Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1951 )

Bon. J. M. Falkner,Gnmissioner
state Departmentof Banking
Austin,Texas opinionNo. V-13l.l.
i’ Re: Applicabilityof Senate
_. Bill No. 339, Acts 52ud
Legislature,1951, to
loanand brokerageocm-
panies organizedunder
seotiolls43, 49, and 50
of Article1302 and un-
Dear sir: der Article1303b, V.C.S.
Pour requestfor an.opinionreads, in part, as fol-
lows:
Vi.ssirmingthatSenateBill No. 339 passed
at the last Sessionof the Legislatureis or
will subsequentlybeheldtobeavalid law,
w%llitbe necessaryforloanandbrokerage com-
panies,heretoforeor&auiaedunder Article1302,
lX?b,haviuga capitalstock of $5O,OOO.OOas
requiredin Senate Bill 339, to amend their
charters,or can they enjoy the additional~iv-
ileges granteduuder SenateBill 339 without
an srmndlmnt?"
SenateBill 339, Acts 52nd Leg., 1951, ch. 472, p.
832, provldesin part:
"section1. Corporationsheretoforeformed
or hereafterto be formed for the purposesspeci-
fled in Seotlons48, 49, and 50 of Article 1302
and Article1303b, Revised Civil Statuteeof the
State of Texas for 1925, am3 bavlng a minimm paid-
illcapitalof Fifty Thousand (d50,OOO.CC)lbl3ars
shall, in additionto the powers conferredupon
corporations by the general corporate law, have
the folloulugpowers. . . .s
The additionalpowers grantedto those corporations
mentionedin the first paragraph of Section1 are set out in
Bon. J. M. Falkner,Page 2 (V-1311)
detail along with the obligationswhich attach to the exer-
cise of the enumeratedpowers. SenateBill 339 is a compre-
hensive set of regulationsfor loan and brokeragecompanies,
and most parts of it have no bearingupon the questionpre-
sentedhere; hence the statutewill not be quoted.
Subsections48; 49, and 50 of Article 1302, V.C.S.,
authorizecorporationsto be formed for the followingpur-
poses:
"46. To accumulateand lend money without
bankingor discountingprivileges."
"49. For any one or more of the following
purposes: To accurrmLBfeand lend money, purchase,
sell and deal in notes,bonds and securities,but
tithoutbankingand discountingprivileges;to
act as trusteeunder anylawfulexpress trustcom-
mltted to them by contractand as agent for the
performanceof aq lawfulact."
"50. To subscribefor, purchase,Invest in,
hold, own, assign,pledge and otherwisedeal In
and disposeof sharesof capitalstock, bonds,
mortgages,debentures,notes and other securities,
obligations,contractsand evidencesof indebted-
ness of foreignor domesticcorpxations not oom-
petingwith each other inthe same line ofbusi-
ness; providedthe powersand authorityherein oon-
ferred shall in no way affect any provisionof the
anti-trustlaws of this State."
Article1303b, V.C.S.,provides:
"d privatecorporationmay be formed for anJ
one or more of the followingpurooses;without
banking or insuranceprivileges)to accumulateand
loanmoney~ to eell and dealinnotas, bonds and
seouritlea;to act as Trusteemxler aqv lawful ex-
press trust oonnnittedto it by oontraotor W.l,
or under appointmentof aw court having jurlsdlo-
tdon of the subjectmatter,and as agent for the
performanceof any lawfulacts to subeorlbefor,
purchase,invest in, hold, own, assign,pledge and
otherwisedeal In and disposeof shares of capital
stooks,bonds, mortgages,debentures,notes and
other securitiesor obligatlona,contractsand evi-
dence of indebtednessof foreignor domesticcor-
porationsnot competingwith each other in the
. . -
Ron. J. M. Falkuer,Rage 3 (V-1311)
same line of business;to borrowmoney or is-
sue debenturesfor oamyingout any or all
puvposesabove enumerated. Providedthat the
power and authorityherein conferredshall iu
no way affect any of the urovisionsof the
anti-trustlaws of this state."
Article1318, V.C.S.,provides:
"'Allchartersor amendmentsto charters,
uuder the provisionsof this Chapter,shall
be subjectto the power of the Iegislatureto
elt62, reformor amend the sazm."
A questionvery sidlar to that under consldera-
tionvas involvedin State . o Public k-v&q&~
69 S.W.2d38 ('&run. App. 19;4 case a statutepro-
vided that any corporationoperatinga streetor suburban
railwaycou3doperatemotorvehloles to oarrypssengursfor
hire ulthln the city or tovn or within five miles thereof.
