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## THEATTORNEY GENERAL QFTEXAS

January 19, 1970

Texas IndustrialAcccldent Board State InsuranceBuilding Austin,Texas 78701 Qentlemen: OpinionNo. M- 558 Ret Effective date of Senate Bill 21, Acts of the 61st Legislature, 2nd C.S., 1969, Ch. 22, p. 87. Your request for an opinion reads as follows: ?ledo hereby request your opinion as to the effectivedate of Senate Bill 21, 6ka.t Legislature,Second Called Session, 

## 1969, as signed by the Governor on September 19, 

## 1969.” Section 39 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas provides: "No law passed by the.Leglslature,except the general appropriationact, shall take effect or go Into force until ninety days after the adjournment of the sessionat which Itwas enacted, unless in case of emergency,which emergency must be expressed fn a preamble or In the body of the act, the Legislature shall,by a vote of twothirds of all themembers elected to each House, otherwisedirect; said vote tobe taken by yeas and nays, and enteredupon the journals." Under the above quoted constitutionalprovision, the Legislature in prescribingan effectivedate prior to the expiration of ninetydays after adjournmentmust pass the act by a vote of two-thirds of all themembers of each House, and that vote Is to be enteredupon the journals. Copus v, Chorn, 16 Tex. 209, 150 S.W.2d 70 (1941); Popham v. Patterson, 121Tex. 615, 51 S.W.W 680 (1932);Caples v. Cole, 129 Tex. (1937) D 370, 102 S.W.2d 173
Senate Bill 21, Acts of the 61st Legislature, 2nd C.S., 

## 1969, Ch. 22, pa 87, passed the Senate on September 6, 1969, by

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a record vote of 29 yeas and no nays, and passed the House on September 8, 1969, by a record vote of 136 yeas and no nays. The above recorded votes constitute two-thirds of all themembers of each House within the meaning of Section 39 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas.

The provisions of the above quoted Se,ction 39 having been compliedwith, SenateBill 21 became effective In accordance with the provisions of the emergency clause,which reads, in part, as follows: this Act shall take effect and be In force from~and after'lts'passage,and It Is so enacted."

"Date of passage"has been construedby the judiciary of this State to mean the date the act becomesooeratlve as a law. Scales v. Marshall, 96 Tex. 140, 70 S.W. 945 (1902); Galveston,H. & S.A. RY. Co. v. State, 81 Tex. 572, 17 S.W. 67 ‘(l@l); Calvert v. GeneralAsphalt Co., 409 S.W.2d 935 (Tex.Clv. App. 196b, no writ).

In the Instant case the Governor,pursuant to the pro-~ visions of Section 14 of Article IV of theConstitution of Texas, signed Senate Bill 21 on September 19, 1969. Therefore, the effective date'when the Act became operative Is September 19, 1969. SUMMARY The effectivedate of Senate Bill 21,Acts of the 61st Legislature, 2nd C.S., 1969, Ch. 22, p* 87, is September 19, 1969.

eneral of Texas Preparedby John Reeves AssistantAttorney Qeneral APPROVED: OPIWIOR COMMITTEE Kerns Taylor, Chairman AlfredWalker, Co-Chafrman

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Sam Jones James Quick Fielding Early Ronald Luna MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Legal Assistant NOLA WRITE First Assistant

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