OFFICE OF THE AmORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Tom C. Kj.ng 

State Auditor and Efficiency Expert 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Your request for an 

concerning the proper con 

nonls Annotated Civil Sta 

four separate and distinc 

ew it, contains 

map be paid int 

specif ioally 1 

the State is e 

e about is whether 

undetermined only in * 

go into is unknown, 

e problem arises more 

o question but that 

Annotated Civil Statutes, 

shall receive daily 

partment, each of whom 

with the duty of making 

list of all persons ree status of which is undeters awaiting the time when it can 

into the Treasur#, together 

al remittanc.es which the Treasurer . 

nd place in his.vaults or in legally 

eposltory banks, if the necessity 

arises. * * *n 

Iu Bonference Opinion No. 3048, this department 

ruled that the above quoted Article allowed the payment of any 

money into the Suspense Fund which la awaltlng the tine that 
Honorable Tom C. sing, Page 2 

the sane can finally be paid into the Treasury. It is the 

opinion of this department that until the specific fund to 

which the money 1s properly belonging can be determined that 

the same cannot finally be taken into the Treasury. In such 

a case such money could be paid Into the Suspense Fund even 

though there was no question about the State's right to keep 

said money. Our conclusion, in this respect, is based upon 

an analysis of the statutes which outline the authority of 

the Comptroller of Public Accounts and.of the State Treasurer 

in suoh a situation. 

Article 4364, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

reads, in part, as follows: 

WAccounts shall be kept for funds, a separate account for each fund, which shall be 

credited with deposit warrants and charged 

with pay warrants issued: Balances of such 

accounts shall represent balances in the funds 

after taking into conslderatlon all warrants 

issued. Accounts shall also be kept showing 

the bonds or securities owned by each fund. 

n* * * 

"SUSPENSF, LEDGER.- A suspense ledger shall 

be kept in which the accounts of the State 

Treasurer shall be stated in respect to moneys 

held by him pending the issuance of deposit 

‘warrants and moneys and securities held other 

than those for State purposes, for all which’ 

the Comptroller shall issue deposlt receipts, 

posting the same to this ledger. It shall 

also include the accounts with heads of departments for all moneys received by them and 

deposited with the State Treasurer In suspense.n 

Article 4381, Vernon's Annotated Clvll Statutes, 

reads','ln part, as follows: 

"The State Trearurer shall cause the dally 

totals of deposit warrents to be posted to the 

proper fund and control accounts in the general 

ledger; The Treasurer shall keep a 'transit 

record,' in which he shall record the essential 
Honorable Tom C. King, Page 3 

details of all cash, checks, money orders, 

draft6 or other items deposited or cashed 

eaoh day, showing the items deposited in 

each depository bank or otherwise disposed 

of. The totals of deposits shall be charged 

to the aocounts of the respective depositories 

on the books of the Treasury * * ** 

The reading of the above quoted Article clearly 

indicates that the procedure for flncl payment lntoS;t; fiat6 

Treasury Is by the issuance of a deposit warrant. 

posit warrant 1s lssued.to the partlcplar fund to which the 

money goes. It 1s true, then, that until the fund to which the 

money should go Is determined the deposit warrant.to that fund 

cannot be issued for suoh money. For this reason, it is our 

opinion that in a case where money is paid to one of the departments of the State, and there 1s a question as to which partlcular fund said money should go, the same may properly be paid 

into the Suspense Fund because said money cannot be placed into 

the proper fund until a deposit warrant for such money is drawn. 

Only then is the money paid into the Treasury. While the partlcular destination of the fund Is ln..questlon, even though there 

is no question as to the State's right to the money, we feel that 

the money comes within the catagory of "money which is awaiting 

the time when it oan finally be taken into the Treasury" as set 

out in Article 4388. YOU are, therefore, advised that in cases 

where there is an actual doubt as to the particular fund to which 

a money should go said money may properly be placed ln.the Suspense Fund by the head of a department. 

Your second problem deals with which public official 

has the power*to determine which money shall be placed in the 

Suspense Account. You are advised that Article 4388 provides 

that the head of each department shall make a report containing 

a detailed list of an persons remitting money the status of 

which is undetermined or whloh is awaiting the time when it can 

finally be taken into the Treasury. The statute further speolflcally provides that the head of each department is speolflcally charged with the duty of making such a*llst dally. It la 

the opinion of this department, therefore, that the head of each 

department has the power to place money into the Suspense Account when the same 1s awaiting the time when it can finally 

be taken into the Treasury. Record of such payment 1s of course 

made by the Comptroller in the suspense ledger as provided in 

the above quotation of Article 4Z64. 
’ 

Honorable Tom C. King, Page 4 

Your third problem deals with a situation where it 1s 

determined that part of the money should be returned to a taxpayer and the other part 1s to be kept bg the State. However, 

the money which belongs to the State 1s money which la awaltlng the time when it can finally be taken into the Treasury. 

You ask whether the part that 1s to be returned to the taxpayer 

map be so returned prior to the time the rest of the money Is 

paid into the State Treasury by the issuance of a deposlt’warrant. You are advised that in such a case the status of the 

money whloh is to be returned to the taxpayer 1s definitely 

determined and the same may be returned to him. As to the 

money which la oomlng to the State, the same may be properly 

kept in the Suspense Fund until it can finally be taken lnto 

the Treasury. It is the opinion of this department, therefore,’ 

that in such a case as outlined, the money which is to be returned to the taxpayer may be so returned prior to the time the 

remainder of the money which cannot be finally taken into the 

Treasury is taken out of the Suspense Fund. 

Your iourth question Is whether a speclflo payment 

placed in the Suspense Fund must be separately earmarked and 

kept as a separate aocount therein. The procedure ror the payment of money into the Suspense Fund is outlined in Article 

4388. The money is paid into the Suspense Fund and a deposit 

reoelpt is issued by the Comptroller for the dally total of. 

such remittances from each department. Article 4364, supra, 

provides that tfie Comptroller shall keep an account ln.the 

suspense ledger of the moneys held by him pending the issuance 

of deposit warrants. You are advised that when the paJrm$nts 

are made into the Suspense Fund as a matter of accounting the 

same should be kept separately. The purpose of the Suspense 

Statutes 1s to provide a method whereby money may be paid to 

the State which will not be paid into the State Treasury until 

it is finally determined tb whom the money belongs, pr until a 

time when the same may be finally paid into the State Treasury. 

The Suspense Fund servea a6 a sort of a depository. If money is 

pald into the Suspense Accounty by a taxpayer and the same 1s 

erroneously placed ln the general fund, payment could not be 

made to him from the Suspense Fund. To do so would be to pay 

him money which someone else had placed in eald fund or money 

which had not as yet been placed in the State Treasury. This 

department so ruled In~Oplnlon No. O-44, a 00~7 ot which is 

hereby attached, You are, therefore, advised that a separate 

account should be kept of each pagment placed in the Suspense 

Fund by the Comptroller. 
Honorable Toa C. King, Page 5 

Ne truet that the above discussion of Artlole 4380 

will satlsfaotorily answer your inquiry. 

Your6 very truly 

2f ’ r ’ I 

Billie Goldberg 

-I Aesistant 

BG:RS 

AFFROVE72J~ 15, 1940