### THE 

## TTORNEY GENERAI.

EXAS

PRICE DANIEL ATTORNEY

GENERAL

August 23, 1951

Ron. D. K. Woodward, Jr., chairman The Board of Reg+nts The Univemity of Texas Kirby Building Ialla 1, Texas OptnionNo. V-1252

Ret

Dear Sir: ConstitutionaX.ity of appropriatingmains

from the AvailableUnlvereltyFund to pay county taxes on endowment lands set apart for The Univereltyof Texaa,

.Y’~ Your request relate8 to the constitutionality .‘~‘“: :j& ‘& eppropriationfrom the Available’ UnivereityFund to pa)l county taxo6 on endowment lands of The University Q? Texas. fn yo~~factual recitationyou state that thla ID then

first occasion the Legislature has seen fit to appropMate from the AvailableUnAvereityFund for payment of oounty taxes., #eretofore,since the authocl* zatlom to levy and odlleht such tax In 1930, the Legla- $atum haa appropriatedfrom the Qeneral Fund for such purporer. ,,_ ,,

si3atioh’

1O~, ;+rtlcli’

‘VW; dpartitutlonoi Texas, provider :

“The Le

%irl8ture shall at3 aoon a8 praaticabli arta 2ish, w@m%te~and pra@de for the malntenanoa, support and dlYWlbiOnof a Univereityof the first ala#a, to be looated b a vote of the people of thie State, and

a yled, e 3he Vnzveraity of Tmcast, for the promotionof literature, and the arts and sciences,includingan AgriouZtUral, and Me&

,. .,,A. chanlcal departmmt

.*

Seation II, &tlols VIZ, CoaWWwtlon of Texas, establlshlngtkc “Permnmlt Uniwercrlty mnd,” SS as Pole ‘lows :- ,~ ,:>

~_ &m~~lt. K, voouward, JP., page 2 (v-1252)

“m order to enable the Legislatureto perform the duties ,set forth in the foregoiDg Seciklon,

it 1s hereby declaredall landz @WI other propertyheretofore eet apart and appropriatedfor the establishment and malnteaanae of the Universityof Texas, together w%t:h all the proceeds of sales of the same, %+%tofore amde or hereafter to be made, and

,, _ .&%I~grante,

donationsand appropriations that *ay -after be made by the Sfate of Texaz, “-Or from any other zource, except donations limited to specificpurposes,shall constltute and become a Permanent VnlversltyRmd. And the same a8 realized and received Into the Treasury of the State (together with ranch ~~UIWJ belonging to the Fund, a8 may nom be in the !Fraai!ury),

ehe$l be Invested ln bonds of " -4J~llzqlted

States, the State of Texas, or :, qorat%ea of said State, or in School Bonds ~~Q1'munlclpalltlea, or ln bonds of any city W k&la, State, or **In** bonds lzeued under and ."' +q vi+tue OS the Federal Farm Loan Act approved ,%ythe Presidentoftthe United Statea, &%lly~l7,

**1926,** and amendmentsthereto;and ,,.,:'::,tIie

snttrest accruing thereon shall be sub- ;jeot to appropriation by the Legfslatnreto aacomplishthe purpose declared in the foregoing Se&ion; provided,that the one-tenth ,"oCthe alternate Sectlonz of the lands granted ',,.::j,~_ ~,tsi railroads,reserved by the State, which
were set apart and appropriatedto the eatab- '%&ment of the Universityof Texas, b an Act ,oEthe~Leglalature of February 11 185 titled, 'An Act to establishthe Univeralty of Texas,' shall not be Included in :'c, stitute a part of,the PermanentUnlGerslty I&rid."

The lnaome derived from~the lnveatntent bf the PePW&#sent

UniveraltyFund 1s known and designatedam the"'%v&ilablc

DniveraityFun&." Att'y Gen. Op. V-&a (2949).

All lands endowed to The University,of Texas rcwr0 erode subject to taxation for county purposesby Se&fen 16Qa), ArticleVII, Constitutionof Texas &&@ed November 4, 1930),which provides:Hon. D. K. Woodward, Jr., page 3 (V-1252)

“All land mentioned in Sections 11, 12, and 15 of ArticleVII, of the Constltution of the State of Texas, now belonging to the Universityof Texas shall be subject to the taxation for county purposes to the same extent as lands prlvately owned;

. e en
Subsequently,

Article 715Oc,V.C,S., was en- '.% -i.~ acted in 1931 (Acts 42nd Leg., R,S, 1931, ch, 93, p. 136), and ~~~ide*..inpart -35. .follows:

y F'~&&&~+:'~ '"Set

D Y.g.*~ .,:::z:, * 1

. All the lands set apart for the endowment of the Unlvepsityof Texas by Section 15 of Article 7 of the Constitutionof 1876,, and by Chapter 72 of the Acts of the Regular Session of the 18th Legislature, which are now unsold, are hereby declared to be subject to taxation for county purposes in the counties in which they are located, to the same extent as lands privatelyowned in said counties.

“Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Comptrollerof Public Accounts to issue warrants upon the General Fund to pay taxes due each county,beginning with taxes assessed .for the year 1931, and annually thereafter;said warrants to be Issued and mailed to the several countieswithin the time as now provided by law for the payment of,,county taxes
on privately owned lands.

To provide for this tax payment to counties, Section 3 of Article v of House Bill 426, Acts 52nU Leg., 1951 (General

Appropriation

Bill) provides in part!

