OFFICE OF



# THEATTORNEY 

# ,GENIERAL(

PRICE DANIEL ATTORNEY

GENERAL July 1, 1947

Hon. A. 0. Willman oDlnlon No. v-294 Veterans’ State Service office bina Office Building Austin 14, Texas Be:

Dear Sir: Status o?Veterahs’ State service-office under H.B;~:

18, 50th Legis;, establlshlllg a Veterans’ Affairs commls~ion.

Your statement andrequest for anopinion are In part as follows: *OnJune 12, 1947, Governor Beauford Jester signed House Bill No. 18, whleh creates a Commlsslon of Veterans Affairs. Thisbill was passed In the Housewith 112votes and In the Senate with 23votes, makingthe law immediately effeetlve upon the Governor’s signature.

“Seation 11 states In part ‘It Is the lntent andpurpose of this Act that the functions heretofore performbedby the State Service Office of the State of Texas shall be absorbed by the Veterans’ Commlsslon, as created herein. 1 We ‘also quote Section I.2of the Law: *A&Iproprlatlons. At such time as the funotiona and services nowperformed by the Veterans’ State Service Officer, are takea over and absorbed by the Veterans’ Affairs Commission hereby created, then all unexpended balanoes in all funde heretofore andhereafter appropriated to the Veterans State Servloe Offlae are hereby reappropriated to the Veterans’ Affairs Commission, to be expended in aaaordante with the prwlsions of the departaentalHon. A. 0. Xvillman- Page 2 .(V-294)

appropriations bills, makingthe appropriation to the Veterans’ State Service Office provided that the Veterans’ Affairs Commission shall have the authority to change within the total amounts approprlated herein the designation of service officers anaassistant service officers and their reassignment to cOnformwith any changes In the location of Veterans Admlnlstratlon regions, veterans hospitals, and similar establishments, and be It further provided that the assistant service offlcers designated In the available approprlatlon maybe authorized to handle any and all veterans claims as ordered by the Veterans’ Gommlsslon.*

‘QmSlTOR: Is It possible to spend any amounts In the nameof the Veterans State Service Ofrioe for salaries, travel, supplies, eta.

“QTJWI’IOB: will It be possible for employees of the present Veterans State Service Office to be paid salaries In the nameof the Veterans Affairs ~ommlaslon, and If so, who will be the authority responsible for signing payrolls, requisitions, etc.” House Bill 18of the 50th Legislature areated the Veterans’ Affairs Commission of the-State of Texas andprovides for Its membership, duties, expenses andDlreator. Sections 11 and 12 of said bill read In part as r0ii0ws:

“Intent. It Is the Intent andpurpose of the Act that the functions heretofore performed by the State Service Office of the State of Texas shall be absorbed by the Veterans’ Affairs Comm~lon, as created herein.

“Sec. 12. Appropriations. At such time as the run&Ions andseivloes nowper- ?ormed by the Veterans’ State Service Of-Hon. A. 0. Willman - Page 3 (V-294)

. ~~flcerare taken over andabsorbed by the Veterans’ Affalrs Commission hereby created, then all unexbendea balances in all funds heretofore andhereafter appropriated to the Veterahs’ State Service Office are herebyreappropilated to thenVeterans’ Affairs Commission

. . .” (Emphasis supplied) It Is clear from the above wordingof the statute that the Legislature aid not Intend, upon-H. B. 18becomlzg law, that the Veterans’, State Service Office would be lmmedlatelg abolished. It Is manifest from the laaguage of the Act that the Intention was that the Veterans’ State Service Office would continue to function until H. B. 18 could become operative, at which time the old ageney would be absorbed by the new. In the absenoe of any alreot judlcla’l Interpretation of the language under construotlon, the use or the words In their normal sense would seemto afford the best guide to the legislative Intent. In thla regard, Words and Phrases, Vol. 1, p. 166defines vabeorb* as r0li0w8:

“To join together, to coalesce, to unite. Hoget in his Thesaurus classifies the word foomblnel as synonyfsous with or belonging to the sameclass as unite; incorporate; amalgamate; absorb; blend; merge; fuse; eentrallze; melt ,lnto ’ one; to put together; to lwnp together

. . .” Using thls Interpretation as a standard It is obvious that the Legislature meant that the Veterans’ State SeniOe~..Uffloe would continue In existence until, from a standpoint or practicability, It could be fused with the Veterans’ Affairs Commlsslon.

