Bonorablc Eiarry Knox, ahairman 

State Doard of Control 

Austin, Texae 

0plnson no. O-3885 

Dear tXrr Rs: Oonstruatloa af Subseatlon (11, 

Soatlon 2, Senate Bill Ho. 423, 

47th Lsglslaturo, the depertmentel~epproprlatlon bill, la 

relation.to oerteln sthtutss. 

v:e are pleaeed to 0041~ with your letter of .Aueust 

25, 194 *iah m quoter 

wStatement: Bearing in n&ad Artlole 603 aad 

&I ertlalcs of the Statute with refermtie to publla 

printing, e8 well em the ertlel6a in'chapter 3, Purabasing 'Dlilalon, plore espeolally Articles 634 to 

664 lnolusira and any and all other pertinent provlalon of the ,tetutes. 4 

qwstloa 1. .(a) Does subsection *a* oi Section 2, of the Gantrral Pzorislons ai the Departmental 

Lpproprlatlon Bill, peaeed by the 47th Le&letlire 

o&llat v;ith.the above referred t6 Statutes, and i t 

so Aow said 'Seotlon * a * supereede the above artloles, 

aab 1s the BoarAoi:Control bound to be governed thereby, or are the above referred to %&Ites still the 

eovernlng authority ln suah matters? 

m(b) Doe6 6ubssotlon *d! af 14?ectlon 2,oi said 

Caneral Prwlsiens of the Departmentel Appropriation 

BIU. rforeaald~ oonfllct with the aboSe referred to 

statutes, and 1 f so, does said oubaeation 'd' supersede 

the above artlales, end 1s the Board of Control boo& 

. -to be governed thereby, or are the rbwe referred to 

Statutes still the governing eutharlty in suah matters? 

"c&lestlon 2. Said subfiebotlona (a* and *d@ adoresaid, being prorlaiow of the Depsrtmentel Apgroprletlon Bill end not ln elther.the Elesmos~nsry, Educational, or Jualblery Appropriation BSU; ii you hold 

the eaperrede the above referred to ertloles, do they 

am !&to either the Elsuaoaynery, $duoatl&el or Zudlaiory Blll,~althoa& mot o+,alned,thereln?m 

Aad with hour rypplemental letter of September 5, 1943, whlah 

quot. 1 
Hon. Harry Knox, Chairman, Page 2 

RFurthar supplementing my letter to you under 

date or Au@st 25, 19W, in whloh a ruling was requested with reference to the so-oalled lanaumbraaae* prwlaions of Seation 2 of the General Provlaions OS the 

Departmental Appropriation Bill, passed by the 47th 

Lqlsleture, tho Ward ot Control desires to know: 

question 1. Do the provisions in Section 2 aonillat wltb Artlals 660 of the Rerlsrd Civil Statutes 

aoverlw Wmergenoy PurahaesaV 

*Question 2. Under Subdivision *d'. prwldlagt 

fThe &uptroller shall * * * have the power, aad it 

shall ba his duty,.from tima to time, to adopt, publlsh and anfaroe rsssonable rules and regulations not 

inoonsistent herewith, for the purpose of carrying out 

the provisions of this Aat’ * * * aan the Comptroller 

exempt any purchase from the provisfons of Reotion 

*C,* and more espcalallg that provision that requlree 

a purchase ordermgltlne 

posed to ba purohased9* 

the prl8e of the artlali proArticles 603, 634, 

ot Texas, read in suah order 

660 end 664, Revised Civil Statutes 

a8 tollaner 

"Article 603. The _ ._ . 

$ard aim11 ad&dater the 

laws relatlJ&!$ totne oerrous ilepartments, boards, 

institutions and publlo officera of the government 

herein nsmsd, end peiorm the eddltlonal duties and 

exercise the addltlonal tunotlonr provided for la 

this title, end ney combine under it the followlag 

subdirlsfons of lta workr 

2 Dlvlslon DiT1slon Oi of 

3: rnwi0n 0f 

4. Division OS 

tenance. 

Public Prlatlog. 

PurcheSlag 

Auditing. 

Design, Conetructlon end MainDitislon of Eetlmates sad Appropriations. 

