Honorable Frank Davis, Member 

State Board of Control 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Mr. Davis: Opinion No. O-2573 

Re: Construction of Article 3240, Revised 

Civil Statutes, and the Eleemosynary 

Appropriation Bill, 46th Legislature, 

with respect to residential eligibility for treatment in tuberculosis 

sanatoria. 

This will acknowledge receipt of your inquiry of July 25, 1940, 

requesting a legal opinion construing Article 3240 of our Revised 

Civil Statutes, and likewise a provision or rider of the Eleemosynary Appropriation Bill passed by the 46th Legislature, your specific question being: 

"1s a married woman, who has lived in and had her place of 

abode in another state, but whose husband has resided in and 

lived in Texas for more than three years, his wife coming 

to Texas more than one year but less than three years ago, 

entitled to admission to the State Tuberculosis Sanatorium: 

"(a) To be maintained at State Expense? 

"(b) To pay for her hospitalization as a private patient, as 

provided by the last paragraph of Article 3241, Revised Civil 

Statutes?" 

It is the opinion of this department that the patient mentioned 

by you, assuming that she is otherwise qualified for admission to 

the State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, should be admitted, ifwithin 

either of the classes defined by statutes according to the facts, 

that is to say, 1. Indigent public patients, 2. Non-indigent public patients, or 3. Private patients. 

Article 3240 of the Revised Civil Statutes is as follows: 

"Persons afflicted with tuberculosis who shall have been 

citizens of this State and of the county from which~ he or she 

comes at the time of filing of their application with the 

county judge as hereinafter provided, shall be admitted to 
Honorable Frank Davis, page 2 O-2573 

said institutions. A citizen of this State is defined to 

be any person who has actually resided therein with the bona 

fide intention of being a citizen thereof for a period of 

twelve months next preceding the date of such application.lf 

The succeeding Article 3241 classifies the patients who are thus 

entitled to admission to the institution, defining each class. 

To the Eleemosynary Appropriation Bill (H.B. No. 256, 46th Legislature) there is attached the following rider: 

"None of the money herein appropriated for the State Tuberculosis Sanatoria shall be used to treat any person who has 

not been a resident bona fide citizen of Texas for at least 

three (3) years; this provision shall not apply to a child 

born in the State of Texas." 

It will be seen that Article 3240 specifically authorizes the admission of persons afflicted with tuberculosis who shall have 

been citizens of this State, and of the county from which he or 

she comes at the time of filing their application for twelve 

months next preceding the date of such application. 

A person complying with the requirements of the statute is thus 

entitled to admission into the institution, unless the rider to 

the Appropriation Bill hereinabove quoted in some way forbids. 

In no event could the rider prevent the admission of a private 

patient since none of the expenses of such private patient are to 

be paid out of the appropriation for the institution. 

The rider is equally ineffective to deny admission of indigent or 

non-indigent public patients. It is apparently well settled that 

that‘the Legislature may not in an appropriation act repeal or 

amend a general statute. 

State v, Steele, 57 Tex. 203; 

Linden v. Finley, 92 Tex. 454; 

Opinions Attorney General 1916-18, p* 110; 

Opinions Attorney General 192S-30, p* 209; 

Opinions Attorney General, Letter, B. 60 p* 24; 

Opinions Attorney General 1934-36, p. 71; 

Opinions Attorney General 1934-36, p. 46; 

Opinion Attorney General O-700. 

Moreover, if in any event the Legislature could repeal or amend a 

statute through an appropriation bill, the title to such bill would 

have to contain the subject, (Const. Art. III, Sec. 35) and no such 

requirement is met in the resent case. (H.B. No. 256, Special 

Laws Texas, Vol. 2, p. 23 8 .) 
Honorable Frank Davis, page 3 O-2573 

Neither does the fact that the Legislature has made no appropriation for the support of public patients forbid theiradmission 

into the institution, in view of the express provisions of the 

general law as contained in Article 3240. 

The institution is being operated -- it has doctors, medicines, 

facilities, rooms and accommodations -- and the legal duty is imposed upon it to admit all properly qualified applicants, and it 

will not be 'heard to deny them merely because there has been no 

appropriation adequate to care for such patients. That is no 

concern of the applicant patient. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

APPROVED AUG. 13, 1940 

GROVER SELLERS 

FIRST ASSISTANT' 

ATTORNEY GENERAL BY Ocie Speer 

Assistant 

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