E OWNEY GENERAL

AUSTIN ~~.TExas July 10, 

### 1963
Jerry Sadler Opinion No. C- 106 Commissioner General LandOffice Austin, Texas

Dear Mr. Sadler: Re: Construction of Senate ~111 

### 318,Acts of the 

### 58thLegislature, Regular Session, relating to the removal of the ex officio membership of the Attorney General on various State boards and commissions. Youhave requested our opinion on the construction of Senate Bill 

### 318,Acts of the 

### 58thLegislature, Regular Session, wherein the Attorney General Is removed from the School LandBoard as an ex officio member. Your specific questions concern the language of Section 

### 5of the Act wherein it states that paragraph 

### 5of Section 

### 5of page 

### 465,Acts of the 

### 46thLegislature, Regular Session, 

### 1939(codified as Article 5421c-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) Is amended, in view of the fact that paragraph 

### 5refers to the meetings of the School LandBoard, whereas paragraph 

### 3refers to the membership of the School LandBoard. Your specific questions are as follows:

"(1) Caneither School LandBoard officially act after the effective date of Senate Bill 

### 318?

"(2) If so, which Board has the authority to act?



### "(3) Whenshould the Board meet and howshould it select a secretary that is authorized to certify as to the official minutes of the Board?" TheSchool LandBoard was created by the provisions of Section 

### 5of House Bill 9, Acts of the 

### 46thLegislature, Regular Session, 1939, Chapter 

### 3,page 

### 465,at page 

### 475,which wasanAct amending HouseBill 

### 358,Acts of the &2ndLeglslature, Regular Session, 

### 1931,Chapter 271, page 452. Section 

### 5 of the 1939 Act was codified in Vernon's as Article 5421c-3,

-519-Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 2 (c- 106 )

Vernon’s Civil Statutes. Paragraphs 3, 5 and 6 thereof read as follows : ”3. There Is hereby created aboard

to be knownas the School LandBoard, and to be composed of three (3) members, namely: the Commissioner of the General Land Offic ’e, whoshall be chairman, the Governor and the Attorney General.”

“5. TheSchool LandBoard shall meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month In the General LandOffice, where its sessions shall be held and continued until its docket Is cleared, subject to recesses at the discretion of the Board. TheBoard shall select a secretary who shall be nominated by the Commissioner of the General LandOffice andapproved by a majority of the Board. The Commissioner of the General LandOffice Is authorized to employ other employees which maybe necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Board, andparticularly is authorized to employ a geologist andmineralogist, whoshall keep Informed with reference to the minerals on public school lands andall activities under pending applications andprevious leases and sales, and shall report to the Board all information obtained with reference thereto. The employees of the Board shall be deemed to be employees of the General LandOffice, and all civil and criminal laws regulating the conduct andrelations of the employees of the General LandOffice shall apply In all things to the employees of the Board.

“6. TheSchool LandBoard shall keep a record of Its proceedings to be called Its minutes which shall include a docket onvhlch the secretary shall enter all matters to be considered by the Board, the minutes and docket to be subject to Inspection by any citizen of Texas desiring to makean examlnation thereof onpayment of such fees as maybe prescribed by law for the examination of other LandOffice records, the examination to be In all cases In the presence of the secretary of the Board or some
-520-Honorable Jerry Sadler,

clerk designated scribed by law. 

### page3 (C-106 )

for that purpose as preAll records andproceedings

_ _ .. of the Board shall be recorcls an5 arcnlves of the General LandOffice." It is noted by the above quoted provisions that paragraph 

### 3of Article 5421c-3, V.C.S. (paragraph 3of Section 

### 5of HouseBill 9, Acts of the 

### 46thLegislature, Regular Session, 1939, Chapter 

### 3)creates the School Land Board andprovides for its membership; whereas, paragraph 

### 5of Article 5421c-3 provides for the meeting of the School LandBoard, the selection of a secretary and the employment of other employees.

