Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1961 )

WILL wIL.soN ATTONNEYOENERAE September 21, 1961 Honorable Robert S. Calvert Comptroller of Public Accounts Capitol Station Austin 11, Texas Opinion No. ww-1152 Re: Construction of riders in the General Appropriation Bill providing for longev- ity pay to hourly employees Dear Mr. Calvert: of the Highway Department. Your request for an opinion reads in part as follows: "Senate Bill No. 1, Acts of the 57th Legislature, First Called Session, Article III provides for longevity pay to hourly employees of the Highway Department. This provision is found on page III-95 of the above Act which is the biennium appropria- tion bill. "Due to the above provisions the follow- ing questions have arisen: "1. Is there pre-existing law for this appropriation? "2. Would payment of this longevity violate any provision of the Texas Consti- tution?" The rider referred to in your request provides as follows : "It is expressly provided that out of item 11 above the State Highway Department may pay longevity to hourly employees of the Department whose service to the Department has not been interrupted by periods of more than six months. The amounts which may be paid to each individual employee shall be -a . Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2. (WW-1152) based on the total length of service within the Department, according to the following schedule: "5 years $ 5 per month 10 years 10 per month 15 years 15 per month 20 years 20 per month" Section 4.3of Article III of the Constitution of Texas provides as follows: "The Legislature shall provide by law for the comp'Jnsationof all officers, servants, agents and public contractors, not provided for in this Constitution, but shall not grant extra compensation to any officer, agent, ser- vant, or pub1.i.c contractors, after such public service shall have been performed or contract entered into, for the performance of the same; nor grant, by appropriation or otherwise, any amount of money out of the Treasury of the State, to any individual, on a claim, real or pretended, when the same shall not have been provided for by pre-existing law; nor employ anyone in the name of the Sf;ate,unless auth- orized by pre-existing law. The applicable provision of Section 51, Article III, Constitution of Texas, p:rovidesas follows: "The Legislature shall have no power to make any grant or authorize the making of any grant of public moneys to any individual, asso- ciation of individuals, municipal or other corporations whatsoever; . . .' Section 6 of Article XVI of the Constitution of the State of Texaa provides as follows: "No appropriation for private or indivi- dual purposes shall be made. A regular state- ment, under oath, and an account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published annually, in such manner a3 shall be prescribed by law." Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 3. (WW-1152) In the rider to the General Appropriation Bill the Legis- lature has prescribed four classifications of employees compen- sated on an hourly basis rather than calling for additional compen- sation for services already performed. In other words it is our opinion that the Legislature has chosen to determine the classi- fication in which such employees should be placed shall be on the basis of prior experience. You are, therefore, advised, in answer to your first question, that Chapter 1, Title 1.16of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, as amended, creating the Highway Department, constitutes the pre-existing law for the above quoted rider. In answer to question No. 2, ou are advised that this rider is not in violation of Section 4t or Section 51 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas nor Section 6 of Article XVI of the Constitution of Texas nor any other provision of the Consti- tution of Texas for the reason that it is an appropriation for the payment of compensation for services currently rendered the State of Texas by employees of the State. SUMMARY A rider in the General Appropriation Bill prescribing a schedule of increased compen- sation based on years experience is consti- tutional since the Legislature has the authority to use this method of classifying employees. Yours very truly, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas JR:ds:zt APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Henry Braswell Joe McMaster H. Grady Chandler W.R. Scruggs REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.