OFFICE OF THE AITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

honorable George H. Shwpard 

catptroller of public Accounte 

A-tin, Texse 

Dear sir: 

Your letter of Ootober 

thl8 departusnt aa to the effect 

HO. 423, 47th Lsglrlature, 1941 

‘Sttm applloatioa fee 

with balanaes on 

31, 1949, 8l-a he 

Srcm vhlch the i 

S the store 

t to a total OS ~4o,550.00 

8alarIe8, postage, tele- 

-m?r. PrbW@, blndins, 

8, mntingent expenses and 

Store Tax Lov (Artials 11116, V. 

n ahall be aoocBpanSed by a filI.ng 

ents for each atore or mercantlls 

ted or to be opemtsd for the pure aoat of admlnietwtion of the 
gmxwblo Oeorge H. Sheppard, ?age 2 

w8tion 4 requlre8 Slling fee8 for reaeval l ppliaatlonr. Sectimn 

g'provlder that the e-n808 of the Captroller in the admlnl8- 

tntlon of the Act 8hall not exceed the anount reoeived by him 

.8 applluation fee8 a8 herein provided, and iurther pZWflde8 thatr 

.~ll monier uolhdX4d by the CoBIptroller of Publlo Ab3Wt8 wader 

tb provision8 of thi8 Act 8ball be paid by him into th State 

~~umu7 d8ily a8 reoelved; one fuurth of ma0 rhall be axwUted 

to the l ooo unt of tha Anilable Soheol F und l a dth o romalader rball 

be eredlted to,the aacouat of the Wrieral Fmd.' 

The Chain bton Tax Law beoame l rfeotlve Janua~ 13, 

19%. m tht tit-9 t0 - p-8.& JOU 8trte that the total filiDg 

f-8 FUOd.VOd 68OUDt8 t0 @2,221.92, 8d tht th. to-1 Pl@lUlt 

l sp ea ded in the eaforaaent Of the Aat i8 $131,714.49, 80 that 

there 18, 8t t&18 tkr, ab8lUlOe Of UU0e.d filh(J fee8 to th0 

uouat of ~100,507.43. 

On &UboS~ 13, 19%. totl FWOiVed 48l Op%l¶%W flXU thi8 

dspwtnukt huldlng that the fillrtg reea provided top In Se&ion 2 

Of tb &t St% not 8Ubjeat t0 alh8&tiOil UlidOF th@ 

8ootion 9. We are advi8ed that you hme E 

POVf8iOR8 Of 

oomlstent y followed 

8uah holding, and have deporited rush filing fee8 ln the Oenenl 

YWd. 

A8 we underrtead your requert, you tirh cmr advioe a8 to 

vhether the f%llng fees neeited under the rovi8lons of the chain 

More Tax Law 8hould k allooated betveon t L Available sohool mu&d 

aad the Oeneral Ilevenue Fund or vhether all of mob fee8 shouid be 

depeslted to the oredit of the Oaneral Fend, md a8 to the meaning 

to ba given to the phxmet "together vfth balaaces an hand,. as 

u8ed in the paragraph OS Benet Bill lo. 423, A.ots 1911, 47th l&gi8latUre, above quoted. 

In the ea8e of Burt ~8. Cooper, 110 8. Y. (ld) 896, the 

eOWt di8OU88e8 the tV0 different lOVie made by the -in StoN 

'hx Law in this languager 

"It 18 8w8tire8 dlffloult t0 deterrrine Vhether 

a give&l 8tatUte rhould ba Ula88ed 8s a regulatory 

nea8ura or a8 a tex nee8ure. The prinoiple of dirtin&iOII gewrCrlly recognired 18 that When, irCrr a 

oon8ideration of the 8tatute a8 a vbole, the priury 

purpo8e of the fear provided thoreln I8 the rebi8&1g 
sono-ble Qeorh3e xi. f5hqward, nbg44 3 

of avenue, then 8ttch Seen ax-8 in faat oaaupatlon 

taxe8, and thl8 ZWgaFdl4388 Of the nBme w vhloh they 

"Applrlng this prinolple to the Pot in quertion, 

ve, experlentre no diffleulty ln reahing the oonol118loa 

that the 80-called liOe3b8e fee8 leVied them&y an 

;;z;lly OoaupatiOn tUe8. s acrt naker tvo reparate 

One i8 a levy of a fTI%ng r 

G5zi%om, and a8 to?m8 levy it 1 

ee.or 50 BOAt8 ror 

8 provided tut 1k 

The other la 8 levy or a llaea8e fee ior e&eh 8tore 

fro8 Vhloh muah revenue Vm be re8flred. %%ie aot apis 

thm %&able 8crhoo1fWid 

eY$%teL rtated for the 

exirtenoe 0r an eme2-genw 18 thpt the rtate 18 bully 

in need of additional revenue." (Bpba8ls otw8) 

