OFFICE OF **THE** ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS

AUSTINXonorabli:Geo. A. IS&&, page 2

of said rsspective oouutias md defined road dtitrfots, for themmosoe 856 uses mors msairioallr set rorth i;zthis A&; includiq tiif2payme& of ~r~inkpal, interest and sinkir.~fuhd requirements of all eligible obUgations maturing an ar;SProip**Se&ember** 1, 1949, to tind jni$ludi.ng August 31, 1941, an6 eaoh year thereafter until all **euah** eli bl *a1 e oblizatlons sre fully mid: and the monevs co&g into t%e oredit of Lix,e-c&mt~~ and road M.&&at hi&way fuuL with the State Treasurer and allmneys rtaalnlng the:.eiufrom theprepious year shallbe reaeived and h%ld by him as ex-OffiOiO'!bV3~Urer Of the oOuati%8 a02 defined road Uistriots and shall first be eubjeot to tie appropriation for the payment of interest, prluaipal unitsinkirig Amd maturing rmi time to tims on gaitI eligible obligations end then for'the other uses spaolfied aniipermitteE in this Act.' (Cnosrssoriug ours)

Clearly t&is seotiotlof c:?gRot oan be oo~M~~ed as an'apDroQrlatlon or the funds allocated to the Eoard of County and District 2oad IqIebtednsas. It is equally as plain that suehap2ropriation is for the bienaiuinbegiming September 1, 1939, and ondin:;A:qust 31, 1941, fmd t%t the Zuads 60 appropriated are rFrst 'cobe used for the purpose of paying 9rihoL pal, iuterest end siaking Wud rsq+.lre~nte of .eJ.l &lJ.gible **obligations mutwtia**  **on and**  **fran** 

## 3e~ptmntvsr **3.. lW9,**  **to** and in~ludlng August211, LQ4l i- .P it i %hat suoh ob&igations **a@ &it%?$&qnt**  iIll **L ”** **y&$% Si** **” 1941,** 

**can rsaelte**  **no** 

### further**aasletanaa frown** **th& Aatb**  **until** &he Legialatum has spea$fiaa$ly appropriated funds therefor. Otherwise, .tha appropriation wOuld be for a psriod of time longer than tno~~sre in tlolationof Section 6 ofArtisle VIII of t21eConstitution of Texas,~which reads as followed.

Wo money sW2 **be** drawn from the Treamxybut ia
pursuauoe of apeai~ie appxo&aLions madeby 1%; nor shall any appropriation ofmoney bemQie for a longer ter;i: than two years exoept by the first leglslaturo to aasomble under this Constitution whiah xay nrakethe necessary appropriations to aarry on t&3 L;cqermont until the aasenblage of'tixeSixteenth Legislatureta

&Ulifeotly, then, sukM&mtion jof 3eotiou'zJoftbs bill, beiq an ap,propriationm+asur%, canaot last loa~@Z thm t?w irp 3113,tbrefore, expires by its own term on **.August 31,** 

**.**2x purpose of11.il.688 a:i&itspredecessors is

clesxly deolardt in Soation 1. It iS f3X~re08lyd8clhl-8Ct tG be t!ke?olioy of the state to take over, acquire, purchase and retain the interest and ewiti::s of the various czountios ad defined road districts in and to the higlmays not

### pre**vious&y taken**  **over, aaqvired**  **and purchased,**  **consti.txting**

a part of the system of deafgnated State iZi$hwl&ys, and it 

### isdetermined that tha further provision of tlr,hct should constitute fair, just and quitable ooqensa@en, repayment and reimbursement to said couhtles and Qefined mad &i,stri.ots iGr their.ai8 aud assistance to t&/State in the Oonstruotion of State Highways, and thit suoh provisions would fully &ischarge l3aelegally irapliedobligation of the State to 80 oompensate, **repay aila**  reimburse the agencies oft&3 **Sta$e** r0r ezpenses inourred at the itistanoeand solicitation of the State, **as** well.aa for expjnaes inourrcd for the benefit of the State. !i'he auooeeding ;?rovieionssat up the machixierg for carrying out that aealared polio,-.

He are of the opinion tha? thepurgose OfHouse 5i.11688 was lrerelyto fix themetho& of attalui.lcthe objeotlves declareirinMotion 1, and that Seotion 0, subse&ion j thereof, oonstituted the as>rogriation of funds necessary to effectuate its lxoviaions for the biennium beginnin=,September~l, 1959, and endins hugust 31, 1943..

It eannot be said that the purposes of the Aot nay not yet be aarried out thou& we mist hoid that no appropriation of funds has bean aabe for such purposes for the hext biennium.

A statute oannot be repealed by non4& unless acooqauied by tltaeatablishmnt of an opl;oslte~legislative policy oxby the.anactmnt of irreconcilablastatutea **or** by elimination of the object of the statutes,-’ Sale 5E Cd,,
page 920. House 3111 6SO beaoslesinqerative by reason of the failum of fun&s with whioh to aarry out && purpose. It 'isour opinion that the law has not srpired and that vthen such funds as are nerresaaryto oarrg on are jg-ovidei4 by the **Legislature** the law znayreawna operation. The lauguage use& by the Court in the Interstate Forwarding Coqmny v. Vimyard, 3 s;.‘;.*

(20) 947, 5eemt persunsive of the **vioW** here token, *the law remins in full force anb effeot althou& so to speak, in a stete of hibernation beaause of non-anforoement."

Therefore, in reply to your quaetion number one,

we mat anmer in the negative.Conoroble Geoi A. Eight, pa& 4

'ri'ith raferenoe toyoUr seoond c;uestio-? and t&e suzzeste8 amendment to sub-seation j,Seotion 6 of Eouse Bill GE8, we t-&n!:that the l.astphrase, "for the

### purgosea m(: uses more specifiaally set forth in this Act, eta.- shoulilbe zade to ra:xl"for the purposes and GSBS mre spaclfionlly set forth inEotiee35.11686 of the 

### Fortysixth Legisldxre, Regular Gession'~. %'ithtlds phrase properly substituted layour proposed qmendrnentwe are of t&e oninion t?t$It liouae9111 08e will agaLa become operative if a&d aze%dzmnt be lnoluded in n Fe-en~ctmmt of Section 6 in its estiraty published at length.

Yruatlngthat the foregolag ikllg answem your inquiry, we me

Youys vsry truly