Honorable Gee. II. SheDDard 

ComptrolleFof Public‘bccounts 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O.-l099 

Re: Is the $50 .OO pald in by‘manu'facturers of headlighting equipment 

for each hsadlight~~device submitted appropriated for the use 

of the Unlverslty of Texas 

Your request for the opinlon.of~thls departmetit o&the 

question of whether or not'the $50.00 .paid in by manufadturers 

of h&iidllghting equipment for each headlight device submitted 

for approval Is appropriated for the use and beriefit of the 

University of Texas in testing the headlight equipment has 

been received. 

As you point out in'youti letter of July 8, this find 

ccliue lntb 6xistence Under an act ijf the Leglelatu*e'~in 1925 

and is codified in Vernon's Annotated Ttixas Statutes iih legtslatfon under Article 6701, SectLon 5 reading as follows: _. 

'Any person; fflrm or 'dotiporation may submft 

to the State Highway Cotilssion a lens; reflector 

or headlight control device intended to make a 

tieadllght comply vith the provlsions of this Act, 

and make application that the same be tested as 

to conformXt:tg with the requirements of this Act. 

Upon such'~appl.lcation being made, the State Hlghway Commlsslon shall, upon notice to the applicant, 

submit such lens, reflector or headlight control 

device to the testing agency as herein designated 

with the request that such device be tested as tb 

conformity with the requirements of this Act. Each 

such applicant shall, upon the filing of his application, pay to the State Highway Coimnission a fee 

of fifty dollars. All such fees shall be paid by 

th8 State Highway Commission into the State Treasury, and they shall be deposited In a fund to be 

known as the Highway Light Test Fund, and the State 

Treasurer shall keep such fund separate. The moneys in such fund; or so much of them as may be 

necessary, shall be used to meet the expense of 
Hon. Geo. H. Sheppard, page 2 O-1099 

the tests as herein provided, and for such use 

they are hereby~appropriated, and the balance 

thereof, If any, shall be paid into the State Highway Fund. Moneys in the Highway Light Test Fund 

shall' be spent under the directlon of the State 

Highway Commlsslon, and may be spent only to defray the expenses of testing by the testing agency 

herein provided for." 

This Section Constitutes a valid appropriation, but of course, 

it was effective for two years only.'~ Constitution of Texas, 

Art. VIII, Section 6. Atkins vs. State Highway Department, 

201 S.W. 226. 

Your letter states that the question arises as to 

whether the general approprlat1on appropriating money for th8~ 

HIghway Department also makes a specific appropriation fdr'the 

use of this Highway Light Text Fund for the Us.8.Of-the Unlversity~ of T8XaS. In an opfnlon dated May 3, 1938', to-.Hon. 

Julian Montgomery, State HIghway Department, Assistant Atto@ 

ney Gen8ralW.B'. Pope held'that the duty of supervlslng 'and 

approving lenses-and reflectors under.ArtLcle 6701 had b-88i---- 

~traiisferredtothe Department of Public Safety atthe~t%me'th4t 

department vas'created by act."of the Legislamre. Upon inv-estigationof-the departmental appropriations mad8 by tti8&5th 

LegIsIature; we fir&that. non epeclfic~~appro'prlation 6ipp6arsm 

lh shy bill for th8 use of-this' Highway LLight~ Test Fund.-- It 

Is ther8forethe opinfon of~'thF‘s: department that the mdney 

paId into-this find- isnot now appropriated for ~tb8 use of 

the University of Texas In testing the headlight equipment. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEKAS 

By s/Ross Carlton 

Ross Carlton 

Assistant 

RC:jm:wc 

APPROVED J-t% 26, 

s/W. F. Moore 

1939 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORREY GERERAL 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/TDR Chairman