- . 

Honorable Roberts. Calvert .-Opinion No. s-164 

Comptroller of Public Accounts~ 

Capitol Station Re: Interpretatfon~ of Chapter 

Austin, Texas .a' 293; Acts of the-54th'Legis-Sature, 1955 (Article717j, V.C.S.). ,as to,.fac- 

,simile signatures on public 

pear Mr. Calvert: securities. 

Yotir recentrequest for an opinion of this office 

poses the ~following ,questions:- 

1.~ Is a cltg,‘town or villageincluded within, then permiss$ve~terms ~of..Chapter 293, 

~Aets of the 5~th~Leglsliiture', 1955 (Art. 

7173, yVernon+s Civil Statntes)?~ 

2. Do Section 2~ and the Caption of the Act 

conform soas. to pergtit.~.the manual signature~~on.&zq,urities by onlpthe Campltroller-of, Public Accounts--uhere the 

Comptroller ts required to register the 

bonds?, 

Your firsfl.question is .determined bg the provisions 

of Section 1 of Chapter.295, which-ready as follous: 

'The term 'public securities' as used 

herein, shall mean bonds,, notes-or other obligations for thetpayment of-inoneg issued.by 

this State, by its political subdivisions, or 

by anP department, ~agencg or other instrumentality of'thl.s State or of any of its polltical subdivisions." 

The question as to.whether a city is a political 

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the State has been 

considered by the courts of Texas on a number of occasions. 

In City of Aransas Pass v. Reelin& 112 Tex. 339, 247 S.W. 

818,820 (1923), we find the following: 
. - 

Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (s-164) 

"Cities or counties furnish convenient. 

and~appropriate agencleh through which thG 

State, may,perform duties resting on the State, 

'in the performance of which the cities or 

counties have~a special Interest. The use 

of cities or counties as agents of the,State 

in the dlsoharge of the State's duties iS in 

no wise inhibited by the.Constitution in Sec- 

~.tion 51 of Article 3 . . . (citing cases);" 

In City of Abllene v. State, 113 S.W. id 631,633 

(Tex.Clv.App,. ,937; error dism.), we find the emphatic statement: 

nCounties;z.cities and to.uns are mu&zips1 

corporatlon.jii. ,Const. art. Xl'; They.,aPe po- 

~.l~tlcal.subdiv~~ions of the St&e. Id. Corporation of San.Felipe De Austin-v. of 

Texas 111 Tex., 108; 229 S.W. 845.". 

State 

., 

: ..; 

exati..Ntitional Quard ~Armory .Board,v. '&Craw, 132 

.,SijL 28 627,638(1?39); the ~cotirt said:. 

"The State has ,a vital Interest lti Its 

c$$$.M3; fin .4tti governmental cepacity a city 

~is.a:political.~..subdivision of the state/and 

:'in~,'arany~.instances is considered as an agent 

of the state;-and the state may use such 

agtint,ln the disdharge~of its, duties . . ; 

(~cltiw cases) .," _. 

~. .,See~~.also the cases: Bx~mrte Ernest, 136 S.W. 2d 

595,597 (T~iCrim. 1940);.*Harris Counts Drainage Dist.~Ro. I.2 

v. City of Roiiston, 35~ S.W. 26 118 (Tex.Comm.App. 1931). 

Thus, the f&s&lle signature biil is applicable to 

the securities .issued by cities, towns, and villages. 

'Asp $0 your,&okd question, .the caption of the bill 

reads, l.n;p&rt:~ 

11 . authorizing the execution of public 

sec<ies.by means of engraved, imprinted, 

lithographed or otherwise-re 

slgqature of all signatures p"e~~~~"~$~%$ed 

for ,e%eention, authentication, ,certification or 

,etidor$zment of,such securities. . e .'I, 
- . 

Hon. Robert~S. Calvert, page 3 (s-164) 

The body of the bill reads, in part: 

"All public securities which hereafter 

may be issued . . . may be executed with an 

engraved, imprinted, lithographed, or otherwise reproduced facsimile of any signature 

required or permitted to be recorded ~thereonin the execution, authentication, certification, or endorsement of such securities 

. . . provided, however, that at least one 

signature required to be placed thereon 

shall be manually subscri,bed; and provided 

that as to public securities required to be 

registered by the Comptroller of- Public Accountes of the State of&Texas, only his signature (or that of a deputy . . .) shall be 

required to be manually subscribed to such 

publFc securities." 

Section 35, Article III of the Texas Constitution, 

provides. that "if any subject shall be embraced in an act, 

which shall not be expressed In the title, such act shall 

be void only as to so much thereof, as shall not be so expressed." Since the subject expressed in the caption of 

Chapter 293 is limited to signatures reaulred for the execution, authentlca'tlon, certification or endorsement of the 

eecurlties, the act is void insofar as it purports to authorize manual signature by only the Comptroller on securities for which is signature is not reauired for one of these 

purposes. 

It is, therefore, necessary to determine if the 

Comptroller's signature Is required for the "execution, authentication, certification or endorsement" of such securities. As to cities, the Comptroller's signature is required 

to be placed upon the bond by the provisions of Article 711, 

V.C.S. As to all other agencies, subdivisions and departments, 

we are governed by the provisions of Articles 4361 and 4362, 

V.C.S., which provide that the Comptroller shall keep suitable 

books 8s~ a "bond register" and issue "certificates of registration" of bonds. 
. - 

Hon. Robert W. Calvert, page 4 (s-164) 

The issuing agency has the coo tooz,;;e;b&ig g'o 

and contentsof the bonds It issues 

datory) and normally requires the Comptroller's execution of a 

certificate of registration before the bonds are issued by delivery and .thereby become obligatory. Such certificate is 

normally in substantially the, following. form:. , 

"I hereby certify that~ there is on file in my 

office a dertificate'of the Attorney,Gez&eral 

of ~theState of Texas, to the ~effect that this, 

bond has beenexamined'~,by him as required. by 

law, and that he finds that it has been issured in conformitg.uith the Constitution and 

lawsof the State.oP Texas and that, it is a 

valid and binding (special( obligatlonuponand -said bond.has this day 

-~.been~registered ~by me. Witness my hand and..- 

seal of office . . *" 

Thus, where the law or the issuing agency requires a 

certificate, the obligations may be issued with only the~Comp- 

. troller's manual signature being placed thereonsince his slgnature is "required for . e . certification a . m of suchsecurlties" within the caption provision. Where there.18 no such 

requirement, however., one of the officials of the Issuing agency 

who is reauired to sinn the bonds would be required to do so 

with a manual signatGe. 

: 

Very truly yours, 

EM&S 

APPROVRD: 

Will D. Davis 

Special Reviewer 

Mary K. Wall 

Reviewer 

J. A. Amis, Jr. 

R~&ij$ev’Qr~ ~'1 : 

,.~. 

John Atchison 

Acting Pirst:'Assistant 

John Ben Shepperd 

Attorney General F 

JOHNBEN SHEPPRRD 

Attorney GeneraI 

By ?d4. h--dElbert M.Morrow 

Assistant