Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1957 )

AURTKY 11. -XAR WILL WIIA?lON ATTORNEZY G+ZNW!ZNAL March la, 1957. Honorable George Moffett, Chairman, Senate,CommFttee on Agriculture, Senate of Te~xas, Austin, Texas OPINION w-61 Re: Constitutionality of Senate Sill No308 of the 55th ``:“,~;“;‘“&$“,~$yl$~ i’icbs of tie 45th Legisiatu,re Regular Session, to Include all Counttea of the State Dear Sir:. of Texas; You have requested an opinion on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 308 of the 55th Legislature. In your request you asked the following questionsi “1) Does S.B. No. 308 conform to the test of constitutionality as written and submitted to your department herewith? “2) And if it.does not, in your judgment, con- form to this test, then there arises the foll- owing question: Wherein does it differ in its deficiency of meeting the test of constitutlon- alitg from the Act which It seeks to amend? “3) And finally, if S .B. No. 308 is not in your opinion c,onbtitutional,what suggested amendment could be’made ,to the bill in order for It to meet the test of constitutionality?” We shall answer your questions in the order submitted. Senate Bill 308 of the 55th Legislature provides for the amendment of Section 8, Chapter 443, Acts of the 45th Legis- lature so as to extend the provisions of Chapter 443, known as the Agricultural Protective Act, to all the counties of the State of Texas; and declares an emergency. The Act In its present form is limited to those counties which comprise the Texas Citrus Fruit Zone as that area is designated in Section 1, Chapter 350, Acts of the 42nd Legislature. Hon. George Moffett, Page 2 (ww-61) Section 8 of Chspter 443, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, as amended by Section 1 of Senate Bill 308 of the 55th Legislature, refers to Section 1 of Chapter 350, Acts of the 42nd Legislature. Your request indicates that this lncorpora- tion of Section 1, Chapter 350, Acts of the 42nd Legislature, results in the principal question in your mind as to the constitu- tionality of Senate Bill 308. This practice is an accepted legislative draftlng procedure. The fact that Chapter 350, Acts of the 42nd Legislature only dealt with diseases of citrus trees and the shipment of nursery stock inf8cte.dw.lth~the~dlseasesof citrus trees would not revent the incarporation of Section 1 of this Act into Chapter 4t3 of the Acts of the 45jhLagislature which deals with a'griculturalcommodities other than citrus fruit. Therefore,"an amendment which extends the coverage of Chapter 443 of the Acts of the 45th Legislature to the other counties in the,State,of Texas by addin to those already deslgna- ted in Section 1 of Chapter 350 of the &2nd Legislature is also permissive. It Is our opinion that Senate Bill 308 of the 55th Legislature Is not unconstitutional for this reason. We have examined this Bill in the light of other possible constitutional questions and it Is our opinion that Senate Bill 308 is constitu- tional. For this reason your first question must be answered in the affirmative. ,' : In the light of ouranswer to your ,foregolngquestion, it becomes unnecessary to answer your second and third questions. Senate Bill 308 of the 55th Legisla- ture is constitutional as submitted. Very truly yours,' WILt WIISON ', WCR:f;rh APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE By H. Grady Chandler Chairman