-._ TEE ATJYORNEY G&& 

OF ?rExAs 

AUETIYN~~.TIEXAE 

February 35, 1952 

Hon. John Ii. Winters 

IfxecutiVe Director 

State Department of 

Public Welfare 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion Ror V-1413 

Ret Authority of Waco State 

Home to participate in 

Board Local Fund appropriations and In the 

Special Reserve Account, 

and authority to transfer funds between line 

item appropriations 

made to the Home for the 

Dear Sir: 

;;ey;; ending August 

9 . 

You have requested an opinion of this office 

on the several questions detailed below pertafnlng to 

the appropriations made to the Waco State Home for the 

biennium ending August 31, 1953. 

In 1949 the Legislature transferred the management and control of the Waco State BP me to the Board 

for State Hospitals and Special Schools from the Board 

of Control. H.B. 1, Acts Xst Leg., B.S. 1949, ch. 316, 

8' 

588 (Art. 3174b, V.C.S. 1. As a consequence the 

oard was In control of the Waco Home at the time of 

passage of the appropriation bL11 by the 52nd Leglslature, and all financial provlsions relating to the Home 

in the general appropriation bill for the biennium beinnin September 1 1951 and ending August 31, 1953 

7H.B. 626, Acts 52nA Leg 

are couched In terms of 

., B.S. 1951, ch. 499, p. 1228) 

authority to be exercised by 

the Board. 

However, the management and control of the 

Waco State Rome was transferred from the Board to the 

State Department of Public Welfare by the 52nd Legislature, effective October 1, 19 

? 

H.B. 540 Acts 52nd 

Leg., R.S. 1951a ch. 485, PO 66 (Art. 325$b, V.C.S.) . 

This transfer has raised many questions pertaining to fiscal operations of the Waco State Home for 

the remainder of this biennium. A determination of the 

authority now vested in the Department of Public Wdfare, 

&/ The Board for State Hospitals and Special Schools 

will hereafter be referred to as the Board. 
Hon. John 8. Winters, page 2 

and that which remains in the 

regard to the Waco State Home 

mainder of this biennium will 

these problems. 

(V-1413) 

Board, if any with 

finances for 4 he reeliminate many of 

vides: 

Section I of House Bill 540, suurq, pro- 

“Effective ‘the first day of the month 

after this Act becomes law, the management, 

government ,~~ and control of the Waco State 

Home, Waco, Texas 

transferred from 4 

shall be and are hereby 

he Board of Texas State 

Hospitals and Special Schools to the State 

Department of Public Welfare and all other 

facilities hereafter established by the 

State for the care and education of dependent and neglected children shall be under 

the control and management of the State Department of Public Welfare. 

“The State Department of Public Welfare shall succeed to and be vested with 

all the rights, powers, duties, facilities, 

personnel, records and appropriations now 

held and which wili be appropriated for the 

biennium beginning September 1, 195l by the 

Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special 

Schools for the ear6 of-dependent and neglected children now in, or who may hereafter 

;zx;;mmltted to the Waco State Home, Waco, 

SW 

The critical provision above Is the sta ement that “The State Department of Public Welfare .2 

shall succeed to and be vested with all the w, 

powerg, dutleg, . . . and ~aunroDrlat1 m go held 

D . . by the Board- for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools for the 

children . . .n3 

care of dependent and neglected 

It will be noted that this Act transferred 

the rights, powers,.dutles, and appropriations “~pk! 

j&#’ by the Board. Tt is therefore essential to determkng the moment in time contemplated by the words 

y The State Department of Public Welfare will 

hereafter be referred togas the Department. 

y Emphasis~ added,throughout. 

i , 
Eon. John H. Winters, page 3 (V-1413) 

%ow held” so we can ascertain what rights powers, 

and duties were held by the Board at that {Ime. 

In the early case of Fisher . Silaon. 95 

Tax. 234, 66 S.W. 447 (1902) it Is heli that the word 

“now” In an Act providing for notice of sale as “now 

required by lawn meant that notice was to be given In 

the manner required by law at the time the Act In 

question became effective. Applying this rule to the 

facts before us, we find that the provisions of House 

Bill !%O became effective on October 1, 19%. Therefore, the problem for determination Is the rights, 

powers, duties and appropriations held by the Board 

on October 1, 1951. 

The provision transferring appropriations 

“Which will be a proprlated for the biennium beginning 

September 1, 19 8” could Indicate that the “now held” 

provision related to some other appropriations made 

prior to September & 199. This seeming inconsistency 

is explained by the hact that the bill contained an emergency provision, Indicating that it was contemplated 

that the bill go into effect immediately, which would 

have been prior to September 1, 195l. However, the 

Senate passed the bill fiva vote, and, under the provisions of Article III, Section 39 of the Texas Constitution the Act could not become law qtil 90 days after 

the adjournment of the Legislature. The result of 

this enforced wait Is that the transfer of approprlatlons @‘now held” and “appropriations which will be appropriated for the biennium beginning September 1, lm” 

are synonymous terms. 

Finally, It must be noted that the rights, 

powers, duties, and appropriations transferred were 

those held by.the Board for the care of dependent and 

neglected children. This did not transfer rights, powers, duties, and appropriations held by the Board, the 

exercise of which, with regard to the Home, would affect other institutions which remain under the jurisdiction of the Board. That the Legislature took from 

the Board only those rights, powers, duties, and appropriations which the Board held or exercised on behalf 

of the Home alone Is clear from a reading of the whole 

Act, including the emergency clause. There was obviously no Intent to give to the Department any form of authority which, in Its exercise, would in some manner 

affect Institutions other than the Waco Home. 

it/ The act became law on September 7, 1951, the 52nd 

Legislature having adjourned on June 8, 195l. 
Hon. John B. Winters, page 4 (V-1413) 

With the above holdings in mind, we will 

now turn to your specific questions. 

Will the Waco Home be eligible for 

the $36,5Ot*appropriation made to it for the 1952- 

53 fiscal year In Line Items 30, 31, and 32, all 

of which come from the Board Local Fund? H.B. 426, 

Acts 52nd Leg., B.S. 195l, ch. 499, p. 1273. 

You state that the Comptroller of Public 

Accounts Is of the opinion that you cannot share in 

the Board Local Fund during the 1952-53 fiscal year 

since you will not be under the jurisdiction of the 

Board at any time during that fiscal year. We have 

reached a diiferent conclusion. The Act transfers 

to the Department all rights held by the Board on 

behalf of the Home on October 1 

rights held for the Home on tha i 

195l.. One of the 

date was the right 

given by the appropriation bill (H.B. 426) to share 

Zn the Board Local Fund to the extent of $36,500 in 

1952-53. This right is now held by the Department 

on the Home’s behalf and the Home Is entitled to 

that amount at the proper time. 

At the sane time it must be pointed out 

that one of the duties placed upon the Board on behalf of the Home by the general appropriation bill 

is the duty of placing enumerated local funds in the 

Board Local Fund. This duty has now passed to the 

Department, and it is still required that the proper 

local funds of the Home be placed in the Board Local 

Fund and not in some other local fund. Sec. 10, Art. 

II, H.B. 426, suura, at p. 12%. 

2. Would the Waco State Home be eligible 

to share in the $600 000 Special Reserve Account created by Section 9a oh Article II of House Bill 426 

(pa 1294) if the need arose for emergency funds? 

On October 1 1951, the Board held on behalf of the Home the &ht to share in the Special 

Reserve Account if the necessity for it arose. This 

right was transferred to the Department, and it now 

holds this right on behalf of the Home. However, 

the decision of the necessity for funds and the anou& 

to be received by each is held by the Board on behalf 

of all hospitals and special schools. Therefore 

sinzthe use of the power would affect all institutions under Its jurlsdictlon the Board still retains 
I 

Hon. John H. Viatars, page 5 .(V-l413) 

the right of determlnlng the need for and extent 

to which the Waco Home may participate In this fond. 

3. May the Department transfer funds from 

one line Item appropriation to the other and specifically from General Revenue Fund line igems to Board 

Local Fund line items and from Board Local Fund Items 

to General Revenue Fuud items? 

Section 7 of Article II, House Bill 426 

(p. 1293) gave to the Board authority to make transfers between line item appropriations of institutions, 

between line item appropriations of the Central Office, 

and between institutions. Att’y Gen. Op. v-1305 U95l.j. 

