THE AITORNEYGENERAL 

OPTE~AS 

AUSTIN 1% TEXAS 

WVILL WILSON August 4, 1960 

*TTORNE~GENERAL 

Honorable H. J. Blanchard. Chairman Opinion No. WW-898 

General Investigating Committee 

House of Representatives Re: 

Great Plains Life Building 

Lubbock, Texas 

Qualifications of Members 

of the House of Representatives to serve on interim 

committees. 

Dear Mr. Blanchard: 

As Chairman of the House General Investigating Committee 

created by H.S.R. 202, 56th Legislature, Regular Session, you have 

requested an opinion as to the status of three members of the Committee in view of the provisions of Article 5429e, Vernon’s Civil 

Statutes, which reads as follows: 

“The membership of any duly appointed Senator 

or Representative on the Legislative Budget Board or 

on the Legislative Council, or on any other interim Committee, shall, on the following contingencies. terminate, 

and the vacancy created thereby shall be immediately 

filled by appointment for the unexpired term in the same 

manner as other appointments to the Legislative Budget 

Board and the Legislative Council are made: 

“(a) Resignation of such membership: 

“(b) Cessation of membership in the Legislature 

for death or any reason: 

“(c) Failure of such member to secure nomination or election to membership in the Legislature for the 

next succeeding term.” 

Your opinion request reads in part as follows: 

“I am advised that on September 9, 1954. the 

Honorable John Ben Shepperd, then Attorney General of 

Texas, in Opinion No. S-139, rendered an opinion to the 

effect that members of the House of Representatives 
Hon. H. J. Blanchard, page 2 (WW-898) 

appointed on interim committees were disqualified 

from service on said committees after the official 

canvass reflected that they were not re-elected. 

“This request is for the purpose of clarification of several questions, to-wit: 

“(1) Is a member who is nominated in the 

primary assured of election, or must he wait until 

the November General Election? 

“(2) On what date does the member become 

disqualified? 

“(3) If a special session of the Legislature is 

called, are members who have not qualified for reelection disqualified from service during the special 

session? 

“(4) If the answer to No. 3 is No, is the member so disqualified able to serve on committees during 

the called session? 

“(5) If a Democratic nominee becomes disqualified in the event of defeat by an Independent or 

Republican candidate, does such disqualification take 

place at the official canvass following the November 

elections ? 

“(6) What would preclude a member from 

running and being elected at the November General 

Election as an Independent or Republican? 

“I would appreciate your prompt attention to 

this matter, inasmuch as the Hon. Joe Burkett, Carl 

Conley and I did not seek re-election. Since the offi- 

,cial canvass of the Democratic Party was made May 17, 

1960, we must determine our course of action. 

“Mr. Carr advises that if the three of ua are 

disqualified he desires to appoint other members to 

replace us.” 

We have reviewed Opinion No. S-139 and we agree with its holdings. The emergency clause of the bill by which Article 5429e was 

enacted sheds light on the purpose and intent of the statute. It recited 
Hon. H. J. Blanchard. page 3 (WW-898) 

that “the importance of requiring that Members of the Legislative 

Budget Board and the Legislative Council, or any other interim Committee, be Members of tha Legislature during the term of their appointment, and also for the succeeding term of the Legislature” created 

the emergency for the enactment. The holdings in Opinion S-139 are 

in accord with this expressed purpose. Since you probably have not seen 

the full text of the opinion, we are enclosing a copy herewith. A reading 

of the opinion will answer some of your questions without further clarification. 

The holdings in Opinion No. S-139 which are pertinent to your 

request are as follows: 

1. Subdivision (c) of Article 54290 does not apply to ‘“ex-officio” 

members of interim committees. 

2. Unless terminated earlier by resignation from the committee, 

cessation of membership in the Legislature. or failure to secure nomination to membership in the Legislature for the next succeeding term, an 

appointive membership on an interim committee is terminated if the 

mamber is not again elected to either the House or the Senate at the 

general election for the year in which his term of office as legislator 

is ending. The date of termination is the date on which the results of 

the election are officially canvassed; 

3. Where a member has sought renomination or nomination to 

the othar branch of the Legislature in a party primary and fails to obtain the nomination, his membership on interim committees is terminated 

on the date of the official canvass of the primary election returns showing 

that he has been defeated. 

