Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1951 )

Hon. George B. Butler, Chairman
Board of Insurance Commissioners
Austin, Texas
Opinion No. v-1376.
Be: Number of employees of
the Board of Insurance
Commissioners for whom
travel expense funds are
made available by the
general appropriation
bill for attending a
meeting of the National
Association of Insurance
Dear Sir: Commissioners.
You have requested an opinion of this of-
fice relating to the number of employees of the
Board of Insurance Commissioners for whom travel
expense funds are made available for attending a
meeting of the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners.
Section 12(d) of the General Provisions of
Article III House Bill 426, Acts 52nd Leg., R.S.
1951, ch. 449 p. 1228 at p. 1436 (the general ap-
propriation bi 11) prov 1des in part;
In no event shall more than
thrk i3i persons from anv one (1) d&-
be approved for travel to any
convention or meeting of a slmi-
lar nature.”
You state in your letter:
“It is the construction here among
the three Co issioners that eat of the
Departments 2”Life, Fire, Casualt a may
send three persons to the National ASSO-
ciation of Insurance Commissioners meet-
ing, and that their expense accounts will
LJ Emphasis added throughout.
.
Bon. George B. Butler, page 2 (v-1376)
properly be compensable under the
above quoted section of the Appro-
priation Act. The reason for the
construction is that under the pro-
visions of Article 1.04 of the 1951
Insjlrance Code the sunervn+ry func-
tions ~of ‘the three Insurance Conunis-
sionei% are spedflcally out&& and-
segarrit”ed to the extent that, except
when taking ~official action, the op-
eratdotis &Apractically separated.”
“In view of the premises, will
you please advise us whether each of
the three Commissioners may send
three persons from their respective
Departments to the meeting of the Na-
tional Association of Insurance Com-
missioners for the purposes above
outlined, and that the expense ac-
counts of the respective persons so
delegated are properly compensable
under the current Appropriation Billon
Subsequent to the date of your request
we were officially advised that the Board would re-
quest travel authority from the Attorney General
for three men only to attend the National Associa-
tion of Insurance Commissioners meeting.
In determining whether the Legislature
considers the Board of Insurance Commissioners to be
the head of three departments or the head of one de-
partment with three divisions, it Is necessary to
look to the statutory scheme which established the
Board.
Articles l*ol-.25 constitute Chapter One of
the Insurance Code s.~.,236 Acts 52nd Leg., R.S.
1951 ch. 491 p* 8b8) which Is titled “THE BOABD,
ITS $OWERSAN!) DIJTIES.Z An examination of these arti-
c1e.s makes clear that the Legislature Intended the
Board to be the head of one department with three dl-
visions. Each d&vision is to serve a different func-
tion, but in the final analysis the divisions are but
segments of the whole and not entitles within them-
selves.
Hon. George B. Butler, page 3 (v-1376)
The following quoted portions from the ar-
ticles establishing the Board and defining its powers
and duties support this proposition:
Art. 1.04. Duties of the Commissioners
“Generally, the Life Insurance Com-
missioner shall have supervision of mat-
ters relating to life insurance, to the
examination and to the chartering of com-
panies, certificates of authority, and as
to the solvency of persons and corpora-
tions engaged in the insurance business;
The Fire Insurance Commissioner shall
have general supervision of matters relat-
ing to fire and allied lines, marine and
inland marine insurance; and the Casualty
Insurance Commissioner shall have general
supervision of matters relating to cas-
ualty, motor vehicle, workmen’s compensa-
tion, fidelity, guaranty, title andlmis-
cellaneous insurance. The Boar sha 1
nevertheless overate as a whole. and a
majority vote of the members shall be ng-
cessarv to official action.”
Art. 1.10. Duties of the Board
“12. Report to Governor.--It shall
report annually to the Governor the names
and compensations of its clerks, the re-
ceipts and expenses of its deoarw for
the year, its official acts, the condition
of companies doing business in this State,
and such other information as will exhibit
the affairs of said deoartmgnf, .
Art. 1.16. Expenses of Examinations*
III:gt;ition of Sums Coi-
“In case of an examination of a com-
pany not organized under the laws of Texas,
whether such examination is made by the
Texas authorities alone, or jointly with
the insurance supervisory authorities of
another state or states, the expenses of
such examination due to Texas’ participa-
tion therein, shall be borne by the company
Hon. George B. Butler, page 4 (v-1376)
under examination. Payment of such
cost shall be made by the company upon
presentation of itemized written state-
ment by the Chairman, and shall consist
of the examiners* remuneration and ex-
penses, and the other expenses of the
Deoartment of Insurance properly allo-
cable to the examination. . . .n
Art. 1.17. Appointment of Examiners and
Assistants and Actuary by
Chairman of Board of Insur-
ance Commissionersj Salaries
n It Is the purpose of this ar-
ticle ini kticles 1.1.6 and 1.18 of this
code to provide for the examination here-
under by the Chairman of the Board of In-
surance Commissioners of all corporations,
firms or persons engaged In the business
of writing insurance of any kind in this
State whether now subject to the ;;p;er;i-
slon of the Dsurance Denartm& .
