OFFICE OF THE A7-l.ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

G*O”ER SELLERS 

&l-rORNIY GlNIRAL 

Lononble L. A. Woods 

state Superintendent 

Department of Education 

Austin 11, Texas 

sear Ljir: Opinion X0. O-7297 

wnich have 

*'o have your lat 

Article 2858, Sevised Stat 

erence is made, readr 

hoa the contracts have 

liah and maintAn in some 

depoaitory where a atook of 

ly all imnediate demanda shall 

contractors not maintaining their 

ual or separate St&e agencies or deshall meintain a joint aeency or 

ory to be located at IIIDI(H suitable and 

co&enient distributing point. Any pereon, dealer 

or school board in any county in the &ate my 

order fro,:1 the central depository; pmvided that 
honorable i. A. Woods, Page 2 

the price of baoko a0 orderad aim11 be psid 

in advance. Upon the failure of any aontractor to furni8h the books a8 provided in 

the aontrrct arLd in tLis Act, the aountp 

judge in the county wherein suoh book8 have 

not been furnished map11 report tha feet to 

the Attorney Cenerel, and he ehall brfng 8uit 

on amount of 8uch failw in the name of the 

State of Texas in the di8trict aourt of Travis 

County, 8hd shall reaover on the bond given by 

8uah aontraator for the full value of the books 

not furnished aa required, ahd in addition 

thereto the sum of one hundred dollara, ax&d l aoh 

day of failure to fuamisn the books shall sonstitute a 8eparrte offense, and the amount8 80 

recovered shall be placed to the andlt of the 

available 8ahool fund of the SCate. Any unorgnnlsed county shall be f:lmished from the 

same agency aa the county to whi4h urid uaorgenfred county I8 atteohed for judioial purpo8es In the 8ame mennet a8 8uuh organl8ed 

couaty'.= 

Howevar, Artiole 2781 of the gevi8ed Statute8 of 

1925 also pertains to the saue inatkr; thlr article has been 

amended sinae the 1925 revision (Ch. 213 Acta 40th Leg.) 

but the amendment did not change the foliowing language 

p4rtinent to your queetfonr 

"All parties with utiom book contraot8 

have been mad4 rhall establish and maintain 

in some city in the State a deporitory where a 

stoak of their good8 to supply all invsediato 

demand8 ahall be kept; all oontraatorr no8 

malntainln~ their own individual or 8epahte 

state agenoies or depoaitorles r-11 mninti 

a joint ag4nay or depository to be loaated at 

ma4 euitabla and comveniant dlrtributing point, 

at which gen+rel d4pository sach uontraator 

joining in aaid agency &all keep on hand a 

sufficient atook of book8 to supply the 8ohool8 

of the State . . . ." 
386 

Honorable 2. A. Hoods, Page 3 

As the two etstut48 r4lat4 to the same 4ubje4t 

matter, they must bs construed toge8her; any inaonrirten4y 

between the two mst be resolved by the provisions of 

Article 2781 2s aolended a5 it is tne latest 4xpr4ssion of 

the lefislature. 

Tno purpose of the statutes obviouely wes to 

4441~4 the sc,iutenahce in this State by textbook conqrastors of n stoak of books to supply th4 immedisto demands of the 6Ch9ols. Thor the statute pemita them to do 

by maintsining either separate depOSitOri48, or joint dopOSitori4S. The ntatut48 do not prescribe the loaation of 

these dopoaitori48. Under the statutes, oertain aontractora 

could maintain their depositary in 0~x4 aity in this State as 

a distributing point, others could saintain a joint depository in anoth4r city, if they desired to do 8o, and others 

in still a third city. 

Nor do we read 8he statutes as preventing maintenaaoe of more than on4 joint depository in a rirp;le 4lCy 

in this State. Art1418 2781 tiOU8 tim aoatraotor co maintain 8 repamte dopo8itory, or te aaintain 4a joint agenoy 

or depO8itOry to bs located at 80144 atiteble and oonvenieat 

distributing point, at uhicn general depository eaah aontraotor jOi,ninf? in Said an4ncZ Shall keep on hand a StIffiOieXIt 

stoak Of books to au ply the 8UhOOlS Sf th4 State.4 lie think 

the atetut% is compl i: ed with by maintaining a depoaftory, 

either separetely, or in combinotiou with oth4rs, whereat the 

requiSit4 8toak Of books 18 kept,on deposit in this State. 

Hed the le~isleture intended to limit th4 number of joint 

b4po8itorie8 to a sin@e unit, it would have been neaessary 

for it to designate where and what rhould eonatltuto such 

depoaitoq, or to aut.;orise Imae on4 0184 to do SO. Tha 

statutes do neither, 

,,L.c,, The practioal constructions of th4 statutes unbroke@& date supports the aonolutiion that no single joint 

depository ir required. We are &formed that in eddition 

to the sevarbl individual depOSitariO8 maintainad by OurrOnfr 

textbook aontractor8, there are pr44sntly two "joint dOpO8itoriesv lowted in Dallas. One, the Hugh Perry Leposit0ry, 

../ 
387