Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

Honorable John D. Reed, ~Commiseioaer .~ '. " .. .: Bureau of Labor Statia'tica .: Austin, Texas - an account for the purohaee of ,,``~;n~lm vhfoh.Ia over two . You attaoh to your lettcer ~of Yaroh lq,th-a fIls.oonoernIng a statement submitted for payment to your departmentby'~the Gulf Oil Corporation; covartxig:: an aaoount for the purdhase of ._ certain Items from the.@ulf Oil Corporation during the month of September, 1939. You ask the,opInIon of .thIa dsp'artment upon the question'ol whether the State Board of ciontrol would be within Its authorIty':In approving this acoount for payment, Inasmuch as It Ia over'tro.yeAr.re' old., The queatIon)'therefore, Is confined to the Inquiry whetherthe 'fact 'that t-his~account waa'incurred more than two yeare ago preclude& Its approval by the State Board of' Control, and our opinion Is limited to answering that question. . Apparently your inquby Is prompted by the'provisions of Article 4357,Revised Civil Statutes of,Texaa 4.1q2$., as amended by Acts 1931,Forty-second Legislature;. page 00, Chapter 243, Section 1. This law provides in part as hollows: "No claim shall be Daid from appropriations unless presented to the Comptroller for payment within two years from the close of the fiscal year for which suoh appropriations were made, but any claim not presented for payment within such. period may be presented to the Legislature ae other claims for which no appro- priations are avAIlable. . .e It Is to be noted that the,computatIon of the two years period of limitation for presentation of claims for payment to the Comptroller Is, 'a? the terms of the statute, made from the close of the f&scal ypar for whioh the appropriation against which the olaim'wae fnourred was made, not from the date on which the claim was In6Wred. Honorable John D. Reed, CommI8eio~b~,Fage 2, O-4259 r It aPPeara that this loonunt waa Inourred during the month of September*- 1939. Obviouelg, tlyrefore, It must have been Incurred against an appTaprIation made to lhe Bureau of ” Labor Statistics for the ,fIscal year beginning September 1, 1939, and ending, or closing, on Aupmt 31, 1940. Two years from the close of thie fiecal year, therefore; would extend the period of limitation to and through August 31, 1942. It IS apparent, therefore, that the claim has been presented.for payment within two yeare from the ~cloee OS the Sisoal year for which the appropriations .agaInat which o laim wae ‘Inourred were made. Notice, perhaps, ~ahould be taken of the ‘provisions of Article. 4371, Vernon’s Revised Civil S,tatutee of Texas, which provides In part a8 Sollowa: . “No.money shall bye paid out of the Treasury except on the warrants of the Comptroller , and.no.wanrant shall be paid by the Treasurer unless Presented for payment within two years fro+. the cleat of the fiaoal ~year In vhiah euch w arrant was . Iaeued l . . . ,’ ._ The period of limitation. prescribed’ by +thIs Artiole has no reference to the ,mattpr ,of the isauanoe of a,warrant for payment but, a8 Is plain from the language I@&& preecribea only the period within which the holder of-.a ~warrant duly Issued must present aaid warmnt ‘far .pajmen$:. kn’thb Instant situation, apparently no warrant hae ever ,been- Isaued~, and therefore Article 4371 hae no aPplIoatIon. . ._ Youra very truly ATTORNEY GERERAL ._ .~ ,OF TEXAS ,.- _- .-- .’ ai’ .., R; ‘@.’ Fairohlld” C-.--r BY .- -:. ‘R. W. FaIr6hIl.d RWF:LM/cg . ~.‘, .:, .+ Asaietant p. S. The file attached to your letter .oS request Is returned to you herewith APPROVED RARWI26, 1942 a/ Grover Sellers FIRST ASSISTANTATTORNEY GENERAL Approved Opinion &muiittee; .By’Bb’B, Chairman