Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Hon. D. M. Wiggins
Prealdent, College or
Mlnee and Metallurgy
El Paso, Texas
Dear Dr. Wiggine:
Meisel Survey, Number 187, eituated near El Paso, in
El Paso County, and whioh twenty-two aores of'land was
condemned by the United States Oovernmnt and so taken
Eon. D. M. Wiggins, page 2
by the United States Government ror enlarging and lmprov-
lng the Military Post or Rsssrratlon at Fort Bliss, Texas,
ror which the amount hereby appropriated was reoaivad
from the United States Government and deposltd in the
State Treasury to the oredlt of the Permanent Fund of
the University or Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .#7,748.30’
*On February 5, 1945, Senator Ii.L. Winfield lntroduoed
ln the Senate the following bill, hereafter known as 9. B.
No. 110:
“‘A BII;LTO BE ENTITLED
**AN ACT making an appropriation or #7,748.30 to the
College of Mines and Metallurey. a branoh of The Unlvsrslty
” ‘PREAMBLE
m*WEEREAS, under a judgment rendered on October 27,
1941, in a oondemnatlon.prooeedlng styled “United States
or Amerloa v. Stats of Texas, 8t al, No. 107-01~11,~ in
the Unltsd states Distrlot Court ror the Western Dlstrlot,
El Paso Division, Stats of Texas, the United States Govern-
ment aoqulred title to a tract or 22 aores or land, being
a part of the August Melse!.Survey No. 187 situated near
El Paso, County of El Paso, State OS Texas~,then ba$onglng
to the State of Tsxae for the use and bensiit Or thb’~Ollegs
of Mines and Metallurgy, and was so taken by the United
States Government for the purpose of providing additional
lands in its program of enlarging and Improving the
Killtary Post or Reservation at Fort Bliss, Texas, as
authorized by law, 8nd paid as oonpensetlon for the taking
of said property the sum of 87i748.30, prinolpal and
interest{ and
” ‘WHERW ) said sum of money was, in aooordanoe vilth
the requirements of law, deposited in the State Tr8aEUry
and oredltad to the Permanent Fund or The University of
Texas.$ati
**WHEREAS, the land so taken by the United States
GOV8rment was the abandoned site of the College Of Kines
and Metallurgy, whloh in the establishment of said College
Eon. D. M. WigginS, page 3
,li
by the Legislature of the State of Texas was donated
to the Stat8 as a site for said College, and oonsequently,
the College qt Mines and Metallurgy, is justly entitled
to the use and benefit of the oompenaatlon paid by the
Governmeht for this property, which makes necessary the
appropriation made by this Aot.
"'BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ulSeotlon 1. There is hereby appropriated out of any
~loneyain the Stat6 ‘W~ESUP~ not otherwise appropriated
the sum or S7.7L8.30.
. . . . or so much thereof as map be neoea-
sary, to bs,expendid'
Oy authorized to p
may deem proper and neoessary within and adjaoent to said
oampua~0r the Collsge or Mines ana Metsllurgy and to make
suoh iznprovementethereon es it msy deem proper 8.ndmoea-
sary and to enter into oontraots ror these purposes.
**Seotlon 2. The faot t&t the College or Mines ana
Metallurgy at El Paso Is greatly in need or additional
lads and improvements and the iaot that said College
is entitled to the immediate urn8 and benerlt ot the money
hereby appropriated for eald gurgosss oreates an emergenoy
and an lmperatlve publio neoeeslty that the Constitutional
iiulerequiring bills to be reed on three sev,eraldays in
eaah House be suspended, and the 6~18 is hereby suspended,
and this Aot shall take efreot end be in foroe rrom and
after its passage, and it ls 80 enaoted.'
*You will observe that this bill says, quote in part:
*. . . for th8 purpose of acquiring additional land within
and adjaaent to the oanipusor said College and the making
0r improvements thereon . . .*
"9. 8. No. 110 was reported favorably out of the
OoaUftt88~ln th8 Seapte on Maroh 29 and passed the 98n'at6
on May 15, 1945. In.th% meanttie, slnoe th% Session was
drawing n%ar to the olose, Senator Wlnfield submitted a
aopy or this bill (9. B. No. 110) to the Committee on
Claima and Acoounts and asked that sem8 be inserted in the
Nieoellaneous Claims Bill. As I understand it, this request,
along with the other requests made to th% COmIr&tt%8on
Hon. D. NM.Wiggins, pa&X84
Claims and Aooounts was submitted to the Attorney
General's Department (Judge Flewellen aoted as adviser
to this Committee.) for approval berore being inserted
in the Mlsoellaneoua Claims Billi after all olalmn,
lnoludlng the claim in question, were approved by the
Attorney General's Department, Mrs. Edna Rosen, Secre-
tary of the Committee on Misoellaneous Claims and
Aocounts, typed the Mlsaell8neous Claims Bill ama
Judge FhVdl8n aided her in wording the various claims,
lnoludlng the one in question. It was an lnadvertenoy
on soad one's part that the phrase *and the making of
improvements thereon' was omitted. This bill (Ii.B.
No. 701~Miscellaneous Clah Sill) was passed in the
Senate May 18, 1945, and the House oonourred on May 21.
In the meantime, S. B. No. 110 was reoelved in the
House end passed the House on May 31, 1945.
"OneJtie 4, 1945, R. B. No. 701 was filed by the
Governor wlthout his signature. The eut&r or 9. B.
No. 110, not knowing what the outaom8 of IL B.No. 701
might be, had not made any effort 40 withdraw 8. B.
No. 1104 but lmmedlately upon~the filing bp the Governor
or H. B; No. 701, Senator Wlnrleld requested the Governor
to veto 9. B. No. 110 in view or the faot that there was
a duplloetlon slnoe he was under the impression that
Ii.B. No. 701 oarrled in full the &ternasked ior in 5. B.
No. 110. The Governor then vetoed 9. B. No. 110 at the
author's request.
*In view tit the faot that 9. B. No. 110 was approved
by both Houses of the Leglsleture and was vetoed at the
requeat of the author and slnoe we reel that it was the
implied intention of the Legislature in both lnstanoes
to provide ror both the purohaslng and the lmprorlng or
the property, I should like to here an opinion from the
Attorney General*8 Department advising whether expendi-
turen may be made for paving, ourblng, and oonstruoting
sidewalks around the property in questiodrn
You have oorreotly quoted the it8niinvolved, and
it is olear therefrom that the appropriation wes made to the
permanent fund of the University of Texas, expressly for the
purpose of aoqulrlng additional land within and adjacent to
Bon, D. M. Wiggins, page 5
the present oampus of the College of Mines and Metallurgy.
The making of improvements upon suoh land la quite a
different thing from the purpose of the appropriation,
and cannot be allowed upon any conception of such mistake
or inadvertence es mentioned by you. The validity or an
aot may not be attacked or its plain meaning perverted by
matters thus loreign to the l8glslatlve prooesses. Suoh
oonsfdaration 1s beyond the‘utmost latitude of statutory
sonstruotlon.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEYGENE
BY
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