‘1. . e
“Where the Chairman of the Board
shall deem it advisable he may commission
the actuary of the Board, the chief exam-
iner. or any other examiner or employee
of the DeD rtment or any other pirSbn
to conductaor ass& in the examinatloi of
any company not organized under the laws
of Texas and allow them compensation as
herein provided, . . .I1
Art. 1.22. Free Access to Records
“To verify the correctness of records,
the Board shall be entitled to free access
to the Treasurer’s records, required by the
preceding article, and the Treasurer shall
be entitled to free access to the books and
other documents of the Jnsurance DePartma
relating to securities held by the Board.”
We think the above provisions amply justify
our conclusion that the Legislature intended to estab-
lish a single Insurance department with three dlvi-
sions, not three separate departments.
Hon. George B. Butler, page 5 ('-1.376)
,
The quoted portion of Section 12(d) of
the appropriation bill, a does not attempt to
alter, amend, or change any o ) the statutory duties
of the Board. The attempt to make such a change by
rider In a general appropriation bill would be in-
valid. Attly Gen. Op. V-1254 (1951). However, the
rider does not limit your authority to send as many
persons as you deem necessary to the meeting if such
attendance is In pursuance of statutory duties. The
rider to the appropriation bill merely limits appro-
priated travel expense funds to three persons from
one department to any one meeting. This is entirely
proper In an appropriation bill.
92 Tex. 451, 49 S.W. 578 (1899Ja%!%dkg
expenses of only three persons may be paid from the
appropriated funds, even though a greater number may
attend the meeting.
The final question is to determine the
meaning intended by the Legislature for the word “de-
partment” as used in the appropriation bill rider,
limiting the number of persons for whom travel pay
was appropriated.
The appropriation to the Board of Insur-
ance Commissioners Is found in Article III of the gen-
eral appropriation bill. (H.B. 426, guora)
Section 1 of Article III provides:
“The several sums of money herein
specified, or so much thereof as may be
necessary, are hereby appropriated out
of any funds in the estate Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, or out of special
funds as indicated, for the support and
maintenance of the wcutive and &g&&g-
and at?- of the
State of Texas for the two-year period
beglnnlng September 1, 195l., and ending
August 31, 1953."
Following the above will be found the appro-
priation to the Board of Insurance Commissioners, sub-
headed Life Division (p. 1360); Casualty Insurance Di-
vision (p. 1366); and Fire Insurance Division (p. 1372).
HOL George B. Butler, page 6 (v-1376)
Section 2(f) of the General Provisions of
Article III requires the Auditor to certify to the
Comptroller all departments that have failed to make
a required report and provides for withholding the
warrant of the head of the department. The rider
then provides:
“. . . Heads of departments as used
herein shall be defined as elected and ap-
pointed officials, members of Commissions,
Boards, etc., and/or the chief admfnistra-
tive officer of such Department, Board,
Commission, Bureau or Agency for which ap-
propriations are made herein.”
We think the above provisions demonstrate
that the word ltdepartmentl’ was used to mean each of
the various State agencies and departments which
functions as an entity under its statutory powers.
You are therefore advised that the Board of Insurance
Commissioners, as the head of one department, has an
appropriation for travel expense for not more than
three persons going to any one convention or meeting
of a similar nature and we agree with the action of
the Board in reques 4 ing travel authority for three
men only to attend the meeting inquired about.
The practice thus far followed by
the Board of Insurance Commissioners in
not requesting travel approval for more
than three persons to any one convention
or meeting of a similar nature Is cor-
rect i The Legislature in creating an
Insurance Commission created a single
department with three divisions rather
than three separate departments, and the
Board of %surance Commissioners, as the
head of one department, has approprla-
tion for travel expense for not more than
three persons goin~g to any one convention
Hon. George B. Butler, page 7
or meeting of a similar nature. Art i-~.
1.01~1.25,, .InsurancEe,CodQ, Bad EsB, 426,
Acts'52nd Leg., RI& 1951, ?h. 499,* p,
1228.
APPROVED: Yours very truly
C. K. Richards PRICE DANIEL
Trial & Appellate Dlvlslon Attorney General
E. Jacobson
Reviewing Assistant
Charles D. Mathews
First Assistant
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