April 19, 1939

Honorable Lewis M. Williams DistrictAttorney 50th JudicialDistrict Benjamin,Texas

Dear

YOUP been Your sir: OpinionNo. O-601 Re:Whether the oommissionerst court can legally transfer money from the jury fund into the general fund

Your request aa contained in the first paragraph of letter ofMarch 31, to which the above opinionnumber has assigned,has rebeived the attention of this Department. request reads as follows:

"If a County has @,320.49 in the Jury fund, and
are badly inneed of cash in their general fund, would it be legal for them to transfer a part of the jury fund to the general fund, provided they did not transfer enough to impair the jury fund for twelve months."
Article 6, Section 9 of the Constitutionof Texas, and its relevantprovisions, reads aa follows:

"The State tax on property, exolugive of the tax ne,essary to pay the public debt, and of the taxesprovided for the benefit of the public free schools, shall neverexoeed thirty-five,oentson the one hundred dollars valuation;andno county, oity or town shall levymore than twenty-fivecents for city or county purpoaea,and not exceeding fifteen cents for road and bridges, and not exceeding fifteen cents to pay jurors, on the one hundred dollarsvaluatla, 9 0 +k."
Article 1630, Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, reads
as follows:

"The commissioners'court by an order to that effect may transfer the money in hand from one fund to another,
as It may deem necessary and proper, except that the fundswhich belong to class first shallnever be diverted from the payment of the olaim registered in class first, unless there is an excess of such funds."Ron. Lewis M. Williams,April 19, 1939,page 2, O-601

The above quoted provision of the Constitution is a limitationupon the taxing powers of respective counties of the State (Articles 2352-7042,Revised Civil Statutes, 1925). A Maximum of fifteen cents to pay jurors,on the one hundred dollarsvaluation is prescribed and the power to transfer moneys so raised by taxation from this fund to another isnot aided or oontrolledby having an excess in such fund or by the faot that a rate less than the maximum rate permittedby the Constitutionwas used in making the levy.

In the case of Carrollv. Williams, County Treasurer, 202 S. W. 504, the Supreme Court of Texas definitelyheld that the jury fund and other constitutionalfunds therein designated composed,

of funds raised by taxation oouldnot be legally transferred from one to another, and that Article 1630, supra, has appliaation to special funds createdby statute and was not applicable to constitutionalfunds; The Courtwent furtherand held in the Carroll case that the above section of the Conatitutionnot only placed a limitation on the amount of taxes which might be leviedby any county for the purposes therein enumerated,but also designatedand plaoed a limitation on the amount to be expended, in that taxes raised for one purpose therein defined couldnot be expended for any other purpose.

We resoeotfullv refer vou to the ouinion in the Carroll oaae, s&a, a~portion o? whioh opinion is set forth in the case of Henderson County v. 94, to which you refer in your letter. you will recall, Burke, 262 S.W.

It is, therefore, the,opinionof this Department that jury fund to a transfer of funds raised by taxation from the the general fund, is inhibitedby Artiole 6, Section 9 of the Constitutionof Texas; both being constitutional funds,Article 1630,R-eviaedCivil Statutes, 1925, isnot applicable.

Yours very truly ATTORNEY GWERAL OF TEXAS

APPROVED: a/ Gerald C. Mann ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

**WJmLM/O g**  a/ William J.R. King

BY William J. R. King

.Assistant