HonorableLon E. Alsup, Chairman

House Conferenae&unittee for H. B. No. 284 Austin, Texas

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-3541 Rer Payment of all administrative costs of the State Department of Education out of the kvailable School Fund.

We receivedyour letter dated May 15, 1941, which is self explonatory and reeds, in part, as follows:

"

. . . "Pleaseadvise if the administrative cost of all divisions of the State Department of Educationmay be paid from the Available School Fund. Please advise further if il. your opinionwe shouldbe prohibited from paying the edministrative cost out of the entire fund. Is it possible to pay such edministrativs cost out of suoh fundswhich go to the Availeble School Fundwhich are not speoificallyauthorized by the Constitutionof this State?
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. . . Section 3 of hrtioleVII of the Constitutionof Texas reads, in Part, BS follows:

"One-fourthof the revenue dorived from the St&ix occupation taxes and poll tax of one dollar on every inhabitantof the State,between the ages of t*ienty-one and sixtyyears, shall be set apart annually for the benefit of the public free sohools;and in addition thereto, there shall be levied and collectedan annual ad valorem State tax of such an amount not to exceed thirty-five cents on the one hundred ($100.00) dollarsvaluation, BS with the available school fund arising from all other sources,will be sufficientto maintain and support'thepublic schools of this state for a period of not less than sixmonths in each year, and it,.shall be the duQ of the State Board of Eduaation to set aside a sufficienta- -- mount out of the said tax to provide free text books for the

.---, use of childrenattendingthe public free schoolsof this State1 provided,xowever, that-&oxd the limit of taxationHonorableLon E. Alsup, Chairman,page 2 o-3541

herein named be insufficientthe defioitmay be met by appropriationfrom the general funds of the State. .,0"1 @mphaais ours).

Section 6 ofArticle VII of the Constitutionof Texas reads as follows:

"The principal of all bonds and other funds, and the principalarising from the sale of the lands hereinbefore set apart to said school fund, shall be the permanent school fund, and all the interest derivable therefrom and the taxes herein authorizedand levied shallbe the available school fund, to whioh the Legislaturemay add not exceeding one percent annually-of the total value of the permanent sahool fund, such value to be ascertainedby the Board of Eduoation until otherwiseprovidedby law, and the available sohool fund shall be applied annually to the support of the public free sohools. And no law shall ever be ens&d appropriatingany pert of the permanent or available sohool fund to any other purposewhatever; nor shall the ssme, or any part thereof ever be appropriated to
or used for the support of any seatarian school;and the available school fund herein provided shall be distributed to the several countiesaccording to their scholasticpopulationand applied in suchmanner as may be provided by law. (Sec. 6, Art. 7, adopted election August 11, 18913 proclamationSeptember 22, 1691,)" (UnderscoringOUIS)~

The available school fund aonsistsof (1) the inoome derived from the permanent sahool fund; (2) one-fourthof the revenue derived from occupation taxes3 (3) one dollar of the revenue derived from the poll tax: (4) revenue derived from the State ad valorem school tax and (6) other funds provided by the Legislature to make up a deficiency in said available school fund, This fund, oonsisting of the sources of revenue enumeratedabove, is specifioallyprovided for in the above enumerated Seations of the Constitution, See Webb County-z. Board of School Trusteesof Laredo (Supreme Court) s 65 S.W, 876 and Mumme v. Marrs (Supreme Court) 40 S, We (2) 31,
Section 5 of ArticleVII of the Constitutionrequires that the available sohool fund, as provided for in the Constitution,shall be distributedto the several counties of the State aaoording to their soholasticpopulation. Any disposition of the available school fund contraryto themandate of this Constitutionalprovisionwould bevoid. Lovev. City of Dallas (SupremeCourt) 40 S. W'.(2) 20. The Constitution having provided that themoney In the available school fund shall be distributed to the several counties. it follows that it cannot be distributed or appropriatedelsewhere. Sinoe the ConstitutionHonorable Lon E. Alsup, Chainnan,page 3 o-3541

provides that the money in seid fund shall be dis,tributed according to scholastiopopulation, it follows that themoney in said fund tennot be apportioned or distributedon any other basis.

It is our opinion that the administrative costs of all divisions of the State Departmentof Eduoetion oannot be paid from the St&e available school fund as heretofore described.

Your second inquiry raises the question of ,whather or not such administrative costs oen be paid out of fundswhich go to the State available sahool fund end which ere not specificallyrequired by the Constitutionto be pleced therein. We assume that there era such funds in the State eveilable school fund which were derived from some source other then es provided for end required by Se&ions 3 and 5 of Article VII of the Constitution. Basedupon the facts se now have, wa are unable to saywhether or not any suoh funds ten be appropriated from the available school fund for the purposesmentioned in your letter. We surmise that an audit and a study thereofwould benecessary before a definite opinion on this question oouldbe rendered, We do say, horaver, that the Constitutiondoes not require that any different or additional revenue be allocated to the State available school fund other than es provided in Sections 3 end 5 of ArticleVII thereof. Hence, if there ere any general statutes sllocatingmoney to the State available sohool fund end not so requiredby the Constitution,the Legislature oan amend those statutes so es to allocate future revenues therefrom for the purposesmentioned in your letter.

Whet wa have said herein has no applicationto the provision of Section 3 of ArtioleVII pertaining to free text books.

Yoursvery truly

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

By s/L.e Shoptaw

Lee Shoptaw ~Assiatant

APPROVED MAY 23, 1941 s/Grover Sellers FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
Approved Opinion CommitteeBy BWB Chairman