# TEEA~TORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS

August 28, 1953

Hon. Robert S. Calvert Comptroller ofPublic Accounts Capitol Station Austin, Texas Opinion No. S-90

Dear Mr. Calvert: Re: Effective date ofHouse Bill No. 11, Chapter 289, Acts 53rd Legislature, 1953. You have requested 

### our opinion as to when House Bill No. 11, 53rd Legislature, becomes effective.

Such bill, enacted as Chapter 289, Acts ofthe 53rd Legislature, 1953, contains an emergency clause inSection 6 thereof as follows:

“‘Sec. 6. The fact that motor fuel dealers ,operating bulk plants and service stations are now suffering losses caused by evaporation and other handling losses, and incur expenses in collecting and acc~ounting for the tax levied by the motor fuel tax law, creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read onthree several days in each House, andthe Constitutional Rule providing that bills shall not become effective until the expiration ofninety (90) days after the adjournment ofthe Legislature, be suspended, and said Rules are hereby suspended, andthis Act shall take effect and be inforce from and after the first day of the first month which commences more than sixty (60) days after its passage, and it is so enacted.”. ’

Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (S-90)

Section 39 ofArticle 3ofthe Constitution of Texas, provides that:

“No law passed by the Legislature, except the general appropriation act, shall take effect or go into force until ninety days after the adjournment ofthe session atwhich itwas enacted, unless in case of an emergency, which emergency must be expressed inapreamble or inthe body ofthe act, the Legislature shall, by a vote oftwo-thirds of all the members elected to each House, otherwise direct; said vote to be taken by yeas and nays, and entered upon thejournals.” Such House Bill No. 11 did not receive atwothirds vote of all members elected to each House ofthe Legislature. Consequently, under the above quoted constitutional prohibition, the provisions ofthe emergency clause attempting to fix an effective date prior to the expiration ofninety days after adjournment are ofno force or effect. Copus v. Chorn, 136 Tex. 209, 150 S.W.2d 70 (1941).

While the courts have recognized that even when an emergency clause is ineffective because lacking the necessary two-thirds vote, itmay be looked to as an aid in determining Legislative intent, as in Popham v. Patterson, 121 Tex. 615, 51 S.W.2d 680 (1932), it is believed that it should be looked to as an aid only, and only to determine intent where provisions are ambiguous, andnot to create or read into the act effective terms or provisions not found elsewhere therein. See MissouriKansas-Texas R. Co. ofTexas v. Thomason, 280 S.W. m App. 1926, error ref.), inwhich the Court said:

“Emergency clauses onbills

. . .are not added for the purpose of clarifying or declaring the intention ofthe LJgislature, nor to explain the express language ofthe act; but only for the purpose of setting forth the reasons for the **SUS** pension ofthe constitutional rule requiring the. Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 3 (S-90)

bill to be read onthree s,eparate days, and for putting into immediate effect such act, whatever be its scope andterms.” There are no other provisions inHouse Bill No. 11 providing for any effective date.

Inconstruing the phrase “until ninety days after the adjournment”, the Supreme Court inHalbert v. San Saba Springs Land &Live Stock Association, 

### 89Tex. 

### 231,34S.W. 

### 639(1896),held that “90 full days must expire between the adjournmentof the legislature andthe taking effect ofthe law.”

Although the Supreme 

### Court has since, in Copus v. Chorn, supra, computed the effective date of an actlacking an emergency clause as being the 90th day after adjournment, such computation was not necessary to the decision reached, andthe rule laid down inthe Halbert case,, supra, was not expressly overruled.

Therefore, it is our opinion that the effective date ofHouse Bill No. 11, enacted as Chapter 289, Acts ofthe 53rd Legislature, 1953, is August 26, 1953, under the authority of Halbert v. San Saba Springs Land &Live StockAssociation, supra. 

### SUMMARY The effective date ofHouse Bill 11, Chapter 289, Acts 53rd Legislature,‘1953, relating to motor fuel taxes, is August 26, 1953. APPROVED: Yours very truly, C. K. Richards Reviewer JOHN BEN SHEPPERD Attorney General John Ben Shepperd Attorney 

### General

JA:PR:da Phillip’Rbbinson Assistants