AUSTIN aa. TEJanuary 5, 1962 

Chairman of the Special House 

Committee to Investigate Enforcement of Texas Escheat 

Laws Applicable to Ranking 

Institutions 

House of Re,presentatives 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. WW-1235 

Dear Sir: 

Re: Whether the Special House 

Committee'to Investigate 

Enforcement of Texas Escheat Laws Applicable to 

Banking Institutions have 

the authority to obtain 

information from banks by 

requested questionnaires 

and related questions. 

We quote as follows from your recent letter enclosing a 

form questionnaire and subpoena issued by your Committee to 

various presidents of banks in the State of Texas: 

“(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Does this Committee have the right to obtain 

the information requested in the questionnaire? 

Does this Committee have the right to obtain 

the information requested in the subpoena? 

Does this Committee have the right to subpoena 

witnesses to appear before it and to bring the 

information requested in the subpoena that was 

issued by this Committee? 

Wha.t use, if any, can be made by the Committee 

of the information now in the hands of the 

chief counsel? 

What disposition must the Committee make with 

the information now in the hands of the Committee counsel by him?" 
Chairman of the Special House, page 2 (WW-1235) 

Roth the questionnaire and the subpoenas reflect that 

the subject committee was seeking information from banks relative 

to property being held by banking institutions under a depositorcreditor relationshi,p and which may be subject to escheat. Patently, the Committee was endeavoring to obtain information which 

is within the sco,pe of the study which the Committee was expressly 

authorized to undertake in the Resolution creating the Committee. 

House Simple Resolution No. 16, 57th Legislature, First Called 

Session (1961). This Is demonstrated by the following excerpt 

from that Resolution: 

“RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 

State of Texas, that an Interim Study Committee 

be appointed by the Speaker of the House to make 

a thorough and complete study of the escheat laws 

of this State and property which may be subject 

thereto held by b ki g institutions under a 

depositor-credito?re?ationship for the purpose 

of recommending to the Legislat&e a fair and 

equitable procedure by which unknown owners and 

heirs may be advertsled for and discovered, and 

by which the Sta.te may detect and obtain any of 

such ,property which rightfully belon s to the 

State under present escheat laws”. 

Supplied). 

7 Emphasis 

Therefore, the paramount question before us is whether the 

Committee is authorized to secure the information by ~the particular 

manner and means employed. It is elementary that ‘a legislative~ 

committee can lawfully re uest pertinent information from any source 

and where such request is vo untaril 

a 

complied with thf information 

may be utilized by the Commi ee to he extent authorized by the 

Legislative body creating such committee. Hence, your first question 

is answered in the affirmative. Your second question is also 

answered in the affirmative in the sense that the committee has a 

right to obtain the information, provided it uses an authorized 

means of securing the information. 

We pass to your third question relative to the power of 

the Committee to subpoena witnesses to appear before it and to 

bring the informa.tion requ.ested in the subpoena. The question, 

in other words, is whether the Committee is authorized to corn el 

the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence &e 

the Committee. Such authority as the Committee derives from H.S.R. 

No. 16 in this respect is exhibited by the following portion of 

the Resolution: 

“Such Committee shall consist of five (5) members 

with a Chairman to be a,ppointed by the Speaker of 
Chairman of the Special House, page 3 (w-1235) 

the House, and it shall initiate and continu~e 

studies and hearings relating to such matters 

with the same authzrlty and powers as vested 

in standing and special committees of the 

House by General Law and'the Legislative Reorganization Act of lgbl, Chapter 303, Fiftyseventh Regular Session [codified as Article 

5429f) . " (Emphasis Sup,plied). 

We find nothing in the "General Law" of this State vesting 

subpoena powers'in standing and special committees of the House of 

Representatives. Neither do we find such powersbeing vested in 

standing and special committees by Article 542gf,'V.C.S., except 

when authorized by Resolution or by Rule of Procedure of the House 

creating such committee, and we are unable to discover any such 

authorization as to the subject committee in either the pertinent 

Resolution or the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives. 

