Hon. Paul H. Brown

Fire InsuranceCommissioner Board of InsuranceCommissioners Austin, Texas OpinionNO. v-1336.

Dear Sir: Re: Constitutionality of a rider in the general appropriation bill prescribingthe method of handling expensemoney collectedpursuant to Art. 4898, V.C.S.

You have requested an opinion fice regarding the constitutionality of rider in the general appropriation bill nium endingAugust 31, 1953: of this ofthe following for the bien-

“Providedalso that such sums as are receivedby the Fire Division as provided by Article 4898 R.C.S. shall be deposited to the DepartmentalSuspenseAccount in the State Treasury. Expenses of State Bm-’ ployees incident to the investigations shall be paid from travel expenseshereinabove appropriatedand such travel expense appropriationshall be reimbursed for the actual amounts ex ended under the provisions of Article t898 R.C.S.-bya transfer from the amount on deposit in the Departmental SuspenseAccount.‘I (H.B. 426 Acts

R.S. 1951, ch. 499, p. 1238, at

Your first question is as follows:

“Is this ri’der

void and of no effect by virtue of Section 35, Article 3 of the Constitutionby reason of the fact that the subjectmatter thereof is not quoted in the caption of H.B. No. 4261 (Reference AttorneyGeneral’s opinion v-1254, dated August 25, 1951, and cases cited.)”Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 2 (~-1.336)

The general rule as to captions is stated

;? z.W.2.d

680, 688 an Antonio and A. P. RY. v. Statq

(1936),as followsl 128 Tex. 33,

II

. . . The generalityof the title is no objectionto it so long as it is not made a cover to legislation which by

no fair intendmentcan be consideredas having a necessary or proper connection. Jo v. City of Terre11 (Tex.Civ.App,) 13 g S.W. 213, 215; city of Aransas Pass
v. Keeling, Atty. Gen., 112 Tex. 339, 247 s.w. 818.

"'It would be burdensomeif not intolerableto require that the title shouldbe as full as the act itself. The word "title" implies that no such requirement exists. The purpose of the constitution-1 provision is merely to reasonably apprise the legislatorsof the contents of tne bill, to the end that surpriseand fraud in legislationmay be prevented.' Doeppenschmidt

v. I. & G. N. R.R. Co., 100 Tex. 532, 101 S.W. 1080, 1~181.~~

Thus, so long as the title gives notice of the contents of the body of the act, there is no evil in generality. However,when the captionprovisions
are narrow and restrictive, portions of the act broader than the caption are unconstitutional. Op. V-1253 (1951). Att'y Gen.

We are of the opinion that the rider in questionproperly falls under the followingportion of the caption to the general appropriation act: "An Act

. . rules, . prescribingcertain specificprocedures, regulations,restrictions and limitationsrelating to and governingthe expendituresof appropriations made herein

. . .I1 The rider acl;;pr+aEe;thgor funds collectedby virtue of Article certain designateduses and sets up the piocGd&g'for utilizing the appropriation. The title provision is general in form, but it gives sufficient notice of what is attemptedby the riderj hence there is no violation of Article III, Section 35 of the Texas Constitution.Hon. Paul H. Brown, page 3 (v-1336)

The remainderof your questions, deal with the means of utilizing the requireddeposit,and the answers depend on a determination of whether this rider attempts to incorporategeneral legislation within an appropriation bill or to altar, amend, or repeal a general statute. If the rider does make

it is unconstitutional. Att'y Gen. :;:hvz2;Y3;i). be followed. If not, the rider provisionsmust

Pour questionsare as follows:

"1s the rider invalid, illegal and ineffectiveby reason of the fact that it attempts to or does, in a general appropriation bill repeal,modify, or amend an existingiaw, to wit: Article 48981

"Does the rider effectuallyrequire an insurancecompany requestingan investigation of a fire and the State InsuranceCommission to deposit in the State Treasury the funds evidencingthe expenses of the State Fire Marshall or other suitableperson to act for him, which funds are for expenses as provided in Article 48981

"Are such funds, as provided in Article 4898 as expenses for the State Fire Marshal
or other suitableperson designatedto act for him under the General Statute Article 4898, such funds as become subject to legislative control or regulationby rider direction to an appropriation bill?"