Thetitle or caption of Senate Bill 

### 318,Acts of the 

### 58thLegislature, Regular Session, reads as follows: "ANACTremoving the Attorney General from the Board f L f Eleemosynary and State Memoria?La%iT ihe Boards for Lease of Lands ownedby-state agencies, Boards or agencies of the State of Texas, the Board for Lease of Texas Prison Lands, the Board for Lease of State Parks Lands, the School LandBoard, 'the Board to sell judgments hi h cannot be collected, the State Dezository Board the State TaxBoard, the Executive Committee of the Texas Traffic Safety Council, the State Board of Trustees for the Employee's Retirement System of Texas, the State,Banking Board, the State Board of Canvassers, the Council to expend certain license fees and hunting-boat reglstration fees and certain fines, the Study Committee to study the development of certain Texas beaches; providing for membership on said Boards or other agencies In lieu of the Attorney General; providing for the expenses of citizen membersreplacing the Attorney General on said Boards or agencies; amendingArticle 120 of Subchapter 

### 8of Chapter 492, Acts of the 52ndLegislature, Regular Session, 

### 1951, relating to the opening and counting of certain election returns by the Secretary of State in the presence of the Governor or Attorney General, by substituting in the place of the Attorney General, a citizen of the state to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the -521-Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 4

Senate whoshall serve two (2j years; amending 

### (C-106)

for a term of Article 

### 4412of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, by requiring designated assistant attorneys general to attend meetings of these Boards or Commissions upon which the Attorney General formerly served as an ex officio'member as of the effective date of this Act; providing for severability; and declaring an emergency." (Emphasis added) The emergency clause of Senate Bill 

### 318,Acts of the 

### 58thLegislature, Regular Session, the samebeing Section 20, reads as follows:

"Sec. 20. Thefact that the primary function of the Attorney General is to represent the state in all matters where legal advice or judicial proceedings maybe required, and the fact that his ex officio duties curtail his availablllty to act as counsel to these Boards and in manyInstances place himin the position of making a particular decision as an ex officio memberand then subsequently having to defend such action in court create an emergency andan imperative public necessity that the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days in each Housebe suspended, and said Rule Is hereby suspended; and that this Act shall take effect andbe in force from andafter its passage, and it is so enacted." Astudy of the title and emergency clause discloses that It was the Intent of the Legislature to remove the ex officio membership of the Attorney General from various State boards and commissions, including the ex officio membership on the School LandBoard. Furthermore, the title limits the provisions of Senate Bill 

### 318to the removal of the ex officio membership of the Attorney General on various State boards and commissions, andprovisions necessarily germane thereto. Section 

### 35of Article III of the Constitution of Texas; Board of Water Engineers v. City of SanAntonio, 

### 155Tex. lll,T

. . 

### 722 (1955)

.

-522-Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 5 (C-106 )

Thus, while the title authorizes an amendmentto paragraph 3of Article 5421c-3, it does not authorize an amendmentto paragraph 5 of Article 5421c-3, V.C.S., nor does it authorize the creation of anadditional School LandBoard. Furthermore, areading of all the provisions of Senate Bill 318reveals that it wasthe intention of the Legislature to amendparagraph 3rather than paragraph 5. Section 5 of Senate Bill 318, Acts of the 58th Leglslature, Regular Session, reads as follows:

"Sec. 5. Para a h 5 of Section 5 of page 465, Acts o

?-#&kth Legislature lar Session, 1939 (codified as Article'5%%3 of Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended to read as follows:
11 t 5 There Is hereby created a Board to be know?i'as the School LandsBoard, and to be composed of three (3) members, namely: the Commissioner of the General LandOffice, who shall be chairman, the Governor and one (1) citizen of the state, appointed by the Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate, whoshall serve for a term of two (2) years.'" (Emphasis added) In Second Injury Fundv. Keaton, 162Tex. 250, 345 S.W.2d 711 (lpbl), it is stated:

"The intention of the legislature In enacting the statute must be ascertained from the language of the statute itself. Whenthat intention has been ascertained by the court, It is our duty to enforce such Intent.

. . ." In Patterson v. City of Dallas 355 S.W.2d 838, 844 (Tex.Clv.App. lpb2, error ref. n.r.e. I the Court stated:

II It tory c&it&ti is a fundamental rule of statu-

.on that words or phrases **In** a statute maybe supplied, omitted or transposed In order to arrive at legislative Intent and an Interpretation should not be adopted that would thwart the legislative intent or lead to absurdity, injustice, or uncertainty if such construction can reasonably be avolded. Rogers v. Dallas Ry. &Terminal Co., Tex. -523- ,Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 

### 6 (C-106 )

Clv.A~p., 214 S.W.2d 160, affm. 147Tex. 617,

. 