4. Where a member’s election to the Legislature was as the nominee of a political party which is selecting its nominees for the succeeding 

term by primary elections, and he did not seek nomination by that party 

for a place in the Legislature for the succeeding term, his membership 

on interim committees is terminated on the date of the official canvass 

of the results of the first primary, unless he has made it known that he 

will seek re-election in some other manner than as the nominee of that 

party. (The other methods for seeking re-election which would preserve 

his status on interim committees pending outcome of his attempt to sacure 

nomination are (1) as the nominee of some other political party. and (2) 

as tha nominee of independent or nonpartisan voters in accordance with 

Articles 13.50-~13.52 of the Election Code.) 

5: Membership on the interim committees is terminated immediately upon the canvass of the election returns and does not continue 

until a successor is appointed. A successor appointed from among tha 

other members of the Legislature would not be qualified to serve if he 
Hon. H. J. Blanchard, page 4 (WW-898) 

likewise had failed to secure nomination or election. 

You and Messrs. Burkett and Conley were elected to the House 

of Representatives as nominees of the Democratic Party. You have 

stated that neither of you sought re-election. Yore questions ail1 be 

answered with special reference to the status of these three members 

of the House General Investigating Committee. 

In answer to your first question, electfon takes place in the 

general election and not in party primaries, no matter how certain 

election may appear to be by virtue of nomination. However, termination of membership on interim committees is based on failure to secure 

nomination or election. If a member of the Legislature~lnated 

m the primary for a succeeding term, he continues to be eligible to 

serve on interim committees until the official results of the general election show that he has failed to obtain election. 

Your second question concerning the date on which the member 

becomes disqualified to serve on interim committees is answered by the 

holdings in Opinion S-139, summarized above. 

In your third question you ask whether members who have not 

qualified for re-election are disquallfled from service during a special 

session of the Legislature. In the light of your fourth question, we take 

Question No. 3 to mean whether members of the Legislature who have 

become disqualified from serving on interim committees because of 

failure to secure nomination or election to the succeeding term are also 

disqualified from serving in sessions of the Legislature. 

Section 4 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas provides: 

“‘The members of the House of Representatives 

shall be chosen by the qualified electors, and their term 

of office shall be two years from the day of their election.*’ 

This provision in the Constitution fixes the length and commencement 

of the terms of members of the House of Representatives, and the right 

of amember to serve in sessions of the Legislature during his term of 

office could not be impaired by statute. Subdivision (c) of Article 5429e 

does not purport to disqualify members of the Legislature from serving 

in the legislative sessions, but only from serving on the Legislative 

Budget Board, the Legislative Council, and other interim committees. 

Although disqualified from serving on interim committees, a member 

continues to hold office as a legislator and may serve in sessions of 

the Legislature during his term of office and until his successor qualifies. Art. XVI, Sec. 17, Texas Constitution. 
Hon. H. J. Blanchard, page 5 (WW-898) 

Question No. 4 is whether a member who is disqualified from 

serving on interim committees by failure to secure nomination or 

election to the succeeding term is able to serve on committees during 

a caDed session. Article 5429e has no application to service on 

regular standing committees of the Legislature. We infer that this 

question has reference to serving on special committees which are 

authorized to act both during sessions of the Legislature and during 

the intervals between sessions, and your inquiry is whether such a 

committee would cease to be an “interim”’ committee during a called 

session and therefore removed from the operation of Article 5429e 

during the called session. 

H.S.R. No. 202 provides that the House General Investigating 

Ccenmittee “‘shall have full freedom to determine the times and places 

it shall meet, both during the Regular Session, any called session, 

and during the interim between the adjournment of the Regular Session 

of the 56th Legislature and the convening of the 57th Legislature.” 

