- rgot, to the0asU.e~ of UmFriaoa Byetoa,who f&all iesue adraftuponthebaaker benlrs mummated horn%%% in p4yrPent of 4eidroWmr.4 ThbmathodofdAPlburMsn4atefthoFuxldb apparentl.yinoonfl%io8 oithwhattehae saidabove. we h8Yo all-a&y quoted Bf8otioQ 4 of U. B* no. wta reieron8e to the manner of wing Qut said Appvopri.atiea&t dsnot oartroll effeot to ohange the w p4y6anf or die bursonxmt of thepurd prtml.diMfa iafirB. #a.m. PI Ba go, 'pB ds a gewrral law ood it i4 884t the gmwime of ana priation oat to 8memd or repeal a general ctatute. EY (2-d Appr4prUtionA4tawld poeelblyhwe the legal effct8tCocagoti the a;anscell UT, upon 0 g with all oonatitiatifmalnqalm- ment4 anb 1 6 a4 to legielatiaa, but euuh %a nof the u4ual partordhary Qireot. In Oealey tr WbugfJ1t4~4 of tbo lko*lla of roxae (the Alwo 088~3)16% 81+1. sw, Ghtef Justioe F4 eaidr *St wan never ooatetnplatedthat avalid imlstinglaw I)houldlHm- pealed by an appropdation oi money, even though, a4 is not the 0840 &a this imtanoe It b4 toWly inoen- ellatentwith ihe term of the emlet- ing law. l + * *Admftt%ng tint a repeal* a04 be epndprichad aaumjj the yarious IIligbt and WudTJ ltcme of a general appw- priotion act, et.111suubhan aat would not be 0.aubJeot or aaoount for and onrbioh nxmeygaare approprlattd,aml nhoul& be ax~eeed in the tStla. It uat3nw6e ooatelnplatedthat an aot mhouldbberepealedbj anitsrm2.n anap- propriatSoa bill, and thare is now in the item oppropriatiag the ~QQO.00 to s.mprw8 the Alamo pvQe.rty thfbt wlnoeo any desire upon the part oi the Gegislatura to take the ouMm¶y UP the pro rty f+roathose to whem it baa bean anrrueted by law. * 0 e lEYen ifth eitem wh ic h isuig nb pie&by appellantebybeing atiled a *repealSng a&' bad been interrbeaas an lI4IrAemntor the Bet of ram, it wouli%not be in harm%ny with &~,fiells III, section fj6of the constitution whinh prwidas thet no law sbrll be iur18W by referonos to its title, but in ma&z oaae the wt Fsriered or the 6wtian or eeotiona aauwkl shall hors-ctlrrrotec%nnd publi&edatlen&h.* Trustina;that th3.mreply till have answered yau: questione 6atis&aotor~ly, we BF8