281 

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

pan. &kept Ford, AdmLniatr8tor 

~exss Liquor Control Board 

litian, roxas 

Opinion EO. 0-2260 

Rca Whether Or A0 

of liquor rev 

IA these letter5 

hat in view of the facts that the present 

ing rapldly dopletod and that there visa 

e for t&e r\rrnlahlr~ of’ such stazw, you 

lot a contraot for tho prlntlng of otan?5. 

this letter, “Ii0 change in the design 

being used is oonsldered neoesbnry.” 

Ye, are than referred to 3ection 45, Artlclo I of the 

lgg8,ggor Control Act. It is stated that, In conform1 

sion, ample sheets of the sttxospe xwv being we 2 y vlth 

vere 

Wnt out to proapeotive bidders, along vlth speolfloetlons, by the 
. . . 

282 

goa. Bert For& Page 2 

@ et Control and that by 8cceptlng &so samples and wsh.. 

sns Q~II to the biddora together vi*th the speoificstions covering 

w wc);Les, the Board of Control aocepted the suggestion of 

@# WQUor controlBoard. 

On Enm?h l2, 1940, seven bids were opened ia the 

efflce of the State Board oi Control 

r 

r thousand SWS, verex 

4) 42.642 (5) 37.25#1 

w your iniorpltion the 

bi@ast bid priae, namely, 44.5# per thousand at-m. 

ASSuniAg thst the. co&raot is let to .the highest 

bidder aad boslng the future need of e- on part records, 

yeu wko tho follouing statomontt 

“Swalng UP the vhole situation and assunlng that 

the COntrsot be Warded at tho bid prloe of 4444 per me 

thousadl, the total cost of stampa needed during the 

flsCa1 year 1940-41 ~111 Bpproxlsate $16,570, vhfah 

Is $4,570 ln exoess or the amount appropriated by the 

leglalature for liquor, wine, and beer stamps.” 

After presentlng the above fuets, pu nqueet our 

opfnfoa oa the folloving qwstioar 

9. Do you conalder the authority of the Texas 

Liquar Control Board as establirhed In the Texas Liquor 

Control Act for the daslgning of stamps as to lnolude 

the she, ahap, oonpositlon, and mothod of printin& 

that Is, as to vhother such stms shall be printed 

by lithograph or en&ravod steel methods, and vhether 

past. experience as to the use of’ stxu!&% AOV provldod 

lpay be legally urgad by the Texas Liquor Control Board 

as to any stamps to be contracted for in the future? 

"2. After doflnlng tho suthority and responslblllty of the Texas Liquor Control Board in response 

to question one vi11 you ploaae advise if it 1s essenMa1 thnt the Texas Liquor Control Board prescribe 

the doslgn and other ayeolfleations, lf authorized to 

do so, by a regularly adopted rule nab rogulatlon? 

*3; Do you consldsr the printing of revenue 

stamps aa vlthln that class of vork ref'ccred to as 

stationmy snd printing ,in the above mentloned Artlole 

XVI, Section 21 or tho Constitution OC Texas vhlah 

vould require thnt tho contmot bo approved by the 

Qovernor, Wx-otary of Ststo, and COnrptWllQr? , 
283 

‘-* gort POti, page 3 

'4. Do you consider the printing of revenue 

rmmps a8 vithin that olass of vork referred to under 

the above wantloned Artlolea 607 to 630b, R.C.S.1 

'5. If your ansver to questions 3 and 4 abore are 

a the affirmative, would atiy contract antered into by 

my department of the Government vhich does not conform 

to the provisions of the Constitution and the Revised 

Civil Statutes, herein Eentioned, be legal and blndlng, 

and may the Texas Liquor Control Board expend any appropriated funds in payment for stamps printed under any 

such contract? : : ’ j 

.6. Your valued oplnlon Is also requested aa to 

whether or not a contract vould be legal vhich would create 

an obllgatlon against the Texas Liquor Control Board 

and the State of Texas in excess of the amount of 

funds appropriated by the L8glslatPre for such purpose.” 

An arsver to your first question neceasarlly call8 

for a construction OS Article I Section 45* Texas Liquor 

Control Act, which is A.rt%cle 666-45, Vermnls Penal Code. The i 

prtinent part of thls statute provldesr : 

“(a). It shall be the duty of the Texas Liquor i 

Control Board and the Board OS Control to have engravedor printed all necessary liquor and beer tax stamps 

a8 provided in both ArtlCl8S I and II of this Act. 

