OFFICE OF THE AITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Eonorabla Ye A.~Btmdy 

Chait'mn, Appro@'%rt.iO?~~ 

Souse of Repreftentatlres 

Auoa tin, texas 

Dear Mr. Bundyt 

Coamdttee 

Eouee Bill lo. 

olalms of Super 

Aot for the fle 

U6t 3i, m8, P 

preamble, lnsof~~- a8 10 

_ 

e S6ate 8011 Gonaerratlort dot prorides 

eoolrg aompemtation for ~eenices not 

011~~~ Sor eaoh day he ahall be in 

r meetlags of the Board of Sapemlrer tile for travel eaoh way between 

the resideu sot- a&thb deaignat.gd business ofSioe of th& Metrio~~psmisors. 

qnartbly for the&r aervkoea, 

Supemleora shall be p&l 

at.@ OreJ not reoeive eompenaaaion and atdleqb for any nnmber of days In fizoesa of five (3) 

in anytbreemonths periodr 

W@2U3AS, ia the appro~riationa to the State $011 

Oonservat3.on,Beard for payment 0 4 Dfstriot Su etieora eniU.ng 

the 3lst day of Anguet, 134-3, the amount of #ii rtr T¶xouaan5 
920 

Honorable h. A. BnMy - page 2 

($30,000) Dollars was provided, and for the year ending 

the 31at day of August, 1943, the amount of Thirty-six 

ThousaM ($33,oOO) Dollars approptiatlon prodded snffioient funds with vhich to pay per diem and mileage of 

Supervisors as is prodded m ins, but, being set up under the title of ~aalaries~ in the appropriation bill, 

in au opinion lie. 0-4362, 86: Deflolencj Allowanoe to. 

the 3tate Soil Conservation Board, the Attorney 6eneral 

of the State of Texas held that monies appropriated under the titles of salaries Oafa not be used only in 

payment of perdiem,andnopart ofuNch aonldbeusedin payment of ndlsage. 

l NEEREAE, at the cad of the year ending Angust 

31, 1942, the sum of Fifteen ThousaM, One Ifundred Sixteen 

($la,llS,OO) Dollars was paid te Superrisore for per diem, 

leaving an unexpeadt33 balanoe in the appropriation of Thirty 

ThousaM ((39,000) Dollaru of Pourteen Thoueand, Eight Dundred DLghty~l?our ($14,1384) Dollars. yor that period, obllgated mileage to Supervisors amounted to approximately Nine 

Thousaql ($9,000) Dollars, which oould not be met out of the 

unerpendedbalanoeof~oarteem~~aaPd,Ici~tHunilredgLghty~ 

your ($14,384) Dollar6 under the ruling of the Attorney Qeneral. The same ao&lition exists regarding the appropriation 

Of Thirty-six %‘hOusand ($Se,OOO) Dollars prtided for the 

year ending August 31, 1943. In effeot, the monies oontained in the approprfation for X942 and 1943 otherdse available 

for paying tileage to Supervisors, is nulliflsd ay the opinion of the Attorney General. Sinae the fu123s prwiaed, which 

3fouia othemlse be suffloient to pay both per diem and mileage to Supervisors, can be used only in-paymnt of per diem, 

the balanae unused in each case, after the payment of per 

diem, reverts unused. I 

*TiiWORB, In order to pay the Supervisors provided for lu the Soil Conserration Law, the tileage equitably due the@k: 

"BE XT EXAGTED BT TSE LAXSLATDRE OF TSE STATE OF 

TEXM: 

s3BOTIOX 1. There is hereby appropriated to the 

State Soil Conservation Board, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise ap opriated, the sum of J!Zght Thousax&, 

Fire iluudred (@,,a00 r Dollars, to be used to pay mileage 

olaime of Mstriot Supervisors for the fisoal year ena%ng 
Honorable Lt. A, Bundy - page 3 

August 31., 1943, and the sum Of Ten Thousand, Fire Hundred 

($u,@C) Dollars to be used to pay mlleage olaims of Dit+ 

trict 3uperrisors for the flsoal year ending August 31, 

1943.' 

you are respeotfully advised that 8. B. Ho. 118, 

if enacted, all1 be constitutional. 

section 44 of Articis 111 of the constitution asGlares: 

*The Legislature shall proviae by law for - 

the oompenaation of all offioers, servants, 

agents and public oontraators, not provided 

for in this Constitution, but shall not grant 

extra compensatiou to any officer, agent, servant, or public oontraators, after such public service shall have been perfomed or contract entered into, for the performance of 

the same; nor grant, by appropriation or othervise, any amount of money out of the treasury 

of the State to any individual, on a claim, 

real or pretemied, when the same shall not have 

been provided for by pre-existing lair. * + s.* 

vises for 

to exceed 

expenses, 

seotlon 6 of the State Soil Conservation law prosupervisors, fixes compensation for services not 

$4.00 per day, and five cents per mile for travel 

as therein limited. 

Such MstrLot Supervisors are offloers under the 

State 9011 Conservation Law, xithin the meaning of the first 

sentence of the above-quoted Constitution. 

The State, therefore, by virtue of the statute is 

liable to ouah District Supekk8Ors for the mileage provided 

for them, and this liability oontinues until it hae been eatisfied by payment. Payment may be made only by specslfi~ apprepriation by the Legislature (Seotion g, Article VIII, Oonstitution of the State of Texas) and the authority and duty to 

make such appropriation abide until the payment and dbsoharge 

thereof ie made. 

The 8tate Soil Conservation Aat ia itself the ‘preexisting law*, whUh authorizes the appropriation under Senate %.I11 Do. 118. 
‘. 322 

honorable h. A. nuudy - page 4 

In the case of Lightfoot, Attorney 6eueral v. 

Lane, Comptroller, 140 9. 1. 89, the Supreme Court ordered a writ of mandamus to issue against 1. P. Lane, Camptroller of Public Acoounts, commamUng him to issue and 

deliver to Jevel P. Lightfoot, Attorney General, a varrant upon the Treasurer of the State of Texas for salary 

due him, sayiug, hovever, 'The varraut aould not be paid 

until appropriation should be oade if not theretofore 

made .* Inxplicit in this holding of the Lightfoot case is 

the further one that the necessary appropriation for payment could and should be made. 

The appropriation of Seuate Bili lltl ia in no 

sense in riolatiou of the provision of the Constitution 

firat above quoted. 

OS-UR 

very truly yours 

ATTOiUIi%X GENIBAL OP T