2: Mvlslon of Eleemoaynary Iastltutlont3 

7. And such other divisiona or ita work ia it 

may find aeoessary In the admlnlstratloa of lts duties.* 

'R~tlale 634. The Board cd Control shall purohaw 

all the supplies uaed by each Department ot the State 

Government, including the State Prison Sgat@m, and eaah 

eleemoaynary ln&itUtlOn,'3ormal 8ohoo1, Agrloultural 

an6 Mechanical College, U&vsrsity oi Texas, a nd l aah 

and all o$har State Sahools or Departments bf tk State 

Government her&ofore or heraefter areated. Such suppllos to include Surnlture and rlxturea, tsohnlaallaatzuments and books, and al1 other things rsqulred br 

the d.ltfe*nt. dspwtmimt6 oz Institutions, except etrlotly psrlshabla goods.* 
Hon. Berry Knox, Chalrnmn, Pa&a 3 

*Artlola 660. In ease of emmrgency and where 

articles are neasasary end needed by any lnstltutlon, 

and It 1s Impractioable to Include them In the annual 

contract, the su erIntendent shell make a requlsitlon 

for asne to tha ii oerd of Control and the Board may 

fmthwith .purohase euoh ertiole i n the open market.* 

“titiole 664. The Eoard shell frame and transmit 

to eeoh institution a system of rules end regulations 

for the purche~se of such 8uppUw.1 es have been deslgnated by then as perlahable and 88 speclsl suppllea for 

eduaational lnntltutlons, and to whloh, oonformity by 

ell institutions is hereby requir?d.n 

Subsection (1) of Section 2 of Senate Bill No. 423, 47th 

&@lature, the dcpzrtmentel spproprlation bill, reads as follows: 

“(8) The Comptroller shell approve In advance of 

payment the amount of all expenditures to be paid from 

funds for which appropriations ‘have been made and shall 

enoumbfa and/or allot all epproprlatlons against 

x&loh purchase requlsltlons or orders are Issue&~ 

and the Can troller shall heve the authority to encumber and P or allot muoh other approprletlons as he 

deem essentiel to a proper and uniform system of 

rcoord-keeping on 0n enoumbraaoe or allotmeat basis. 

*(b) The CoUptrOller shall heYe the authority 

and he la hereby directed to require all departments, 

oomn&~aion~, boerde, divisions, imtittutiom, agencies, 

and other units. of the State Government for whioh appropriations ere made In this Act to furnish such information as he deems neassaary to mointaln approprla~- 

tloaa on an enoumbranae and/or allotment baala. 

I((a) Mter the purahf+e requlsltlon ha6 baen approved by the Board of Control, but before 6 purahaee 

order for the ertlcle ,or erticles requisitioned has 

been made, it shall be the duty of the Boerd of Control 

to furnish the Comptroller for his approval the orlglnel and a aopy of eel& purchase order, which shell show 

the depertment, oommIsslon, board, division, Institution, 

.egtiauy or other unit of State government meking the 

requisition, the reqnisition number , the purchase order 

number, ,the appropriation and number oat of whioh the 

purchase Is to be paid, e desorlptlon of the article, 

the cost of the artlale, the person or firm fran whan 

the artiole has been QUrchsSeC, end ~uoh other lnformatlon es the Comptrbller mey require. when the Oomptroller he8 approved the amount of the purchaw order he 

shell return the orlgIna1 to the Board of dontrol for 

. the making of the or&r and shall retain the aopy of 

aeld purchase order for his reoWd8. 
BOIL ferry lmox, Chalrmn, Pa@ 4 

m(d) The Comptroller shall have the authority to 

presorlbe suoh forms as he MJ deem neoessary to carry 

this A& into ettcot and he shall further have the power and It shall be his duty, from tine to time, to adopt, 

publish and enioroe reasonable rules end regulations not 

InoonaIstent herewIth for-the purpose of oarrylng out the 

provisIona oi this Aot. 

“(8) If any department, oonualsaloa, board, dlvlslon, lnatltutlon, agenog, or other unit of the State 

Oovernment shall fail or refuse to fun&h the Comptroller any or ell lnrormatlon requlrbd under the terms 

of this Aot, or whIoh the Comptroller requires under 

the terma of this Act, the Comptroller shall not write 

or issue any warrant whatsoever on any of tha appropriations made ior the benefit or such Q efaultlng department, 

ooxnIoslon, board, dlvlslon, agenoy or other unit of 

Etata government until the required Inforlntlon has been 

furnished. 

"(f) ThIa Section shall be erreatlve rrom and 

after September 1, 1941, and the Camptroller shall oause 

same to beoome operative aa 80011 as practicable thereafter, and not leter than January 1, 19&2.R . 

Artiolea 603, 634, 660 and 664,.and othe, ielated statutes, confer oertain dutlea and powers um the Board or ~Control . 

regerding the purahaoing of supplle6 for vsrloua state dspartments and institutions. 

