. . 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF 

AUSTIN 

Eonorable George R. Sheppard 

Comptroller or Publio AOooUUt6 

Austln, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinian No. O-1672 

Re: Authori ty or Limit ati on of Payments 

Board to- authorize sxpenditur0a 

supplsmenting a sgs0ifio itea of 

appropriation; .~.~_..-~~_ 

.~_ 

By your letter of Novtiber lath, you request the 

-_- . 

opinion of this department upon the Xollowlag queetlonr 

. ,- 

“Does’ the Liznitation’of Payments Board provlded for In the rider to,.. th0General Appopriation Bill passed by tha Regular.,Session of the 

LWrty-sixth LegJslature ~for tha prassnt biennium 

hsve authority'to &rant a\supplemental amount to 

a spscifio i;taa,in the app?opriation bill for office rent, suoX aa,, found und0r $ten 5 & the %alntenanoe and KisoalLaqe0Ua~ appropriation for the 

Barber Boqfdl-.,, ‘\,,, ‘,.,, 

.,--err youlr. a’kawar ~,%ti tXe negative 

aafd Iktatibq oi2Qxwiiits Board haie 

then would 

authority 

,’ 

,A42 gqant, supplekental dppropriations to an;r item 

in.8 tintingent &x@&e appropriation, suoh as 

‘1 

LIzted In Stan 4 of the appropriation for the 

%ate Board 60 Dent& Fxsminers?n '\\y ,,. i \ ,,Item ‘5 of the %aintenahoe and &oellaneoUan 

approprQtl,on fos the Barber Board reads as follms: 

'keri/;/ae rent ,.. $300 . 00 . * 

Itam 4 of the appropriation for the Sta%s Board 

of Dental Yxaminers rsads as follms: 

"Postage, telephone, contingent expenses, 

statfonery, printing, supplies, equipment, office rent, publicity and auditing expenses . . . $.l,OOO.OO" 
1 

Bon. ,George H. Sheppard, Pa&e 2. 

The general rider appended to Senate Bill 402, 

46th Legislature, provides in part GS follonts: 

*(b) The appropriations herein provided are. 

to be construed as the maximum sums to be appropriated 

t0 and for the several purposes named berein, and the 

amounts are intended to cover and shall cover the 

entire ooet of the respsotive it-a, and the same 

shall not be supplemented Prom any other source; and, 

except as otherwise provided, no other expenditures 

shall be made, nor shall any other obligations be 

incurred by any department of this State, . ..w 

RLimitati on of payment 8. yxoept as otherwise 

provided, whenever, by virtue of the provisions of 

this Act, Items are to be paid out of Pees, receipts, 

special funds or out of. other funds available for 

use by a department, it Is the intention of the 

Legisleture to limit expenditures out of said fees, 

receipts, spaolal funds or other available funds 

to the purposes and in the amounts ltcmlzed herein, 

and it -is so provided. If, hwlever, the amount of 

the Pees, receipts, special or other available funds 

herein referred to are more than sufflclent to 

pay the items herein designated to be paid therefrom, the department to which the said fees, reoeipts, speoial funds or other available funds are 

appropriated may, ii necessary to adequately perform 

the functions of said department, use any portion 

of said surplus Pees, receipts, speoial funds or 

other available funds; provided, however, that 

before doing so, the head of suoh departmsnt shall 

under oath make applloatlon jointly to the Gwernor, 

the Attorney General and the State Treasurer setting 

forth in detail the.neoe8sit.y for using suoh surplus Pees, reoeipte, speofal funds or other available 

funds and itfxnizing the purposes for which the same 

are to be used . ..* 

Taragraph (b) of t3e general rider prohibits tha 

supplementing from any source of an amount provided for a 

speoiflo lten or purpose. This prohibition extends to the 

authority oP the Limitation of Payments Board, so that that 

body is Wwlthout authority to authorize .additional expenditures 

by way of supr,lementing an ltean for which specific nJovlnion 

has been made ‘by the Legislature. It follows that suoh it-s 

as Item 5 of the “Zaintenanoa and ?:iscellaneous* appropriation 
Hon. George H. Sheppard, Rage 3. 

for the Barber Board may not be supplemented by authority of 

the Limitation of Payments Board, for the Legislature hes seen 

Pit to meke a spscifio and s parate provision for office rent, 

itemizing it in such manner !h at the amount available for that 

specific purpose is definitely ascertainable. 

We have construed paragraph (b), where it state8 

*except as otherwise provided, no other expenditures shall be 

made,* to have relation to.the limitation oP payments olause, 

and to authorize the Limitation~of Payments Board to pennit 

the u9e of a portion of surplus fees, eta,, necessary to 

adequately perform the functions of a department, for purposes for which speoifio provision has not been mde by the 

Legislature. In other word%, the authority of the Limitation 

of Wymente Board extends only to the authorization of expenditures for purposes for which the Legislature has not provided a definite and asoertalnable amount. 

Since, in-buch Items as Item 4 of the appropriation 

for the State Board of Dental Yxaviners, the Legislature has 

not provided a definite and fixed amount to be spent for 

poetage, or'to be spent for telephone, or to be spent for 

such other purposes a% are lumped together in this item, but 

has, in reality, provided only an Item for "Contingent Rxpensee," In such manner that the amount authorized to be spent 

for any partioular purpose falling under such heading mey not 

be ascertained, it ie within the authority of the Limitation 

of Payments Board to authorize expenditures out of surplus Pees 

for any purpose falling within the term% of Item 4, %ave and 

except treveling expenses, which, being governed by a peculiar 

and speaial provision of the penerel rider, may not be supplemented in any event, a% held in our Conference Opinion No. 3089. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEX GENERAL OF TX&S 

R. ‘N. Fairchild 

Assistant