THE ATKBRNVEY GENERAL 

OF-XAS 

Hon. W. S. Heatly Opinion No. ~-66 

Chairman 

Committee on Appropriations Re: If the Legislature passes a 

House of Representatives general appropriation bill for 

Austin, Texas one year only, does Article III, 

Section &a of the Texas 

Constitution require sufficient 

cash and revenue to become 

available during the one-year 

Dear Sir: period covered by the bill? 

We are in receipt of your letter of May 3, 1967, in which 

you request our opinion on the following question: 

"In the event the Legislature passes a general appropriation 

bill for one year 'on1 

in question (Section %' 

does the Constitutional provision 

ga of Article III require that sufficient cash and revenue become avellab 1 e 

year period covered by the bill?" 

during the oneIt Is our opinion that the answer to your question must be in 

the affirmative. 

At the General Election November 3, 1942, Article III of the 

Constitution of Texas was emended by adding thereto a new section 

designated Section @a which provides in pert that except for a 

finding of an emergency, and an Imperative public necessity end 

"with a 4/5 vote of the total membership of each House, no eppropriation in excess of the cash end anticipated revenue of the 

funds from which such appropriation is to be made shall be valid", 

end "no bill containing an appropriation shell be considered es 

passed or be sent to the Governor for consideration until end unless 

the Comptroller of Public Accounts endorses his certificate thereon 

showing that the amount appropriated is within the amount estimated 

to be available in the effected funds." 

In Attorney General Opinion No. o-5135, 1945, this office held 

that the above Constitutional provision doe8 mandatorily require the 

State to operate on a "cash basis" from and after January 1, 195. 

The following observation was made therein in construing this 

Constitutional provision: 

"The people, In edoptrng the amendment, evidently 

had that purpose in mind, otherwise the amendment 

would serve no purpose whatever, end it will not 

be presumed that the Legislature in submitting the 

amendment to the Constitution, end the people in 

- 306 - 
Hon. W. S. Heetly, page 2 (~-60 

adopting it, would do,e useless thing. That 

the Legislature In submitting the amendment (and 

the people in voting for it) intended that the 

purpose was to place the State on a cash basis 

is manifest from the language of the form of 

ballot contained in the resolution (R.J.R. No. 1) 

submitting the amendment . ..'I 

It is settled law that in construing such a Constitutional 

provision that it should be construed as it was understood by the 

average voter when he cast his ballot for or against it. In 

Brady v. Brooks, 89 S.W. 1052, the following statement was made: 

"The voters, es a rule, are unlearned in law 

and, es persons of this class would reaeonebly 

construe the Constitution upon which they vote, 

such ought to be the construction of the courts." 

It is, therefore, our duty to apply this rule of c,onstruction 

to the meaning of the Constitutional provision in questionend in 

doing so we must conclude'thet the voters evidently understood that 

the purpose of the amendment was to limit the authority of the 

Legislature to appropriate money in excess of the cash end anticipated revenues or, in other words, the average voter unlearned in 

the law understood that its purpose was to place the State on a 

"cash basis". 

It is a matter of common knowledge that prior to 1942 end 

beginning in the early 1930's, the State operated in the "red" 

continually and employee8 of the State had to discount their warrants 

et the end of each month et a loss to them. Until this Constitutional 

#;n-;;sion was enacted, the State was never able to get out of the 

and operate on e cash basis. 

It is our opinion that the Constitutional provision imposes a 

duty upon the Comptroller which is self-enacting end no further 

legislation was required in this respect. 

When the Comptroller of Public Accounts endorses his certificate 

upon a bill showing that the amount appropriated Is within the amount 

estimated to be available, we believe that the spirit end intent 

of the Constitutional provision requlreg,thet the amount appropriated for the particular year is within the amount estimated to 

be available within said year and not some other year. 

- 307 - 
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Hon. W. S. Heatly, page 3 (M-66) 

SUMMARY 

In the event the Legislature passes a general 

appropriation bill for one year only, Article III, 

Section 49a, Constitution of the State of Texas, 

requires that sufficient cash and revenue become 

available during the one-year period covered by 

the bill. 

Yo rs 

,7 

very truly, 

ney General of Texas 

Prepared by Kerns Taylor 

Assistant Attorney General 

KT:sss 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Hawthorne Phillips, Chairmen 

W. V. Geppert, Co-Chairman 

John Grace 

Houghton Brownlee 

Robert L. Towery 

J. C. Davis 

STAFF LEGAL ASSISTANT 

A. J. Carubbi, Jr. 

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