Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorable C. 11. Cavness ; State Auditor Austin, Texas Dear Mr. Cavnessr Opinion Ho. O-7454 Re: Construction of Artloles You request an opinion Worn this on the above subject matter, as follorsr vIn connection with 0 records of the Texas&i ly request your opinion 0 to the paymen Their praotl tion of his 000 for over one 0 for over ten years 0.00 if over trimty Id out of Legislative ap- aally, the Convicts Dls- oh oonvicts are also ls- viat is released on a Conditional ves clothing and $6.00 paid out of the Legislative funds (Convicts Discharge Revolving Fund) and a railroad or bus ticket from Huntsville to the County seat of'the County to shioh he has heen paroled. He is not paid the additional b3.00 sited in Article 6196. sWhen a convict is released on Reprieve he is not furnished with Prison olothing (the usual khaki pants, shirt, etc.) but is given only such make- Honbrable C. A. Camesn - page 2 shift alothing aa aan be found in the Prison Store in Auntsville, in most aaseo east-oft alothing taken from incoming convicts+ If such convict has no money, he is furnished with a railroad or bus ticket from Huntsville the same as for thcisegiven Conditional Par&mm. The Prison purahaees this fioket out of It8 Eduoational and Reoreational lrnnd which Is not a Legislative appropriation. Thi6 Fund 1s areated bj Caeh reaeipts from the Prison Rodeo, visitors fees, eta. ll. Doea Artlole 6108al repeal Artlal~e6196t "2. Regardless of how you rule on question 1, is the Prison Sjmtem eompljlng with existing stat- utes under the present praotlces desoribed above? And if not, pleas8 tell us and then your opinion as to what are the statutorily required praotices~" 1. Arflole 6196 was repealed by House Bill No. 69, ch. 212 of the 40th Legislature, 1927, in Seotion 1, as follors~ "All of Title 108 of the Revised Civil Statutes of 1925 exaept Artiole 6202 thereof is In all things hereby repealed.' 2. We hand you herewith oopy Of this department's Oplnlon ?io.O-1860, whloh we think will answer many If not most of your questions. Supplementing this opinion, however, we beg to advise spealflaall~ an tollorsr (a) Aa to the prebent praotioe of furnishing a aonvlct released on oonditional pardon Tith transportation 'to the county aeat of the ootmty to which he has been paroled", we think the practice la in violation of Artlole 6203, Sec. 10, which requires that the ticket tarnished be 'from the place of his discharge to the place of his conviction and sentence”- (b) TIth respeot to the praatioe of furnishing eonviots released on reprieve with east-off clothing taken from inooming aonviotm, re think that only rmoh olothing as is voluntarily sur- rendered or discarded by the inoominfi convict may thus be given to prisoners released on reprieve. . . honorable G* HO Cavness - page 3 (a) With reapeel to the praattae of furnltihingtrans- nsrtation to aonriots r8leas8d on reprieve out Of the Eduaatfon- al and IteoreotionalFund, a fund created by coah rooeipts from the Prison rodeo, Tiaitors fees, eta l n we b e g to mdvise that o u r statutes make no~provisibn for furnishl.n~transportation to oon- viats 90 released. To have been unable to find my cltatutepro- vidinq for the areation of suah fund , or the expenditure there- Of. Shoe that fund is not defined by statute, or appropriated by the Legislature, its atatum IS unoertain. It is evidently a trust fund areated awl held tar certain purposes. Ii one of those purposes la to futnisb transportation to conriots releaaed on reprieveI we are not pr8parOd to hold auoh 8n expendi furs is unauthorized. The prewmoe Of Artiole 6196 in the etatute book per- haps has led to your question as to repeal of that Artielr. You ail1 see from our Opinion No. O-18U0, that we have held the at- temnt to amend that Artiole ar it had m -- ren8a?8d wan inOf- teotive to restore it. Very truly yourm