.

Hon.-Homer Garrison, Jr.,

Director,~Departmentof Public Safety Austin, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-1758 9.3: S.B.;

427, regular session 46%h Legislature, 1939,-- General AppropriationBill-- 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 thisDepartment be authorized to expend portions of Item 2 in each of these instances for thepurchase of motor equipment supplies consisting of fuel and lubricants and to expend portions of the amountsprovided for Item 2 in each instance for labor involved in lubricatlng,Departmentmotor vehicles?" 'The classificationsof expenditures for the License and Xeight Division under 'Maintenanceand 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 serviceswhen 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 dlassiflcationsof expenditures for the Texas Highway Patrol under 'Maintenanceand Miscellaneous' are as.follows:Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr. - Page 2 O-1758

1('1. Travel and transportationexpense, automobilemaintenance. $53,000.00 2. Motor equipment,parts, supplies, fixtures, other equipment and supplies,printing, stationary, telephone, telegraph, rentals, teletypewriters,express, freight, postage, repairs,maintenance,hospitalizationand medical serviceswhen injured in line of duty, funeral expenseswhen death results from injuries incurred in line of duty, suretybonds, uniforms,belts, scabbards, badges, arms and ammunitions, loademeters, radios, first aid supplies, contingent expenses and all other reasonable and necessary expenses, includingmaintenance, labor, equipment and expenses of operating a training school for patrolmen.
. . . . . .$133,000.00 "The classificationsof expenditures for the Drivers License Division under 'Maintenanceand Miscellaneous! are as follows: "'1. Travel and transportation expense, automobilemaintenance.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)23,000.00 2. Motor equipment,parts supplies, fixtures, other equipment and supplies,printing, stationery, telephone,telegraph, rentals, express, freight,postage, repairs,maintenance, hospitalizationand medical serviceswhen injured in line of duty and funeral expenseswhen death results from injuriesreceived 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 departmentmotor vehiclesmay 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 shouldHon. Homer Garrison, Jr., Page 3, o-1758

be answered in the affirmative. Fuel, lubricants and labor incident to their use in connectionwith 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 'automobilemaintenance;"while Item 2 mentions such things as "supplies.n The expense items mentionedby you are more reasonably contemplatedby 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 ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS s/ Ocie Speer
OS-MR/cg

APPROVEDDEC. 11, 1939 s[.Gerald Ct lknn ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS BY Ocie Speer Assigtant

APPROVED OPINION COiWdIIl'EE By BWB, Chairman