**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  TEXAS

**AUSTIN**

Honorable **Bert** Ford, **Adnlinicitrator** Texas Liquor Control Fmclrd Austin, Texas DemrSirs

Weare pleased to 

### o inion frontthis **departaont.** tK e question which you have p are therefore taking the 1 rollers1

nt s ter upon

vbe ComptrolL8r ei Publba ;reeounts haa raised the question a$ to whether OFnot the phraseology 

### or this seotlon does in faot provide a epealfia appropriation to the TazaeLiquor Control Boardfor the purposes speOlfle& in tha aeatlon. We aan recall mfm appropriations heretofore madeunder provisions 6 Ll lar to those oontained in this Aot, for which **reason** it was not antiaipate4 that any question mu14 arise with respeot to this matter, **Aoting** under that assuaaptlon, e6mmltmentcr

### have alre@dJr been medoan4the number of auditor8 pmlded have already been employed. Wehave aleo arranged 

### Sor and had printed the preaOr%ptiOn t8x St&Apt3 and

### htiY8iWUrr86 other expenoaa under this Aot. For these raaeons It 1s tiportant that weknowas q~ulaklya6 possible whether a'vali.4 appropriation has been lpadeand **mwld** appreaiate your adyiafng this oftiae and that of the Comptroller of Publie Aooounts a6 quiotiy au pe66ible.r Thetermiaolo mull8 Blll 8 "b8iOY8 alff ln Beetion 3 0s Artiale Ix **or** OOation of Sunds darlyad irclll the pesorlptlon staap tax herein levied* 

### refers to Seation 8 of Artiale IX whldh **reads** Wmd8 derlred from the preaeriptlon stanp tax herein levied shall be allooated a6 hereinafter provided in this Aat.* Thla in **turn refrra**  to Artlole X of Bouse Bill 8which alloaates the funds In part to'ths Available Sohool Fundan4 in part to a RalaaranOe fund in the Treasury"..

Thenmmlfeat purpom of the Legislature in SoOtiOn 3was to appropriate "maoh fwid6 a6maybe nooesearJI(( SOPthe a4dltlonal and requlslte admlnl6tratlon whioh wouldbaaome waeewry.

**We**must therefore determine It seotlon 3 or Artiole IX 

### O?Eouee Bill 8 oonstltutee a euttiolant 

### andvalid appropriation in the light of Se&ion 6 of Artlola VIII of the Constitution of Texas whloh read6 aa foll.awsI

"Nomoney shall be drawn ?rom the Treaasuxg but in pursuance of speclflo appropriations msde by

### law: nor shall any appropriation of' awne)' be &de f&r a longer teim than-~two(S) yeare. :. .*
attempted qulrement weshed1 first diaaues

appropriation Ooapllea that it be 

### speolrlo. the question 0i whether thle with tho Constitutional **re-**-norable Bert Ford, AdalnlIMator, Page S

In Atkins T. State ZIighwapDepartment, 201 8. 1. 226, the mstln Court of ClvIl **Ap** enl8 f **oonsldered** this qubatlon in relation to an approprlot on deaorlbe4 Lnthe aourt’s opinion as follows:

*AU funds oomlng into the handa OSthe Highway Commlmion, derived from the Registration Fees here**inbefore** protided for, or 

### fromother **souroes, ais**  oolleotsd, shall be depoelted with the State Trwsurer to the credit of a apeoial fund designated as the ‘steta, lUghway

## mar ma&all be pal4 (out) only* la the manner prov ded in the AOt an4 for **pur** 1 **pOWS** 6tated. After revlewlng the hlrtorfoal praatloa of the Leg&alature in appropriating in auoh manner,the Court aoneludoaI

We think the Lugi8lature had the powerto makethe appropriation, here Involved, in the mmner thet it did, andwehold that the pto**rlslons** oi the A& In

## re@rdthereto eonstibuto R

## vdia 5ppsopriatlon of the 

## fundsnmntloned to a04 for the purposes stated in the Aat. It I8 not to beunderetood, however, that wehold **the** ap roprintlon Good for a longer term than two (27 paam*

. .* In Tiokle v. Finley, 91 Tex, 4%, 483, it was aaid **by the**  **Suprem** CourtI

*ft is alaar, t&t 6nappropriation need,not be madelk the general approprlatlon bill. It 161 also true, that no speoifI@ woordsare neoeseary ln order to makeanappropriation; and it may **be Bon**  

### oedea, as 

## 0.3ntdie4,t&t an appropriation mapbe made **by** 

### l;:.~lioation **when thi+**  language eplployed le~¶~ to t&obelief that such *Pa8the intent of the LegisLature. , .” ;ryaln 

### it was declared by the Supreme Court, apealc1nCthrough Zr. Justioe Crltz, in National **Blsouit** Company **Y.** state, 136S. W. (2d) 689, 693t

