OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

I 

Sknorable ICortfmer Brown 

zxeoutir8 soorstary 

l'eaohsr Retlrmemt Sylrtem 

Au&in, ka8 

Earoh 29, 1939 

Dear Sir: 

we are in ma 

nqueatirytho opinion 

OS trustsea a? the Tea 

8uder hrtACltl 2!9z3!%-1 

tion Art101e 

Toa0her Retir 

Conson~tlon 

Sarah 99, 1999, 

to wheth8r tba'board 

OS Texas la 6luthQrlaed 

on (1) and rexas canllt1tuS the Sunda OS the. 

J the Brasol River ; 

a Comtitutfon, prwldea la 

oomp~atloII OS rra%d 

, Sor muh Rotlremont 

0S the State 0S 

Acts bd 46th l& Senate Bill #49, now appearing as 

Artlole 2988~1, Se&a 9, S&eotlen (I), Bsvised OiVil StatUttteS, 

1986, protim in part: 

-The Etate Boclsd OS Trustear &ml1 be the trwtaes 

OS the asveral Sunda as harein omtod by this &ot, and 

shall have Sull ptnsqr ta invest aad xeiweert suoh Sum&a 

tmbjeot to the SolZowing lltitatio~ and rbstrlotion#$ 
Eon. Mortlmer Brown, Haroh 29, 1939, Paga 8 

All retirement Sunda, M are raeelted by the maaatuy 

of the Xste of Texas from oontrlbutlona OS teaohera'and 

employers ~6 hereln provided, my be lnreatcd only In bonds 

Of the United states, the State Of (i’cxas, or co~t.les, or 

CitieS, Or SOhOcl districts Of this Stats, wherein Said 

COUtlCS, or Cities, or sohool districts hate not dstaulted 

in principal or intere6t cm bonds wlthln a period OS tan 

(10) Years, or in bonds issued by any agency of the waited 

State6 Government, the payment OS the principal and lnter- 

*St on which la @m'auteed by the Unltsd States; an4 in 

interest bearlne notes or bonds OS the tmlreralty of Tax66 

i66ued under and by virtue oS Chapter 40, Aot6 OS the 

Forty-third Lc~lalature, Seoond Called Geaaioa; . . .* 

The authorization ot the board to latest funds OS the ayata 

la llmlted to those ~laaass OS bonds pelaltt& by ths ~tltuti~ 

and hots oS the Leglal~ttara. 'A0 mu6t deterrdns than 1S the bonds 

issuqd by the Bra606 ~lrar Conaomation and Reolamation Dlatriot 

iall within any of the olaasiSloatloaa listed abovs. 

~_ Article 16, hotion 59, Texas Conatltutfon, provides 

in part: 

m(b) There loay be oreated rithln the StateoS T-6, 

or the State may be dirided into, such number OS OOILMlVat&on and reolaaation di6triOtS as may.be datemlned to be 

asasntlal to the aooqllahsnt of the ptlrp06~6 OS this 

smeadment to the ooaatltutiou, nblch dlatrlota 6hd.l b6 

gorernmental agenoiea and bodlas politlo and OOTpOratO 

with auoh powers OS govarnmant and with the authority to 

axerclaa suoh rQht8, prirllogoa and Suuctlona ooaoeraing 

the aubjeot matter OS this amendmat as my be OOnSdrmd 

by law. 

"(a) The Laglalkre shall authorize all such Indsbtedness as may ha necessary to provide all lmpro~emeut6 and 

the malntcnance AereoS requisite to the aohlevemmnt OS the 

purposes OS this ambndment, and all such ludebtedne66 6W 

be evidenced by bonds OS such oonsenatlon and reOl.a~tIon 

dlstrlota, to be issued under such ragubtions 66 6W (=Y) 

be presorlbed by law and shall also, authorize the le*Y 

and collection within such districts OS all suoh t-66, 

equitably distributed, a6 my be necessarY SOr the Papent 

of the interest and the oreatlon OS a SinBdnS Sund Sor 

the paymant OS such bonds; and also Sor the QaintenanOe OS 

c~~h districts and Iarprovements, and such indebtedness 

shall be a lion upon the proparty assessed for the paylaent 

thereor; provided tho Le&,alature ahall not authorize the 
Ron. Eortimer Brown, bferoh 29, 19959, Page S 

lsaumce of ariy bonds or provIa for any lnaebteflneas 

against any reclamation ai3wct. unless such proposition 

shall lYrat ic subzlttcd to the qualified property tsxpaying voter6 of such dlntrlct and the proposition 

edopted." 

PUr6dEt t0 the fOmgOing OOkI6titUtioMd aUthOriZ6t~On 

the Draaoa River Coneervatlon and Rsol.matlon Uistrlot was or&d 

by Aota 1989, 41st Aaglslature, Sad C. S., Cpeofal hUa,.p. SS, 

Ch. 13, an6 aub6eqaantly emended by Aots 19934, 4Srd Leg., 4th C. S., 

p. 5, Ch. 5; kcts 1935, 44th Leg., p.' 56, Ch.. 19; Acts 1955, Uth 

Lw., 1st c. S. p. 1529, Ch. 368. Ssotlon Z OS the orlglnal Act 

provide6 : 

W&e Brazoa Mui- Conservation and Reolemtloa 

District la created as a gorcmmeatal agonoy, a mnlolpallty, body polltio and oorporata, faatbd with 611 the 

authority as eu0h under the CoitStitutlOn and Lawa OS the 

State; .and shall have and be reoeted to exerolao 31 

OS the powers OS such gorsrImwnta1 apaoy and body po1ltio 

an& oorporate aa are expressly authoriaed In the provldona 

or the Conatitutlon,'Seatlon 59 OS Article 16, Sol: Dlatrlota 

created to co~6erv6, oontrol, and uttllae to.bensrioial 

service the stow an6 Slood watora OS the rivers an4 atreana 

OS the State, or'auoh powers as may be oouteqlated a& 

l.mpli& by the purposes OS this provlaion OS the Gomtltutioa, and OS may be conferred by General law, aad lip tha 

provlalona OS thi8 Aot;'and shall have and be reoogniaed 

to exeroiaa all the rights and powers of au lndepstiaut 

govenmaatal agenoy, munlo~pallty, body politlo en4 oor- . 

porate to Sormtlats any and all plana deemed eaaeatlal 

-to the operation OS the Dletrlot and Sor Its adminlatration in the oontrol, storlag, prasenation ard distribution to all u6sSul purposes of the atorm and Slood waters 

ot the Brazes River an4 its tributary streams; as such 

.Dlstrlot, shall have and be reao&aized to exerolae suoh 

authority and power ot oontrol and regulation over suoh 

storm and flood wctem OS the Braaoa River and its tribut&r168 as my be sxerolsed by the State ot Texas, 6ubJeot 

to the provlslonc oi the Conetltutlon end the Aots of the 

Legislature." 

Unnbsr Scotion 8, the bounda~lea are to include aI1 oOuSi86 

lfing wholly or in part 1x1 the watershed. of the fk'aZO6 River end 

its tributaries to be determIneU by the State Board OS Water ~,ngineera. 
r 

u 

11 :,:, ’Bon. Yortlmer Bran, MM-Oh 29, 1939, Page 4 

, : 

. . 

1 Under SeotIon 6, as a&ended, the Dlotrlot 1s to be 

~oronmd by (I boerd of 21 dlreotore to bo designated by the State 

Board of i.atrr i.nnC;fncsrs subject to the approval of the Ckmemor. 

Ihe circctors are to taice the oath of o:'Pice end mke bond payable 

to the Cletrict. 

The amendstory hota of 1935, 44th Uig., 1st C. S., p. 

3527, Ch. 968, Sec. 1, provides ror the remiealon of ad nlomm 

taxes ror a period or 20 year8 oollected for general revenue purposer, from oertain oountles, contingent upon a loan, grant or *llot- 

&ent from the UnIted.Statts of &mesrioa, provided that the mount 

of ad valorem taxes granted ehall not exceed in any one year 

cso9,ooo.oo. .%otion 5 0r the above amendstory act prorIdes: 