Subsection (1) or Seotlon- 2of Senate Bill 80. 423 ooatains oertain new requirements lnoldent to the expenditures of 

the suma appropriated In Seoflon 1 OS the dot. The expenditure8 

far whIoh epproprletlom are made relate to the puroheso o2 mppllee for varlo~ state departmenta. The two-fold purpoee of 

the requirementa ln Subaeotion (11.18 to prevent the overdraring 

af Items ot appropriation and to provide a better bookkeeping 

agstem for the state. The requirements are new. They pioneer 

In the Sleld of strioter and more aoourate bookkeeping for the 

atete. They appertain not to the statutory powers oi the Boerd. 

OS Control, but to the Comptrollar9a method of handling the payment of the purahases made by the Board of Control. 

These provisions do not repeal, or oonstltute an attempt 

to re;teal, axI8tlng statutes. Their vItelIty does not depend upon l ny change .ln the statutory law of the etete. !Phe legislature 

has not deolarad that the Board of Control shall no longer purokase supplies. or othsrwlse lnveded statutory power8 of the Board. 

ft has r;lerely stipulated that payment out of the appropriation 

made shall be subject to the desorlbsd additional requirements. 

The Board of Control 1s still the parchasIng agenoy and in other 

reepeote ohergqd with the edmlnlstratlon of the laws re~letlng to 

&ate departmahta. The Comptroller Is not authorized to approve 

purohases es purohases) he Is merely required to abide oertaln 

additions1 regulations as to the payment for auah purchaees wherefore he may kee 

on bv. the Lad a f 

the books.of the etate In the manner deolded upmtnwm- 
Hon. Harry %~ox, CheIrmf% PaSI 5 

With tho wisdom or propriety of the adbitlonal requirements, neither this depertamnt, nor the Comptroller, nor the Board 

af Control oan hsve eny oonoorn. Eaoh must follow the mendate 

or the Le&~alaturs if the requirements are althin ths bounds of law. 

In tho very nature of the stupendous job of keeping the 

boob of this atate, the Le&ialature oan only declare purpoaea, 

prescribe requIrementa, define bounds of authority, and thereupon 

entrust admlniatrstlon to the departments of state involved. It 

has, aa It neoeaasrlly must have done, ohareed the Comptroller 

with the duty of promulgating thenaoeaaary rules and regulationa 

to errsot the legislntlve purpoael It wea oompelled to give wlde 

latitude to the Comptroller to scoept ths duties and reaponsIbIlItIes Imposed and erecute the leglslatlve msndate In the 

most reaaIble msnner. 

F’urohsaes by the Board of Control, pursuant to Its atatutory duties and powers, rmy be ole8slrIed a8 ot three types. 

First, the re&.ar purohaae of Iaolated Items upon the basis of 

oompetltlve bid8 relating to eeoh lndIvIdual purchase. Second, 

puroheses under annual oontraota awarded after oompetltlve biddIng, 

whIah prescribe prioe end qualIt&?, quantity being e matter of au& 

sequent needs and requI?ementa. Third, 8mergenoy purohasds purmuant to Article 660 under whloh the requirement of oompetltlve 

blda, end that requirement eione, la relaxed. 

Under Subseotion (1) of Sootion 2 of Fenate Bill 423, 

it 1s lPandatory upon the OWptroller to maintain all appropriations 

made In Seotlon 1 of the Aot on an enoumbranoe a&or allotmant 

beBiB. l?eoesaarIly in the enaotment of Subseotlon (1) the LegIal.:t&.at;d 80 in contemplation of the three m8thoda or types of 

Henoe the alternative Renounbranoe and/or allotment 

bada.= be first type of puroheae Is adaptable to. mslntenanoe 

upon a atrlot enoumbranoe besla. .Tha aeoond end third types of 

puupaae are more adaptable to mslntenenoe upon an allotment 

Beoause af the multltudInoua details and variationa lnhe& in running the buaIne8s of the state, and in purohaaing 

auppllea for departments of atete, num8roua and different rules 

and regulations must be adopted, publish~sd and snforoed -by the 

Camptroller to eohleve the type oi bookkeeping required by the 

Legislature. Henoe the broad rule-making power vested In the 

Camptroller. 

ComplIanoe upon the part of ths Board of Control with 

the’Mqul&m8nta of Subseotlon (11, and ulth the rules and regulations promulgated by the Comptroller purlruant thereto, will 

not olroumaadba or restriot the atetutory powers 6f the Board 

of Control or obatruot ths Board of Control In the execution of 

its power8 and duties of purchase In the manner provided for and 

authorized by statute. 

