OFFICEOFTHE.AlTORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS 

### AUSTINxon. 68O.H. Sheppard,page 2

*In paming upon Claiiaspresented to this 

### departmemt

forpaymoat It

### becomesneoeenary for legal oonstruatlon of the wording, 'lodepartmentRan 9X1)811Fz.' Does thismean that a department oan

### notcontra& for more than onefourth of the appropriationduring any one qaarterT To be epecffic: A departmnt, dur

### ingthefirst quarter 

### ofthefisoalyear, make8 pamhaeeo to the amount 

### of one-fourth of its appropriation. During this came **quarter** the. department head contraate against the **omnmt** available for.tho next wter. I8 such poo&lure legal? In other words, doerrthe **de** partmenthead have the right to contraot for supplies during the present quarter agabst the appropriation thatbecomes available in the next ensuing quarter and to pay 

### for8ame awwdlnglyt*

In construing the above'rider, it must be 

### aonrs In mind that the &me function of thisdepartment, as well aa that of the courts, is todetermine the legislafire intent, and in 80 doing, due regard nuet be had to the ,old la8, the eril and the remed~.~ (Art.10, Seo. 6, R.C.S.1925), and that construction of a statute shouldbe adoptedwhich is reasonable and which will effeetixate the prrpoee of the Legislature In &opting It. Imperial Irrigation Co. ~.Jayne, 104 Tux.395, 13138. II.676; OliWr t. State, 86 Cr.R.160, 144 S. II.604. A statute elmuld not be given a oonstruotion that will render It rain snd purposeless,Af it can be otherwise construed. Stoltev. Xarren (Cir.App,) 191 8. T. 600.

It must be recognlm3d that previous approprlation bills had, by their term, plaoed it within the power of a department to exhaust completely its appropriations for the plrposus above mentioned in the quoted rider, dtwAng the early part of the fiscal year5 and that in manf instances such appropriationhad been thus mhaueted in the early part of the fiscal year, leading to the result that the departnnmt vae without apFopiated funds available for such purposesduring the latter part of the tie-. cal year, so that there ensued either a partial paralyala of the funotiona of the department or an applicationallowed **br** th8 ciovernor for a defioiencp ramant. This ras the old law and the e-r11at which the Legislaturewas. ’

lion.Gee. li.Sheppard,page 3

striking In the rider'quoted.

The remedy appliedby the Legielature ohviouely

was intended to require that the appropriationanamd be diTided Ant0 quartere,each of uhich wae 

### tosew8 to oarry on the functions of the department during the par

### ticularquarter of theyear inwhioh It might 

### be, umber the ridor, s8xp8tieds. The Legielature was not conoerrmd 

### l olelywith thematter of when the money might be actually E"" out, for thie Qonstruotionvould permit a departmen to purchase aud uee eu plies during the first quarter of theyear out of its ! oont ngent fund and contract that payrmnt ehouldbe nude therefor out of themonies In eald appropriation available for expenditure onlyduring the last quarter. The Leglslatum, if that construotionwere to be adopted 

### by thiedepartment
,vould hare done a futile and parpoeeloes thing in enaoting the rider, einae the evil at which it wae strikingwould be undlsturb8d.

In our opinion, the Logielatire intention vae olearly to require that eaah quarter~s appropriation tight be expond8d during that qua+r ~onlyfor departmontal ax nsee neaeeearily lnourr8d In carrying out the fumt ;ee

ous of thedepartment during that quarter or 8xtending into the eubeequent quarter or quarters, and, oouvoreely, that appropria$loue available for expenditure during eubsequont quarter8 should not be obligated to pay sxpenses Azmwred for euppliee or servieee used in carrying on the funotions of the department in an earlier quarter of the fisaatyear.

Lexicographersdefine the term *expense* ashaving varioue meanings, among them being *to pay outs, *to lay out", @to ep8nd#, and 'to dispoeo of*. Webster states that in aooountingpraotiae, *the creation of a llabillty~ is regarded aa an 88xpenditure~. Wethink that it was in this latter sense that the term was us8d by the Loglslature

. 888 the ease of Norman, Auditor, v. CentralXentuoky Lunatio A8yluuQ (ICy) 17 5. v. 16G.

Zt is our opinion, therefore, that a contract for supplies to be delivered during an early wartor of the fieoal year le to

### a8 regarded as an *orpondlturew of the purchase price thereforduring that quarter, though aotual payment is tobe made in 

### a later quarter out ofEon. Gee. 8. Sheppard, Page 4

fuzeleov8%lsble for expsnd.%ture In eucb later quartor.


### l8 do not, horever, belleve that t&e L@slatur8 i&8aded $0 prohibit a department fm3?2COZhraUt%Dg, in en early quarter 

### or the flsoalyear, for supplies to a43delivered during a 

### 8ua88qw.mt quarter, andpaid for during such subsequent quart8r out of fmde avaflable 

### for axpendlture In such subeequsnt quarter.

R. 'li. FelrchUd AJ3eistant