Such stanps shall be of such design and denomination 

as the Texas Liquor Control Board shall from time to 

tirPe prescribe and shall ahov the amount of tax, the 

payment of vhlch 1s evidenced thereby, and shall contain the vords *Texas State Tax Paid.’ All contracts 

for stamps required by this Act shall be let by the 

Board of Control an provided by lav. The Texas Liquor 

Control Board 13 authorized to expend all necessary 

funds from tine to tine to keep on hand an ample 

supply of such stamps .” 

The cardinal and paramount rule of construction 1s 

to ascertain the intention of the Loglslature in having enacted 

b bv, Cousins v. Sovereign Camp U.O.U. (Sup. Ct. of Tex. 1931) 

UO Tex. 107 ,. 35 S.W. (2d) 696; and having ascertained this intent, 

It must be given effect lr it 1s legally possible to do so. Kay 

v* Schneider (Sup. Ct. of Tex. 1920), 110 Tex. 369, 218 S.W. 479. 

k. must, , therefore, determine vhat the legislative intent VSS In 

Providing that “such stamps shall bo of such design and denomination as the Texas Liquor Control Board shall from time to 

tlm prescribe .” (Article 666-45, aupra. 
ml. Bert mrd, Page 4 

1 

The Texas Uquor Ccntrol Act wu origlnslly eoeated 

u EOUSS Bill 77, 44th Leglalatwe, ?nd Called Session, 19% 

hation 21 of thle bill lovled cert8ln tams on alcoholio 

uqmr aad protided that such taxoa vera to ba paid by affixing 

8w on oech bottle or containor of liquor. Tha b3giS~tUl’O 

~aognizod the poaoiblllty of attoz&a to counterfeit these 

rm% and by VlrtW3 Of 9eCtiOn 2% provided that 185~ $NWSOn rOrging 

0~ acuntarreitlng &ny swap provldbcl for Ln the Act vould be 

daoaad guilty of a felony. Having recognized the posslblllty 

or tim counterfeiting of these atazw, it vould sea that the 

~glalature vould have made coam provision mpWding the type 

or cbawcte.r of ot?z@s to be used in order to prevent, M fa~ 

u poaslble, any such countarfalt~. 

Such VIU) the pwp08e of the Lcglalature, in our 

epinlon, in provldlng in Ssctl3n 45, 80~~4 8111 77, supraB that 

%u& atazij?s shall be of such doslgn ard denomlnatlon n8 tha 

hard shsll rroz t&o to tine pmacFib6.” Eiwi5g ascertained 

f that the intention of the Inglslatut-0, l.n thle respect, va8 to 

I vent, as far 8s possible, my counterfaitlng or forging of 

i 

p" lquor atmpa, the vords of' tha stntuta must bo accordad the 

um5t5.g that ccmjmrts vith thla i.ntcnt. Po;?han v. Pattorocm, 

(Sup. Ct. or Texas, ES?), 121 Tex. 615, 51 33. (26) 6%0. 

I ~. 

I 

Xa the ~880 of McDO55ell v. ~~anmiller (Cir. Ct. App., 

1934) 74 Fed. 26 320, a Stnte Comzisslon ln Fiebraske entered 

l5to a ooatraat vith lk~rns und E'lcDoxmell, vhereby they vere to 

bat as aonsultant engineers end have the duty of supervlsinO 

the plan tmd doslip of o bc:cstlng plant vhlch vas to BerYe the 

Unlvcralty and Stuto Cnpital. 

ncanlng or “Ceslgn,’ oald: 

?m oourt in detarainlng the 

nI)oslgn must include not onI3 the mode 0r installatlon, but the type and wsd of rmterlalr to be wed 

in tbs aonstruation... 

Such is the 8~365iw or the vord %ealgn' 63 it 1s wad 

ia Artlale 6GG45, Vornon~o Peml Code, and in order to @vo 

err00t to tho.lntentlon of the Leglolature (to provent, a0 far 

W pO88ible, ang aountari+eftUig or forging OS uq"or s-s), 

it la tho o?lnion of tW8 dapartment that tize Taxas Uquor CO5tPOl 

~al’d has 8UthOrit.y to sscitty tho si80, Oh5p0, CoW?O8itio& End 

mthod of printing llguor 8tar,ps vhlch lnoludea the authority 

to doternine vhethor such stamps shall be prtitad by lithogrWh 

W owravad steel nethod8. 
g0n. mrt Ford, Page 5 

6 V~OV or this MSYOP t0 70~ rb3t p93ti0n aad 

tie aver to your second question, vhich follovs, vo deem 

Lc ~txcssary to ansver the lsst part 0r the rim ipstioa 

mutive to the legality of ur@.g past experiences as a 

sr;tsrlon for future etaq contracts. 

