Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1951 )

Hon. Paul H. Brown
Fire Insurance Commissioner
Board of Insurance Commissioners
Austin, Texas
Opinion NO. v-1336.
Re: Constitutionalityof a rider
in the general appropriation
bill prescribing the method
of handling expense money
collected pursuant to Art.
Dear Sir: 4898, V.C.S.
You have requested an opinion of this of-
fice regarding the constitutionalityof the following
rider in the general appropriationbill for the bien-
nium ending August 31, 1953:
“Provided also that such sums as are
received by the Fire Division as provided
by Article 4898 R.C.S. shall be deposited
to the DepartmentalSuspense Account in
the State Treasury. Expenses of State Bm-’
ployees incident to the investigations
shall be paid from travel expenses herein-
above appropriatedand such travel expense
appropriationshall be reimbursed for the
actual amounts ex ended under the provi-
sions of Article t898 R.C.S.-by a transfer
from the amount on deposit in the Depart-
mental Suspense Account.‘I (H.B. 426 Acts
R.S. 1951, ch. 499, p. 1238, at
Your first question is as follows:
“Is this ri’dervoid and of no effect
by virtue of Section 35, Article 3 of the
Constitutionby reason of the fact that
the subject matter thereof is not quoted
in the caption of H.B. No. 4261 (Refer-
ence Attorney General’s opinion v-1254,
dated August 25, 1951, and cases cited.)”
Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 2 (~-1.336)
The general rule as to captions is stated
an Antonio and A. P. RY. v. Statq 128 Tex. 33,
;? z.W.2.d680, 688 (1936), as followsl
II The generality of the title
.. .
is no objection to it so long as it is
not made a cover to legislationwhich by
no fair intendment can be considered as
having a necessary or proper connection.
Jo v. City of Terre11 (Tex.Civ.App,)
13g S.W. 213, 215; city of Aransas Pass
v. Keeling, Atty. Gen., 112 Tex. 339,
247 s.w. 818.
"'It would be burdensome if not in-
tolerable to require that the title
should be as full as the act itself. The
word "title" implies that no such require-
ment exists. The purpose of the constitu-
tion-1 provision is merely to reasonably
apprise the legislatorsof the contents
of tne bill, to the end that surprise and
fraud in legislationmay be prevented.'
Doeppenschmidtv. I. & G. N. R.R. Co.,
100 Tex. 532, 101 S.W. 1080, 1~181.``
Thus, so long as the title gives notice of
the contents of the body of the act, there is no evil
in generality. However, when the caption provisions
are narrow and restrictive,portions of the act broad-
er than the caption are unconstitutional. Att'y Gen.
Op. V-1253 (1951).
We are of the opinion that the rider in
question properly falls under the following portion
of the caption to the general appropriationact: "An
Act . . . prescribingcertain specific procedures,
rules, regulations,restrictionsand limitations re-
lating to and governing the expendituresof appropria-
tions made herein . . .I1 The rider acl;;pr+aEe;thgor
funds collected by virtue of Article
certain designateduses and sets up the piocGd&g'for
utilizing the appropriation. The title provision is
general in form, but it gives sufficientnotice of
what is attempted by the riderj hence there is no vio-
lation of Article III, Section 35 of the Texas Consti-
tution.
Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 3 (v-1336)
The remainder of your questions,deal with
the means of utilizing the required deposit, and
the answers depend on a determinationof whether this
rider attempts to incorporategeneral legislation
within an appropriationbill or to altar, amend, or
repeal a general statute. If the rider does make
it is unconstitutional. Att'y Gen.
:;:hvz2;Y3;i). If not, the rider provisions must
be followed.
Pour questions are as follows:
"1s the rider invalid, illegal and in-
effective by reason of the fact that it at-
tempts to or does, in a general appropria-
tion bill repeal, modify, or amend an
existing iaw, to wit: Article 48981
"Does the rider effectuallyrequire an
insurance company requesting an investiga-
tion of a fire and the State Insurance Com-
mission to deposit in the State Treasury
the funds evidencing the expenses of the
State Fire Marshall or other suitable person
to act for him, which funds are for expenses
as provided in Article 48981
"Are such funds, as provided in Article
4898 as expenses for the State Fire Marshal
or other suitable person designated to act
for him under the General Statute Article
4898, such funds as become subject to legis-
lative control or regulationby rider direc-
tion to an appropriationbill?"
