OFFICE OF THE ATI’ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Eon. Tom C. King 

State A@ltor and Elilolenoy l%xpert 

Austin, Toxar 

Dear Slrt 

we 60knowi0age 

1939, asking for o 

Appropriation Aot 

so6elOn, p. 93918) 

after set out. 

ienoy warrants against 

ipets& revBnue6. 

lt?tter of November 9 

Z(a) Ch. 444 Camerai 

neral Lews, regular 

io quastions herelna in the lnstltutisn0r the two risoal years ending 

19'36, end August 31, 1939 

hsmise appropriated r0r ei 

inrtitutiom during ‘oaoh or the rald ri006l 

ream, reispootival~.* 
Hon. To41 C. King, page 2 

Your quaatlona are 04 follcm4r 

y(l) Arc suoh Institutions empowerad to 

laaua 'dafloiency warrants' agalnct antlolpatad revenues to suoh funds? 

"(2) Ara the7 empowered to bind such antlolpatad rayanuos on notes payable for the 

purchase prioa of equipment and/or property 

Insurance, whore the maturity dates of the 

notes extend oyar a period of three yaar81W 

The Laglslatura was wall within its prarogatlya In 

making the further appropriation ot balances in addition to 

the spaolfio approprlatlons stated in the act. The addltlonsl 

appropriation is sufiioiently spoolflo within Itself to mast 

the raquiraments or the Constitution. (Sea our opinion No. 

C-1661 addressed to you). It will be soon from a reading of 

Sac. 2(a) that all balances in the rospactlva institutions, 

including balances In their rarolvlng funds at the time, end 

the entire Income to said funds during each of the years 

named, have bean appropriated. Those WbalanoosR and tha 

'lrl0om0' obrlousl7~portaln to sntiolpatad raoalpta, for it 

could not be aotlnltaly known ln adyanoa whether then would 

be suoh balances or lnooma. 

That an appropriation may rightly sot a pert anJ. 

tiolpatad raoaipts is no longer an open question In this 

state. 

Forguson y. Johnson, 51 2. A'. (2) 372 Involved the 

right of the Laglslatura to appropriate, or parhaps more 

accurately stated the right of the Highway Cozmission to 

contraot, upon tha basis of antlolpatad receipts in tha mattar of oonstruotlng hlghwa78 to the extent of about $S,OOO,- 

000 .oo . The plalntlfi*8 oontantion was that suoh antlolpatad funds ware not Wands arailabloC within the statute of 

oontraotual power of the Commis8ion. (Vernon's Annotated 

Civil Statutes Arts. 66746 (6674q-4), 66740 (66749-53, end 

66741). chi0r matioo u0ci0naon, writing ror the court sala: 

'*Funds arallabla~ as marking the 

bounds OS the Cozal.88lon~s oontraotual 

llsblllt~ oroatlng authority for *highway improvements* can, wa think, mean 

but one thing, namaly, funds made avall- 
Hon. Tom C. King, paga 3 

able for that purpose by the Laglslatura throu h appropriation. x * * Ii 

this item 7 axpeotanoy) oannot be contrectaa against until paid into the 

treasury, it xould be naoasaary to aocumulate an additional sum equal to the 

entire avaflabla Yadaral ai fun4 bOlor8 

that fund could be contracted afalnst. 

* * * The department must oaaplata construction contracted against this tuna 

prior to the and of tha Federal flsoal 

year (Juno 30, 19JJ) otherwise the appropriation lapses. l l * Those approprlatlona (of revenues derived from Fadoral taxation) are no more gratuities 

then any other authorized Tadera appropriation, and -khan alloceted to a perticuler sLata are a6 1av6ilabla~ as any 

other ‘fund* for ap?ro>rlata contrectual 

purposes.* 

The court hold tta antloipatad recal?ts to co the 

proper eubjeot of a?proprlation and that they viera upon sooh 

appropriation wfunda arallabla* for use or the liighway dapartmant. 

Now the word RZundw or “funds* has no fired meaning 

applicabla alike to ovary situation, but its real meaning la 

to be determined according to the familiar rule of statutory 

construction in tha light of the oontext and the assooiatad 

words:wlth which it 14 azploycd. In ths aoxmaotion hero used, 

as indloetad in the Farguson-Johnson case, it is not limltad 

to actual cash in hand but ia used in the more aosfiprahansiva 

sense as oovsring not only moneys but sacurltles and properties of a nature to be or to baooma usable In connection %lth 

the epproprlatlon. The *lnstltutlonal funds* and the balances 

and inooma thereof ooatarcplata not only money but the antlclpatad receipts ior the periods stated. 

As to the issuance of ~datioianoy werrantsW, those 

instruments do not create debts, they merely servo the oonvaniant purpose of avidanclng the liability of the fund for 

payment ii and when the lnatlttitlon has funds available for 

cash payment. They are not spaoially authorized by law and 

.tean nothing substantial. wDaficiency warrant” in this oonnaotlon, Is ffiaraly departma5tal language for "hot chock". 
Hon. Tom C. IUng, psga 4 

There is no reason why the existing llabllity, contingent 

though it may be, msy not be thus atldanoed. 

1. So that, you are sdrlsad this department is of 

the opinion ymr first question should be answered in tha 

ariLrmatlr0. 

The Constitution provides that no appropriation of 

money shall be made for a longer tern than two yaers. 

VIII, 880. 6). 

(Art. 

This aaanot be violated or ignored, The 

institution therefore has no right to oontraot upon the basis 

oi suoh antlolpatad ravanuas bayon the parlod of the appropriation - two years. It may validly oontraot upon the 

reasonably antlolpatad raianuas ior aaoh year raspaotlraly of 

the blennfum, but no further. This oonoluslon is supported 

by the reasoning in Fort Worth Calvary Club Ino. Y. Sheppard, 

Comptroller, 85 S.W. (2) 960, and by the prinoiplea Of pub110 

polloy in general. 

2. From the above It follows that question number 

2 should be SnBwered, “now. 

Vary truly pours 

ATTORNEY CRRRRAL OF TEXAS 

OS-XR 

doia Spoor 

Assistant