Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1945 )

678
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
QROVER
md.LcRR
-cv QpIrnAl.
~oaorableUib ~llobrlrt, Pmrldeat
Agr1uultural and meohaaieal Oollege or Texar
college StMioa, Z*m*
apiaion uo. O-6942
requedilag aa
cad other fuads, to mUmburae
"2. Can the Comptroller OS Public Acoouatr
le@ly iswe uarraat8 lo favor of the Collw3e
la papeat 0r~p~oll~ drawn agaiomt the eppro-
prlatlour from the Oetae~alRevenue Fund edd othes
funds to~reimbur80 the College Sor pclpOat8 We
bjr urirrg itr looal fund aa l r~volvlag fuad?
- -I--- .--.-.-
gonorable Olb Qllohrl8t, paae 2
“This ruling 18 requested for the reason t&t
ve are having couslderable difficulty la employ-
ia8 laborers paid fkom State Appropriations on
acaouut, OS the deley la making thtlr earnlugs
available. Under the most favorable oondltloas
they do not receive their wages for a veek or
more after they are due. For many years prior
to the flsoal year 1931-32 the College paid it8
laborer8 88 set forth la Guestlon Iio. 1 above
and va8 reimbursed a8 set forth in Question Ilo.
2. This method of payment was authorized by at
least one, Isglslaturs, namely the Fortieth, a8
set forth in Chapter Ho. 101 of the General and
Speaiel Laws o? ltr First Called Session.
“we have been authorized by the State Audlt-
or to say to you that he has full informatloa on
thl8 subjeat ‘and perhaps ‘can assist you la knov-
Lug all of the faoto and the dlfflcultle8 under
vhloh ve have to operate at present by making
all payment8 Srom State Appropriation8 directly
to the payee.”
Item No. 410 OS the aurreat approprlat ion for A. &
II. College oontalned la Iiouse Bill No. 173, Chapter 377, Aot8
of the 49th Iaglrlature, appropriates $129,036.00 for the
ourrentfiaaal year Sor ‘general malntenanos, lnaludlag sup-
pllrr, matprlal, labor, equipment, travelllrg: and oontlngent
txprnw8.
Subrectiona 3 and 4 of the general provlrlonr lp-
011&d to Bows Blll Ho. 173 are a8 iollovmc
“Subsection (3). Instltutlouel Receipts.
lo property belonging to any of the Instltutlon8
herein provided for, or any agency thereof, shall
be sold or disposed of vlthout the consent of Its
governing board, end all prooeeds from the sale
of auoh property, from labor pereormed, from
the sale of materials, orops and supplies, from
feca, and any and all other receipts shall be-
oome and are herbby appropriated 8s maintenanae
or oontlugent fund to be expended uudor the
direction and vlth the approval of the govern-
ing board bavlag jurladlotlon. Bald governltag
boarde are lthorlred to use out of the prooeedr
6SO
g-able Oib Ollohrlst, page 3
of said reoelpt8 and fUnd8, la aacordanae with
t~e~provlSlon8 of this Aat, suoh amoUUts a8 they
sba3.1 deem neoessary for the support, &?iinten-
enoe, operation and lmprovcmeats of said lastl-
tutlons. Any balanoer remginlng to the credit
of any O? said 1UstitUtlonti local funds at ##id
ln8titutlonr or la thx State Treasury at the end
of any fl8csl yew We hereby reappropriated for
the above-mentioned purpo8e8 for the suaoeedlrrg
YW*
RSubseotlon (4). Local Deporrltorlee. The
,governlng boards of tha respective lnstltutlon8
for which epproprlatlono are made In this Act
are hereby authorlxed to oolect depository bar&s
for the safekeeping of local funde colleotsd by
soid lnstLtutions. The Boards shall require said
depository banks to furnish adequate surety bonds
or securltlea to be posted for the aesuwnoe of
ssfety of such deposits. The daposltory bank
or banks so xelacted are hereby authorized to
pledge their SOOLWltfeS for assurenae of safety
for such funds. All looal funds 8hall be de-
sited Intact in thooe deposltorles ulthla five
r 5) days from date of collootloa. The governing
boards may require the.depoeltory SO designated
and selected to pay latereot on dspoxlt8 at a
rate to be agreed upon by 8ald deposltorle8 and
s8i.d boards.
"It la hereby dealxred the legislative la-
tent that the governing boards and heads of the
mover61 Stato l~stltutionx of.hi&ar learaltq -~
1 . shall not borrov moneyfrom any person, firm or
corporation to be repaid out of looal funds, other
than es speol?loallf authorixed by leglrlative
lna o tment .
”
In our OpJ~ioa lo. o-4111, this department had under
WMderatlon a question in iraw respects similar to the pob-
hxvhlah you have submitted. We quote excerpt a from said
~i#iOU 88 fOllOV#X
avTh18 offiae desires your opiaion 88 to
vhether or aot any of the three ?OllOVlUg trM8-
wtlonr are oomtruy to lwr
I’....