In our opinion, a committee which is authorined to function during the 

interim between regular sessions does not cease to be an interim 

committee within the provisions of Article 5429e during the periods of 

intervening special sessions, and the disqualifications in Article 5429e 

apply to service during special sessions. 

In answer to Question No. 5, if a nominee is defeated in the general election, his disqualification to serve on interim committees occurs 

when the official canvass of the general election is made. 

In Que,stion No, 6 you ask what would preclude a member from 

running and being elected at the November 

% 

eneral election as an 

Independent or Republican. In Opinion No. -139 it was pointed out 

that a person who has been elected to the Legislature as a nominee 

of a political party is not obliged to seek re-election as that party’s 

noxiinee. The opinion held, however, that within the meaning of Article 

5429e a person who was elected as a party nominee and who has not 

again sought that party’s nomination has failed to secure nomination 

when it is officially shown that he will not~be the party nominee, unless 

he has made it known that he will seek re-election in some other manner. 

As applied to the present fact situation, the date of the canvass 

of the results of the first Democratfc primary on May 17, 1960, was 

the date on which it was officially shown that a member not seeking 

renomination of the Democratic Party would not be the pasty nominee. 

If on that date the member had made it known that he would seek election as the nominee of some other party or as an independent candidate, 

hie membership on interim committees would continue for the time in 
._. . 

Hon. H. J. Blanchard, page 6 (WW-898) 

which nomination by the other method could take place. but would 

terminate upon his failure to secure nominatioa in that manner. The 

date for the Republican Party to make its noniinations for district 

offices has already passed, and membership on interim committees 

is not preserved through this method of nomination unless the member 

has been named as the Republican nominee. The deadline for fil&ng 

aa.spplication as an independent candidate occurred on July 4, 1960 

(30 days after the second primary election day). If by that date a 

member seeking to become an independent candidate had not filed an 

application meeting the requirements of Articles 13.50-13.52 of the 

Election Code, his membership on interim committees was terminated. 

We have said (that membership on interim committees terminated on the date of canvass of the fipst primary election returns if the 

member was theretofore elected as the nominee of the Democratic 

Party and did not seek the nomination of that party in thfs year’s 

primary, unless on that date he had made it known that he would seek 

election by some other method 0% nomination. Your request suggests 

the possibility that the member might subsequently decide to become 

aa independent candidate. This raises the question of whether, in the 

event he did subsequently become a bona fide independent candidate. 

he would be eligible for re-appointient to the interim committee 

on which he formerly served. In our opiaion, his candidacy would 

remove the disqualification based on %ailure to secure nomination 

and he would become eligible for re-appointment, or %or appointment 

to other interim committees. 

SUMMARY 

Under Article 5429e 0% Vernon’s Civil StatuUes, 

membership on interim legislative committees o% State 

Representatives who were thereto%ore elected as nominees of the Democratic Party and who did not seek 

nomination 0% that party for the next succeeding term is 

terminated on the date of the canvass of the returns 0% 

the first Democratic primary unless the member has made 

it known that he will seek election to the House or Senate 

as the nominee of some other party OP as an independeat 

candidate. If on that date the member has announced that 

he will seek nomination of some other party or as an 

independent candidate, his membership on interim committees continues for the period in which nominatPon by 

tbe other method could take place, but terminates upon 

his failure to secure nomination in that manner. If subsequent to termmation of membership by fahre to seek 
Hon. H. J. Blanchard, page 7 (WW-898) 

nomination in the primary election the legislator becomes a candidate by some other method of nomination, 

his disqualification to serve on interim committees is 

removed and he becomes eligible for appointment to 

such committees. If a nominee is defeated in the general 

election, his disqualification to serve on interim committees occurs when the official canvass of the general 

election is made. A disqualified member may not serve 

on interim committees during special sessions of the 

Legislature. 

Yoaars very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

BHT:lmc 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE: 

Gordon C. Cass, Chairman 

Houghton B rownlee 

3. C. Davis, Jr. 

Morgan Nesbitt 

J. Arthur Sandlin 

REVIEWEDFORTHEATTORI’IEYGENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore