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**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS AUSTIN** 

Honorable Claud violf County Auditor Howard County Big Spring, Texas Dear Sir'

Your reque **1st** cerefully considered **1 by**  your request as foil **.ows**

Dav their Porti& ohthe Drhmldn on said super- - department, rend&red Xardh Texas, was not authorized States Government Food Stamp Plan. id opinion the 47th Legislature of No. 201, which reads in part as
"ti IT- CTH) Y TIB IXGISWTURZ OF THE STATEOF TEXAS: wSection 1. That Article 2351 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas of 1925 be amended so as to add a new section thereto to be known 

## as htlcle 2351-17, which shall read as follows to wit:Honorable Claud Wolf, page 2

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. c:yi.: .-, , .,_ ._ .YL’ “‘ 17:‘a. ’ .Thb;~Commissloae~s-Cdhrt:of each Couhty of--thls‘State', in:-aaditlan'T.ti

'~the 'poirers alreadg-.oonfe~rqd’r66 ~Jt’;by-law,- is-:hereby empowered :to,- oreatr’~a’:revolvlhg fund :or funds -and’to~ make appropriat%ois-thereto out of-the-genera+ revenue of ‘.auch: odunty , “irlza-..suc6:‘~revolving 

## rtia: shall.,be used by suhh oounty”only_ln :6odperationwdth the UnItedStates -Department of':AgrI?tilture : tb’aid- and assist- ln.carrying~out the purpos~s’:hndlpro~isions of anAct .of ~:Oongress of -the XInitea States pertaining to the distribution of convnoditles,to persons in needlef_ap-?jst.aqce;.,,under’:the_dlr.e.~tign~.~of the I 

## upi4ea_..s_tatea~Department. .~il.Agr-~qpTtpye; ‘.pr09

idea, h,y.evKr ~-that the coMty--~S-~a_ll,l?~v~~~~~~~dL~t.::all

J-~ __,.___. _.-_ - - .~. times -either the :mon~,~.aplpr~~,pr~~~~.~._.~-sqDb_FePolviiiil f~a~~~~~~a~--:t_he_s_qu_iqaIeg4~.#rtilbof.:.inl * stamps: i.ssu,ed by the United States Department of Agrioiiiture under the Food and/or Cotton Stamp Plan, which Stamps.,.are convertible. into. cash at-.any time. ---.- ~‘;t .i. : .,; T :.. c..,

-,.~ : I.~ ;‘!!b: i.-~~:su&co~t& of:.this States ,&,&L,. ing -the pdwers herein .granted c aii-issuing ~~.offlder shalLbe -,appointed ..tci ,carry, out’: the:$rdvisik~~:of thfs:Act:and toradminister .the:funds ‘herein”‘eppr,o-~ priated. ~:SutihIlssulng. officer %hall:“-be ‘a ~oitlzen -df the-5ta~te~:ofr3exari~~dnd-8pp0fntect~~bJ1-'t~e~Cbunty 

## Jdage of.i.subh County subject to “the :a$j)roPal ‘of, the ‘C~mmiSsioners Court thereo?. #e shall be required to furnish axood ind;‘~~uff.loient :%&%% ty:bond -.ti +udh amount and.npon&chiterMt and $‘6ii~ltions%~~‘~maybe required by.-the.rlldnhnl~sTonerlP’Cquff ~%%nd ~%hd~Jin$tdd

States .,De-- p&Mea6 I& t&gfc:cultur@~. :-. Sue;h-~istilpiig :‘offioer shall rda&ivti cd,,sala‘rJi; to be -p&r&au* :if:?td +&r&l funa or. :tiy. other :.funa <of i.th8 botity ,~.%xtiept &5nstitutlonal cPti&s,. dot ;oth&wise.‘a ,-hot“%o excee.d Two. Xundred gollars ($200 and may appoint such cashiers and other assistants as may be authorized by’&u&?&urt; The preniiums ‘of a-11 .bonds ~which mag,.be-i?eq%lred ‘of- such Wsuing ofi icer~;~ cashiers or other.:assi-stants. :sha3,1 be paid **-by** -the Commissioners. Court lout -of ‘ang .tivall:able funds -therefor belonging to ~-such

.cou&y.:: -;
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>. ‘-:; ::L..?::; in-.; ~_ ~_ ._~c.y~T.;fiz <., “ ;,c,:j ‘

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, .- ,,-Yonorable Claud Wolf, page 3

“ ‘C. Provided however, the polsers herein ! ranted0 2) such counties may be exerbised by two or more counties in conjunction with each other and In cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. And when such powers sre executed by two .(2) or more counties jointly, the County Judges of such counties shall appoint the issuing officer, fix such appointee’s bond and do all other things necessary to cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture In the same and like manner es is herein granted to any one county of this State. 

## "*a. Provided that Such Commissioners Courts of suoh counties may cooperate with any incorporated city or town within such county.or counties on such conditions and requirements as may be promulgeted by such Commissioners Court or courts.

“‘e. Whenever any county herein authorized to crs such a revolving fund ceases to participate therein the issuing officer appointed under the provisions hereof shall, forthwith reduce all stamps to their equivalent in money and return such moneys then on hand to the fund from which same was originally appropriated ana render a full account of his administration thereof the the Corn: missioners Court of Courts as the case may be. ’

“Sec. 2. If any section, subsection, or clause of this Act Is, for any reason, held to be unoonstitutional, such decision shall not affect the velidity of any of the remaining portions of this Act, and it is hereby declared that this Aot would nevertheless have been passed without such section, subsection, or clause so declared unoonst itut ional.

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“Sec. 3, The fact that an Act of Congress of the United States has appropriated money for the Department of Agriculture of the United States providing for the aispositinn of surplus cozznodlties by the surplus marketing administration in the Department of A&culture of the United States, and said administration is now distributing surplus commodities through the Food and/or Cotton Stamp plan. .-- Honorable Cleud Wolf, page 4

or System, which is yery beneficial to persons in need of assistance and the fact tbi3t 

## said Act requires the cooperstion of oountles orb municlpalltles a8Slring.tO participate In the benefits of ssid **Act,** and the further fact that there Is now some doubt as to the legal authority of the Commissioners Court to appropriate funds for the

. purpose **of** aiding end carrying out the provisions of said **Act** and in view of the further fact that persons In various counties of Texas are In dire need of assistance that might be extended to them under the provisions of said Act, Creet8 an emergeqoy and sn imperative public necessity, that the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days, be end the same Is hereby suspended and that this Act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Governor of this State, and it is. 80 enacted. ” (Underscoring ours) The above act was signed by the Governor on April 15th, 1941, and filed with the Secretary of State on .Aprll 16th, 1941,. and became immediately effective.

You are respectively advised that it is the opinion of this department that your question should be answered in the affirmative and it is so answered.Very truly yours WJF : db @TORN?ZY GiINlRAL

OF TEAS Approved Apr 28, 1941 /s/ Grover Sellers First Assistant Attorney General By ;Is/ Wm. J. FsMing Assistant Appro.ved : Opinion Committee BY B?B Chsirman

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