The authority to transfer between line items of the 

appropriation to the Home was one of the powers transferred to the Department since the exercise of this authority has no effect upon other institutions. However, the other two types of transfers must still be 

made by the Board. 

There .ls no restriction upon the manner of 

transfer between the line item appropriations to the 

Waco Home. Section 10(d) of Article II, House Bill 

426 (p. 1295) provides: 

“(d) All items herein appropriated to 

the several Institutions Including the Central Office, for bond premiums, post office 

box rent, land rental, postage, telephone, 

telegraph, heat, water, light, power, travel 

expenses maintenance of structures and 

eqcipmen 8 

Fund. 

, shall be paid from the Board Local 

It is further provided that the items 

herein enumerated shall not be supplemented 

from any other funds appropriated in this 

Article, except as provided in Section 7(a) 

and (b) and Section 9, as provided In this 

Article .v 

The exception provided is that no funds appropriated for these items shall be supplem ted from any 

other funds appropriated In this Article F except through 

Sections 7(a) and (b) and Section 9, relating to the 

2/ up., Artlcle~ II, dealing with eleemosYnarY instltutions. 

/ : ‘i .__.I 
I 

Hon. John H. Winters, page 6 O-1413) 

transfer and Special Reserve Account provisions. 

Therefore there Is no limit upon the ametmt of 

funds thag may be placed In any line Item account, 

either from general or local funds so long as 

the funds are placed in the accoun i by a transfer 

between line Items or by reeelpt of additional 

monry from the Special Reserve Account. 

4.~ May the Department create new Item 

classlflcatlons and transfu appropriations into 

such new elasslficatlons? 

The authority to make transfers Is only 

ror the purpose of transferrIng between L-ine Items. 

There Is no authority to ereato new Item classlflcations* If the item desired does not fall wlthln 

one of the present classlflcatlons, it cannot be 

purchased. 

5. When there has been a transfer of 

General Revenue or Board Local funds from one line 

item fund to a line item fund of opposite origin, 

what fund should be charged when the transferred 

money Is expended? 

When a transfer is made, there should be 

a bookkeeping transactioh removing the amount from 

the line item fund from which It is transferred and 

placing it to the credit of the line item fund to 

which it 1s being transferred. When the noney is 

expended, it must then be charged to the ltie item 

account which gives the authoriiation to spend the 

money for the article In question. ~xhe fact that 

the funds originally cam6 from General Revenue or 

Board Local Funds Is of no s$gnificance after the 

transfer Is made. 

H.B. 5%) Acts 52nd Leg., B.S. 195l, 

ch. 485, p. 880 (Art. 3255b, V.C.S.), 

transferred to the State Department of 

public Welfare all rights j .powers, duties, 

and appropriations held by the Board for 

State Hospitals and Speclal’Schools on behalf of the Waco State,Home OR Oetobor 1, 

1951. 
Hon. John H. Winters, page 7 (V-1413) 

The right to receive $36,500 from the 

Board Local Fund for the 1952-53 fiscal 

year (H.B. 426 

ch. 499 

c 

p. 1238 

Acts 52nd Leg., R.S. 195l, 

at p. 1273) was transferred o the Welfare Department. 

The right to participate in the $600,- 

000 Special Reserve Account (H.B. 426, p. 

1294) was transferred to the Welfare Department, but the Board retains the power of 

deciding who shall participate and to what 

extent, since this is a power 4 o be exercised on behalf of all eleemosynary lnstltut Ions. 

The Welfare Department has authority to 

make transfers between line Item approprlations to the Waco Home (H.B. 426, p. 1272) 

but has no authority to create new Item 

classlficatlons. When money is expended it 

must be charged to the line item appropriation that authorizes the expenditure, and 

the fact that the money originally came from 

General Revenue or the Board Local Fund Is 

of no significance after the transfer Is 

made. 

APPROVED: Yours very truly 

C. K. Richards PRICE DANIEL 

Trial & Appellate Division Attorne~y General 

E. Jacobson 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D. Mathews 

First Assistant 

By(r‘wrti 

E. Wa Thode 

Assistant 

EWT:wb