Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1950 )

E TE’ORNEY GENERAL
OF-TEXAS
lb. v. 1. Allen Opinion Ho. v-1018.
Couatt Attorney
c01oDalb county Be: !Che validity of H.B.
Colman, Tex@a 93, 51at Leg., r&a-
tlve to ertabliehment
of jtwaaila oourts, in
view OS aonfllcta be-
tween the caption and
the body of the Act.
In your rcrpwst for an opinion you ask:
Ape the provirtons in the oaptlon of
Ha.93 at the Acts of the 51st Le a, 1949,
rw&uirSt~ tha daal@ation of the ‘5uvenile
oowt W tha Diatrfnt Judges and th6 coun-
t? budge 80 oontradlotory to the proviaio~
IE the AOt itself z’aquirlng the designation
the Mntrlct Judges that such portlou of
z.a Aot ir invalid?
Cole&an County haa PO juvenile board,
but ha8 two dlrtrlot oourtao uemely~ the
35th ati 119th Diatriot Courts, cud them-
&a@&em7 within the quoted portions of
e
8wti0o 4 of 8mate Bill 44, Acts 48th Lea.,
~0313, providea
1943, @h.i?Obp in part ma followa:
Wm. 4. sat8bl.iahmm%t 0r Juvenile
Qaark- Ptawa la hmaby aatabl~ahed 88
idtow %a mob oomtr of the atate a
,mrt of ra@ord to~bo knows aa the Juve-
~Conrti~hati rwh jurladfotion 88
say be Baeoaaary T 0 oarry out the ppovi-
aiBQ8 of #la Aat.
“In csouaW.~a having juvenile boarda,
lwh b o a r d8 the c o unty
ma ydea & @ a tm c o ur t
02 one or WoPa of the DlatrZ0t courta to
be the Juvaoile Court OF Courts f'opsuch
oouuty, and such designation may be changed
Ilo% W. f. Allen, page 2 (v-1018)
from time to time by such juwnile boards.
In all other counties the Distriot court or
the County Court shall be the Juvenfle Court
ma agreed between the judges of each reapeo-
tlve courts, but until such time suoh County
Court and Distriot CoUpt shall have ooncur-
rent jurisdiction in cases of children com-
Fug within the terms of this Act.'
Section 4 of the above Act was amended by Se-
nate Bill ~0.63, Acts 49th Leg., R.S. 1945, ch.35, p.52,
whioh reads aa follows:
‘Sec. 4. Establishment OS Juvenile
courts * There is hereby established as Sol-
lows, in each county of the state, a court of
record to be known as the Juvenile Court, hav-
ing swh jurisdiction as msy be necessary to
oarry out the provisions of this Aot D
” *In oountles having juvenile boards,
such boarda may designate the County Court
or one or more of the Dlstrlot CouFts or
Criminal Distriot Courts to be the Juvenile
Court or Courts for such oounty, and such
designation may be changed from time to tFme
by such juvenile boards. In all other ooun-
ties the Dfstrfot Court or the County Court
shall be the Juvenile Court as agreed be-
tween the judges of such respective aou&s,
but until such tfme suoh County Court and
Distrfat Court shall have concurrent juris-
diotlon in c.sse5 of ohildren oomfng within
the terms of this Act.
“‘Said Criminal District Courts end the
judges thereof shall have the same jurisdlc-
Won, powers p authority and duties aa is now
OP may be conferred upon District Courts in
regard to suoh ohildren.
“‘It ia provided, however9 that the
jupfsdiotion, powers and duties thus confer-
red and imposed upon the establlshed oou&s
hemunder are super-added jurisdiotions,
powers and duties, it being the intention
OS the Legislature not to cmate hereby an-
other office O Appeals Srom judgments of
.
fea. W. R. ~llatx, page 3 (V9a018)
such Criminal Distriot Courts shall be tak-
en to the propep Court of Civil Appeal8. 1’
The pertinent portion of the caption a@ of
the body of Rouse Bill 93, Acts 51st Leg., R.S. 1949,
oh.368, ``702, are as follows:
“An Act amending seation 4 of Senate
Bill Ho. 44, Aota of the Forty-eighth Leg-
islature, 1943, page 313, Chapter 204, by
In all oouuties hav-
“8ectlon 1. That Ssotion
4 of Chapter
204, Aots of the Forty-eighth Legislature,
1943, be, and the aame is hereby amended so
as to hereafter read as follows:
“Section 4 * Fhere is hereby establish-
ed as follows in each county of the State a
coupt of record to be known as the Juvenile
Court, having such jurisdictions as may be
neosssaFy to carry out the provisions of
this Act.
Seetlon 35 OS AptLole III of the Texas Cousti-
tutlon provides as followa 8
“Ro bill, (exoept general appropria-
tion bills, whloh may embraoe the various
subjeot and accounts, for and on account
of whloh moneys are appropriated) shall oon-
tain mope than one subjeat, which shall be
expressed fn fta title. But if any subject
shall be embraoed 11%an act, hi h shall not
be expressed fn the title, au11 iot shall be
Ron. Y. L. Allen, page 4 (v-1018)
VOld onls as to so muoh thereof, as shall
not be so expressed.”
