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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

Honorable J. E. McDonald, Commissloner, Department ofAgriculture Austin, Texas
Dear Mr. McDonald: OpinionNo. o-7230 Re: Whether or hot the aupplementatioh of salariesby the Federal Government"'to employ certificate seasohal ,inspectors on the Mexican Fruit Fly Project would vlolate any of the provisions ofArticle XVI, Section 33, of the State Constitution.
Your request for an opinionupon the above subjectmatter is as follows:

"The"Fortg-NinthLegislatureappropriated a number of salaries to be used on the'MexicanFruit Fly Project in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas to employ certificate inspectors seasonalat $90.00per month‘.'We find it Impossible to employ efficient and capable help'as i's necessary on this project at the amount as statedabove. The United States'Department of Agriculture is the cooperating agency and is Interested in an interstatemovement of cit'rusfruit. The Federal Government has expresseda willingness to supplementthese salaries in the amount of $35.00 each, which will make a total of $l25.OO to be paid each employee. "None of these employeesholds any other office or position of honor, trust, or profitunder this State or the United States. Each of said employees isunder the direct and sole supervision of the State Commissioner of Agriculture. No other person orDepartment whatsoeverholds or exercisesany jurisdictionor supervision over said employees.
"Inview of the foregoing,please advise if the supplementationof salaries' by the Fecleral

Government as above outlined violates any of the provisions of Article 16, Section 33, of'our State Constitution.", -

Honorable J. E. McDonald, page 2 O-7230

Under the facts statedby you with respect to the method of supplementingthe sala~ries of the named employees of yourDepartment, your question shouldbe answered in the negatlve.

Section 33 ofArticle XVI of the Constitutionreferred to by you, insofar as it concerns a restriction on payment of compensation, is as follows:

"Theaccountings

officers of this State shall neither draw nor pay a warrant upon the Treasury in favor of any person, for salary or compensation as agent, officer or appointee,who holds at the. same time any other office or position of honor, trust or profit,under this State or the United States * * + 4 except as prescribed in this Constitution.

**'I If such supplementalcompensationunder consideration is paid'directlyby the Federal Government to the State employee as a State employee performing services helpful alike to the United States and the State, without creating, or attempting'to create an office, agency or employment of the United States as such, then Section 33has no application.

We pointed out this distinction in our OpinionNo; 0-2388-A, addressed to HonorableRoy C. Loventhal, Chairman, Livestock Sanitary Commission,a copy of which accompanies this opinion. In that opinionwe said:

'In response to our inquiry,Mr. C. R. Landon, District Agent for the United States Department of the Interlop,advised us 'thatthey (the two clerks) each have what is known asAgent appointmentsunder the United StatesDepartment of the Interior, These appointments state the amount of salary to be paid from Federal funds and the amount to be paid from State funds. The total salary is based upon the Federal salary rates for the type of work required of these employes.'
"In the light of this Information, It would seem that the Federal Government pays the two clerks in consideration for their servicesrendered pursuant to their individualcapacity as agents of the United StatesDepartment of the Interior, and this being done Irrespectiveof the fact that they incidentallyoccupy at the same time the position of State employees. "Themoney paid these clerks in their capacity as a Federal agent springs from a sourceand travelsHonorable J. E. McDonald, page 3 0-7230

a channel separate and district from those funds appropriatedby the State Legislature. These 

### f’unas never reach the State Treasury. The point of its origin and disbursement is the United States Treasury.

"Theclerks are commissionedagents of the United States Department of the Interior,and accordingly, hold Federal positions of 'honor,trust, or profit', within the meaning of that phrase, None of the enumerated exemptions in the above quoted constitutionalprovision (Section 33) embraces this situation. "Therefore,under the given facts, our opinion is that no provision of the AppropriationBill would prevent the State employee's salary from being supplementedby Federal Funds; 16, supra, but, Sectlon 33, Article

would prohibit them from receiving any salary or compensation for their services rendered the State so long as this Federal relationship continues."
We trust that this is a sufficientand satisfactory answer to your question. Very truly yours ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By s/Ocie Speer Ocie Speer Assistant OS al-WC Enclosure

APPROVED JUN 15, 1946 s/CarlosC. Ashley FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEYGENERAL This Opinion ConsideredAnd Approved In Limited Conference