NC. 

FERS CCLLBCTED UNDER ARTICLE 3920. AS AMENDED, 

RZ.D REWlREDTO BE DEPOSITED II TRE GERERiL FUND 

Opinion ooastruing Senate Bill No. SS. AOta Regualr Seaaion, 42ad lag., and the approprlatlon bill passed by 

the 45th Lugislature at lta Regular Session. and holding 

i that fees oollsotsd under Article 3920, as amended bF 

S.aB3~3,A~ta R. S. 42ad Leg.. muL)t be deposited in the 

. 

CFFICE CWTEE ATTORHXYGMERAL 

February 1. 1939 

Boa. Tao 0. Mag * 

State ~Audltor 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Mr. King: 

Op1nlonr?0.0-31 

Re: FOSS oollsoted under Art. 

3920, aB amended, 

You request an opialon on the Zollowlag quecrtlon: 

"Should ioea oolleoted'under ~rtlole 3920, R. C. 

S., be.deposltgd in the Iasuraaoe Examlaatloa Fund or 

-. the Oeneral Fund?- 

Senate Bill No. 83, Aot8 Re&ar Sea8loa. 42nd Leglolature, amada Art1010 3920, Revlwd Statutes, 1925, aad Art1010 

4690, Revised Stakes, 1925. ~rtlole 3920 was laoorporated in 

the ooditioatloa of 1925 under the general ohapter relating to 

rebr Or orrioe. while Arti0i.s 4690 in the 00diri0ation or 1925 

reJat8d to”& duty or the Insurance Camnlnnloaer to examine 

_~ .~ 

lasuraaoe oompaales, and was contained la the general chapter 

relating to lnmmaaoe. 

Artfolo 3920, both as or&ally written and as amended 

bp Senate Blll Ro. 83, bsglm a8 tollolvs: 

-The Board of Insuranoe Comisaloaera shall charge 

and reoelve for the ~88 or the State the following fees:" 

(Undereoorlag oura) 

.- , 
Among tha provisions of auoh srtlolo la the rollowlhg: 

“For awry 00~~ or any paper filed in the 

Dapartaeat or Iaauraaoo, for oaoh 100 words........$O.20 

"For afilxlng the offlolal seal and oertirfiing to the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...* ~1.00" 

. . 

The only a&sot of the amendment on Art1010 3920 was 

to lift cut of that irtlole the last provision thereof (not 

quoted here), relating to ieea ror examialag insurance ocmpanles, 

and lnoorporate-provfsfons ror oolleotlng exsmlnatlon assessments 

in Artlole 4690, tha axamltilng law. 

That part of S8aate Bill 03 amending Artiole 4690 provldss in part as follow: 

" "SOO. 5. Tbs expinaes of all osamlaatlon mada 

on behalf of the Stats oi Taxas by the Chairman or 

the Board of Insuranos Conmissioners or under his 

authority shall~be paid by the oorporations examined 

la auoh amouut as the Chqlrmaa of the Board or Insurance Ccmmissioaers shall aartify to be just and raaaonable, In case of an examination made jointly with 

the reprssentatlvaa of the Iamranoe Supervising Department of any other State or States, the oorporatlon 

examlaed shall pay the share or the cost or auah 

exe?ninatioa to ba borne by the State of Texas aa 

shall ba oertlilod to be just and rsasonable by the 

Chaiiman of the- Board of Iasurqnoo Comlsslonera. 

i wAssesweats for the expeaws of suoh axeminatlon which shall be surrioleat to meet all of the 

expenses and dlsbursemsata asosssary to oomply with 

the provisions of the laws of Texas relating to the 

examination of lasuraaoe oompaules and to comply with 

the provisions oi this AOt, shall be made by the 

Chqlrpaa of the Board of Insurance C~snlOaara upon 

.the oorporatioaa or assoolatloas to be axamlaed 

taking into oonslderatlon annual premium raoalpts, 

or admitted assets, and/or insurance la toroa; proand/ 

rtded much aaseasmaats ahall be made and oolleoted 

&ly at the tlma auoh examlnatlons ars mada. 

-Ali sum a6llioted by the Chairman or the Board 

of Insurance Comlssloners. or under his authorltr, 

on account or the ooat of examinations assessed as 

herein provided i or 8 a 1 be paid into the State 

Treasury to the credit of the Iasuranoe Examination 

d and the salaries and t 

&ii& Board or Insuranoe Cmnlsaioaers aEdatru% 

expeneem or th 

examiners and assistants, and all other oxponsaa of 

suoh examinations. shall be paid upon tha oertlfloata 

or the Chairman or tha Board of Insuraaoe Commissionera 

by warrant of the Comptroller drawn upon suoh fund 

in the State Treasury. 

