Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

- .
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
Honorable J. E. McDonald, Commissloner,
Department of Agriculture
Austin, Texas
Dear Mr. McDonald: Opinion No. o-7230
Re: Whether or hot the aupplemen-
tatioh of salaries by the
Federal Government"'toemploy
certificate seasohal ,inspec-
tors on the Mexican Fruit Fly
Project would vlolate any of
the provisions of Article XVI,
Section 33, of the State
Constitution.
Your request for an opinion upon the above subject mat-
ter is as follows:
"The"Fortg-Ninth Legislature appropriated a num-
ber of salaries to be used on the'Mexican Fruit Fly
Project in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas to
employ certificate inspectors seasonal at $90.00 per
month‘.'We find it Impossible to employ efficient
and capable help'as i'snecessary on this project at
the amount as stated above. The United States'Depart-
ment of Agriculture is the cooperating agency and is
Interested in an interstate movement of cit'rusfruit.
The Federal Government has expressed a willingness to
supplement these salaries in the amount of $35.00 each,
which will make a total of $l25.OO to be paid each em-
ployee.
"None of these employees holds any other office
or position of honor, trust, or profit under this State
or the United States. Each of said employees is under
the direct and sole supervision of the State Commission-
er of Agriculture. No other person or Department what-
soever holds or exercises any jurisdiction or supervi-
sion over said employees.
"In view of the foregoing, please advise if the
supplementation of salaries'by the FecleralGovernment
as above outlined violates any of the provisions of
Article 16, Section 33, of'our State Constitution."
, -
Honorable J. E. McDonald, page 2 O-7230
Under the facts stated by you with respect to the
method of supplementing the sala~riesof the named employees of
your Department, your question should be answered in the negatlve.
Section 33 of Article XVI of the Constitution referred
to by you, insofar as it concerns a restriction on payment of
compensation, is as follows:
"The accountingsofficers of this State shall
neither draw nor pay a warrant upon the Treasury
in favor of any person, for salary or compensation
as agent, officer or appointee, who holds at the.
same time any other office or position of honor,
trust or profit, under this State or the United
States except as prescribed in this Constitution.
* * + 4 **'I
If such supplemental compensation under consideration
is paid'directly by the Federal Government to the State employee
as a State employee performing services helpful alike to the
United States and the State, without creating, or attempting'to
create an office, agency or employment of the United States as
such, then Section 33 has no application.
We pointed out this distinction in our Opinion No;
0-2388-A, addressed to Honorable Roy C. Loventhal, Chairman,
Livestock Sanitary Commission, a copy of which accompanies this
opinion. In that opinion we said:
'In response to our inquiry, Mr. C. R. Lan-
don, District Agent for the United States Depart-
ment of the Interlop, advised us 'that they (the
two clerks) each have what is known asAgent ap-
pointments under the United States Department of
the Interior, These appointments state the amount
of salary to be paid from Federal funds and the
amount to be paid from State funds. The total
salary is based upon the Federal salary rates for
the type of work required of these employes.'
"In the light of this Information, It would
seem that the Federal Government pays the two
clerks in consideration for their services render-
ed pursuant to their individual capacity as agents
of the United States Department of the Interior,
and this being done Irrespective of the fact that
they incidentally occupy at the same time the posi-
tion of State employees.
"The money paid these clerks in their capacity
as a Federal agent springs from a source and travels
Honorable J. E. McDonald, page 3 0-7230
a channel separate and district from those funds ap-
propriated by the State Legislature. These f’unas
never reach the State Treasury. The point of its
origin and disbursement is the United States Treas-
ury.
"The clerks are commissioned agents of the
United States Department of the Interior, and ac-
cordingly, hold Federal positions of 'honor, trust,
or profit', within the meaning of that phrase,
None of the enumerated exemptions in the above
quoted constitutional provision (Section 33) em-
braces this situation.
"Therefore, under the given facts, our opinion
is that no provision of the Appropriation Bill would
prevent the State employee's salary from being sup-
plemented by Federal Funds; but, Sectlon 33, Article
16, supra, would prohibit them from receiving any
salary or compensation for their services rendered
the State so long as this Federal relationship con-
tinues."
We trust that this is a sufficient and satisfactory
answer to your question.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
By s/Ocie Speer
Ocie Speer
Assistant
OS al-WC
Enclosure
APPROVED JUN 15, 1946
s/Carlos C. Ashley
FIRST ASSISTANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL
This Opinion Considered And Approved In Limited Conference