Hon. Penn Jackson, Chairman Opinion No. NW-233

State Board of Insurance Austin, Texas Re:Validity of certain provisions of House Bill.133, the General Appropriations Wll for tliefiscal years Dear Mr. Jackson: beginning September 1, 1957 and 19%. Your office has requested an Opinion coucernlng the validity of a rider in the appropriation bill for the biennium beginning September 1, 1957, found Tn Part III on pa{;e94,requiring the filing of an affidavit to the effect that theminimum qualifications stipulated in the rider for actuaries and new oradditional examiners have been met. The Comptroller isprohibited from issuing salary warrants to thenamed employees of the Insurance Department unless the affidavit is filed.

The legal problem presented concerns Article III, Section 35 of the Texas Constitution, which prohibits any bill from containing more than one sub,ject. The principles involved are thoroughly discussed inAttor;:eyGeneral's Gp,inlonW-96, and it isnot deemed necessary todiscuss them again.

This quesCion is controlled by the decision inMoore v. Sheppard, 144 Tex. 537, 192 S.M.2d 559 (1946). The clerks of -Courtsof Civil Appeals had been charging fees forunofficial and uncertified copies of Court Opinions and retaining the proceeds for their private use. The Legislature by rider in an appropriation bill attempted to require theclerks todeposit all fees collected for official or Inofficial Opinions in the General "Fund of the Treasury. The Court held thatprescribing fees was amatter of general legislation andwas a sewarate "subiect" within themeaning of Article III, Section 35, soas tobe prescribed since an approprSation bill could only be concerned with the subject of appropriations. (InAttorney General's OpJ.nionw-96 a similar rider in the Legislative Budget Board's draft of the appropriation act in question was held unconstitutional for the reason thatprescr;b1ng qualificatfons of the actuaries and examiners isama.tterfor general legislation which cculd not be included inan appropriation act.)- The Moore v. Sheppard rider required each employee to filemonthly an affidavit showing that hehad not retained the fees but had deposited them in the State Treasury. The rider further stated:.., ’

. ; ./ .;, Hon. Penn Jackson, page 2 (WW-233)

"The Comptroller shall not issue awarrant inpayment of the salary of any such empl.oyee for anymonth unless and until the affidavit required herein has been filed for saidprevious month." The rider here in question prohibits the Comptroller from issuing salary warrants to thenamed employees ofyour office until an affidavit is filed with the Comptroller certifying that such employees have met theminimum qualifications therein stipulated.

The Court inMoore v. Sheppard, supra, stated: "There being no statutory duty requiring petitioners to furnish uncertified, unofficial copies of Opinions of the Courts of Civil Appeals, no statute fixing any fee for such services, and no valid statute requiring thatmoney received therefore (sic)be deposited in the State Treasury, there isno debt owing by petitioners to the State. Since petitioners are not required toaccount to the State Treasurer, under existing statutes, for such rece'lpts,they cannot be required to execute an affidavit that such funds have been deposited in the State Treasury as a condition for the delivery of their monthly salary warrants." The rule ofMoore v. Sheppard therefore applies with equal force to the legislation inquestion. Accordingly, it is unconstitutional.

SUMMARY

The rider contained in the appropriation bill for the fiscal years beg:inningSeptember 1, 1957 through 1958, Acts 55th Legislature, Regular Session, Chapter 385,Hon. Penn Jackson, page 3 (w-233)

beginning 

### a’c'Part.IZI,page 94, isunconstitutional~iridbhtravention of Section 35, Article III df'.theTexas Constitution. Very truly yours, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas

WALLACE P.FINFROCK Assistant WPF:pc APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE: H. Grady Chandler, Chairman C. K. Richards John Reeves REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: James N. Ludlum