*” 863 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable George H. Sheppard 

Comptroller of Public Amounts 

Austin, Texaa 

Dear Sir; 

cent letter readpoaitlon of License Fees Colember 1, 1943, the Comlaaionth the State Treaaurer aa 

moneys received by him Prom 

the proviaiona of thla Act, 

separate fund known aa the 

oy fund’ and to be used for 

expenaer inaumed in inspeating, regulating and 

printing blank forma to be furnished such employment agenoiea by the Coomiasioner and the 

aame, together vlth balanae on hand in ruch fund 

on the effective date of this Act, is hereby appropriated for said purpo~e,~ and all suoh expenditures #hall be verified by the peraon to 

vhom ruoh paymenta are made and on the epproval or such expenditures by the Comiasioner it 

)Itr~oy”~,“,r.r.n” .I -- --r-..---..- 
Bonorable Oeorge If, Sheppard, page 2 

shall be the duty of ths Comptroller of the State 

to drav his varrant on the Treasurer of the State 

for the amount or suoh sxpenditures in favor of 

the person olaimlng the aame, to be paid out of 

the gesIployaent agency fund.' On September 1, 

1943, all moneya remaining in ruah l peolal fund 

and all moneTa thereafter reoeived by the Cow 

mudonor frao llosnse few under this Aot shall 

be paid into and beoome a part of the Oeneral 

Revenue Fund. * 

‘For 8o180 years the Bsplo~nt Agenoy Peer 

oolleoted under the lav repealed by the above 

aot ha?8 been deposited ia the General Revenus 

Fund and plaoed to the aredlt of a rpeolal aaoount oarrled in the Oomptroller*s Appropriation 

Ledgers as ~Employment Agenor Ice Acoouut.~ 

‘The ?orty-fifth Iaglslature appropriated 

these feea by plaolng lo the general appropriation bill the r0ii0ving8 

“‘All employment agenor licenre fees, together with any unexpended balanoe oi suoh feea 

remaining on hand at the end of any ilsoal year 

are hereby appropriated for the purport or rupervising ,employment agenoies and the dlstrlbutlon 

of farm labor, lnoludfng salaries aud other neoeaaary expenses for eaoh of the ilsoal years endlng August 31, 1938 aud Auguat 31, 1939, and that 

no 8u emisor or other smployse shall be 

i 

aid m 

than 135 per month out Of l uoh feel. Al P nonha 

oollected for employment agenoy lloense fear 

shall be deposited in the State Treasury in a 

speolal fund knovn aa *The Private Employment 

&my Fund.“’ 

'The For+rlxth Iaglalature plaoed in its 

general appropriation blll the follovlngt 

"8 For the Years ZauUng 

August 31 

(Out of Hmployment Fund) 

1940 

A”;&31 

1 Supervisor .* . . . . . . . . * . . . . . $2,100.00 ~2,100.00 

2 Asslatsnt Qupervlsor...... 1,500.OO 1,500.oO 
865 

honorable Oeorge II. Sheppard, page 3 

z Stenographer ,...r.. . ..i..*$l.3!i!i.,~ Trmeling expettae8.~.~~~~~ . 

5 Stationery, printing, postage, 0rri0e supplle8, telephone, telegraph and expre8a~.w~R~~..~.......~.~ 200.00 200.00 

Total from lkploysmixt Fund $5,65O.OO 45AO.00 ’ 

%ubjeot to the llRitationr wt forth in the 

provlaions appearing at the end of this Aot, all 

enplomnt l ganoieq, liOer& fees, togsthsr Vitk 

any tutexpanded balauoe of su0h fees remaining on 

hand at the end of t& flsoal year, are hereby 

appropriated far the purpose of supervising saplopsent agenctos and the distribution of fma 

labor, f OF eaoh of the time1 gew8 ending August 

3i, 1940, attd AU&urt 31, 1941. 

