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The Honorable Jesse James Opinion No. H-937 State Treasurer P. 0. Box 12608, Capitol Station Re: List of remittances Austin, Texas 78711 submitted by heads of State agencies to the State Treasurer.
Dear Mr. James:
You ask several questions concerning themeaning and effect of certain provisions of article 4388,V.T.C.S., which generally prescribes the,procedure for handling money remitted to State agencies when the agencies have notyet determined theproper fund of the State Treasury intowhich the remittance should be deposited. Article 4388provides in relevant part:

The State Treasurer shall receive daily from the head of each Deoartment. each of whom is specifically charged with the duty ofmaking samedaily, adetailed list of all persons remittinq money the status of which isundetermined orwhich isawaiting the timewhen itcan finally be taken into theTreasury, together with the actual remittances which theTreasurer shall cash and place inhisvaults or in legally authorized depository banks, if the necessity arises

. . . . (Emphasisadded).
You indicate that recently at least one agency has begun submitting microfilm copies of the actual checks or drafts constituting the individual remittances instead of a separate register that contains certain information extracted from each. You further indicate that thesemicrofilm copies do not contain all of the information you consider necessary foryour records and otherwise are not suitable foryour

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The Honorable Jesse James -page 2 (H-937)

purposes. In this regard you specifically inquire whether these microfilm copies qualify as the "detailed list" prescribed inarticle 4388,whether youmay require that the list submitted under 4388 include certain information, andwhether youmay reject the use of lists, or substitutes therefor, which donot provide sufficient and accurate information.
To understand thepurposes of article 4388, it isnecessary to examine the statute in relation to the general role and duties of the State Treasurer. The office of Treasurer of the State of Texas isprovided in the Texas Constitution as part of the executive department of state government. See Tex. Const. art. 3, 949a; art. 4, §§ 1, 23. The Treasurer's duties areprescribed by law and generally involve the receipt, storage and disbursement of state funds. SeeV.T.C.S. arts. 4370-4393b. Article 4372 specifically requires the Treasurer to:

[Kleeptrue accounts of the receipts and expenditures ofpublic moneys of the Treasury, and close his accounts annually on the 31st day ofAugust, with the proper legal vouchers for the same, distinguishing between the receipts and disbursements of each fiscal year. Other statutes specifically impose similar requirements that the Treasurer maintain at all times an exact statement of the condition of the State Treasury for submission to the Governor or theLegislature. V.T.C.S. art. 4373. As a custodian ofpublic funds, the Treasurer is subject to suspension, impeachment, orpossible criminal prosecution if he cannot properly and accurately account for thepublic funds when and as required by law. See Tex. Const. art. 4, § 25; V.T.C.S. art. 5961; Penal Code art. 39.01.
It isour opinion that the requirement inarticle 4388 for submission to theTreasurer of a "detailed list" of persons remitting money is intended to assist the Treasurer in carrying out his duty as the custodian of those public funds covered by the article. As the court inBullock v _I Calvert, 480 S.W.2d 367, 372 (Tex.1972) stated:

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The Honorable Jesse James -page 3 (H-937)

[Elvery specific, permissible act of a public officer need not be expressed ina statute; we imply theauthority todo those acts necessary to achieve the,power or object expressly granted, because the Legislature must have intended togrant the constituent details within the larger commission. Therefore insofar as the term "detailed list" as used in article 4388 lacks a statutory definition, itmay be given a reasonable definition by the Treasurer for thepurpose of achieving the object of the statute. We answer your questions together by indicating that insofar as themicrofilm,copies you describe donot efficiently provide the information necessary forproper maintenance of an accurate statement of the funds inquestion, they do notqualify as the "detailed list" prescribed by article 4388, andyou, as State Treasurer, may require that the information submitted by each agency include those "details" regarding the remittance that are reasonably necessary foryou toproperly account for the funds. With respect to the form inwhich the information is submitted to the Treasurer, we note that article 4388 requires thedepartment head tomake the list and the Treasurer to receive it. We believe that theburden of organizing the information in reasonably usable form falls upon the department head, and that the Treasurer could require the information tobe submitted in the form of the roll or register of items that isordinarily signified by theword "list." Webster's Second International Dictionary at 1442 (1936).
We conclude thatyou need not acquiese in the use of lists or substitutes that do notprovide inusable form the information necessary foryou toaccount for the funds.
SUMMARY The "detailed list" of persons remitting money of undetermined status which article 4388,V.T.C.S. requires department heads

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The Honorable Jesse James -page 4 (H-937)

to submit to the State Treasurer must include the information necessary for the Treasurer to account'for the accompanying remittances. Very truly yours, 

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Attorney General of Texas
APPROVED:

Opinion Committee jwb

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