. 

Hon.-Homer Garrison, Jr., 

Director,~Department of Public Safety 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion No. O-1758 

9.3: S.B.; 427, regular session 

46%h Legislature, 1939,-- 

General Appropriation Bill-- 

Department of Public Safety 

Items 1 and 2 Maintenance and 

Klscellaneous..~. 

This will acknowle~dge receipt of your letter of December 5, 1939, 

prepounding to this department for a legal opinion the following 

queatlons: 

"Would this Department be authorized to expend portions of Item 

2 in each of these instances for the purchase of motor equipment 

supplies consisting of fuel and lubricants and to expend portions of the amounts provided for Item 2 in each instance for 

labor involved in lubricatlng,Department motor vehicles?" 

'The classifications of expenditures for the License and Xeight 

Division under 'Maintenance and Miscellaneous! are as follows: 

Gll. 'Travel & Transportation expenses, automobile 

maintenance. . . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . . . .~17,300.00 

2. Motor equipment, parts, supplies, fixtures, 

other equipment and supplies, printing, 

stationery, telegraph, telephone, rentals, 

teletypewriters, express, freight, postage, 

repairs, maintenance, hospitalization and 

medical services when injured in line of 

duty, funeral expenses when deathresults from 

injuries inourred in line of duty, surety 

bonds, loademeters, radios, first aid supplies 

and all other necessary expenses. . . . . . . . )ll,l~O.OO 

"The dlassiflcations of expenditures for the Texas Highway 

Patrol under 'Maintenance and Miscellaneous' are as. follows: 
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr. - Page 2 O-1758 

1('1. Travel and transportation expense, 

automobile maintenance. $53,000.00 

2. Motor equipment, parts, supplies, fixtures, 

other equipment and supplies, printing, 

stationary, telephone, telegraph, rentals, 

teletypewriters, express, freight, postage, 

repairs, maintenance, hospitalization and 

medical services when injured in line of 

duty, funeral expenses when death results 

from injuries incurred in line of duty, 

surety bonds, uniforms,belts, scabbards, 

badges, arms and ammunitions, loademeters, 

radios, first aid supplies, contingent 

expenses and all other reasonable and 

necessary expenses, including maintenance, 

labor, equipment and expenses of operating 

a training school for patrolmen. . . . . . .$133,000.00 

"The classifications of expenditures for the Drivers License 

Division under 'Maintenance and Miscellaneous! are as 

follows: 

"'1. Travel and transportation expense, automobile maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)23,000.00 

2. Motor equipment, parts supplies, fixtures, 

other equipment and supplies, printing, 

stationery, telephone, telegraph, rentals, 

express, freight, postage, repairs, maintenance, hospitalization and medical 

services when injured in line of duty and 

funeral expenses when death results from 

injuries received in line of duty, surety 

bonds, uniforms, belts, scabbards, badges, 

arms, ammunition, radios, firstald 

supplies, contingent expenses, and all 

other reasonable and necessary expenses, 

including equipment and expense of operating 

training school for examiners. . . . . . . .$4l,2OO,OO." 

We construe your question as asking whether or not the 

expense for purchase of motor equipment supplies, consisting Of 

fuel and lubricants, and the labor incident thereto, for the 

lubricating of department motor vehicles may be taken from 

Item 2 of these Maintenance and Miscellaneous appropriations 

rather than from Item 1. 

As thus construed, we are of the opinion the question should 
Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 3, o-1758 

be answered in the affirmative. Fuel, lubricants and 

labor incident to their use in connection with department 

motor vehicles, is more specifically embraced in Item 2 

than in Item 1 of the appropriation. The only language 

of Item 1 that could possibly embrace such expenses is 

'automobile maintenance;" while Item 2 mentions such things 

as "supplies.n The expense items mentioned by you are more 

reasonably contemplated by the mobile maintenance" of Item 1. 

FFom this we deduce the inference that the Legislature. 

intended such items of expense, as mentioned by you, to be 

paid from Item 2 rather than Item 1. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

s/ Ocie Speer 

OS-MR/cg 

APPROVEDDEC. 11, 1939 

s[.Gerald Ct lknn 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY 

Ocie Speer 

Assigtant 

APPROVED OPINION COiWdIIl'EE 

By BWB, Chairman