Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1946 )

XonorableClam3 Isbell secretoryof state Ca;)itol Austin,Texas Dear Elr.Isbell: Op-ini.on No. O-7050 Re: Date for electionupon constitutional amendmentsubmittedin Rouse Joint ResolutionNo. 10, 49th Legislature. We beg to ackncvledgereceiptof your requestfor an opinionupon the above subjectmatter as follows: "At the last regularsessionof the Legislature,therewas submittedHouse Joint ResolutionNumber Ten, a copy of which I am enclosingfor your consideration.you will observethat Section two of this amendmentprovides: 'TheforegoingConstitutional Amendment shall be submittedto a vote of the qualifiedvoters of this State at an electionto be held thrcpghoutthe State in November,1946, at which all ballotshave printedthereon:'. "I would be pleased if you would answer the following: "a. In view of the indefinitedate in Novemberas set out in the above quotation,shouldwe submit this amendmentto be voted upon at the generalelectionto be held on November5? "b. Could t6is amendmentbe submittedto the voters at an election to be held later than November 5? “C . Should the amendmentin its presentform as writtenbe submittedat any electionin November? "In view of the fact that these amendmentsmust be publishedninety days before the electionand that time is drawingshort, I would be pleased if you would give this your immediateattention." S&tion 1 of ArticleXVII of the Constitution,providingthe methcd of amendingthe Constitution,requiresthe proposedamendmentto be "duly publishedonce a week for four weeks, commencingat least three months before an election,the time of which shall be specifiedby the Legislature, in one weekly newspaperof each county,in which such a newspapermay be published." HonorableClaud Isbell - Page #2 (O-7050) Section 2 of House Joint ResolutionNo. 10 provides: "The foregoingconstitutional amendmentshall be submittedto a vote of the qualifiedvoters of this State at an electionto be held q throughoutthe State in November,lgj~:,at which all ballotsshall have printedthereon:"'@8KCe~tera . Your questionpresentsa matter of statutoryconstructionto determine whether or not Section 2 ti:>ove quoted is a sufficientcompliancewith Section i of ArticleXVII, requiringthat the time of such election"shall be specifiedby the Legislature". The purposeof every interpretationof a statute is to ascertainthe intention of the Legislature. This intention,of course,must be ascertainedfrom the Act itself. The intentionof the Legislature,as thus discoveredfran the Act, is the law. Applyingthis universaltest, we think it was plainlythe intentionof the Legislaturethat the resolutionshouldbe submittedat the regularelection held throughoutthe State on November 5th. Specifically,the resolution declaresthat the amendmentshall be submittedto the qualifiedvoters of , the State "at an electionto be held throughoutthe State in November,1946." The generalstatutoryelectionof November5, 1946,meets literallythis requirement,and in truth is the only electionunder cne circumstancesthe Legislaturecould have had in mind. The publication,i;hrrefore,should specifythat date. The only possiblenuggestlonof doubt as to the foregoingoonclusloncould be that since House Joint ResolutionNo. 62 passedby the 49th Legislature, submittingan amendmentto Article III of the Constitutionby addingSection 49-b providesfor submissionat an electionto be held throughoutthe State of Texas on the first Thursdayin November,1946, there is no specified time for voting upon the amendment. The answer to this suggestionis that RJR No, 62 had not been adoptedat the time HJR No. 10 was finallypassed. Moreover,anotherfamLl,nr rule of statutoryconstructionforbidsany other conclusionthan that above. Where a statute is fairly capableof two constructions, one of which would render it void, and the other would make it valid, the lattermust be adopted,for the Legislatureobviouslyintended that the Act shouldbe valid. The above rule of constructionis not limitedto statutesproper,but is applicablealike to constitutions, legislativeresolutions,and all other written instruments. APPROVEDJLSX 13, 1946 Very truly yours' s/CARILXSASHLEX FIRST ASSISTANT ATCORNEXGZNERALOFTFXAS ATPORNRYGENRRALOF TEXAS APPROVEDOPINIONCOMMITTEE a/ Ocie Speer BY B. W. B. CHAIRMAN By Ocie Speer cc3 -r$/ ldw Assistant