Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1947 )

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R-925
OFFICE OF
THEATT RNEY GENERAL
PRICEDANIEL
ATTORNEY GENERAL December 4, 1947
Hon. J. H. Rasco, Director
Livestock Sanitary Commission
2002 W. T. Waggoner Building
Fort Worth 2, T e x a s Opinion Ro. Q-449
Re: Payment of travel
expenses of person-
nel of the Livestock
Sanitary Commission
from funds appropriat-
ed by B. B. 19, 50th
Leg.
Dear QIr:
Your request for an opinion concerns the pay-
ment of e'xpenses of the State Qeterinarlan and the Lab-
oratory Director of the Livestock Sanltarg Commission
while attending a meeting of the United States Livestock
Sanitary Assoclation'ln Chicago from December 1 through
5 from the $150,000.00 appropriation In H.B. 19, 50th
Legislature. By letter dated NovembeP 10, 1947, this of-
fice advised Hon. Roy Loventhal, Chairmen, Livestock
Sanitary Commisslon, that the contemplated trip of Doc-
tors Jim L. Adrian, State Veterinarian, and Donald D.
Demke, Laboratory Dlreotor, to Chlcago was State business,
and said letter was "written in accordance with the pro-
visions of 5. B. Bo. 391, Sec. 2 (ll), 50th Leg.' (Gen-
eral Approprlatlon Bill for State Departments and Agencies).
Sections 1 and 4, the pertinent parts of H. B.
19 under consideration, ere as follows:
"Section 1. It shall be the duty of
the Livestock Sanitary CommlssFon to estab-
lish quarantines against other States, ter-
rltorles and foreign countries and portions
%hereof, and against certain areas of the
territory of the State or subdivisions there-
of whenever, in the judgment of the Commis-
sion, such quarantines may be necessary or
advisable to prevent an outbreak of Foot and
.
Hon. J. H. Rasco - Page 2 (Q-449)
Mouth DFsease in Texas, and to otherwise
establish quarantine% within the Stat.6
of Texas in such form and manner as to
said Commission may appear to.be necessary
or advisable, In order to prevent an out-
break of Foot and Mouth Disease, or to
prevent a spread of said disease. The
Livestock Sanitary Commission may in such
quarantines, establish in relationship to
Foot ‘and Mouth Disease, forbid and prohibit
all movement of livestock of any character
or desoription and commodities and other
goods and articles as shall in the order
establishing suoh quarantine be specified.
Botice of such quarantine, when so estab-
lished, shall be given as now provided by
law for other quarantines ~established by the
Livestock Sanitary Commission. . . s
“In order that the provisions of this
Act may be effectively carried out and admin-
istered and in order to prevent an outbreak
of Foot and Mouth Disease within the State of
Texas there Is appropriated as an emergency
appropriation fro@ the General Revenue Fund of
the State of Texas the sum of One Hundred and
Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000), whicha ;i;
Shall be Snd is made available from and f
the passage of this Act to the Livestook Sani-
tary Commission to be used for the specific
purpose of carrying out the provisions of this
Act in the prevention or spread of an outbreak
TFoot and FIouth Disease in this State; this
appropriation to be available to the Livestock
Sanitary Commission for and only for the pur-
pose of quarantines, or such other measures
that may be adopted by the Livestock Sanitary
Commission for the prevention and spread of an
outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease, and, if and
when, in the opinion of the Livestock Sanitary
Commission there no longer remains a threat or
danger of an outbreak or spread of Foot and
Mouth Disease in Texas, said Commission shall so
certify and the unused portion of this approprla-
tion shall thereupon revert to the General Reve-
nue Fund of the State. The Livestock Sanitary
Commission is hereby authorized to use any or all
of the money appropriated by this Act in any man-
ner It deems necessary for the carrying out of
Hon. J. H. Rasco - Page 3 (Q-449)
the provisions of this Act; In the ex-
penditure of the fuuda appropriated by
this Act the Livestock Sanitary Commis-
sion shall not be bound by the limlta-
tions contained in Senate Bill 317,Aots
of the Regular Session of the Forty-
ninth Legislature.* (Bmphasis supplied)
.’ The provisions of H.B. 19 relate solely to
the establishment of quarantines to prevent an out-
break of foot and mouth disease In Texas or to prevent
its spread. As stated in the Act, the $150,000 ap-
propriation now avallabla to the Livestock Sanitary Com-
mission is to be used only for the purpose of quaran-
tines or other measures adopted by the Commission to
combat the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Texas.
We believe thst the Legislative intent in us-
ing the language “or such other measures” was to refer
to other preventive means or methods of combating foot
and mouth disease, such as quarantines, and did not en-
compass payment of traveling expenses of the Commission’s
offiders and employees while attending a national meet-
ing or ccqvention where this disease will be a maln top-
io of discussion.
It ia true that the Act provides that the Com-
mission is authorized to use the money “in any manner it
deems necessary for the provisions of this Act,”
that it shall not be bound by the provisions of the gen-
eral epproprlations Act of the 49th Legislature. (S.B.
317)
However, we believe the above language is limit-
ed by the specific words of the Act that the money is to
be used “for and only for “(1)” the purposes of quarantines”
or (2) other measures adopted for the preventl.on and spread
of the dlaease. Though there may be room for difference 01
ii the mstter, It is our conalusion that partlcipa-
E!oi ii rgeneral Livestock Sanitary Convention in Chicago,
where only a portion thereof is devoted to Hoof and Mouth
Disease, smy not be classed as a measure adopted for the
prevention and spread of Hoof and Mouth Disease. Of course
it is not a quarantine.
It is further true that B.B. 19 authorizes expen-
ditures for travel expense without the limitations of the
riders of the Appropriation Bill of the 49th Legislature.
We’.consfrue suoh provisions to relate to travel directly
Hon. J. H. Rasco - Page 4 (V-449)
associated with one of the two’ fipecifically named’pur-
poses. We do not aonslder~a general natlocial conven-
tion to be within these ~purposes.
However worthy’ the Commlssloti~s purposes In
sending Its representatives to the Ch,lcago meeting, and
however valuable their participation in’ the discussions
there, money mey not be paid from the State Treasury ex-
oept in pursuance of the appropriation made by the Legis-
lature, and with the 1lmltatlons prescribed therein. The
definition of the terip “appropriation” involvea an idea
of a fund set aside for a speolflo purpOhe or use, and
it 1s well established that public moneys may not be di-
verted from that speoific purpose for whioh the were ap-
proprla ted. 6 Corpus Juria Secundum, p. 123; 3k Tex.
Jur. 314.
You are, therefore, advised that traveling 6x-
penses of the State Veterinarian 8nd of the Laboratory
Director of the Livestock Sanitary Commission to be in-
cub6d while attendlhg a meeting of the United States
Livestock Sanitary Aasoolatlon in Chloago may not bti,paid
from the $150;000 appropriation contained in H.B. 19,
50th Legislature, but thet auah travel expense should be
charged to the amount provided generally for your depert-
ment by the 50th~Legislatnre in the General Appropriation
Bill.
Trtivellng expense8 of the Livestock
Sanitary Commisalonls representatives Fn
attending a national meeting of livestock
ranitary officials msy not be paid from
the approprlatlon oontained in B.B. 19,
50th Legislature, (Bme~genoy Hoof and
Mouth Disease Quarantine Aot) but must be
oherged to the regular Departmental appro-
priation,
Yours very truly
APPROVED: ATTORHHYGEllBRAL OF TXAS
BY
ATTORHEY GENERAL Assistant
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