*The Forty-seventh LegiabtuP’e plaoed in ita 

general appropriation bill the follovlngt 

For tke Years pzd 

August ? 1, 

1943 

August 31, 

(Out oi Erployissnt &mar Fe:zi2 

Sdu-1~ and JUlntenanae t 

18. Superviaor,.............$2,100.00 

lg. AsLboista& 8UpsrVlsOF.. . . 1,500.OO 

20. Steno rapher 

!f 

. . . ...*..*.. 1,3p~ 

21. Wars Ing erpensea..~... . 

22. StaWmsry, printing, pastage, c2ftt38 suppltea, 

telephone, telegraph and 

expreaa..4........b..8~ 500.00 500.00 

~5,9500.00 ’ 

Total from mlownt Ageucry 

Fe.8 $5,950.00 

‘There vas no rldor on this bill. 

l u the 0108s of the fiaoal year en ay Aueust 31 1939, there va8 an unused balance o 

&29.2b rhlah va8 carried forvard on the Goaptroller’s books to the next yew l o eo up t. 
866 

Honorable ffeorge H. tlheppard, pago 4 

'At the alose of the fisoal year ending August 31, 1940, there vas an Uwred balance of 

43,981.X. Thlr balance vaa not carried SorVard 

although it oould hare been flprobably uould 

have been if the need had arL8eo. 

“At the close of the fiso81 yeu ending August 31, 1941, there vas an unused balams of 

41.898.27 or that year rscelpta. This balanor 

vaa not onrrisd forward be@aure the nev bioae9al 

appreiation bill failed to appropriate ‘any 

unexpended baluroe' a8 the previous bill had 

done. 

.At the dose 0s the flaoal year ending 

August 31, 1942, them vaa an Unused balanoe of 

41,464.5Ji of that year receipts. 'ihia, balanas 

uas not aarrled Sorvard for the reason rtated 

xiextYi50ve1 

‘At the effeatlve date of House Bill NO. 

264 there vaa au Unexpended unenoumbered btianoe 

of approximately $1,500.00 in the aurrent fiaaal 

year aaaount . The fess nov being aolleatsd under 

the nev aat are being depo8lted ia a 8peOlal fund 

in the Treasury vhloh, in keeping vlth the aat, 

is titled Qmploysumt &enoy Fund.’ It Is reparate and apart from Oeneral Revenue Fund. 

‘Xtt order that the Labor GoIa8is8ioner and 

the Coagtroller night kKiOV just Vhat mOMy8 are 

nov available for expenditure in thla oomeotlon 

your anavers to the following queatlona are re8- 

peatfully repueatedr 

'1. Doea House Bill lo. 264 appropriate and 

nov make available for expenditure all or elthsr 

Of the baleno remaining UQU8ed in the Employatent Agenoy Fee Aoaount at the close of the flaaal yeara ending in 1940, 1941, or 19&2? 

“2. Doea Bouoe Bill Ho. 264 appropriate 

the Ra loysmnt Agemy Fees aolleoted ainae Au&rut 

31, 19&2, and vhiah nov remain unexpended and 
aonorable Oeorge R. Sheppard, page 5 

867 

unenaumbered in the apealal aooount in General 

R l venue Fund? 

“3. IS you SnSVeP queatlon No. 2 in the 

negative, then Pro the fees at111 available under ths general appropzlation bill for tie payment of the itsme set out in that bill? 

“4. If yo3 anever either question 1 or 2 

In the afflrmatlve, then would the Oomptroller 

.be authorised to transfer auy OS auah balance or 

balaaoss front the Oensral Revenue Fund into the 

lRmployment Agenay Fund’ referred to as a rpeoial rum 

m I 

. . . . 