“~Case 330. 3. A Oeneral Revenue Uarrant of
the State was ieaued to an employee for her Oot-
ober salary. Although she resigned on Ootober
15th, the uarrent van urltten to her for the ea-
tire mo th, end 8he dlsoounted it, keeplug one-
half ($2) for hermel? aad the other one-half
(l/2) vas paid by the lnstftutlonel oeshler to
another employee, vho 8uppoSedly replaoed the
orlgkf~lemployee.*
I....
‘An approprlatlon 18 the setting apart from
the pu@llo revenues of l certain sum of money
,for a ‘speolfled puFpoae, in suca mauner that the
excoutlve OfflCOrS 0s the governmht are author-
ized to apply that money, and no more, to that
purpose, and to no Other+ .Wordr and Phrases,
l Fwmaaeat Bditlon Volume 3, Pe 8 %19 et seq.
State v. Hoore, 63 U.U. 3?3, 3’# 50 Rob. 88 bl
dmer. State Rep. 5381 CIoCombr v.‘Dalles~Coun~y
(Clv. App.) 136 S.W. (2dj 975.
has the
%very l@ p r o p r i8tlo a effect 0s cre-
ltlnR a speolal fund, vhlch lo to be expended
only for the pu~po8e for vhloh the epproprlatlon
uas made. To drav a wpllrxuxt against the cppro-
prlatloa, o8teasibly to apply the funds to the
purpose ror.vhloh they we provided, and then to
deporlt the money to the oredit 0s the loaal ruad
of the’oollege, is to apply the money eppwprlrt-
ed to a purpose for vhloh It 1188 not authorlzod
by the Legislature. It ?OuOVS that each 0s the
SIrat tvo foot 8ltuatloa8 set Out la sour letter
present lnstanoes of unauthorized and therefore
illegal dlver#lon# of the pub110 moneys lUVOlVe&
%lth respeot to the third fast situation
presented la your letter, you are advised that
varrants agalnet the appropriations We to pay
the 8a~aries of emp~oyeet of the varlou8 depert-
manta end lnrtltutloar of learnltq$ of this Steto
sre la no instanae to be dram la fever of the
dopwtment head or school authorlty~ but 10 each
ease the varrant against the approprlotlon 18 to
br &ma in favor o? the psrsoa renderlag the
_. 682
yssorsblo Qlb Ollohriot, psge 5
serolas for which the approprietion 1s provided,
end Zor 00 greeter emount thsa 1s actually due
sriah per son. The epproprlatloa provides euthor-
lty for the department of school head to eater
Iato aoatraots vith reiereaae thereto, but the
moneypovlded is not to be draw from the Treas-
ury by the department or school head and by him
dispersed In cash to the employeesj the claim OS
the employee for payment from the approprletloa
18 to be presented to the Comptroller 00. the in-
stltutlonal payroll, oertlfled as aorreat by ths
school head, and the warrant Is to be dreva la
favor of ths emplo e himself. See Artloles
4344 4350 4355 556, 4358 aad 4359, Revised
cmi st&t~t8, 1925.
‘“It follows thatt la the thlrd lastenae given
la your letter, the verreat should have been
dreva’ Ia favor OS the employee, as payee there-
of, only for the amount satuallg due her es sel-,
ary, to vlt, salary for one-half month, end a
claim should have been presented to the Comptrol-
ler for the issuance of a separate warrant egalast
i: ... the same approprlatloa Sor the amount OS salary
duo the employee vho repleaed her. The aatlon
of the school authorities In oertifyiag the OlaiP
Sor the Issuaace of a varraat for an e&Ire
months’s salary to the orI&Iael employee, vhea
only oae-half months’ salary vas due to. her, and
in delivering the varraat to the original em-
ployee Sor the full month’s salary, procurIng
aash Sxwa the orlglnal employee, the payee of the
varraat, Sor the one-half months’ salary not dus
her, end paylag over the aesh.dIrect to the em-
ployee vho raplaaed the orlglaal employee, vas
vithout authority of lav, aad therefore illegal.”
Ue think the language OS the above opinloa is ap-
vllcsble Ia this Iastaaae. Ue find no provision la the stat-
atcc or ia the appropriation bill vhiah vould authorise the
pmrrt of labor alaIms la the manner that you suggest.
We aote the statement IO your letter that ths meth-
ol wggested by you vas authorlsed by the Leglsletwe In 1927.
UCthink, hovever, that the aoatiauous fell~e of the LegiS-
lature sinoe that tima to eaaa$ similar provisioas In subse-
wr it lpproprletIoas 1ad10at.8 .the it did not vent the preot10*
683
. ,
8snoorsble Olb Qllohrlst, pugs 6
caatlnued. We think swh aatloa, or rsther lneatloa, oa the
St of the Le~islatum Is partloularly slgnifloant ia vleu
a: s-be fast that for the past several pars, thn depsrtmeat-
i ::astruotloa on the part of the Comptro‘ilsr hss bsea that
-qll vsrrsats Bust be msds psyable to the employsees.
Accordlagly, ve sasver your Iaqufry b7 statlag that
-are Is no prrnnt legal luthzrlt7 for foll?rLag the ppcll
. PLkoc o~rttd Lo J3V z.vttrr.
2rurtie.g that thls sufiIaIsatl7 sasvers 7our ia-
W-Y, v* am
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