Article 4898, V.C.S., provides:
"If for any reason the State.Pire.Mar-
shall is unable to make any required investi-
gation in person, he may designate the fire
marshal of such city or town or some other
suitable person to act for him; and such per-
son so designated shall have the same author-
ity as is herein given the State Fire Mar-
shal with reference to the particular matter
to be investigatedby him, and shall receive
such compensationfor his services as the
State Insurance Commission may allow. If the
Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 4 (v-1336)
investigationof a fire is made at the
request of an insurance company, or at
the request of a policyholder sustain-
ing loss, or at the request.of the mayor,
town clerk or chief of the fire depart-
ment of any city, village or town in
which the fire occurred, then the expenses
of the Fire Marshal, clerical expenses,
witnesses and officers fees incident and
necessary to such investigationshall be
paid by such insurance company, or such
policyholderof such city or town as the
case may be, otherwise the expenses of
such investigationare to be paid as part
of the expenses of the State Insurance
Commission. The party or parties, company
or companies, requesting such investiga-
tion, shall before such investigationis
commenced deposit with the State Insur-
ance Commission,an Amount of money in
the judgment of sdid Commission sufficient
to defray the expenses of said Fire Mar-
shal in conducting such investigation.”
The money that is required to be deposited
does not at the time of deposit become the property
of the State, since at that time its status is unde-
termined. Only that portion of the deposit equal to
the actual expenses of the investigatorwill become
State property, and the remainder, if any, continues
to be the property of the person or firm requestlng
the investigation. The Legislature has, by general
statute (Art. 4388, V.C.S.) provided for the hand-
ling of funds “the status oh which is undetermined,l*
as follows:
“The State Treasurer shall receive
daily from the head of each Department
each of whom is specificallycharged w$th
the duty of making same daily, a detailed
list of all persons remitting money the
status of which is undetermined or which
is awaiting the time when it can finally
be taken into the Treasury, together with
the actual remittanceswhich the Treasurer
shall cash and place in his vaults or in
legally authorized depository banks, if
the necessity arises. The report from the
Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 5 (~4336)
General Land Office shall include all
money for interest, principal
. and
leases of school, university, asylum
and other lands. A deposit receipt
shall be issued by the Comptrollerfor
the daily total of such remittances
from each Department; and the cashier
of the Treasurer’sDepartment shall
keep a cash book1 to be called Isus-
pense cash book, in which to enter
these deposit receipts, and any others
issued for cash received for which no
deposit warrants can be issued or when
their issuance is delayed. As soon as
the status of money so placed with the
Treasurer on a deposit receipt is de-
termined, it shall be transferredfrom
the suspense account by placing the por-
tion of it belonging to the State in
the Treasury by the issuance of a depos-
it warrant, and the part found not to
belong to the State shall be refunded.
When deposit warrants are issued, they
shall be entered in this cash book, as
well as any refunds, and the balance
shall represent the aggregate of the
items still in suspense. Refunds shall
be made in a manner similar to that in
present use, except that separate ser-
ies of warrants shall be used for mak-
ing such refunds, to be called ‘refund
warrants,1 and such warrants shall be
written and signed by the Comptroller
and counter-signedby the ,Treasurerand
charged against the suspense funds to’
which they apply. Such warrants shall
then’be returned to the Comptroller and
delivered by him to the person entitled
to receive them.”
By the
A,.. . terms of the above
_. Article,
. when the
status or tne aepositea money is aeterminea,--inyour
case, when the investigator% expense account is ap-
proved,--theTreasurer will transfer by warrant an
amount equal to the total of the expense account to the
Fire Insurance DivisionlsTravel Expense Account, from
which a warrant may be issued to the investigator,and
by a refund warrant return the remainder, if any, to
Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 6 (v-1336)
the person or firm requesting the investigation.
Q&Die1 v. Richcrq& 118 S.W.2d 935 (Tex. Civ. App.
1938), and Att'y Gen. Op. O-945 (1940).
The rider in question does not attempt to
alter, amend, or repeal any general statute. The
provision requiring the money to be deposited to the
Department Suspense Account is in compliancewith
Article 4388, V.C.S. This portion of tk rider mere-
ly reiterates the general statute and has no other
legal effect. Att'y Gen. Op. C-1837 (1940). The ap-
propriation in the rider is for the purposes set out
by Article 4898, V.C.S. and as such is proper and
valid. Att'y Gen. Op. f-1267 (1951). Therefore, you
are advised that the method of operation provided by
Article 4388, V.C.S., and the rider to the general
appropriationbill is the proper method of handling
and accounting for the funds in question.
The title to the general appropriation
bill for the biennium ending August 31, 1953,
is sufficientlybroad and general to include
the rider (H.B. 426 Acts 52nd Leg. R.S.
1951 ch. 499 pe 1328 at p* 1373)'regulat-
ing $he dispo&tion of'funds deposited with
the Board of Insurance Commissionersto de-
fray the anticipated expenses of a fire in-
vestigator.
The rider does not attempt to alter,
amend or repeal a general statute
ly reiterates the requirementsof k?"4$%~-
V.C.S., a general statute prescribingthe
method for handling funds "the status of which
is undetermined.n
Yours very truly,
APPROVED: PRICE DANIEL
Attorney General
C. K. Richards
Trial & Appellate Division
Jesse P. Luton, Jr. ,,rw~d~
Reviewing Assistant E. Wa Thode
Assistant
Charles D. Mathews
First Assistant
EW.:wb