R-588 

June 28, 1947 

Honorable Joe Nelson, Chief Accountant 

Board of County & District Road Indebtedness 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion NO. v-277 

Re: Effective date of House Bill No. 21, 

30th Legislature relative to allocation of surplus funds by Roard 

of County and District Road Indebtedness. 

Dear Sir: 

We refer to your letter of June 12, 1947, in which you submit the 

following: 

"During the past session of the Legislature House Bill21 

passed, which provides for a different method of allocating 

OUT surplus funds to the State Highway Department and the 

several counties. This bill containing an emergency qlause 

was passed by the House on April 8, 1947, by a vote of 95 

ayes and.34 noes. It was passed by the Senate with., 

amendmen'zs on Mey 7, 194'7, by a vote of 17 ayes Wi5 noes. 

The House concurred in the Senate amendments on May'13, 

1947, by B vote of 86 to 35, and this bill was signed by 

the Governor on May 31, 1947. 

"In view of this information we ssk that you please advise 

us the date that House Bill21willbecome a law. It is on 

September 1 of each year that we ere required to allocate 

our surplus funds to the counties, and we ask that yo'ou 

please advise us if we should make this allocation es 

provided in Article 6674, or if this allocation should 

be made as provided for by House Bill 21.* 

Section 39 of Article III of the State Constitution reads: 

"No law passed by the Legislature, except the general 

appropriation act, shall take effect or go into force 

until njnety days after the adjournment of the session 

at which it was enacted, unless in case of emergency, which 

emergency must be expressed in a preamble or i+ the body of 

the act, the Legislature shall, by a vote of 

all the members elected to each house, otherw T-thirds se direct: Of 
Honorable Joe Nelson, Page 2 V- 277 

said vote to be taken by yeas and nays, and entered upon 

the journals." 

When the last vote on House Bill No. 21was taken in the Senate on 

May 7, 1947, there were 30 elected members of the Senate. The vote was 

17 yeas and 5 nays. On May 13, 1947, when the last vote was taken in 

the House on that said Bill, there were 147 elected members of the 

House of Representatives. The vote in the House was 86 yeas and 35 

nays. That law was not passed by a vote of two-thirds of the elected 

members of each House, by reason of which itwill take effect 90 days 

after adjournment of the 50th Legislature on June 6, 1947- 

We areassuming that your reference to Article 6674q really means 

Article 66749-7 of Vernon's Civil Statutes and to sub-section h of 

that section, which will remain in effect and serve as your guide 

House Bill No. 21 supersedes. That sub-section requires that: 

"(h) On September 1st of each year after the Board has paid 

off and discharged all eligible obligations maturing during 

the preceding fiscal year, together with the interest on 

such obligations and the sinking fund requirements accuring 

thereon and of the County and Road District Highway Fund, 

any surplus remaining in said fund over and above Three 

Million ($3,000,000.00) shall be set aside and credited." 

. . . . " one-half to the State Highway Fund and one-half 

to the Lateral Road Account . . . v 

until 

*Not later than September 15th of each year the said Board 

shall ascertain the exact amount of money which has been 

allocated to the said Lateral Road Account for such fiscal 

year and which at that time is available. The Board shall 

allocate to each county its proportionate part of the moneys 

in said Lateral Road Account, which allocation shall be 

determined in the following manner": Then the method of 

distribution is set out, but is not material to your inquiry0 

Summarized, the law requires that the Board make the division between 

the State Highway Fund and the Lateral Read Account on September lst, 

and make the allocations to the counties not later than September 

15th of each year. If such allocations be made by the Board before 

September 5, 1947, sub-section h of Article 69749-T applies to such 

action; if made on or after September 5, 1947, when House Bill No. 21 

becomes effective, the provisions of that law must be applied to such 

allotments. 
Honorable Joe Nelson, Page 3 V-277 

SUMMARY 

House Bill No. 21 passed by the 50th Legislature 

relative to allocation of surplus in the County and 

Road District Highway Fund not having passed the 

Legislature by vote of two-thirds of the elected 

members of each House, will not become effective until 

90 days after adjournment of the Legislature on June 

6, 1947. If allocations such surplus funds be made 

before September 5, 1947, sub-section (h) of Article 

6674g-7 controls such allocation; if made after 

September 5, 1947, House Bill No. 21 controls such 

allocations. 

Yours very truly 

A!LTORNEY 'ZNERALOFTEXAS 

$1 W. T. Williams 

By 

W. T. Williams 

Assistant 

APPROVED 

s/ Price Daniel 

AlTORNEY GENERAL 

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