### 218S.W.2d 456; Hargrave v. Texas &P.Ry.Co.~ (Tex.Com.App.), 12 S.W.2d 1009; Tone v. City of Denison (Tex.Civ.App.), 140S.W. 

### 11.89; Roby v. Hawthorne (Tex.Clv.App.), 84 S.W.2d 1108." Likewise, in Woodv. State, 133Tex. 110, 

### 126S.W. 2d 4, 7 (1939), it is stated:

"It is the settled law that statutes should be construed so as to carry out the legislative intent, andwhensuch intent Is once ascertained, it should be given effect, even though the literal meaning of the words used therein is not followed. Also, statutes should never be given a construction that leads to uncertainty, injustice, or confusion, if it Is possible to construe themotherwise. 

### 39Tex.Jur., p. 176,,et seq., andauthorities there cited.

. . . In 

### 39Tex. Jur., 186, Statutes, Sec. 98, it is stated: I,

. . . obvious errors or mistakes of a

clerical, grammatical or typographical nature maybe disregarded. Thus an Incorrect reference in an amendatory statute, to the act or section amended, maybe disregarded where the clear lntent of the Legislature was to amendanother act or section." See also the cases there cited: Cernock v. Colorado County, 48 S.W.2d 470 (Tex. civ.App. 1932) quoting 25Ruling CaseLaw, Sec. 157, p. 705; &ass v. Darrouzett Ind.School Dlst., 277 S.W. 751 (Tex.Civ.App. 1 25, error dism.); State v. Gunter, 81 S.W. 1022 error ref.) (Tex.Civ.App. 1904

In view of the foregoing, you are advised that It Is our opi.nion that the phrase "Paragraph 

### 5”contained in Sectlon 5 Regularof Senate Bill 

### 318,Acts of the 58th Legislature,

Session, refers to paragraph 3of Article 5421c-3, Vernon's Civil Statutes, rather than paragraph 5thereof. It follows that paragraph 

### 5of Section 

### 5of House Bill 9,

-524-Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 

### 7. (C-106)

Acts of the 

### 46thLegislature Regular Session, 1939, Chapter 

### 3,page 

### 465at page 

### 475,remains unchanged and is not affected by the provisions of Senate Bill 

### 318.

Answering your questions categorically, the School LandBoard, created by the provisions of House Bill 9, Acts of the 

### 46thLegislature, Regular Session, Chapter 

### 3,page 

### 465, as amendedby Senate Bill 

### 318,Acts of the 

### 58thLegislature, has the authority to officially act after the effective date of Senate Bill 

### 318. SuchBoard should meet as provided In paragraph 

### 5of Section 

### 5of House Bill 9, Acts of the 

### 46th Legislature, Regular Session, codified In Vernon's as paragraph 

### 5of Article 5421c-3, and the School LandBoard Is authorized to select a secretary as provided for therein. The secretary of the School LandBoard shall keep a record of the proceedings to be called its minutes, which shall Include a docket onvhich the secretary shall enter all matters to be considered bv the Board. Article 5421c-3, paragraph 

### 6,V.C.S. ” SUMMARY Senate Bill 

### 318,Acts of the Regular Session, removes the 

### 58thLegislature, ex officio memberfrom the School ship of the Attorney General LandBoard. Section 

### 5 of Senate Bill 318 amendsparagraph 

### 3of Section 

### 5of House Bill 9, Acts of the 

### 46thLegislature, Regular Session, Chapter 

### 3,codified In Vernon's as paragraph 

### 3of Article 5421c-3, Vernon's Civil Statutes, rather than paragraph 

### 5of Article 5421c-1 of Vernon's Civil Statutes, Paragraphs 

### 5and 

### 6of Article 5421c-3 remain unchanged. Yours very truly, WAGGONER

CARR Attorney General

JR:ms:zt

-525-.

Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 

### 8 (c-106 )

APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITPEE W.V. Geppert, Chairman Pat Bailey W.0. Shultz V. F. Taylor MaryK. Wall APPROVED

FORTHE!

ATTORNEY

GENERAL BY: Stanton Stone

-526-