E OWNEY GENERAL 

AUSTIN ~~.TExas 

July 10, 1963 

Jerry Sadler Opinion No. C- 106 

Commissioner 

General Land Office 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Mr. Sadler: 

Re: Construction of Senate 

~111 318, Acts of the 

58th Legislature, Regular Session, relating 

to the removal of the 

ex officio membership 

of the Attorney General 

on various State boards 

and commissions. 

You have requested our opinion on the construction 

of Senate Bill 318, Acts of the 58th Legislature, Regular 

Session, wherein the Attorney General Is removed from the 

School Land Board as an ex officio member. Your specific 

questions concern the language of Section 5 of the Act wherein it states that paragraph 5 of Section 5 of page 465, Acts 

of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939 (codified as 

Article 5421c-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) Is amended, 

in view of the fact that paragraph 5 refers to the meetings 

of the School Land Board, whereas paragraph 3 refers to the 

membership of the School Land Board. Your specific questions are as follows: 

"(1) Can either School Land Board 

officially act after the effective date of 

Senate Bill 318? 

"(2) If so, which Board has the 

authority to act? 

"(3) When should the Board meet and 

how should it select a secretary that is 

authorized to certify as to the official 

minutes of the Board?" 

The School Land Board was created by the provisions of 

Section 5 of House Bill 9, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, Chapter 3, page 465, at page 475, which 

was an Act amending House Bill 358, Acts of the &2nd Leglslature, Regular Session, 1931, Chapter 271, page 452. Section 5 

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

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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 a board 

to be known as the School Land Board, and 

to be composed of three (3) members, namely: the Commissioner of the General Land 

Offic’e, who shall be chairman, the Governor 

and the Attorney General.” 

“5. The School Land Board shall meet 

on the first and third Tuesday of each 

month In the General Land Office, where 

its sessions shall be held and continued 

until its docket Is cleared, subject to 

recesses at the discretion of the Board. 

The Board shall select a secretary who 

shall be nominated by the Commissioner of 

the General Land Office and approved by a 

majority of the Board. The Commissioner of 

the General Land Office Is authorized to employ other employees which may be necessary 

for the discharge of the duties of the Board, 

and particularly is authorized to employ a 

geologist and mineralogist, who shall keep 

Informed with reference to the minerals on 

public school lands and all activities under 

pending applications and previous 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 Land Office, 

and all civil and criminal laws regulating 

the conduct and relations of the employees 

of the General Land Office shall apply In 

all things to the employees of the Board. 

“6. The School Land Board 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 make an examlnation thereof on payment of such fees as 

may be prescribed by law for the examination of other Land Office records, the 

examination to be In all cases In the presence of the secretary of the Board or some 

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Honorable Jerry Sadler, 

clerk designated 

scribed by law. 

page 3 (C- 106 ) 

for that purpose as preAll records and proceedings 

_ _ . . of the Board shall be recorcls an5 arcnlves 

of the General Land Office." 

It is noted by the above quoted provisions that 

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

Section 5 of House Bill 9, Acts of the 46th Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1939, Chapter 3) creates the School Land 

Board and provides for its membership; whereas, paragraph 

5 of Article 5421c-3 provides for the meeting of the School 

Land Board, the selection of a secretary and the employment of other employees. 

The title or caption of Senate Bill 318, Acts of 

the 58th Legislature, Regular Session, reads as follows: 

"AN ACT removing the Attorney General from the 

Board f L f Eleemosynary and State 

Memoria?La%iT ihe Boards for Lease of 

Lands owned by-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 

Land Board, 'the Board to sell judgments 

hi h cannot be collected, the State Dezository Board the State Tax Board, 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 members replacing the Attorney General on said 

Boards or agencies; amending Article 120 

of Subchapter 8 of Chapter 492, Acts of 

the 52nd Legislature, 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 

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Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 4 

Senate who shall serve 

two (2j years; amending 

(C-106 ) 

for a term of 

Article 4412 of 

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 58th Legislature, Regular Session, the same being 

Section 20, reads as follows: 

"Sec. 20. The fact that the primary 

function of the Attorney General is to represent the state in all matters where legal 

advice or judicial proceedings may be required, and the fact that his ex officio 

duties curtail his availablllty to act as 

counsel to these Boards and in many Instances 

place him in the position of making a particular decision as an ex officio member and 

then subsequently having to defend such action 

in court create an emergency and an imperative 

public necessity that the Constitutional Rule 

requiring bills to be read on three several 

days in each House be suspended, and said Rule 

Is hereby suspended; and that this Act shall 

take effect and be in force from and after 

its passage, and it is so enacted." 