St i8 a oazd¶.nal rule of 8tatl%tOrJ wnrtruQtloa that all 

part8 of a 8tatate mu8t be given effedt, lf lyo8uible. Seotlan 2 

of th8 Chain store Tax Lav deolare8 the purpo8i of f&o tlllng fee 

to be l t0 dsfrq the ao8t’ of admini8terfag the Aat. Su8h fees 

rere not ngarded by the Legirleture a8 "revenue" to be pmduoed 

by the lot. Seotlon 9, hoverer, provide8 that gellmarrie8* oolleoted by the CQlptr&ier under the prOvi8iOn8 Of the Act 8h11 be 

apportioned between the Avallrble Sehoel Fund and the Oeneral Revenue Fund. The Ccmmlr8lon of Appealr, however, in the oaae of Hurt 

18. Cooper, 8upzu, in 8n opinion adcpted by the Supme Court, by 

infecenbo, aom:prreG th8 pbmme "all money8" to meau all the llsea88 fees oolleoted under the provlrlonr of the Act. Thlm drprtIeat, ln an opinion by Rcmoreble Jane8 R. Reir, dated Janubr~ 13, 

;;32,9"" addlW88Od t0 YOU, phbOed a 8ipihC OO&l8tPUO&iOll On SeC-’ 

. We tElnk that rush a aonstmotloa la aorreot. To hold 

othervise end ray that 8uch flllng fee8 are to be allocated to the 

Available Sahool pzrnd and the General Revenue Bund, er provided 

for the other aollectlon8 in Seotion 9, mould render section 2 of 

the Act meaningleer. The provirion that the expemes of adaini8- 

tmtlon of the Act shall not exaeed the mount of filing fee8 

I a 
432 

s0wmble O-wte x. shewd, p-0 4 

e~lle~t~ straply provide8 a 1ipitPtion or wimtm umt# beyond 

4 aoh the Canptroller may not go in the enforament of the Aot. 

Cog&8eqwntly ve hold that the filing fee8 uolleoted under Seats- 2 and 4 Of the chain atom Tu WV ab0 IhOt 8UbjeOt to all-tlon under the provisions of Section 9. 

Artlale 8, Seotion 6, of Our Coa8tltutlgn provlde8, in 

part, that: 

*Ro a0ney &all be dravn fror the Tree8ury but 

In pursuance of 8peolflo sppropriatl0+8 mbde by &vt 

nap 8hell any 8ppropriatlon of meaey,be mule foor 0 

longer period t&m tvo year8. l l l 

B vfev of thir ComtitntioM1 proviriou, ther8 aodd be x&o %alalI008 on hand" in thi ordipe~ 8en8e of th,'vorda. He m ooarinQed that the "balanoe8 0a hand," referred to in senete Bill so. 

&a, tit8 1941, 47th Legl8htun, Ieaa the dlfferanoe ktwen the 

kul mount8 of flll8g 'hu oollected w the &mptroller, aad paid 

late the General Pund, and the total emmat expended by the oarpWeller fn the enforaement of the Aat,at Augtmt 31, 1941, 8nd 

AugWt ,31, 19% re8peotlre4, and thet the dlfferencN betveen th8 

tOtbl WOWit bf filfIl8 fOO8 80 eolleoted and the tOti Uo\rat 80 

expended, a8 Of ARgUet 31, 1941, VI8 a pri@rbted $'Or use in &O 

enforauent of the Aot for the year 19 1 2, and that the di$femnoe 

bOtVOen the total reepective Paounts oolleoted es&expended a8 of 

A-t 31, 1942, v88 expropriated for u8b in the •ddd#t~tf~ of 

th8 Act durin@ the fir081 ye8r 1943. 

'P-St* tbatwhave fully ba8vendpus lnquiry,ve 

me