“Sec. 3. In accordancewith the Constitutional

provision that taxes for county purposes only be paid to counties In which are located endowment lands set aside to The Universityof Texas by the Constitutionof the State of Texas md*- the Act of 1883, there is hereby appropriated to the State Comptrollerof PublicHon. D. K. Woodward,

Accounti out of Jr., page 4 (V-1252)

then Available University Fund+~o~ the payment of taxes to such countt;ies

for county purposes only upon said Uplverslty-owned land the sum of not te exceed One Hundred Forty-three Thousand and Fifty-sixDollars ($143,056) for I;he

fiscal year endlng August 31, 1952, and the sum of Seventy-nine Thou- ) sand, Two Hundred and Fifty-eight Dollars it;z,;:8)l;;;the fiscal year endlng AU-

. Provided,

however that any mongys appropriatedin thfs Artfcle may be used for the purpose of paying current and delinquenttaxes that have accrued, or may accrue, under the provisions of the above-mentionedConstltuMona1 Amendment. It lb further provided that any balances remaining In the moneys appropriatedIn thla Section for the year ending August 31, 1952, may be carried forward and added to the appropriationfor the second year of the biennium, that is, for the fiscal year ending August 31, 1953."

It is Immediatelyobvious that In the foregoing ,language

an attempt Is made to effect a change %n ArMale 7150~ (generallaw) by a rider to the General AppPoprlatlon

Bill. It Is well settled that an appro- ' prlationbill cannot repeal or amend a general Moore v. Sheppard, 144 Tex. 537 192 S.W.2d 559 73naenv.F I 92 Tex 451 fig S W 578 (1899 St%?'57 Tex '200 [1880)% (1940); 6-4788 (i942);v-412 ittO (1947 7;

A general law, Article 715Oc, specfffcally provtdes for payment of thess taxes out of the General FUItd. A rider In the OeneralApproprlatfon Bill In conflict with the general law Is a subject of general leglrlationand cannot constltutlonally appropriatemoney za; iawund different from that designatedby the gew

So long as Article 7150~ remains In effect, money fo; payment of county taxes must be appropriated from the General Fund and cannot be appropriatedfrom the AvailableUniversityFund. merefore the attempted appropriationInquiredabout in @%m? request 18 invalid. As hereinafterpointed out, even awn amendmentof the \ general law to provide for payment out of the Available UniversityFund would be subject to another constltutlonal question.Hon. D. K. Woodward, Jr., page 5 (v-1252)

The AvailableUniversityFund, which Is the income from the investmentof the PermanentU&vc~r$S$:g Fund, was oreated for a specificpurpose, that &a, #or the maintenance,support and direction of 8 unive siEy -of the first class (Tex. Const., Art. VII, Sec. L 5 ). Section 11 of ArticleVII provides that the intereat accruing from bonds shall be subject to approprla$ioa by the Legislatureto accomplishthe purpose deoltrrad in Section 10 of ArticleVII of the Constitutionof Texas. Section 16(a) of ArticleVII of the Conrt$bution of Texas, authorizingthe payment of county taxes
on Universityendowment lands,was not adopted until the year 1930, and nothin is containedtherein conflictingwith the origlna f purpose of the AvailableVrriVerslty Fund as prescribed In Secl.Mn 10 of ArticleVII, Moreover, the AvailableUniversityFund Is a speci&l fund within the meanin$ of Section 7 of ArticleVIXI.af the Constitutionof Texas, whioh prohibits the LegSslature from divertingany special fund from its purpose, ~S’tate v. Hatcher, 115 Tex. 332, 281 S.W. 192 (1926). @&i%fore, a serious question is presentedas to the constitutionality

of this attemptedappropriation. We need not pass upon this additionalquestion at the present time, but It ehould be noted that the Legislature **In** 

### 1933was of the oplnlon that the payment of county taxes on the endowment lands of the Universityout of the AvailableUniversityPund wouLd require a conetitutlonal amendment. This was evidencedby the passage of House Joint ResolutionNo. 30. However, this proposed amendmentwas not adopted at the November election in 1933. Thereafter,all appropriations Includingthe biennium end.lng

August 31, 1951, for the payment of cowlty taxes on endowment lands were made from the General Fund.

On the basis of Its oonfllctwith the general law (Article 715Oc),we conclude that the p.epblOnof House Bill 426 relating to the appropriation of funds froul\the

AvailableUniversityFund to pay county taxes
on endowment lands of The UnZveyNityof Texas is UncOnstltutional. Article 7150~ requires that these taxes be paid from the General Fund.

SUMMARY

The “Available

University.Fund,

” consisting of income derived from investmentof the PermanentUniversityFund, may not be utilized for the payment of county taxes onHon. D. K. Woodward,Jr., page 6 (V-1252)

endowment lands of The Universityof Texas. A general law, Article 715Oc, requires that these taxes be paid from the General Fund, and this law cannot be changed or amended ' by the General Appropriation Bill. Tex. Conet., Art. VII, Sets. 10, 11; Moore v.

, 144 Texi 537, 192 S.W.mr Linden v. Finley, 92 Tex. 451, 49

APPROVED: Yours very truly,

Bruce Allen County Affairs Division PRICE DANIEL Attorney General

Everett Hutchinson Executive Assistant

Prim lbniel Ilbtorney

GDernl

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