Your attention ir dlreoted to the partloulu vording 

and phraseology of the above quoted seotlont 

I The ComUesionsr ahall deporlt vlth 

the 3&t; l!reaIurer all moneys reaeived by 

him. . . to be held’& ieplrate fund knovn aa 

the tenmloment agen ’ . . . and the 8R.M 

together with balane d In auoh fund on t&e 

effestlve date of this Aot, la hereby approprlat8d, . . , @to. , , .s (amghaSi8 0~28) 

In enacting the above qxoted provirion into lav, the 

Legielature may have arsumed that there erlrted a balance on 

hand in s fund~:designated aa the *employment agenty fun&.” If 

euch were the caac it Was a mistaken assumption. 

It Is true, as pointed out In your letter, that the 

45th Legislature emoted into lav the follovlng provlrionst 

I All moneys oolleoted for employment 

ageney’lktae tee6 shall be deposited in the 

State Treasury in a l psolal fund knovn en ‘The 

Private Baploxmsnt Agenay Fund.lv (IWpheal%‘- 

oura) 

In sn effort to render 8ffSetlVe the obviously lntended appropriation in Section 4 of Rouse Bill Ro. 264, 

aupfa, ve might assume that the Leglalature Intended to appropriate vhat may have been asrunsd to have bean an uousad 
868 

Xonoreble Goorgo B. Shepprsd, peg. 6 

balmwe in ‘The Private 3Wployment &genay Fund.” Upon further 

examlnatlon, however, ve find a8 emphasisad in your letter, 

that the 46th Legislature simply appropriated ‘the unexpended belanoe of 8uch fee8 for the purpore of rupervlslng employment 8gencier . . . ior eroh o? the rimsal yrerr ending 

Augurt 31, 1940, and Augu8t 31, 1942.’ Shoe the 46th bgirlature did not rpeoify thet the fee8 oolleoted in 1940 and 

1941 nor the ‘unexpended balanoeg in the “Privete Employment 

Agenoy Fund” should be plaoed in a rpeola; fund, the ef’ieot 

vaatt;s!e the unexpended balinae lrom The Private Baplo 

into uhet’ls 

together uIth the fQer oolleoted In 1940 and 19 4’ a, 

oom8only reierred to e8 the germ%1 lund, thereby depleting the rpeoiel f+und oreeted by the 45th kgirleture, 

There then remained no belanoe on hued ia “The Private Baploynent Agenoy Fund.” 

PO money to the The 47th Legislature apgroprieted 

‘i’dVAt. fhploylobnt &8nOy Fund nor 1)88 8ny 

unexpended be&me appropriated. The unexpended belanae on 

hand on the erreotive date or Haute Bill No. 264 uar not in 

may rpeoiel fund nor in any other ‘ruoh fund” a8 OoAteapleted 

in the bat. 

Ye aennot aonrtrue the langtLag* u8ed a8 evinaing 

a legirlatlve intent to eppropriate vhat you term the balance 

in the eooouut oarried on your books a8 the “mPployme&~ 

op Fee Aoaount.’ fhi8 bel8noe io not a balanoe in a rpeaial 

rund, but 8imply repre8XGTie Ufferenoe between the amount 

or certain fee8 depoalted to the credit or the general fund 

and the vZthdrawal8 from the general fund iOr oertaln authorlted pUXpO808. Thh ooiue8 about by Virtue Or the legirletive, 

praotloe. from time to time In the .biennlel 89 

bi118, to 5ewure the Labor CoPrPPis8ionQJr’8 

oprlation 

aut I? ority to drev 

egain8t oerteln appropr~atlons from the general fund by the 

yardrtlak 0r the amount 0r ire8 thet he depo8lted to the 

credit of the general fund. 

6 “rpeal81 fund.” 

This 18 entirely different from 

The lenguege ured by the bglrlature in 

thi8 Aat evldenoe8 the puTpore to appropriete a belame In a 

Qp00m mid,@ end In our oplnlon, the root that the 8pOGhl 

fund doe8 not exist doe8 not authorize u8 to eonrtrue the bill 

to appropriate any sun 0r money rma the generel fund. 

Your riX8t three quertion8 8re thererore en8Yered 

in the negative which render8 W maPeP to quertfon Ho. 4 

unneoe8mry. 

Your8 very truly