Ulth refocanae to your sooopld quostlon, there 1s no 

8;4olrlo provision In tho Texas Liquor Control Aot (Eouso Bill 

n, 44th I.%&., 2nd C.S., 1935, as amended by E.B. 5, 45th Leg., 

P.S., 1937) vhich votid require the Texas Liqwr Control Soard 

to proscribe the dasign or thsso revemo stemps by a ragulmly 

sdoptod rule or Te,@ation. In the absamo OS such e requlromat, and since it 1s ‘8 voll nettled propooitlon that.statutes 

are to be given a reasonable and sonslble construction, rather 

&sn a stralnod or tochnical one (39 Tax&W. X72), Lt 5s not 

essential that the Texas Liquor Control Board speclfJ the doslgn 

of there revenue stamps by a re@arly adopted rule of Fogulatlon. 

It 1s our oplnlon that any reasonable swum adopted 

by the Board In specifying the tioaign 0r thoro revenue rtamps 

sad vbich is reasonably calculated to notlSy the Board ot Coatrol. 

Of the type and character of tho stamps vhlch the Liquor COntPOl 

Bosrd, In the exercise 0r its sound dlsdrotlon, deems best for 

the purposes doslrod, vould be sufficient. Such a aonstruotlon 

vould be the reasonable one and votid comply vlth t&9 lsgiislstivo intunt. 

YOW thed, fourth an4 firth qt30stm3 am3 30 muted 

tit vo vi11 consider them togother. 

Aftor stntlng that liquor stamps vom to be of suoh 

deSi&n as t.ho Toxaa Uquor Control B0ard tight prosorlbo, the 

~@BlQtUro provldod: 

, . . All contracts for stfuaps roqulmd by this 

Act shall be let by tho Board oi’ Control as provldod 

by I.av...” (Underscoring ours ) 

Clearly, the Lo~lslaturo recognized the existence Of 

k bv under vhlch cozdrncta for Surnbhixg the necessary stamps 

Could ba lot. ,Tht?ro UM only tvo statutos which the La~lslaturo 

Ccud have had in nlnd in this instance. The Slrst of thoee 

satutos lo Articla 608, Varnon’s RevlBod Clvll Statutes, 1925, 

Wch providoo t 
loo. Bert Ford, Page 6 

. 

28fi 

, Vhe Board shall bmuot for a term 0r not 

emaading tuo years vlth rospor~lble pmmm~, 

rlrrjs, cor~orutlom or a3nociations 0r pecaons, 

q/ho shall be rosldento of Texas, for supplyin& 

to ths Stab all yrlnting, bfru.Uq, stationery 

and sup~lios nP liZ;o c;xrficte~ for al2 dopctmnta, 

kxt1tutfo.m and boards, save and sxcopt such 

uork es my iw dona at the yarlous educational 

ami eletmoaynmy institutions. said contract shall 

be let to the loveat p3d boat reeponsibh bidder 

after public advertising af such proposad bstt:ng 

ror one% 8 uoak for r5u.r con5eoutive vocks in ut 

least six nevspuprs 0C gonoral circulation 10 this 

state. tie two of such p3p~ra shall bo published fn 

the 6)33cJ county. Tba iiomd may reject 811~ and all 

bids; the ronson therefor ahall be entered 3.n full 

in the minutos or the Bourd and shall. be open to 

the inspeotion of the publ.lc at all tirzos. Nev aontracts sOal1 be mado in the mam manner as hord.nb&ore prwidod. ” (mderscoriag ours) 

The eocond statute is Artiale 634, Vernon’s RiwWod 

Civil Statutes, 1925, and it reads aa iollovsr 

Vhe Board or Control shall purckass all the 

~upplIos used by oath Department of’ thv State OOV~FILnent, iacludi.lg the State Prison Systam, and eaoh 

elsw~osynary lr~tltutlon, Uormal school, Agricultural 

alad Hechaoical Collem, University at Texas, and saoh 

and ell othor State Yohoolu or Departrzonts of the State 

Oovornment heretofore or hereaftir created. Such supplias to locltie furniture end ffxCu.ro~, technical 

lnstrunanta and books, and all otbor things roqulrod 

by the dIlfercnt~deyiWx+nts or lnstitutiOn8, except 

strlotly pctriohable @~0d8.” 