Subaeotlon (1) should not be etrlotly or unreasonably 

oonatrued. fn It8 very nature It requires liberality of oonstiuotl on‘ Ths reoognltlon and repuIremen$ that appropriations ba 

maIntaIned on an allotment basis presupposes the neoesalty of 

eatimstes of expendItur8s under the ssaond end third method8 bf 
Hon. Hsrry Knox, Choirman, PO&B 6 

purohaae and the reserving by the Canptroller of a oerteln par- 

~~~f~depproprIation r0r the payment of oblI(;ationa yet to 

Were this not true, and were estimates end reservetlone of ~pp~opriatlons not oontempletrd by the Le~elature, 

the requirement would he% bean dnly that approprietlons be malntalned on.011 enoumbranoe bsaia. Where an estlmte, end e oorrespondIng allotment dsV8lOpB t0 be either too low or too hi&t, ad- 

@stAent can be made end It IS OOnt~plet86 under Subseotion (1) 

that adjustments will her4 to be made. %iB the Leglalatura 

deemed nor8 entiqraotory, rraa the stendpolnt or the books 0s the 

tStBt8, than the oonditions heretofore existing under whloh the 

Btetu~a of en appropriotlon aooount was al3 the while unoorteln 

end lnoapable of Escertainment. 

Statutes oaunot, of oourse, be SUOO8SSfU~y amended or 

i repealed In an appropriation bill. But the pleolng of restriot,iona upon the expenditure of money8 appropriated in the bill 

fnheres In the leglslotIv8 control over the State Treasury. Snb- 

:"sectlon (1) of Se&ion 2 Of Senate Bill 423 does not oonstltute 

y' an attempt to eooompllah the former but the exercise of the letter. 

It Is therefore the oonsidered oonolusion of this depertment thet the provlsion a oontelned In Subsection (1) or Section 2 of SeiEit8 aI= 423 do not Oonfilotwlth, BUp8rBed8, emend 

or repeal Artlales 603, 634, 660 and 664 of the statutes of Texes, or other related statutes. 

Your su~pler,entel letter propounds the question, In 

addition to the one reletIn& to Artlole 660, of whether the Captri&lcr may exem t 

Of %%bB8OtiOn (1 P 

any purahase from the provlelons 0s Section 0 

. 

It la ~DUT dpInIon that Seotlon o waa not'intended to apfly t0 every ptUVhaB8 traMaOtiOn and that the Comptroller does 

have the authority to extanpt purChaB8B therefrom if in the natures '~ 

of 8uah pureheaea, othcmiae authorized bythe Bt@tUt08 of Tents, 

they are incapable OS bolne subjeoted to the strict requlremente 

0s Seotlon 0.~ AB mentioned above, it Is quit8 ObViOUs that the 

Legislature oould not antIoipat8 eny end every contIngenoy that 

might arise rrm a bookkeeping etsndpolnt end expresely legislat8 

upon each and every pOSBIbl8 purbhese transaction authorized by 

.the etetutea. NeO8aserily muoh must have been left to the dlaoratioa,of the BdminiBtr8tIV8 department oherged with enforoenent. 

Therein lIcs the 8xplenfItIon end necessity for the broad rule-making 

power and dIeor8tion expressly vested in the Comptroller*a depertment . The Co)nptro~er is therefore authorized to exempt purchesea 

from the letter 0s Seotlon 0 when Buoh Is Inherently necessary, ati 

to handle suoh p~OhBB88 in the BIBMer neOeI38Bry and t8eSibl8 to 

maintain appropriations on an 8noumbranco On&/Or allotment ba8i8 

es otherwies rsqtired by the Various prOViSiOn of SUbsectIOn (1). 

The BeOOlld C$l8BtiOn in your letter Of August 25th inquires 

If oertain provIsiqn8 of Subaeotion (1), oontalned only In Senate 

Bill i& the depertmentel spproprlatlon bill, apply either to the 

.- F 
. - 

Hon. Harry Kuox, ChoIrnon, Pegs 7 

Eleemoagnary, the Educetlonal or the Judltilery appropriation bills, 

although not oonteined in then. They do not. 

Yours very truly 

ATTOEIFY CEN%nkL OF TEXAS 

By B/B 201118 C. %eak&ey 

APZOVED OFI,WOh; CO:XITTEX 

BY B-X!, Chairman 

ZCS:ejljrb