Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1945 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVERSELLERs
ATTORNEY GENERAL
%morab& saa 13. f$aU
County Attorney
xerrleon county
zlorshall,Toxaa
3unr sir:
I708re In reael OS r+wmt date wmri3J-
in you raqwat. ou atftutioPsllityand
oiuaitp of muf~5 La** 19gt4 (Art.
97&d, v. A. E. c. ws;on OS the oariou8
propo5ttLona la tit0cQneit~tutli?~lltyOS
said kot bar BL our oQLtsiaexatlonOS
thi6 BDltttw*
ty ror w privete lx80
or labor or eorW3os .,
hgr any orfioer or acp.couxt or t&a Cm-
ELsalonsnurr* Court of any county 83al.l
knowln&y um or pemalt to be used tha
labor OX rrerolwm of any I)ernonwhom
labor or sorrloe Is pld for by. 6wh
cauaty SW priest0 u6e or pr0ri.t shall
be (gaL1t.g of 8 tribddaseanor;
0x33 daoler-
'Lag6n oa0rtpnor.
490
840 a. 8411, page 4
g
As to whether the portion of the Aot whloh is In sonfom-
+ity with the title oan stand is dependent upon the ob eot of the
kl4w, the int4ntlOn Of th4 Leeialaturr, snd the manner
-k?-whiah
kthe unconstitutional portion4 affeot the reminder of the Act
b(8ec 9 Ter. Jurl, Sea, 56 p. 473; State 1. Laredo Ioe co.,
,# Tsx. 461, 73 S.‘w. 9511. 3h’here portion8 of an eat are
iunoonrtltutional and where 411 or the provisions Of the act are
``,4onneoted in subjeot matter and operating togetbr for the saae
;,purpose, or otharwise eo conneoted in eubjeot mstter in 8uch a
$manner that it o4Mot be prcmuned that the Legislature would
&vo passed the one without the other, the whole act is void.
<:;(8penoe V. Penohlet, 107 Ter. 443; Lewlu’ Sutherland Gtatutory
:~‘OonstruOtlOn Seoond 68. Vol. 1, p. 6001 9 Tex. Jam., Sec. 56,
‘:,pp. 473-4, end oa4ee cited thereunder.
;z.,. In the instant eituation, when the Aot is riewad an 4
twhole, it is a4airQst that the purpose or the Aot wa8 to pro-
[;i$de a penalty ior the private u4e of public property and other
~;$hings of value belonging to or paid for by the m&s, 4 county
t or niuniofpalfty . The body OS the Aot contain4 proviefonr whioh
b irr applioabls to t&l of the gen4ral olarsifioatione of publio
;offioers in thie State (State, oountg and mniolpal). Moreover,
&411 of the above mntloned pubLio orfioora, whioh -are nubJest to
$the proririonrror the Constitution and hwe of this Stdte, 4x-e
“by thir Aot, eubjeot to the seine penrlty for’urlng pub110
$:proparty for private prorit. Also we oall partloular attention
;ItO the following lan&i4ge oontainejl in Seotlon 5 of said Aotr
*The f4ot that there is no law providtig a
gWJSitg 6gOiSUSt the U00 Of
~7 fully 68 defliied in this b
8: emrgsnoy, . .*
r<
f;,The preoeding aeotione of. the Aot oontain provld.ocs wlth refer-
? enoe to the property or the State , oountlas and munloipallties,
$
‘?{a note r’urther that H. B. Xo. 80 contain6 no eeverabllity
[z::Orsavinga olauw, and we are unable to find any ind.ioetiOn that
:~.theLr3gislature would have enaot4d mme with the unoonetitution4l
b:``ovieiona slimlnated. u view or the nature and gcmeral. purpoas
R. B, NO. 80, it lo our opinion that the Legislature intendml
L!that the provisions thereof would be applioable as a whole end dl
:#4Otintend that they would be applioable Only t0 OoUnties, when
the portions of the Aot with rererenoe to the State snd mQisiPa1
,tlss are unoonstltutlonal.
-.---- --v-w . -.--
and G&782. &is insofar-aa the holdinaa tharwin ong oonfilot ~fth