Article 66645, CiuplVb, Makes zt the dutr 0r the l3cnrdo 

Feroin provided for to hfm3 811 n~cssoary l.Qt10r and hoer stam;ls 

Wcravad or printed.” krtioie 634 supro, mlutes to the PUP- 

&80 of suppllen, vhereas Artlolo &, sup’%, r8late8 SpOcifiCsly to printing f?rul surplios of Uko charaoter. Comidarlng 

all tbroo of thoao statutes togothor, vo feel Chat there can be 

8x1 doubt but that the Legislature contemplated that the EtarPp 

~ntrnota vould ba let uador Article 608. 
Artl’elo 16, Seation 21, ‘psxao ConoUtution, protideo~ 

‘sea. 21. All otatfonory, and printing, exuspt 

proobuaatlons and ouch printing ao .rmry bo done at t&o 

Doaf and Lhunb Asylum, popor, and Sue1 uood in the 

b~f818tlve and Oth8l' departments of the ~ovwnmont, 

sxaept the Judlclal Dopnrtment, ohall be Suanlohed, 

and the prlntLn8 and binding OS the laws, journals, 

and deportment reports, and all other prlntiq and 

bw aad the repnlri~ and furniohl~~ t&e halls and 

POWS UsOd rOl. the L!EiStl~S Qr the Li3~3iatUW Md it13 

wncaittoeo, ~hal,l be porfomed under contract, to be 

given to the lovoot rosponolble bidder, below ou.ch 

maximus price, end under ouch regulationo, ao shall be 

prooorlbad by lav. 80 amber or osslosr of any dopartwnt of the govorsmnt shall be in any way intereotrd 

in ouch ocintracto; and all euch contraoto shall be 

oubjoot to the approval of t&o Governor, Seam3t8q 

or stem and Coxptroller.” 

The ficEPar0 OS the Conotltutloa 3n providing r0r the 

madrsapy dopartmontal prlntlng provided that the contract 8hould . ! 

bo let to the lovast reoyomlblo bidder, ‘under auoh rules and 

mgu&tlano ao shall be prescrlbsd by &v.~ It vaa, than, 

aontbmplated that tho &@slature would omct statutes ln 

~COrdanCO vith AIUolo l.6, Saotlon 21 of our Conatltutlon 

for the purpoot3 of em3ctuatinE; this provisicrr. 

Artlalea 607 to 63Ob, lnolwivo, Verncm~o Rev&sod 

Civil Statutes, 1925, are thho leglolntlve enactaeats contomPlated by the fmmers OS our Constitution, &u@ ainnao the printin8 or engraving OS the awvonue ota!cpo hero In quootloa 10 that 

CtE 

of vork rofcrrad to in Article Go8, it neccsuarily lo the 

8 of vark referred to in Artlcls lG, 3oution 21, of the 

Constitution of Taao; and all contrsots for tho “printing 

C@ erqravlng” of thcao s-o must be approved by the c)ovtwnor, 

~oretary of state and Comptroller, 00 is therein provldod* 

It ir, therefore our opinion that your third and 

S=H.b queotlons should both be ansvored in the ~SriI%3t%tlV~. 

The fifth question preoonted 18 a very brood O~OD 

but by rcferrlng to quootion number three, ve oaounu3 that YOU 

Qalre our oplnlon ea to vhothor or not a contract for the 

Piatlag of these Upuoz otaq~, which la not approvod by tho 

OOV~Faor, 3.screttuy 0S Steto and Conptrollor, ao is provided 

top in Artlola lG, Section 

h-1 and blndln.& 

21, Texas Conotltutlon~ vould be 
*. mrt pordB PW a 

. 