As stated In the oaao of De Silvle v. State,
9% TOX.CPIPI.634, 229 S.W. 542 (1921):
“One object of the constitutional pro-
vialon mentioned is Ito fairly apprise the
people, through suoh publication of legis-
18tiVe prooeedings as Is usually made, of
the subjects of legislation that are being
aonsldered, in order that they may have op-
portunity of being heard thereon, by peti-
tlon or otherwise, if they shall so des1m.l
Cooley’s Const. Limitation (7th Rd.) p.205.
“The oourts, in construing the provi-
sions in connection with legislative ‘acts,
have, throughout the history of the state,
been liberal toward the validity of the act.
Notwithstanding this practice, they recog-
nized that the provision of the Constltu-
tlon is mandatory, and that, when viewing
the act in the light of the liberal policy
mentioned, if it cannot be fairly said that
the caption is not misleading, the law or
the part of the law whloh is variant from
the title of the act must give way D e . *”
In the case of Landrum v. Centennial Rural
High School District No. :! 134 S 0Wem (Tex.Civ.App.
m39, error dlsm., judgm. GOP.) it is stated:
“Since the title or caption of the
1937 Act deolared that the legislature
intended to amend Sec. 12 of the 1925 Act
ao aa to prohibit speoial tax assessors,
equalization boards, and tax oolleotors in
aertafn counties, it eannot affect counties
not Included, and is Invalid as not embrac-
ing lubjaot in Its title, so far as the
2”’ of the Act ohanged the method of hold-
aohool bond elaot2ona from the method
. .
Also in the cese of P*setoriarm v. state 184
S.V.2# 299 i ex.Otv.App.1944, affirmed 143 Tex. 56, 186
SJf.26 973, T19&j), Lt la etated:
“me p%t.rposes and esaautiel
ments of the capttoa o* titla OS -i--
a e&a-
Zat%va eat, in mlatton to the p~ovLsioua
oi the body of the mot, have ?~&?a i%aqwat -
If reviewed by the ooprts a:&3 ara r~owwell
aa%lad. 2hw om set iorth in exteaso in
%e ~oogukze the well-established
rule that LLberel o~cnstouotion will be in-
Bulged in tier CO hold th8t tha title of
en Ai& ooerforma to the ~tirements OS Ghe
t?mabVmtiorr. 39 2ex.Jur. 95. But the
ww%ato~ of the Constitution requi.r%ag the
tLtb to a%pneaa the aubjeot OS the At& aau-
aat he satire1 tguomd. Oeanon v. lileophlll,
7%Ja%. laO,2&. The m&e oSliberalocn-
st~tioa will not be followed to tha extant
1ph*Cit w%ll relteva,,tha legisleture oS.tha
mmraZ%y of fffa,closLug the real subjeot of
2hb oaptiaa of'the Act in question provides
t&et u@er certain clroumetsnoea the dlstriot judges
mM oh0 osmty judge shall designate 0110 OS the dls-
trio% oourts aa the juvenile court of the county. The
body OS the Act provides thst the district judges and
the oriatiaal district judges shall designate one of
. .
pen. U. k. Ellen, page 6 (v-1018)
such courts as the juvenile court.
We think unqueatimably that the caption Is
at variatme wtth the body of the Act and is misleading.
Therefore it is our opinion that the particular portion
of the Ad in question contravenes Sectfon 35, Artiole
III of the Texas Constitution and is void. You are fur-
ther advlaed that in this particular respect the juvenile
court of your aounty should continue to operate under the
provision8 of Senate Bill 63, Acts 49th Leg., R.S. 1945,
05.35, P-52.
It is expressly understood that we are only
parsing on the aonstitutlonallty of that part of the Act
inquired about In your request.
SDXXARY
Since that portion of the caption of
House Bill 93, Acts of the 51st Legisla-
ture, 199, which deals with the establfsh-
rent of juvenile courta in counties having
two (2) or aore district courts but no
juvenile board, is at variance with the
body of the Aot, It is unconstitutional,
bei8g in violation of Section 35, Article
III of the Texas Constitution. Gulf In-
sitranbe'Co'.,v. ilathes, 143 Tex, 4m
S&D L a
Rural Righ~Sohool'Dist. Ho. 2 134 S.W.2d
Tex.CfvQApp.1939, error aism., judgm.
The juvenile court of Coleman County
rhould oontfnue to operate under the pro-
vpaions of Senate Bill 63, Acts 49th Leg.,
R.S. 1945, oh.35, ~052.
Your8 very truly,
PRICR DAllIEL
Attorney General
BY
Charles D. MathWa
IaxecntFve Arrfrtant Amirtant