"1f at any time it shall appear that additional 

p& rata ess*ssmenta are necessary to oover all or 
1 

- . . 

the expenses and d1aburaementa required by law and 

naoeaaary to comply with this Aot, the same shall 

be made, and any surplus ariaing from any and all 

auoh aaaaaamenta, over and above auoh expense8 and 

dlaburaementa, shall be applled la reduotica of aubsequent aaaeaamenta in the proportion aaaaased so 

that there ahall be so aaaaaaed and collected the 

funds necessary to meet such expenaea and diaburaemanta and no more.” (Uaderaooring aura) 

"3-B. All 811818 oolleoted in purauanoa of this 

Aot and paid into the Insurance Examination Fund 

are hereby appropriated ror the payment of the 

aalarlea and expenses provided for In this Aot for 

the iiaoal years ending August 31, 1932 and 1933, 

reapeotively.- 

It will be noted that under auoh Ad, Section 3-B 

appropriated for the eIpease8 of administering suoh law *all 

auma oolleoted la pursuance of thla dot and paid lato the - 

Insurance Examination Fund." This had the eiieot, therefore, 

or appropriating "all sums oolleoted by the Chairman ot the 

Board of Iaauraaoa Commlsaionsrs . . . on aooouat or the coat 

or examinat1ona,* aiaoe those were the only sums whloh the Act 

required to be paid into the Examination lQnd. However, 

Section 3-B waa an appropriation only ior the flacal year8 

ending August 31, 1932 and 1933. 

The appropriation for the Examination Dlvisioa of 

the State Insurance Commission for the present biennium 1s round 

on pages 1391 and 1392 of the General and Special Laws or the 

regular aeaaloa or the 45th Legislature, and after llatlag 

oertala partloularly itemized appropriations, the following 

language la used: 

*For the purpose or paping the foregolng examination expenses and auoh other expanse as la neoeaaary 

Incident to the examination work and the payment of 

the salaries of any additional examiners, atenographera, clerks and such help aa la necessary la the 

administration of the examialng (providing any addltloaal employees performing similar work to the po8itiOnS 

designated hereinabove shall not reoelve a greater 

sum or compensation than that herein provided), and 

ior defraying all other expense8 aaoaaaary for the 

administration or the provlaiona ol Chapter 152 of 

the General laws of the regular session of the Fortysecond Legislature and Chapter 264 of the General Law8 

or-'the Regular Session of the Fortproud 'legislature, 
. . 

, ..- 

there 1s hereby approprlatad all fees and assessmenta 

colleoted under authority of said axamining law together with any balances at th ad or a preoed f ag 

fiaoal year, for l aoh of the &:a1 years ending 

AUgUSt 31. 1932 and August 31, 1939. The &ad Or 

the Department shall make appglloatfoa to the Eoard 

of Control sad receive its approval in writing before employ8e8, other than those itemized la the 

appropriation biil, ara employed. Said applioatioa 

shall ret out the reasons and necessity for the employment of the additional employees." 

The words *fees and aasesameata oclleoted under authority of 8uoh examining law" olearly refers to and l pproprlatea 

only those auma oolleoted under the authority of that law wbioh 

relate6 to the examination of laauraaoe companies. 

Article 3920 has no rafaranad to and does not relate 

la any manner to the wsxamlnatloa-a or laauraaoe oompanlea, but 

8uoh artiole relates only to "teas of 0ffioa.v The "examining 

.law* ooaalata of Article 4690 as amended, and Chapter 264 ot the 

General Law8 of the 44th Legislature, whloh are the lawa relating 

to and providing for examination of laauraaoe oompaalea. 

A oonatruotlon authorizing the fees oollaotad under 

Artlole 3920 to be pald Into the Examination IUnd and devoted 

thereby to defraplng. at least la part, the erpanaea of adxinistering Article 4690, wckd etfeotually nullify the provlaloas or 

Artlolea 3920 and 4690. as amaadpd, by authorizing reea paid 

by private lndlvlduala under ArtiCls 3920 to be divcrtad from 

*the use of the Statg: and devoted to a raduotlon of the amount 

of aaaeaameata to be oolleotad of iaauraaoa ocmpanies ior tha 

~admlalatratlc~ of the proviaion8 of.Artlole 4690; 'whereas, 

Artiole 4690, as amended, axpreasly provides and oontemplataa 

that the entire oost of admialaterlag the laws of Texas Velatlag to examination of insuranoa oompanlea^ be defrayed 9ro rata 

by the oanpanlea examined. In other words, Article 4690, as 

amended, announaea the policy of the State to ba that tha axamlned 
- 

ohs11 pay the ooat or their examiaatlon. A ooastruotloa, timxafora, of tha appropriation bill es authorlzlng the fees oollaotad under Artlola 3920 to be paid into the hxamiaation Fund would 

render such portion of the Appropriation bill unconstitutional, 

.a8 attempting the amendment of Artlola 4690 without spaolfying 

the purpose la the oaption of the bill, and dthout ra-enacting 

and publishing at length tha aaotloa or saotloas amended, in 

violation of the Constitution, Artlola 3, Ceotioas 35 and 36. 

You ara, tharaiora, advised that ree8 oollaotad under 

Jrtlola 3920 should be deposited In the Maera Fund. 

The Opinion heretofore written by Ronorable :i. X. 

.Haath, .%asiatant Attorney General, on June 19, 1936, in reapoaaa 

:to an inquiry by Hoaorabla R. L. Daniel, Chairman of tha Board 

'of Insurance Ccamlaalonara. expreaaing a contrary oonalualon, 

la ttareby overruled and withdrawn. 

Yours very truly 

ATTCmY CEXEFAL @? TEXAS 

(signed1 

R. X. Falrobild 

Aaalatant 

!RW:PSP 

This opinion has been ooaaidarad la ooaferaaoo, 

appFoVed, and ordersd recorded. 

(Signed) 

GEULD C. XW?'E 

AT'!'CR.XZY GEXERIL CP TEXAS