. ..-A. 

. 

THE AITORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 11, TEXAN 

October 11; 1957 

Honorable Price Daniel, Opinion No. WW-275. 

Governor, State of Texas, 

Capitol Station, Re: Whether a proposed Bill to 

Austin, Texas be submitted to the Special 

Session of the Legislature 

on October 14th requires 

certification by the Comptroller of Public Accounts 

under the provisions of 

Section @a of Article III 

Dear Governor Daniel: of the Constitution of Texas. 

You have requested an opinion concerning a proposed 

Bill to be submitted to the Special Session of the Legislature 

on October 14th. Your specific question is whether this proposed Bill requires certification by the Comptroller of Public 

Accounts under the provisions of Section &a of Article III of 

the Constitution of Texas. 

The purpose of this legislation is stated in Section 

1 as follows: 

"Section 1. PURPOSE OF ACT. The purpose of 

this Act is to effectuate the mandatory terms and 

provisions of Article 16, Section 59 (a) of the 

Constitution of Texas to the end that the vital 

water resources of the State will be conserved, 

developed, stored, preserved and distributed in 

a manner beneficial and useful to the people of 

Texas and future generations. It is hereby 

declared that this Act is essential to the accomplishment of such purpose. 1.t is declared, 

further, that the conservation, development and 

beneficial use of the waters of this State are 

public rights and duties and are necessary to 

protect and promote the health, safety and general 

welfare of the people." 

Subdivision (j) of Section 3 of the proposed Bill 

.ides: 
.’ . 

Honorable Price Daniel, Page 2 (w-275). 

"(j) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO PLANNING DIVISION. 

Funds heretofore appropriated to the Board of Water 

Engineers in line Items 29 through 32 of House Bill 

133, Acts 55th Legislature, 1957, are hereby transferred to the Planning Division to be used for the 

purposes stated in such line items, and the Board 

may transfer any other of its appropriated funds 

to the Planning Division necessary to accomplish 

the purposes of this Act. 

"That portion of said House Bill No. 133 

immediately preceding Item Number 33 in the appropriation to the Board of Water Engineers and reading 'Watershed Planning - None of the money appropriated in Items 33 through 39 below for Watershed 

Planning shall be.expended until and unless the 

Constitutional Amendment proposed by H.J.R. No. 3, 

of the 55th Legislature, is duly adopted by the 

voters of Texas' is hereby repealed. The sums 

appropriated in Items 33 through 39 of the appropriation for the Board contained in the said House 

Bill No. 133, totaling $100,240 for the current 

biennium, are hereby transferi.ed to the Planning 

Division in a lump sum to pay the cost of performing the duties Imposed by this Section 3, including 

wages, salaries and other expenses, for the remainder of the current biennium ending August 31, 1959. 

"The sum of $500,000.00 appropriated to the 

Texas Prison System in that portion of House Bill 

No. 133, Chapter 385, General and Special Laws of 

the 55th Regular Session, page 1051, entitled 

'Texas Prison System--Contingency Appropriation', 

is hereby transferred to the Planning Division of 

the Board of Water Engineers to be used in accomplishing the purposes of this Act." 

Section 49a of Article III of the Constitution of 

Texas prohibits the valid enactment of any bill containing an 

appropriation which does not contain a certificate by the 

Comptroller of Public Accounts that the amount appropriated 

is within the amount estimated to be available in the affected 

funds. Attorney General's Opinion WW-102 (1957). If subdivision (j) of Section 3 of the proposed legislation constitutes an appropriation of money, Section 49a of Article III 

would require a certification of the Comptroller before the 

proposed legislation could be enacted into law. 
Honorable Price Daniel, Page 3 (m-275). 

Section 6 of Article VIII of the Constitution of 

Texas provides: 

"No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but 

in pursuance of specific appropriations made by law; 

nor shall any appropriation of money be made for a 

longer term than two years, except by the first 

legislature to assemble under this Constitution, 

which may make the necessary appropriations to carry 

on the government until the assemblage of the slxteenth Legislature.' 

This constitutional provision controls all appropriations from the State Treasurv and monev not snecificalls annropriated by the Legislature ¬ be withdrawn from the"Trkasury. 

Pickle v. Finley 91 Tex. 484, 44 S,W. 480 (1898); Lightfoot v. 

Lane, 104 Tex. 447, 140 S.W. 89 (1911); Attorney General's 

Opinion WW-102 (1957). 

In considering a similar question, it IS stated in 

Attorney General's Opinion O-6193 (1945) that a provision 

relative to the transfer of unexpended balances "is merely an 

alternative method of allocation. This provision in no way takes 

additional money out of the State Treasury; rather it merely 

permits the funds which have already been taken out of the 

Treasury by Section 6 of House Bill No. 3, and by Section 1 of 

Article 13 of House Bill No. 176, to be.expended for purpos,es 

other than those for which they were initially encumbered. 

The provisions of subdivision (j) of Section 3 of 

the proposed legislation above quoted does not take additional 

money out of the State Treasury as provided in Section 6 of 

Article VIII of the Constitution of Texas. It merely permits 

the funds which have previously been appropriated to be expended 

for purposes other than those for which they were initially 

appropriated and, therefore, does not constitute an appropriation within the meaning of Section 49a of Article III of the 

Constitution of Texas. 

In 

subdivision 

language: 

addition to making allocations and t~ransfers, 

(j) of Section 3 contains the following additional 

"In addition to any funds made available by 

the Legislature, the Planning Engineer with the 

approval of the Board is authorized to contract 

for, receive or accept money from anyone, or from 

any agency, political subdivision, or other legal 

entity, and may then use such money to carry into 
Honorable Price Daniel, Page 4 (WW-27.5). 

effect the duties required by this Section. 

The money thus obtained shall be deposited by 

the Planning Engineer in the State Treasury as 

a special fund and said money may be used by the 

Planning Division for any of Its purpose8, including wages, salaries and other expenses." 

These provisions require the deposit into the State 

Treasury of moneys received from individuals, agencies, politlcal subdivision, and other legal entities, and provides that 

such money may be used by the Planning Division for any of its 

purposes including wages, salaries and other expenses. Since 

the purpose of an appropriation is to make available for expenditure moneys In the Treasury, it is our opinion that the last 

paragraph of subdivision (j) of Section 3 constitutes an 

appropriation requiring the certificate of the Comptroller of 

Public Accounts under the provisions of Section &a of Article 

III of the Constitution of Texas. The proposed legislation 

submitted with your request therefore, will require the certificate of the Comptroller of Public Accounts provided for in 

Section @a of Article III of the Constitution of Texas. However, inasmuch as the Legislature only appropriated the amount 

of the funds that will be deposited In such special fund, the 

Comptroller would be required to certify that such sums so 

appropriated are available. 

SUMMARY 

Proposed legislation transferring and 

allocating various moneys appropriated by 

House Bill 133, Acts of the 55th Legislature, 

1957, does not constitute an appropriation 

requiring the certificate of the Comptroller 

of Public Accounts that the amount appropriated 

is within the amount estimated to be available 

in the affec?ed funds. However, the provisions 
Honorable Price Daniel, Page 5, (WW-275). 

providing that money received and deposited 

in the State Treaaury may be used by the 

Water Resources Planning Commission created 

by the proposed legislation constitutes an 

appropriation of money in the State Treasury 

and would require the certificate of the 

Comptroller of Public Accounts. The Comptroller will be required to certify that 

this fund Is available. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Assistant 

JR:zt:pf 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Geo . P. Blackburn, Chairman 

W. V. Geppert 

B. H. Timmins, Jr. 

C. K. Richards 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

By: Wm. V. Geppert