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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