. "The District Ehall have the authority and It is 

hereby authorized to issue Its negotfable bondq~se8ur66 

:;,. only by pledge of the sums granted aud/or donated by the 

% St&s or Texan an&/or out 0r any other ,aurrent rsvenuem 

f ?I?,. of tho Distriot In any suob amount8 a6 may be authorize 

p. by the Direotors of suoh Diatriet, uhioh suam ,till ba 

paid to the legal holders of tmld bonds, ror the pnrpo60~ 

J;, .'i,. or purohasing, aoquIrIng'anQ/or oondemnlng lands, leases, 

eesements end/or aoqulttanoes, rights-of-wey, atruotares and/or buildings, equiprsnt and/or operation 0r 

proper structures, &urns, m8enoirs, uultable Sor the 

aontrol ol the remrrent, devastatiug floods in the 

valley or the Brato River, rhiah have, over a M. : 

period or years, oaused a deplorable losu ol *e ml6 

RTO~X-ty, 8td the erOsion of the soil an4 a dsplethn 

of the tertlllty oi the lauda In said ~ellep and the 

hater-shed soned by the braao8 Biter in Texas, and 

the public hIghray an4 structures and lands belongLng 

to the State of Texas oltuated within said water-shed; 

all of which ia hereby declared to ba a pub110 aalns&ty, 

and doing all thinga necessary In the execution oi.the 

ptUpO608 for which the DlatriCt Is areatad aIid eSIab, 

The money8 horein and hereby granted and/or donated 

to the Srazos Blver Conservation and Fieolamatlon 

District are deolareb to be for the purposes of disoharglug obll~atldns herein authorized.* 

titbough we hare not been prwkmnted ritb oopiee or deeariptlcns or the bouds which It is understood will be offered to the 

Board, wo fmmnm that they are the bonds Ismmd underSeoti?n b RWable out of revenues and donations by the State of Tams. 
Eon. Kortlmer Brown, &oh 29, 1939, Pege 8 

be do not thhk that It will adaIt oi serious doubt that 

the bonds In question are not "bonds of the Ualted Stetea . . . or 

counties or citlos or this ;tate." 

Tho weudetory hot of 1935, iat Cailed Lession, p. 1527, 

states that Vhere IO bereby donated and granted by the State of 

Texas to the Braaoa Liver Conservation aad Zeolemetlon pIstrIct, 

a state agency, erected by the Aot of the Leglsleture at the state 

OS Texas . . .” A reading of Section 2 or the original Aot and Its 

aubaequeat eueudaenta Eakea It clearly appear thet the district la 

a body oorporate end ~veramental agenoy dlaoherglng a gorernmsntal 

mnctlon. Sea Bratos Mver Conservation and Lieolaaetlon District 

v'. t&Craw, 91 z. ?i. (2.) 665. However, It does not fol&m that the 

authoriaed bonds Issued by the District are' "bonds of the State of 

Texaan, as aonteapleted by the Constitution and statutes relating 

to the Teacher 3etIreaent Syatea. 

Tha Aota of the Legialeture ox-eating this Dietriot end the 

bonds in quoatlon are thoroughly dleousaed by the Supreme Court' 

of Taxes In Braaoe River Conaervatlou end jiaolamation Diatrlot v. 

Kocmw (lOs6) OlS.'k. (S)es5. 'In peasing upon the objeotI.on thet 

the laatiiuoe of these bonds violeted the State Constitution, -the 

oourt stated: 

*The obJectIon that the ;aot la en attempt to authorize the board of the district to oreate a debt in 

beheld or the state, or laud the oredit or the state In 

rloletion or the inhlbitorp prerleIona or Seo. 49 end 50 

of Art. 3 of the Cohatltution, is rlthout merit. MO debt 

oa the pert of the state IO to be oreeted nor la the 

state*6 credit loaned ror thet purpose. sheae queetiona 

are ioreoloeed by the opinion of thI6 oourt in the.oase 

or city of kmmaea Paso v. 

S. k. ala."~ 

Keeling, ll.2 Tex. 339, S4T 

Under the oonatruotion placed upon these bonds by the 

Suprem Coutit or Texas, they are not Issued by or upon oredlt of the 

Stete but are Issued by the iieolametlon District eeoured by end payable only out 0r donations 0r ad valorem texea rmm the State or 

Texas and revenues to be derived from the district. 

The Constitution and statutes expressly reoognlee the dietlnctlon bstueen bonds Issued by the oentral government Itself, end 

those Issued by e governmentel sger~oy, by expre6aly snumereting bands 

Issued by the United States and bond6 Issued by an aGency’or the 

United States Government. 1t would ap~peer that li it was intended 
Eon; Mortlnr Brown, Em-ah 29, 19S9, Page 6 

to include all agenolea ot the 

sad statutory pro+laIona would 

Ftatc Goverment, the oomtitutlonel 

have expressly so stated. 