*AB**just** stated, **one** of the provisions **Of** Seotlon 0 of Artlale 8 of our Conatltutlon requlres all appropriations of money **out** of the State Treasury to **be** speaiflo. It is **settled**anorable Bcirt Ford, Administrator, Pago 4

that no partloular form OSwords 1s require4 to 

## render

an approprlatlon epeolflo wlthin the meanznof the constitutlonal provielon under dleousIt is suffl~lent if the Legislature authorlms'the expenditure by law, and spaoltles the purpose for whiah the approprfatlon Is amdo. m appropriation oan be madofor all funds oolp~ from certain souross and drposlted in a epeelal fuud ror a designated purpose. Za mash imMienee8, It Is not neoeesary for the appropriating Aat to namea oertaln 6umor even e eertaln maximum sum. 38 Tex. hr. i pp. 844-845, 860. W, aud authorlties there a ted." At page 644 of Tex, fur., Vol. 98, **olted** by the SupraumCourt In the foregoing oeae, 

### itisveldt

"The approprlatlon need not, however, be **mdr ia**  **the** general **appropriatfon** bill nor lr enj particular form of wurdSlrequired. ft 16sufflolent if the Legislature euthorlree the expenditure by law, andspecifies the puxpoae ior whioh the appreprlation Is made.* Cited in support or the text are the 6e8e8 of TmreU I. Spark8, 104 Tex. 191, l88 8. **W.** 1619,b the $uprrro Oourt, ana Cherokee Countr f. Odea 997 8. 9. %5S frevermd on other grounds, 15 S. n. (Ed) &5&), In the letter aem lX **Wa8 raid;**  *It i@ oufflolent if the Le&rlatUe apther**ioes** by au appropriete.law the **expendltuse, and**  **fix%8** some lieritation ~11~013 the aPOunt.* In the Terre11 aa8e, the 80 FIIL~Court oonstruad aa epproprlatlon which **Wa8 tri**  **the f0**  **owing bULgUyY8l**  **lf**

**“ for**  **the** purpose **of enforoing**  **any** and **all** laws of the State, CCTexas, andfar ths purpare of paying any ana all neaeasary expense8 in bringlag suits or paying **mp58er In**  **proseauting 8apI,**  

### there 16hereby approprleted~out or any **m58y in**  the state Treasury, not otherwl8e appropriated, the 8uraof Twenty-fire Thousand Dollar6 (#95,000) or **80** muahthereof a8maybe noOe88ary, to be **U** pend& under the dirsdtloii of the kttorney.Generalgonorable Bert Ford, admlnlstrator, I-age 5

by and with the approval Ofthe GovernoF, andto be paid uponwarrants drawn by the ComptrolJer o? i;ubllc lraOounts on vouchers approved by b& Attorney General." PertaInIn& thereto, the SupremeCourt sala: *Weare of the 

### opinionthat the Aot of the 31st Leglsl.ature which is oopled above Is euffloiently speolflo In making the appropriation thereln mentimed ana is not vlolatlre of Seation 6, .+xtlale VIxr, of the COn8titutiOn." Adrertlaa; to Seotlon 3of nrtlale XXof House sll 8, the fo~crwing Is ap uantr (I) The Legl8leture ha8 eutheited the expenditure by %w* , (2) it has epeolfled the purposes fop whiOhthe approprlatlon is made; (3) it ha8 limited the a&e- " priatlon to the sum8necessary to a0ooPspllsh the 8peciXled admlnl8tratlve cots. The Supreme Court awlarea In the National Bi8Ouit CompanyOa8ethat it lo nOt

### nsoe8sary for the appropriation to nams a aerta5.n 8umor a maximumsum.

Under the authority of the oaaee whioh smhate reviewed, It 1~ our opinion that the appropriation In Seotlm S of Art1018 Ix of House Bill 8 Ofthe 47th Legislature is suffiolently 8peOlflc wlthln the requirements of the Constitution of Texar. Weturn nowto the question of whether the approprlatlon may be~upheld under the pr0v18lon of SeetlOn 6 Of Article VIXI of the Conetltut$on whloh provides that no appropriation of meneyshall be llyIdafar a longer term than twoyeare. seotlon 8 0i Artlole fI of BouM Bill 8 dOe85Ot expreesly mik0 an eppraprlatlon for a two year term norfor any term aertain. It Is, haersr olear that Art1816 XX would beoome effeotlre thirty (301 days fros the effeotlva date of House 313,.6+

Xt IS also !mnlreet that the admlnlstration~~of brtl01s IX wuuld be required lnmedlat%Ly in the partioulars provided for In Seotlon 3 therabf. Anewtax we0leviedi it wa8 to be paid by the afflxatlon of tax stamps andthese 8talPp8 nould have to be BeaUred; newxevenues tRotid be reoaired additional employees andauditors would have to be employ0d$and new forms, records and regulations would become essential.&norable Bsrt Ford, Mmlnistratm, Page 6

**Iii the**  **YOTy llatUl** **’ 0**  **Of Artiah**  **E, anb**  **Of &use**  **BiU 8**  **Itself, we**  **nwreaearily must**  eonolude thst the Legislature appropriated to the Texas Liquor Control Board the funds neoessary for the administration of the Artiole Immediately upon the effectfve date thereof. .

