Honorable Gee. II.SheDDard

ComptrolleFof Public‘bccounts Austin, Texas

Dear Sir: OpinionNo. O.-l099 Re: Is the $50.OOpald in by‘manu'facturers of headlighting equipment for each hsadlight~~devicesubmitted appropriated for the use of the Unlverslty of Texas

Your request for the opinlon.of~thlsdepartmetit o&the question of whether or not'the $50.00 .paidin by manufadturers of h&iidllghting

equipment for each headlightdevice 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 6xistenceUnder an act ijfthe Leglelatu*e'~in 1925 and is codified inVernon's Annotated Ttixas Statutes iihlegtslatfonunder Article 6701, SectLon 5 reading as follows:

_. 'Anyperson; fflrmor 'dotiporation may submft to the State Highway Cotilssiona lens; reflector
or headlight controldevice intended to make a tieadllght

complyvith 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 conformitywith 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 ofHon. 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, shallbe paid into the StateHighway Fund. Moneys in the Highway Light Test Fund shall' be spentunder 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 Constitutesa valid appropriation,but of course, it was effective for two years only.'~ Constitutionof Texas, Art. VIII, Section 6. Atkins vs. State HighwayDepartment, 201 S.W. 226.

Your letter states that the question arises as to whether the general approprlat1onappropriatingmoney for th8~ HIghwayDepartment also makes a specific appropriation fdr'the
use of this Highway Light Text Fund for the Us.8.Of-theUnlversity~ 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 reflectorsunder.ArtLcle 6701 had b-88i---- ~traiisferredtothe Department of Public Safety atthe~t%me'th4t departmentvas'created by act."ofthe Legislamre. Upon inv-estigationof-the departmental appropriationsmad8 by tti8&5th LegIsIature;we fir&that.nonepeclfic~~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~tb8use of theUniversity 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