Honorable George H..Sheppard

Comptroller of Public Accounts Austin, Texas

Dear Mr. Sheppard: OpinionNo. 

### 0-5367 Re: Appropriation from the Permanent School Fund - validity.

We quote your letter of June 4, 1943:

,"Iam enclosing photostatic copy of House Bill No. 

### 514,Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-eighthLegislature, appropriating 

### b452.60from the Permanent School Fund for the purpose of reimbursingD. B. Eades, of Dallas, Texas, for funds paid by him as bonus and rental upon certain vacancies in public school lands.
"Since this appropriation Is made from the Permanent School Fund, I respectfullyrequestyour opinion as towhether the appropriation is valid."'

The nature of House Bill No. 514 is described in the caption thereto, said caption reading as follows:

,"A?~,ACT

making an appropriationof Four Hundred and Fifty-two Dollars and Sixty Cents' 

### ($452.60)from the Permanent School Fund for( the purpose of reimbursingD. B. Eades of'Dallas, Texas, for funds paid by him as bonus and rentals upon certain landsbeing described in State of Texas mineral leasesNumbers 24090, 24091 and 24092; said lands having been claimed to be the property of the State of Texas and part of the public school lands, but by the terms of a final judgment of theDistrict Court of Travis County, Texas, said landswere adjudged to be not theHon. George H. Sheppard,page 2 

### (o-5367)

property of the State of Texas; therefore, the sums paid as rentals and bonuses on said landswere improperly received; saidAct furtherproviding that the Comptroller of the State of Texas be directed to issuewarrant 'toreimburse the party named herein in the amount specifiedherein; and declaring an emergency."

The body of the bill contains the followingappropriation:

"To pay D. B. Eades of Dallas County, the sum of Four Hundr d and Fifty-two %1"k and Sixty Cents 

### ($458.60)as reimbursement for rentals and bonuses paid by him into the Permanent School Fund on State Mineral Leases Nos. 24090, 24091, and 24092 of lands located in Duval County,Texas,which said landswere not the property of the State of Te~xas and the leaseswere for that reason void"~and of no effect; theState Permanent SEboo&: 'Fund

not being entitled to receive or: retain said money
. s
. 

### $452.60."

As is apparent from the portions of the bill quoted above, the act does not purport to appropriatemoneys rlghtfullybelonging in the Permanent School Fund, to uses and purposes other than those towhich the fund is dedicatedby constitutionalprovision;but the purpose of the approprlation is to require the Permanent School Fund to account for moneys not rightfullybelonging to itwhich in equity and good conscience it cannot retain. Such an appropriation, in our opinion, does not violate the terms of Article 

### 8, Section 

### 7, of the Constitution,prohibiting the diversion of special funds. You are thereforeadvised that such an appropriation from the Permanent School Fund is valid.

Similar appropriationshave heretofore been approved by this department:

See the opinions listed in the following volumes of the letter opinions of this department --Volume 

### 377,page 

### 980, page 939;Volume 

### 371,page 

### 594,page 711;Volume 

### 367,page 

### 38.

Yours very truly RWF:JP:bt APPROVED June 11, 1943 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS Gerald C. Mann AttorneyGeneral of Texas By s/ R.W. Fairchild Assistant APPROVED OPINIONCOMITTEE By BWB,Chr.