&thW CtUb8Or8tat0~XlX?i%&S PubllshftqCO. 9. 

ss0mat-y 0r state (sq~. ct. 0r m~tarut, 1a99), 56 ~00. 

grthe facts shoma that the state 0r PZontana haa a conatltuu-1 prOViSiOn vhich in all r8SpUtS vas aubstantiallp thw 

- act Article lG, Section 21 of our Twxas Contttitutlan. Ihw 

p~~~sion of the Hontaaa Constitution fequirwd all printing 

a&raots to bw approved bp the Oowrnor and the State Treaeurer. 

fn aaoordaxuo vith this protisfon OF the Constitution 

d th8 IW@AtiOW prwsaribud by lair, the &U.Pd of EXa!!dnors 

dvartlsod for bfds for printing and, having: found that thw 

bid of the relator ~66 the loves t and beet, awarded the contrmt 

b t,h&ptatntirP. Appllcatfon vaa mud8 for 6 urft of psndamus 

requiring the tiwowtary of State to deliver oop~os ‘oP the bra 

to the state PubLiShin& Coripmy to the and that sam ml&t be 

Ihw Cocrmy contondti tkerw MS an existing contract 

t%~~~*t,h% Stat8 and thcx#elvea by virtue oP the avard mudo 

hl the Btird of Eaminors~ on the other hand the Secretary of 

St&to contendud there uas no contract bwcawo under the Conrtftutlon aXl such printing; contracts vwre subject to the 

QQtVVti 0i th8 GOVOMOr and the fXiBCLt)UC(I~, Mb, if Mt OppcOVod 

by thoa, verw lnvalld and in wffwct no oontraet. 

The couxt doned the matier roqwsted and in boldlng 

that tha approval 0r the Governor eml Freaeurer va8 wasontial 

before there could be a valid contraot, ia part, statedt 

e 

. . . The appWtai Of the38 OftiWPS OC%tQi%tOtt 

tho contract. . . . It bolng indispensable that thw 

ttgreomnt ot the board ahall bw approved by the BOYwrnor aad tmamarer, before thorw CM bo a valid 

oontract, mro a5logatlons that tho bomd ot oxaalnwra 

rooolvod bids, and nndw a controot vlth relator, vhose 

bla VW the lowm, az-0 wholly Lasufr~ciwnt; ...n 

Arkmsas has a conatftutlonsl provision vhlch, also, is 

substantialljr the ss.mw as Artiolo 16, Sootlon 21 of our Constltuuon. The Suprwms Court of Arkansas in Ellison 0. Olllvwr (1321) 

%' S.W. @6, conetruing oaid aectlon, and In hokIln& that a 

P 

rirrting oontract~ub.loh kd not bown spproved by the Trwaeurer 

One of the thrww officers rtaml) was not a valid and bindlq 

Cahtract up0n~t.b state, In part, tfaiat 

" 

. . . The sootfan of the Constitution in uestlon 

Provldos that a11 such contmts oball,bw sub 7 act to 

the 8pp~O~81 Of the GOVOMOr, hK?dtOr, aIId T~%%wxw. 
~QCI. Bert Ford, Page 9 

mforo thir is don8 no oontraot 18 tmdw.. . The lnnguago we&la plain and uziaznbi~uo~~~, and it Is apparent 

that th8 requlremwnt that the contract shall be appn>Oed 

by the dwrrlgaatwd ofPloers 3.8 niandator~.~ 

Wo are OP tlmoplrclon that the abov8 cases are a oorreot 

l xprt~asio;l of the lair in regard to the point hbre la quertion, 

urd therefore, as 0 general rule, an alleged contraot for the 

printing 0r liquor sUmpa would not bw binding unless it is 

rpproved by the Oovorno~, Secretary of' State, and Comptroller. 

Since, a13 a Semral rule, there 1s no mua contract 

for prlntlq until it has been appw30a b7 the officers nwmd 

in the above mcntloncd swotlon of the Conotltutlon, and alnce 

the Constitution providas that all prlntI.ng shall bw pcrfomed 

under contract, vo are of the opinion th6t the Texas Liquor 

Control Board vould not bw authorized to expend sny appropriated 

funds in paynwnt for stamp8 unloes the contract hs3 bsen apprOV0a 

by the Oovernor. Secretary of State, arid Ccmptroller. See 

Attorne7 General's Oplnlona ijos. O-289 and O-815. 

With regard to your last questlon, you no doubt have 

in mind the logallty of obU@tlom vhlch night bw cradtwd by 

8ow apwcilic contract. Since YO have not men this oontract, 

or a cop7 of it., it I?, inposslblw for us to pensa upon its 

le@ltp or to dotoxmine tho wxtont of the obllgatlone, if any, 

.' vblch it might oreatw against the State. 

Trusting that this vi11 satiafaoto~ll7 anawr gour 

qwstiona, we are 

Your0 very truly 

ATTORREX GE?iERAL OF l'E7AS 

.-vu 

Yaltor R. och