Hon.A. E. Hickerson OpinionNo. V-93 CountyAuditor Montgomery County Re: National forest receipts, Comoe, Texas prorating of underArticle 2351b-4,V. C. S.

Dear Sir:

We refer to your letter of recent date acknowledged by this office on March 4, 1947, wherein you stated that the County Treasurer of Montgomery County has received $6,607.95 from the State Treasurer as the county'spart of National forest receipts, and the Commissioners Court wishes to distribute this sum in accordancewith Artiole 2351b-4,V. C. 9. You wish to be advised as to what interpretation shouldbe placed on theword "area" as used and found in the secondparagraph of said statute.

Article 2351b-4,Vernon's Civil Statutes,pro- '. vlaes, in part, as follows:

"That,whereas Congress has heretofore passed a law which provides that thereafter twenty-fiveper centum (25%) of allmoneys received during any fiscal year from each national forest shallbe paid at the end thereof by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State

. . . inwhich said forest is situated to be expendedas the State

. . .Legislaturemay prescribe for the benefit of the public schoolsand the public roads of the county or counties in which the national forest is situated, andwhereas the Legislature of the State of Texas has not prescribed any method for prorating said funds, now, therefore, be it enacted that the Commissioners Courts of the counties in Texas in which such national forests are situatedare hereby authorized to prorate all such funds received and to be received from theFederal Government for timber and all other income derived from such land as follows:“4

* '" Hon. A. E. Hickerson, Page 2, v-93

*Fiftyper cent (56) of suchmoney received shall be allocated to the schooldistriota in proportion to the area in said distriots, and fifty per cent (50$) of same to the county for the benefit of thepublic roads in said oountg. Provided the Commissioners Court may transfer the fifty per cent (50s)received by said Court to the sohool distrIots.*

Section 500,United States Code Annotated Title 16, Chapter 2, provides that national forest ;ecelptapayable thereunder to a State and received thereby may be expendedas the State Legislaturemay prescribe for the benefit of public schoolsand public roads of the county or counties in which such national forest is situated.

It is the opinion of this Department that that portion of the national forest receipts received by the county by virtue of the provisions of Title 16, Chapters 2, Seotion 500, U.ELC,A., and Article 2351b-4,V. C,. S.j

_ for,publio schoolpnrpoaea should be prorated and transferred by the Commissioners Court to all the schooldistrictswithin the county In proportion to the area in said schooldistricts; further, that the term uareaB1 as used inArticle 235113-4, means area of the school distriots .locatedIn the county, and does notmean area of national rarest lands.

National forest receipts received by a county under Title 16, Chapter 2, Section 500, U.S.C.A., and Article 2351b-4,V. C. S., for publio aohoolpurposes should be prorated and transferred by the Commissioners'.Courtto all schooldistrictswithin the oounty in proportion to the area in said school distriots. RAresw aa used inArtiole 2351b-4,V. C. S.,
means area of the schooldistriots in the county. Very truly yours,

ATTORNEY GENRRAL 0RG:djm:mrj:jrb ATTGRREY GERRRAL OF TEXAS

Ry ~ z.w

ChesterR. Ollison

Assistant