Article 4898, V.C.S., provides:

"If for any reason the State.Pire.Marshall is unable to make any required investigation in person, he may designatethe fire marshal of such city or town or some other suitableperson to act for him; and such person so designated shall have the same authority as is herein given the State Fire Marshal with referenceto the particularmatter to be investigated by him, and shall receive such compensationfor his servicesas the State InsuranceCommissionmay allow. If theHon. Paul H. Brown, page 4 (v-1336)

investigation

of a fire is made at the request of an insurancecompany, or at the request of a policyholdersustaining loss, town clerk

or at the request .ofthe mayor, or chief of the fire department of any city, village or town in which the fire occurred,then the expenses of the Fire Marshal, clericalexpenses, witnesses and officers fees incidentand necessary to such investigation shall be paid by such insurancecompany, or such policyholderof such city or town as the
case may be, otherwise the expenses of such investigation are to be paid as part of the expenses of the State Insurance Commission.

or companie

s, The party or parties, company requestingsuch investigation, shall before such investigation is commenceddepositwith the State Insurance Commission,an Amountof money in the judgmentof sdid Commission sufficient to defray the expensesof said Fire Marshal in conducting such investigation.”

The money that is required to be deposited does not at the time of depositbecome the property of the State, since at that time its status is undetermined. Only that portion of the deposit equal to the actual expenses of the investigator will become State property,and the remainder,if any, continues to be the property of the person or firm requestlng the investigation. The Legislaturehas, by general statute (Art. 4388, V.C.S.) provided for the handling of funds “the status o h

as follows: which is undetermined,l*

“The State Treasurer shall receive daily from the head of each Department each of whom is specifically chargedw$th the duty of making same daily, a detailed list of all persons remittingmoney the status of which is undeterminedor which is awaiting the time when it can finally be taken into the Treasury, togetherwith the actual remittances which the Treasurer shall cash and place in his vaults or in legally authorizeddepositorybanks, if the necessityarises. The report from theHon. Paul H. Brown, page 5 (~4336)

General Land Office money for interest, shall include principaland

. all

leases of school,university,asylum and other lands. A deposit receipt shall be issued by the Comptrollerfor the daily total of such remittances from each Department;and the cashier of the Treasurer’sDepartment shall keep a cash book1 to be called Isuspense cash book, in which to enter these deposit receipts,and any others issued for cash received for which no depositwarrants can be issued or when their issuance is delayed. As soon as the status of money so placed with the Treasurer on a deposit receipt is determined, it shall be transferredfrom the suspenseaccountby placing the portion of it belongingto the State in the Treasuryby the issuance of a deposit warrant, and the part found not to belong to the State shall be refunded. When depositwarrants are issued, they shall be entered in this cash book, as well as any refunds, and the balance shall representthe aggregateof the items still in suspense. Refunds shall be made in a manner similar to that in present use, except that separate series of warrants shall be used for making such refunds, to be called ‘refund warrants,

1 and such warrants shall be written and signedby the Comptroller and counter-signed by the ,Treasurer

and charged against the suspensefunds to’ which they apply. Such warrants shall then’be returned to the Comptrollerand deliveredby him to the person entitled to receive them.”

By the terms of the above Article,when the A,..

. _. . status or tne aepositeamoney is aeterminea,--in your case, when the investigator% expense account is approved,--the

Treasurerwill transferby warrant an amount equal to the total of the expense account to the Fire InsuranceDivisionlsTravel Expense Account, from which a warrant may be issued to the investigator, and by a refund warrant return the remainder, if any, toHon. Paul H. Brown, page 6 (v-1336)

the person or firm requestingthe investigation. Q&Die1 v. Richcrq& 118 S.W.2d 935 (Tex.Civ. App. 1938), and Att'y Gen. Op. O-945 (1940).

alter, The rider in questiondoes not attempt to amend, or repeal any general statute. The provision requiringthe money to be depositedto the Department SuspenseAccount is in compliance with Article 4388, V.C.S. This portion of tk ridermerely reiteratesthe general statuteand has no other legal effect. Att'y Gen. Op. C-1837 (1940). The appropriationin the rider is for the purposes set out by Article 4898, V.C.S. valid. Att'y Gen. and as such is proper and Op. f-1267 (1951). Therefore,you are advised that the method of operationprovidedby Article 4388, V.C.S., and the rider to the general appropriation

bill is the proper method of handling and accountingfor the funds in question.

The title to the general appropriation bill for the biennium ending August 31, 1953, is sufficiently

broad and general to include the rider (H.B. 426 Acts 52nd Leg. R.S. 1951 ch. 499 pe 1328 at p* 1373)'regulating $he dispo&tion of'fundsdepositedwith the Board of InsuranceCommissionersto defray the anticipatedexpensesof a fire investigator.

The rider does not attempt to alter, amend or repeal a general statute ly reiteratesthe requirementsof k?"4$%~- V.C.S., a general statuteprescribingthe method for handling funds "the status of which is undetermined.n

Yours very truly,

APPROVED: PRICE DANIEL Attorney General C. K. Richards Trial & AppellateDivision

Jesse P. Luton, Jr. ReviewingAssistant

Charles D. Mathews First Assistant EW.:wb ,,rw~d~ E. Wa Thode Assistant