If, however, &dcr shy construction the provision Yasy be 

Inrested only In bonds or . . i tho titate of Tcxee* may be so COILatrued as to mean w&oternmentel agsncfes or the State of Texee-, 

there la yet another dIfiIoulty. It Is a car&ins1 rule 0r constrtmtion that "the expression of one thing IO exclusive of another.* 

13s rule 1s explained in 39 Tax. Zur. 9. 189, as rollowe: 

" The mxlm algnirIea that the express mention 

or enuAeGa~Ion~0r'ono person , thing, aonsequenoe or alas6 

Is tantaaouut to an express exclusion of all others. 

And ahon It is AppiiOabitt, arrimietire words ipply a 

negative or *hat Is not arrirmed, negative words Imply 

an a~irmetlva or what IO not negatived; end a protlalon 

llmltlng a thing to &e done In a partlouler form or 

manner Implies that It shall not be done othenlae.a 

Slnae oountlea and cItloa are also governmental agenolea 

RWfOlTRiryl a gomunmeu tal Cuaotlon. their expraaa auumeretlon in 

Constitution 894~ Statutes perteinitig to Tesoher Ret1 at ma, 

least, Iapliedly excludes other go?ernmental ageaoiaa under the 

above rule of aonatruotlon. 

the 

at 

pie do not express an opinion upon the oenstltutlomali-tp 

of suah provIsIon, but call attention to the taot, as auppertiug 

this lnterpretatlon, that in Article Z9Z2-1, Ssotlon 9, SubaeetIon 

1, the Zeglalature l'onnd it necessary to expressly mention Laohool 

dIatrlota of this State . . . and Interest bearing notes and bonds 

of the Uuireralty ot Texas Iseued under and by virtue ot Chapter 40, 

hots of the 4Srd Legislature, Znd Celled Se6aIon.w &ah or these 

are proporly oleaaIfIed as governmental agenclea of the State of 

Texea, and their enumeration emphasitaa tb~e intention ot the Legialeture to a9eoI~Ioally provide tor the bonda 13 wbloh Teacher Retirement Fund ray be Invested and to exolude all othcra. 

The fact that the distriot is 8 St&e egeney doea not 

hacessarlly preclude such distriot from also serving as en egeney 

or the United States Government. Be hero not bean presented with the 

oontrect between the district end the Pedsral Goverrueent, but tor 

the purpose or dIspoaIng of the issue, assuIt-e that It say be Ouch 

en agsnoy. The constitution and statutes provide that the ~principal 

sad lntereat on bonds issued by ouch agenop aNat be guaranteed by 

the United Stetea Govemment~. lnaofer 66 we have been able to 
EOSL Portlmer Brown;~Yaroh SQ, 1959, Page I 

aacertaln the United states Government ha8 aade en outright grant 

to tba dlatrict or OSO,092,S46.00 to erect dams, while the bonda 

in question are In addition to the Gnited States grant end are to 

purciase lauds, easements, etc. to operate the proJect. i*e also 

understand that pert of these bon&, in the amount or about 

~400,000.00, are now held in escrow by the Dnlted %atea Government, to as8ure the completion of the Poos~m Kingdom Dam being 

eonetruated rlth money from the federal grant. It 18 stated 

in the prospectus lseued by the agent marketing these bonds, that 

the bontjs are 86Cure.d by "a ilrat pledge of the tar money donated 

by the state and by a 8eOOndSI-y pled&e of revenues or the Distrlet 

xhlch may later aaarue to It.* It oacurs.to us that ir the payment 

or these bonds ~38 guaranteed by the lederal Government it vio~Ld 

eerteinly have been mentioned in this proSpeCtUS. 

Thla.Department is of the oplnlon that the Board or Truateee 

oi: the Teaoher Retirement syet6m Or'Texaa 18 not authorized by the 

prorlelons of Texae Conetltutlon Artiole S, sec. 4&a end Artlole 

SOW&l, Eeotlon 7, Submotion (I), to Invest any of the lpnds of 

the Teacher Retiresrant Sy8tem ln bond8 i88ucd by the Bmzos River 

Coneervatlon and Reolamatlon Diatriat. 

YOUl-8 Very tNly 

ATTORRETG3JERALOyTXAS