C

THEA ORNEk- @ENEJ~CA OF TEXAS

HonorableByron Tunnel1 Speaker OpinionNo. C-25 House of Representatives Re: Construction of SecAustin, Texas tion 56 of Article XVI of the ConstltuDear Mr. Tunnell: tion of Texas.

Your request for an opinion on the above subjectmatter reads as follows:

"I hereby request an opinion from you concerning the constitutionality of House Bill No. 11. My particular question Is,under Article 16, Section 56 of the Constitution is the legislature prohibited from authorizing expenditures ofmoney for the purposes set forth in Article 16, Section56 of the Constitution in any othermanner than by advertising In periodicalshaving national circulation. Or, stated in anothermanner, may the legislature authorize the expenditureof money under Article 16, Section 56, by the use of radio, newspapers, television and othermeans deemed appropriate. "Your earliestpossible consideration of this Importantmatter would be appreciated." Section 56 of ArticleXVI o,fthe Constitutionprovides as follows: "The Legislature of the State of

Texas shall have the power to appropriate money and establish the procedure necessary to expend suchmoney for the purpose of developing information about the historical,natural, agricultural, industrial,educational,

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marketing, recreational and living resources of Texas, and for the purpose of informingpersons and corporations of other states through advertising in periodicalshaving national circulation, and the dissemination of factual informationabout the aovantages and economic resources offered by the State of Texas; providing, however, that neither the name nor the picture of any living state official shall ever be used In any of said advertising;and providing that the Legislaturemay require that any sum of money appropriatedhereunder shall be matched by an equal sum paid into the State Treasury fromprivate sourcesbefore any of saidmoney may be expended." Section 56 of Article XVI, above quoted,was adopted at the General Election on November 4, 1958. General's Opinion ~~-833 (1960), it was held: In Attorney

"It Is to be noted that the Leglslature was not directed to appropriate these funds from any specific source of revenue. To implement this new constitutionalprovisionL-Article XVI, Section 56, above quoted7 the 56th Legislaturepassed S.B. i52 (Acts 1959, Regular Session,page 431, Chapter 193). Sec. 3(a) thereof is quoted on the first page of this opinion. This contains express authority to do the thing inquired aboutby Mr. Greer - the paying for this brochure out of hlghway~funds - and we quote: 'TheTexas Highway Department is authorized and empowered to pay . . . the cost of developing and publishing variousmaterial and the dissemination thereof
. . . from highway revenues.' II

. . .

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Honorable Byron Tunnell, Page 3 Opinion No. C- 25

"It is the opinion of this office that the use of highway funds to pay forpublishing and distribution of the brochure is in accordancewith S.B. 152 above referred to and of Art. 16, Sec. 56 of the Constitution, is not prohibited by Art. 8, Sec. 7-a, nor by any other constitutionalprovision."
In Attorney General's OpinionWW-534(1958), itwas held that the Texas IndustrialCommission could expendmonies for the purpose of planning, organizingand operating a program for attracting and locatingnew industries in this State, pursuant to the provisions of Article 5190& Vernon's Civil Statutes, and stated:

"We are sustained In this c,onclusion in view of the fact that the voters of Texas adopted an amendment to Section 56 of Article XVI of the Constitution of Texas at the general election in 1958

. . ." In Attorney General's Opinionww-676 (1959), itwas held: "It Is our opinion that Section 56

of Article XVI, supra, togetherwith the enabling act, Article 5190$, constltutes pre-existing law,which would authorizeyou to pay these accounts, if in fact the accounts for salaries, office rent, etc., were incurredby the Texas Industrial Commission in planning, organizing or operating a program for attractingand locatingnew Industries in the State of Texas.
. . .' The abovementioned AttorneyGeneral's Opinions are the only opinions construing the provisions of Section 56 of ArticleXVI of the Constitutionof Texas, as amended in 1958, and, to our knowledge, there has been no decisionby the courts of this State construing the amendment.

It appears from the wording of Section 56 of Article XVI that the Legislature has the power to appropriatemoney for three purposes: (1) "f,or the purpose of developing information about the historical,natural, ,agrlcultural, industrial, educationalAmarketingA recreationaland living resources of Texas
. . . , and (2) for the purpose of informingpersons
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and corporations of other states through advzrtisi periodicals having national circulation.

. . , and"$ intI 3) the dissemination of factual Informationabout the advantages and economic resources offeredby the State of Texas.
. .'
. It is clear that purpose (1)does not pertain to advertising, but applies only to the developing of certain Information. Where pa&sons and corporations of other states are to be informed about the advantagesand economic resources of Texas through the medium of advertising inperiodicals, such periodicalsmust have a national circulation;however, this limitation is clearly applicable only to this particularmedium. You are, therefore,advised that the Legislaturemay authorize the expenditure of money under Section 56 of Article XVI of the Texas Constitution for the purpose of the dissemination of factual informationabout the advantages and economic resources offeredby the State of Texas. The only limitationplacedupon the Legislature as to its choice of the method of the dissemination of factual Information about the advantages and economic resources offeredby the State of Texas is that when the advertisingmedium chosen for the purpose of disseminating such informationto persons and corporations of other states is a periodical, it must be one of national circulation.

The above conclusion is In harmony with the holdings of Attorney General's Opinion ~~-833, WW-534and WW-676, copies of which are enclosed for your information.

SUMMARY The Legislaturemay authorize the expenditure of money under Section 56 of ArticleXVI of the Constitution of Texas for the purpose of the disseminationof factual informationabout the advantages and economic resources offeredby the State of Texas by use of radio, newspapers, television and othermeans deemed appropriate. However, the Constitutionprohibits the expendltures of funds for the purpose of disseminating such informationto persons or corporations of other states through themedium of advertising in a periodicalunless such periodicalbe one of national circulation. Yours very truly, WAGGONER CARR Attorney General of Texas -lOZ-Honorable Byron Tunnell, Page 5 OpinionNo. C- 25

Assistant Attor

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman W. 0. Shultz Howard Mays Ben Harrison Frank Booth APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL By: Stanton Stone

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