The public servioeooqany operatedbusses under the statute,
but failed to amend its charterto includethis purpose. In
holding that the ccnupanyuasauthorimd to operatethebussez,
the Court said:
"The state contends,however,that in
anyeventappellantwasrequired to amend its
charterafter the enactmentof Article6548
in 1923, so as to avail Itself of its provi-
SIOIUI. This contentionIs not sustained. Ar-
ticle 6548 Is a psrt of the title YLaiJroads'
of the R.S. 1925, and is not a subdivisionof
article1302, relatingto the purpose clauses
of corporations. It specifioallyauthorizes
an electriomotor streetrailway corporation
like appellantto operategasolineaopelled
motor vehiclesin connectionwith its street
railwaybusiness. Ihe law is settledthat the
powers of a corporationorganizedunder gen-
eral laws are not determinedalone from Its
chartarprovislons,but are also determined
flwm the law under which it is organizedor
operates. It is also settledlaw that It is
not necessaryfor the charterof a corpora-
tion to containall the powers conferredby
statute;nor is it necessarytoamend the char-
ter of a corporationto includepowers confer-
red solelyby statute,unless the act itself
Ron. J. M. Falkner,Page 4 (V-1311)
requiresthe awrdment. RoaringSpringsTOWS
site Co. v. FaducahTel. Co., 109 Tex, 452,
212 S.W. 147; Texas CentralPower Co. v. Jolly
(Tex. Civ. App.) ,246 S.W. 420; Kuehlerv. Tex.
Power Corporation(Tex.Civ. App.) 9 S.W. (2d)
435; M&his v. Pridham,1 Tex. Civ. App. 58,
20 S.W. 1015; WichitaFalls TractionCo. v.
Reley (Tex. Civ. App.) 17 S.W.(2d)157; 'Chomp-
;sa~4~00rations (3d Ed.) R 188." (69 S.K
.
We think the answer to your questionIs controlled
by the law aunouucedin the above CBSC). The appellentin
that case had no power to operatemotmbueses until such
poVar was conferredupon it by the act creatingArticle6548,
which act did not specifically requireappellantto amend its
charter to inolwiethe powers so confemed before it could
exeraiasthem. The Court held thatappellantwas ootreqtied
to amend Its charterbsfore sxerclsidgthe p0uer to operate
z~-toi9u~ses,for such paver tis 8p0ifi~a~ grantedbyArti-
cle 654%
'Ibisholding is in accordwith the folkMug State-
ments of the rule set forth in Texas Jurisprudence
and Amrl-
can Jurisprudeme~,j,
"The effeot of a generalstatutorygrant is
to invest the corp0ratiOn~wlth
the power as fully
azd effectuallyas if It were set out at length
in It6 charter.n(10 Tex. Jur. 863, kporations,
Sec. 234.)
"The charterof a ooqmatiou organizeduz-
der a generalaot consistsof the provielonsof
the existingstate constltutlon, the particular
statuteunder which it is formed and all other
geuerallaws whloh are made applicableto oornor-
ations formzd thereunderand of the articlesof
associationor incoruorationfiled thereunder,as
the charteror certlfioateof Incorporation
grantedby the Court or offirerin compliance
with its terms, althoughthe provisionsof suoh
laws are n0t embodiedin the charter,and the
parers,rjghtd,duties,and lisbllltiesof the
corpratlon are determinedaccordingly." (l8 0.
J.S. 422, Cqmrations, Sec. 43.)
. . -
.
Ron. J. M. Nlkuer, Page 5 (V-l3l.l)
Your questionpertainsouly to corporationswhich
have a minlmumcapital stockof $5O,COOand which were formed
prior to Septembsr7, 1951, the effeotlvedate of Senate
Bill 339, for the purposesspecifiedin Sections48, 49, and
50 of Article1302 and In Article1303b. SenateBill 339
speoifioallyprovidesthat such corporationsshallhave, in
additionto the powsrs conferredupon corporationsby the
general corporatelaw, the powers thereinenumerated. This
bill does uotspaoificallyrequireany corporationto which
It applies to amend Its charterto includethe powers so con-
ferred before It may exercisethem.
-You are thereforeadvisedthat corporationsformed
pior to September7,1951, for the purposessoecifiedin Sec-
tions 4S, 49, and 50 of Article1302 ald in Article1303b,
V.&S., and havinga minimumpaid-incapitalof $50,000,may
exercisetbe additional@vilegee granted.themby Senate Bill
339,~,uithoutamehdiugtheir charterstoinclude the
privilegesso conferred.
In answeringyour question,we have not considered
the constitutionalityof SemxteBill 339, sinceyour question
is based upon an assumptionof constitutionalityand does not
require om consideration thereofat this time.
Corporationsformed pior to September7,
1951, the effectivedate of Senate Bill 339, Acts
52ad bg., R.S. 1951, ch. 472, p. 832, for the
purposesspeolfledin Sectlone48, 49, and 50 of
Article1302 arxlIn Articlel303b, V.C.S.,and
having a mlnimmnpsid-Incapitalof $5O,OOO,nmy
exercise the additionalpvivllegesgrantedthem
by SenateBill 339 withoutameudiugtheir charters
to inoludethe privilegesso couferred. Sandy-
-, 69 S.%?d 38
bnm App. 1934).
APPDOVED: Yours very truly,
0. K. Riohards PRYcEDADYDL
bial 6rAppellatsMvision AttorneyGsmral
Jesse P. I&a, Jr. b--e$j-
%viewlng Assistant
w
Qarles D. k&hews Bruce W. Bryant
First Assistant Assistant
BhDlWb