This being **true,** together with the faot that the L@.slature did not expressly preeoribe the tern of the appropriatlon, mayIt be upheld, although not for longer than a two year term? Wet&Ink 80.

In Opinion MO.O-3621, this departpasnt reaently held that an **appropriation iOr**  an apparent period of longer than two years nri~y

none the lees be valid for a tw year term, although ino ratlve thereafter. announoed G Webeli.ere that the prlnoiples

Opinion HO, O-3Ml are **likewlee** appllaable to the question at hand.

The Constitution prohibits an approprlatlon for a longer period than t*rr,year8 to prevent one Legislature from 

### direatlng and oontrolling the expenditure of State fiuwls beyond the omtrol of a subsequent &gloluture. This 18 the fundamental prlneiple involved, Constant 

### rlgilanoe over the finances oi the State is thereby aahiov6dr Mistakes of one Legislature in authorlzlng the expandlture of moneymaybo oorreoted **by** the subsequent Leglslatura. Therefore It -1shot oontrary to the Constitutional principle enunciated in Yeotlon 6 of Artiole VXII of the Constitution OSTexas to hold 'that anapproprIatIon by one LegI8lature bt no fixed duration may**be** upheld'for not longer than a two **year** period whenth6 prerogatives of the forthoomlng Legislature ln raspeat to the expendituree OSpublio moneys will not be trangreased.

It 1s understandable, thererore, whenthEzrgtnz Atkins Y. State HighwayDapartmant, sups, say61 to be understood, horever, that.we hold the appropriation gtoodror a longer **term than**  **two (8)**  **yearae.**

Andwhen the Supreme Court OSTexas in Hekle **Y,** Binloy aupra, dealaresr "ii they had madean appropriation in un&takable terms whioh was to oontinue for all time, it tight **be** held valid for two years, and inopsratlvs thereafteP.‘-norable Bert lord, Mmlnlstrator, Eage 7

Whioh prinolple is again affirmed by the Supreme Court in Dallas County v. MoCornbs, 140 S. W. (2Q) llO9, wberein it was said:

*Plaintiff in error contends that even if this apFro~rlati3n running for five years is in violation of the;:two years* provision of ueetlon 6 of &ticle VlXXof our ionstltutlon as applied to the five year period taken as awhole, still it is not in vfolatlon ot sucrhaonstltutlonal provision as applied to the first twoyears of 

### tiefive year period. It seems to be the law that where the Legislature has made ‘an aaDr* ri~atlon in unmistakable terms, @which continues or alonger period than two years, suoh appropriation maybe upheld for the first twoyears, and

### wouldbe inoperative thereafter, Fiakle Y. Finley, 91 Tsx. 484, 44 S.W. 480, 4@. It will be noted that the rule of law announosd in ldokle v. Finley, supra, aontem lates that that apprc priatlon shall be made ‘ii unmlstabble terms’

. Weinterpret this to ,Qeanthat lf en approprlation .is madefor more thantwo years, it oan be enfaMed for the first tm years if it appears that the Legislature undoubtedly 

### Intendedsueh apgroprlatlon

tooperatefor two years, regardless of whether or not it could do so thereafter. Fe th%k that 

### thisruleoannot aid this appropriation, beoause wbsn all of the provisions of this hat are oonslaered together, we cannot say 

### tt;at the 

### Legislature

would undoubtedly have passed it to operate for two years only, lnstend of five years as provided by the Act.

“

.. n

. . . . ILouseBill 8 is a tax mearureg it is c&led the 

### omnibustaxlaw. Oneof the 

### numerous additional or new taxes inposed by the Act is found in Artiale 1X. The ro

### visionsofArticleIXwere 

### tobeaomeeff8etive thirty'I 90) daysfromtheeffeotlvedateofHouseBill8. Theappropriationln Seotion 3 of ,,;rtiole IX w~lsfor the 

### obvious

andIn 

### theInherent neaessity, of enabling the 

### +$$??%.quor Control Board to enforcre and colleot the taxHonorable B&t FOrtl, AbPinlStrator, Page 8

levied by .irtlolO ut. TheLegislature itself recognized that newStamps, additional auditors, eaployeea, torum, and reoorde, would be neoartaary to efteotuate the pro~lslont~ of .irtlole IX. **These** eonsldertatlon8 oorapel **ud to**  **attribute** to the Leglsleture the intent that the appropriation in SOQtion 3should **be** operative regar4leas of whether or not it **eeula be**  **60 ror**  **e longer**  psrlod than two years.

AOOOr6f~l~, It la the 0oneldersd opinion oi this **department** that the appropriation in seatlon 3 of Artiole IX or House Bill 8 or the 47th Legfslature is sufriolentlp spe**oifio under**  the **Constitution** of **Texas** and that the approprlatlon mde therein ia efrectire although not for a longer tera then two years from its ektlve date an4 until an4 as mocllrled or **superseded by**  **tbs** 67th **Legisiature. See**  **SaO tion**  6 0r ArtlOle XXI o? IEDuarBill 6,