A study 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 Land Board. Furthermore, the title limits the 

provisions of Senate Bill 318 to the removal of the ex officio 

membership of the Attorney General on various State boards 

and commissions, and provisions necessarily germane thereto. 

Section 35 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas; Board 

of Water Engineers v. City of San Antonio, 155 Tex. lll,T 

. . 722 (1955) . 

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Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 5 (C-106 ) 

Thus, while the title authorizes an amendment to 

paragraph 3 of Article 5421c-3, it does not authorize an 

amendment to paragraph 5 of Article 5421c-3, V.C.S., nor 

does it authorize the creation of an additional School 

Land Board. Furthermore, a reading of all the provisions 

of Senate Bill 318 reveals that it was the intention of 

the Legislature to amend paragraph 3 rather 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 ?-#&kth o 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 Lands Board, and to be 

composed of three (3) members, namely: the 

Commissioner of the General Land Office, 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, who shall serve for a term of two 

(2) years.'" (Emphasis added) 

In Second Injury Fund v. Keaton, 162 Tex. 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. 

When that 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 may be 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. 147 Tex. 617, 

. 218 S.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.), 140 S.W. 11.89; Roby 

v. Hawthorne (Tex.Clv.App.), 84 S.W.2d 1108." 

Likewise, in Wood v. State, 133 Tex. 110, 126 S.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, and when such 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 them otherwise. 39 Tex.Jur., 

p. 176,,et seq., and authorities there cited. 

. . . 

In 39 Tex. Jur., 186, Statutes, Sec. 98, it is 

stated: 

I, 

. . . obvious errors or mistakes of a 

clerical, grammatical or typographical nature 

may be disregarded. Thus an Incorrect reference 

in an amendatory statute, to the act or section 

amended, may be disregarded where the clear lntent of the Legislature was to amend another 

act or section." See also the cases there cited: 

Cernock v. Colorado County, 48 S.W.2d 470 (Tex. 

civ.App. 1932) quoting 25 Ruling Case Law, 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. 102 2 

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 

Regular 

of Senate Bill 318, Acts of the 58th Legislature, 

Session, refers to paragraph 3 of Article 5421c-3, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes, rather than paragraph 5 thereof. 

It follows that paragraph 5 of Section 5 of House Bill 9, 

-524- 
Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 7. (C-106 ) 

Acts of the 46th Legislature Regular Session, 1939, 

Chapter 3, page 465 at page 475, remains unchanged and 

is not affected by the provisions of Senate Bill 318. 

Answering your questions categorically, the School 

Land Board, created by the provisions of House Bill 9, Acts 

of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, Chapter 3, page 465, 

as amended by Senate Bill 318, Acts of the 58th Legislature, 

has the authority to officially act after the effective date 

of Senate Bill 318. Such Board should meet as provided In 

paragraph 5 of Section 5 of House Bill 9, Acts of the 46th 

Legislature, Regular Session, codified In Vernon's as paragraph 5 of Article 5421c-3, and the School Land Board Is 

authorized to select a secretary as provided for therein. 

The secretary of the School Land Board 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 

58th Legislature, 

ex officio membership of the Attorney General from the School 

Land Board. Section 5 of Senate Bill 318 

amends paragraph 3 of Section 5 of House Bill 

9, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, Chapter 3, codified In Vernon's as paragraph 3 of Article 5421c-3, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, rather than paragraph 5 of Article 

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

5 and 6 of Article 5421c-3 remain unchanged. 

Yours very truly, 

WAGGONER CARR 

Attorney General 

JR:ms:zt 

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. 

Honorable Jerry Sadler, page 8 (c-106 ) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITPEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Pat Bailey 

W. 0. Shultz 

V. F. Taylor 

Mary K. Wall 

APPROVED FOR THE! ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Stanton Stone 

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