OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

oaup 0. MAWW 

- .mlHonorable George Ii. Chhsppard 

Caqtrollm of iPublIc Xaoounts 

hustln, Tsxaa 

Dear Sir: 

ns84ssrry ror 

osrtakia unolrnt 

tha opinion of 

the state mra 

AvaSlab3a Sob 

, yau stats that 

extbooko it boomma 

f&Ion ta lneur a 

snd that yea dosIr 

0 qusation whether 

cay be n48488ary 

4 lnauxxed ftr th8 

the Constitution, gmvidea 

be the duty of the Btets 

an ta set aaide a aurrioisat 

tha said tax to proviM Sr44 textuse or ctliraren attendin$ the pub 

1s of tbia stats; . . .* 

Rsvlsed C%~vil $tetutes, reads .a8 fa&- 

"1ch8 Stste BoJMI Ot Sdi~atlon to hereby 

authoriztsd and eapw6rQd. and it i8 nab4 ita 

duty to purohase boo&e rrosithe oentraotors OS 

textbooks oaad in publio ~XWJ eohoole or this 

Sate, dtnd to dfstribibpte th;he ~(fso witbout other 
cost to the pu;;ils ottcndi~ &u&i school& .&i~thln 

ttfs Stclte in t.F.63 manner and upon the conditions 

he~elnafter set out.* 

In thb Car&r61 Departmental Appropriation Bill of the 

Forty-sixth Laeislature ths La~lslaturs eoufht to mire 

definita provieion for items of expenditure to be made by 

the Textbook Divlslori of the Department of Education, out 

of the Avallabls school Fund, for euah admlnlatrstire 4xpen64 es Is Involved in the purohase snd distribution of 

free textbooks. In so doing the lmglslature did not nske 

any provision for traveling arpeneso to be iaourred Sn 

connaotloo therewith. 

There belug no other provision of the Ccmstltutlon 

lirnltin~ tb4 power 0r th Board or Eduaation with refer4~04 to expmditures :~rau this fUAd to pur4h464 and distdbute text books, suoh 66 traveling expeneer, the &rant 

of power to the Ststo Board of Eduastlon, under the term 

of tbs above-quoted ooustltut$oml provision *to set 

said4 4 6urfioi4nt smouut out 0r the said tax to provide 

free textbooks,” la but the grant of the power end the 

duty to appropriate 8ufflalent moneys out of the s &al 

fund r4r4rroa to ror travsling expenees. To *QTOY r ds= 

ime textbooka. to vurnSsh* or *supply* them. The 

power and the duty to detemilar how auah money nrap be 

neoeeaary to Vurnisb- free textbooks carriea ulth it, 

ee a a40466ary inoldsnt, the power and the duty to .provlda the funds neasssary to defray the travellrig expaasst, 

lncldent to ths distribution ol auab textbook& 

Yihere, by the Conntltutlon, a gotier Is to be everbea by a psrticulnr orrioer or brsnoh of th4 state 

~overnarent, the ex4roisa of that pawer Is dsnlsb, by 

lnpllcatlon, to all others. It Is to be areraised alone 

by, or unc?er the dlroction of, tbose to.whom the p4opl4, 

through their Constitution, have oonflded it. Elkat 'I. 

more, 67 Ter. 307; Ollleni v. mull, 58 Ter. 298; Wrks 

'0. %%58t, 102 %3X. 11, 111 8-B. %?6. Our GUprtliIIe Cmrt, 

in the ass4 ti Aneriaan Book Compsny v. Marrs, SS3 S.W. 

817, said, aoaoerninc: the above-quoted provisions Oi 

Artfole VII, Seotlon 3, of our Constitution, that %hls 

grmt of po=er 1s exclusiv4 sad leaves directly with ths 

Board the sole pawer and duty of determlnin(5 how nruch 

uoney my bs neaessary.* 

The power and the. duty of d4te~ning and aettine 

aside iunds EUfrfChnt to -provide fraie textbook@ having 
Hon. George I?. Sheppard, i%ge 3. 

besn, by the Conctltutlon, exolusively vested in the Board 

of Xduoatlon, it may not b8 lmpalrod or defeated by le(:islatlve or executive notion eeekin~ to limit lto ex8rols8 by 

pleoln~ restrictions on the amount to be expbnded Sor 

travetiw expennoo. 

In the Departmental Approprfat 8n Bill tha Lsgialature 

ha5 atterapted to make an appropria t$- on.dT admlai8trative 

erpenoes neaeasary to prov%da rree'taxtbooka out ol the 

AVailable Sahool FUnd, whlah, by, redqon of.ltgrfa\lUre 

to provide travallnf expanaec for th% illstrlb&tin tjt 

taxtbooke, neoee8arilg lnvol+ed an unwarranted and unoonstitutlonal invasion by the Leg.Mature or ths parer oonfsrred upon the State Board of 'Zdu8atlon to provide s~ftlolent m0neys for ths aocosnpliehment or suoh purposes. 

This power having been denied to it by the Constitution, 

it8 attemptsd exeroiae is a nullity. 

You are therefo're adVi88d thst in OUT opinion the 

State Board oi Zduaation may set aside oUt of the ~vvoilable School Fund euah mount 8s will he auifloient to dafray the traveling expenses neoa5sary to be inOUrr8d in 

the pUrCbae8 and dlstrfbutlon~ of free textbooks .to the 

sob001 ahlldrea of this State. Under the oonstltutional 

prorlsion referred to, it IS not only wlthln the prorlnoo 

or the State Board of Bdueatioa 80 to do, but the Conatitution srpresely makes it ita duty to do 80. 

%'NX8 very tN1y 

A!lTOR!!SYCZRZZAL OFTEXAS