AUSTIN.TEXAS 

.' 

September 6. 1949 

Hon. C. IL Cavness 

St+e Auditor 

State C apitol 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Op+ion No. V-896. 

Re: Source of funds for administration of Judicial Retirement System. 

. _ 

Your letter reads in part: 

‘It is not clear to us wh,at funds may be 

available for expense necessary in the ad&Gtration of the Judicial ,Ret.irement Act. We shall 

be grateful for your opinion as to whether the 

$75.000.00 provided in House Bill 320 (the Judiciary Appropriation Act) for the benefit of H.B. 

33 can be so used. If not, from what source may 

such necessary expense money come? 

“It,appears that a part-time salary for 

one person is provided in the Appropriation Act. 

Certainly stationery, postage, office supplies, 

etc., will be necessary.* 

The people of Texas in 1948 adopted an amendment 

to their Constitution which reads: 

“The Legislature shall provide for the 

retirement and compensation of Judges . . . on 

account of length of.service,, age, or disability, 

and for reassignment to. active. duty where and 

when needed. ” Article .v,: Section l-a. 

Pursuant to that constitutional mandate, the 51st 

Legislature (1949) enacted House Bill 33. That Act provides for 

such retirement. Among other things it provides that the Chief 

Justice shall administer the Act. Section 5 states in part: 
Hon. C. H. Cavness, Page 2 (V-896) 

“The Legislature shall appropriate 

such sums of money as may be necessary to 

carry out this act.” 

- 

Further recogniking.&at the system would require 

administration which necessarily entailed reasonable expend& 

tures, Sectio J3 provides: 

“The Chief Justice of the Supreme 

Court shall be in charge of administering this 

Act and shall promulgate such rules and provide such forms as he may deem necessary 

in order to comply with the provisions of the 

Act. . . . In order to carry out the provisions 

,of this Act.Ithe Chief Justice is authorized to 

employ an assistant, Whose salary’wiil be set 

by the Legislature, and paid for from moneys 

appropriated for the Judiciary ‘pepartment.” 

The Judicial ‘Appropriation Bill (H.B. 320) was 

amended on the floor of the Senate by the addition of a new subdivision to be known& Judges Retirement: 

“1.~ Judges Retirement $75,OOOt $75;OOQ. 

“2. Administrative, equipment, postage, 

telegraph, telephone, furniture, $30.000; unexpended balance.* Sb+e Journal of May 23. 

1949, page.ll87. (The items~ repeated of cours~e~ 

mean $75.000 for each of the ,years of the biennium and $30,088:for the~first year and the unexpended b&lance for the second year of the biennium.) 

The’~Houseand~Senate did not agree on many items 

of the appropriation ,bill;’ in&u3ing the above. T~he ‘bill was therefore sent to a.tionference’of House and Senate members. As it 

came out of the. Conference Committee, and as it was enacted into law, it differed from the Senate’s version above. Item 6 of the 

enacted appropriation to the Supreme Court reads: 

“Reporter and Assistant to the Chief 

Justice in Administering the Judicial Retireme&Act of 1949 ,, $4326.00 $4326.00*.’ 
_ . 

787 

Hon. C. H. Cavness, Page 3 (V-896)’ ,.’ 

Thenin the “JudicialSection’-‘- Comptroller’s Department,” Item 16:of the same Act reads: 

. 

“Apportionment to Judikiary Retirement System-asper II-LB. 33. Acts 5fst Legis; 

lature RS. 1949 . . $75.990.09 ,$75.gOO.O0.” 

The only other spetiific reference to judicial ietirement in the appropriation bill’is arider; Section 4. It reads: 

: 

“Out of the funds~ created by the contributions of the. Judges as provided in Sec. 5 

of,H.B. 33 . . . there is hereby~ appropriated 

such sum or sums’ of money as may be necessary to pay the accumulated contributions. as : 

provided inSec; 6 of said H.B. 33.” 

. :.. 

_: 

The underscored, words of S&ion 4 above indicate 

that the money,therein referred to should be used,to spay retirement benefits. The inference is, that it should ‘not be .otherwise 

used. 

The-matter therefore resolves itselfto the interpretation .of these provisions. The’ people in adopting Section l-a 

,. 

of Article V of the Constitution commanded the Legislature to ‘provide for tlie”re’tireme,nt ~a& compensation of Judges.” House. Dill 

33 was thereafter enacted.which~s,aid that “The Legislature shall 

appropriate iuch’sums’of money as may be necessary to carry out 

tliis Act.” The~appropriation’bill then provides for an ‘apportionment to the Judicial Retirement System as per .II.B. 33 . . . $75.000 

” 

. . . 

It must be presumed that the Legislature intended to 

do what the people in adopting. the, constitutional amendment voted 

should be’done. And, on the contrary, it will not be presumed that 

the eegislature~ intended to create a judicial retirement system but 

leave it kompletely crippIed for, ti& of funds to administer the 

system. The ,.%ief Justice~.wo~d~~ertai&ly not be expected personally to finance the org&iiation~of~the sys’tem from his ‘salary; nor 

could he divert appropriations of’the. Supreme Court to the administration of the retirement system. 
Hon. C. H. Cavness. Page 4 (V-896) 

~Viewed in that light, it is our opinion that the appropriation which reads ‘Apportionment to Judicial Retirement System 

as per H.B. 33’ was intended to be used for necessary administrative expenses as well as to supplement the 5%. contributions of the 

judges in making retirement benefit payments. 

It will be noted that the Senate version of the bill divided~the appropriation into two items, the wording of which is sig- 

.nificant. The items were “Judges Retirement* and “Adrninlstrative.” (S.J. of May 23, 1949, p. l187). Apparently in a spirit of 

economy at the qlose of the session,, the two items were&ombined 

in the enacted bill, it undoubtedly being considered that the anuual 

appropriation of $75.000.00 was sufficient for both purposes. The 

appropriation as passed was not ‘simply, to “Judges Retirement” 

but was “to the Judiciary Retirement System as per S.B. 33.’ The 

appropriation to ‘the system” is broad in scope. .We interpret the 

appropriation as having beenmade to carry out the pr,ovisions of 

the Constitution and that portion of H.B, 33 which,authorizes an appropriation ~y,to carry out this act.“’ As stated ,in your letter, “certainly stationery. postage. office supplies, etc.. will be~necessary,* 

‘We therefore.hold, and you are advised,that the 

above Item 16 of the Judici~ary Appropriation Act (H.B. 320) which, 

reads in. part Yappor,tionment to Judicial Retirement System,’ may 

be used for the purpose of paying the.necessary expenses of the 

Judicial Retirement System. It being; a lump sum approp,riation, 

the necessary expenditures therefrom are left within the sound 

discretion of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,upon whom 

the Legislature placed the responsibility of administering the act, 

The nece,s.sary.expenses of Chief Justice 

.of the Supreme Court, in initiating and administering the Judicial Retirement System are to be 

paid from Item 16 of the Judiciary Section, Comptrollers Department (H.B. 320) which ‘reads, 
Hon. C. H. Cavness, Page 5 (V-896) 

“Apportionment to Judiciary Retirement System as,per H.B. 33.. . .” 

JRG:b:db:eic 

Yours veiy truly, 

ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS 

ay; @ti 

Joe R. Greenhill 

First Assistant 

&PROVED: 

gi?!Jd 

ATTORNEY .GENERAL 

789