39Texas Jurisprudence, Sec. 69, p. 132, etatee the rule as follows:

“In oonstrulng a repealing clause, the oourt will be governed by the Ordinary rules of statutory Interpretation. It will endeavor to ascertain andgive effect to the legislative latent .* 59 Corpus Jurls, Sec. 568, p. 948thus states, It:Hon. A. 0. iYill~n -,Page 4 (V-224)

. VThefundamental rule of construotlon, to which all other rules are subordlnate, Is that the court shall, by all alds~avallable, asoertaln andglve erfeet, unless It Is In conflict with constitutional provlalons, or la lnoonslstent with the organic law of the state, to the Intention-or purpose of the legislature.

. ." '. Ananalogous situation was presented In an Instance where the Legislature -- as It has done on red peated oocaslons ----passed a law that became operative, not at the time of the passing of the bill, but at a reasonable future date. In the Texas ease of Chambers v. Baldwin, 274 s. w. 1011, the court said: *The Legislature Is free to fix In eaoh aot the time It shall take effect and mayprovide that It shall take effect In whole,or In part from Its passage, approval, or at a fixed date.

. . The power to create necessarily includes the power to oreate Inwhole or In part and to take effect as determined at an lmmediate or deferred t1me.e This principle was also followed In the Texas case of ExParte Murphy, 11 S. W. 487where the court said:

n t&G . . It was not the legislative lnthat the act should lmedlately take effeot, but that It should become operative only at a time whenIt would not deprive any county In the district two terms or court." In the light of the foregoing authorities It clearly appears that the Intention of the Legislature was to continue the Veterans' State Service Office In operatlon.as originally provided for, andwith the same authority, until Its functions were *taken over" and "absorbed" by the Veterans' Affairs Commlsslo~.

Youare therefore advised that it Is possible to spend moneyIn the nameof the Veterans' Servioe Office for salaries, travel, supplies, etc. as heretofore done, and your first question Is answered In the affirmative.Hon. A. 0. Willman - Page 5 (V-894)

Bythe samereasoning it Is equally ap]7arent that the intended absorption of the Veterans’ State Service Offloe by the Veterans’ Affairs Commission contemplates and exjmessly provides for reappropriation or funds so as to pay salaries of the present Veterans’ State user-’ vice Employees whoshall then be entitled to compensation. In particular, the designation that the total balanoe shall be turned over without directing a speolflo modeof spending Is lndloative of the faot that the new.ponualsslon shall have wide discretion ih uging .lts funds. It wlll have these”balancbs at Its disposal but will not be bound by the specific allotments under the appropriation to the Veterans’ State Service Office. In other words, at the time the Veterans’ Affairs Commission begins to function; the reappropriated funds will be handled as If the Legialafure had appropriated the funds to It In the first instance. Thenewagency Is empowered to makechanges and reasslgnmerits, but will, of course, be bound to pay present employees for services rendered under the nowexlating system.

TheVeterans’ State.Servlce Office la authorized under H. B. 18~,50th Legis., to oontlnue,to function as such with authority to makeexpenditures in the’nsme of the Veterans’ State Servloe,. Office, until It oanbe

“taken over* andwabeorbedWby the Veterans’ Affairs Commlsslon. Yours very truly, APPROVED: ATTORNEY GBFlEBBL

OFTEEM

i!$ihk& 7fLuw BY’ Ro.ert A. Hall Assistant



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