Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

4 R-867
OF'FlCE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENEBAL
AUSTIN. TEXAS
PRICE DANIEL
ATTORNEYGENERAL
November 15, 1947
Hon. J. E. McDonal,? Opinion No. V-433
Commissioner of AgrFculture
Austin, Texas Re: Authority of Commia-
sioner of Agriculture
to pay salaries from
funds appropriated aa
contingent funds
Dear Sir:
Your request for an opinion of this Department
dated October 11, 1947, relates to the authority of the
Commissioner of Agriculture to hire part-time employees
for the Field Seed Certification Division of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture and pay their salaries from Item 23
of the departmental appropriation for the Depertment of
Agriculture contained in S. B. 391, General Laws, 50th
Legislature, at pa e 812. Your question has arisen in
view of Paragraph 7 14) f, Section 2, of this Act, which
reads 8s fOllOWs:
"f . Contingent Expenses. None of the
funds hereinabove appropriated for 'contin-
gent expenses' or 1m8intenance and mlacel-
laneous' shall be used for the payment of any
salaries unless specifically authorized to
be p8id in the itemization under the contin-
Rent, maintenance end miecellaneous items
herelnebove set out and designeted therein
es ‘salaries, ( ‘extrs help, ( or ‘seasonal
18bOr.'"
The appropriation to the Field Seed Certlflca-
tion Division of the Department of Agriculture in 9. B.
391 is as follows:
Hon. J. E. McDonald - Page 2 (Ro. V-433)
“Field, Seed, Certification For years ending
Division August 31, August 31,
“19. Are8 Inspectors and 1948 1949
Supervis or9 , none t 0
exceed $2280. per
year each . . . . . . . . . . $9,120.00 9,120.oo
“20. Traveling Expenses.. 2,ooo.oo 2,ooo.oo
Out of Special Pure .
Seed Fund (Article
56 to 67 inclusive.,
R.C.S., 1925, and
Ch8pteP 93, First
Celled Session of
the 41at Legislature,
end any Amendments.)
“21. Chief of Division... 3,624.OO 3,624 .OO
“22. Office AasiSt8nt,
Inspectors and
other seasonal
help, none to ex-
ceed $2280. per
year each . . . . . . . . . . 3,456.00 3,456.m
“23. Postage, prlntlng,
rep8ire, equipment,
supplies, traveling
expense end contln-
gent ,............... 10,000.00 10,000.00~
The “Special Pure Seed Fundnreferred to above
csme into existence by virtue of Article 67e, Vernon’s Civil
Statutes (Ch. 93, 1st C.S., 41st Legislature, as amended by
Acts 46th Leglsleture, Ch. -2, pa$e 3) and the “Specie1 Pure
Bred Cotton Seed Inspectlon Fund by virtue of Article 66,
Vernon18 Civil Statutes (Acts 2nd C.S. 38th Legislature,
1923, P. 127). We make this observation for the reeson that
apparently the names of these funds are and have been used
interchangeably by the Legislature in appropriation bills,
;;;tComptroller of Public Accounts and the Treasury Depart-
and that the 50th Legislature intended to appropriate
in Iiem 21, 22 end 23 moneys in both funds although only one
1s deslgnated. We are aware of the sources of the money go-
ing Into these funds and of the Legislature’s expression as
to the uses these funds are to be put to as revealed in the
statutes, Article8 56 through 67a, Vernon’s Civil Statutes.
Hon. J. E. McDonald - Page 3 (No. V-433)
We believe that the provisions of Paragraph (14)f
of Section 2, S.B. 391, quoted above, forbid the payment of
any salary from Item 23 of your appropriation, and that the
Legislature intended that part-time employees for the Field'
Seed Certification Divlslon should be naid from Item 22. how-
ever small It now appears. Item 22 st;ltea speciflcally'"0f-
fice Assistant, Inspectors end other seasonal help." Under
no rule of construction could we say that Item 23 contained
in any part thereof a salary provision, especially in the
face of the prohibition of Paragraph (14) f. Item 23 falls
within the prohibition of p8r8graph (14) f, since it con-
tains the word "Contingent' and does not contain the words
"381ar1e3, ' "extra help" or "seasonal labor." See Attorney
General's Opinion v-368.
SUMMARY
The Commissioner of Agriculture Is not
authorized to pay part-time employees from
Item 23 of the departmental appropriation
for the Department of Agriculture contained
in 3. B. 391, 50th Legislature.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY
GENERALOF TEXAS
BY
Assistant
JTB/lh