Section 12 of Article 54291 provides as follows: 

"Each Committee of the Legislature, or of either;House 

thereof, standing or special, when authorized by Resolution or by.Rule of Procedure of the House or Houses 

creating such committee, shall have the power and 

authority to Issue process to witnesses at any place 

in the State of Texas, to compel the attendance of 

such witnesses; and to compel the production of all 

books, records, documents and instruments as the 

committee shall require; and if necessary to obtain 

compliance with subpoenas and other process issued 

by the committee, each committee shall have the power 

to issue writs of attachment. All process issued by 

a committee may be addressed to and served by any 

Peace Officer of the State of Texas or any of its 

political subdivisions or may be served by a Sergeantat-Arms a,ppointed by such committee. The Chairman 

shall issue in the nsme of the committee such subpoenas and other process as the Committee shall 

determine". (Rnphasis Supplied). 

The applicable House Rule, Section 20 of Rule 8, provides 

as follows: 

"All committees shall require all witnesses appearing 

before said committees to give their testimony under 

oath, and each committee may avail itself of such 

other additional powers and prerogatives as are 
Chairman of the Special House, ,page 4 (WW-1235) 

authorized by the provisions of,Chapter 41, Acts 

w 45th Legislature; page b7 codified as 

r icle 5429a, V.A.C.S. of the State of Texas." 

(Emphasis Supplied). 

Thus, the House Rules refer us to Article 5429a to'determine the 

f: 

owers conferred on committees by the House Rules. But 

Article 5 

of 1961. 

29a was repealed and replaced by Article 542gf in June 

Accordingly, we must look to Article 542gf for the 

powers which are possessed by the subject committee. As we have 

already pointed out, Article 5429f, in Section 12 thereof, makes 

authorization by Resolution or by House Rule a prerequisite to 

the exercise of subpoena powers by a standing or special committee. 

So it is that we have made the full circle without encountering 

any authorization for the subject committee to issue process to 

witnesses and to compel their attendance and to compel production 

of evidence before the committee. 

There'are two other sections of Article 5429f which bear 

on this Issue. One of them is Section 7, which provides as follows 

with regard to special committees: 

"Each House of the Legislature acting individually, 

or the two Houses acting jointly, shall have full 

power and authority to provide for the creation of 

special committees to perform such functions and 

to exercise such powers and responsibilities as 

shall be determined In the Resolution creating 

such committee. During the life of a special 

committee, it shall have and exercise the same 

powers and authority as are herein granted to 

standing committees; subject to such limitations 

as mas be imoosed in the Resolution creating such 

special committee, and shall have such othe; and 

additional powers and authority as may be delegated 

to it by the Resolution creating the committee, 

subject to the limitations of law". (Emphasis Added). 

It is seen from Section 7 that special committees have 

only the powers granted them by Resolution creating the committee 

and the powers granted to standing committees. We have previously 

shown that subpoena power is not conferred on the subject committee by the Resolution creating the committee. What are the 

subpoena powers granted to standing committees under Article 5429f? 

Section 5 of the statute provides as follows: 

"Standing committees of each House of the Legislature shall be and they are hereby charged with 
Chairman of the Special House, page 5 (WW-1235) 

the duty and responsibility of formulating legislative programs, initiating,legislation, and making 

inquiry into the administration and exeaution of 

all laws pertaining to the matters within the 

jurisdiction of such committee. Each standing committee shall make a continuing study of the matters 

under its jurisdiction, as well asthe instrumentalities of government administering or executing 

such matters, and shall conduct such investigations 

as the committee deems n,ecessary to supply it with 

adequate information and material to discharge'its 

responsibilities. To~the extent that each standing 

committee shall deem it necessary and desirable, it 

shall draft legislation within the area of its 

jurisdiction and shall recommend such legislation 

to whichever House of the Legislature such committee 

is a part. It shall be the duty of the Chairman of 

each standing committee to introduce, or cause to 

be introduced, the legislative programs developed 

by such committee and to mobilize the efforts of 

such committee to secure the enactment ,into law of 

the proposals of such committee. No standing committee of either House of'the Legislature shall be 

confined in its legislative endeavors to bills, 

Resolutions or proposals submitted to it by individual Members of the Legislature, but each 

standing committee shall have full authority and 

responsibility to seek out problems within its 

area of jurisdiction and to develop, formulate, 

initiate and secure passage of legislative ,programs 

which the committee deems desirable in its approach 

to such problems". 

Nowhere in Section 5 is any express grant of subpoena 

powers made to standing committees. It is our opinion, moreover, that such power cannot be said to arise by necessary implication from the language of Section 5. This conclusion is 

supported by the fact that the Legislature elsewhere in Article 

5&2$X delegates to General Investigating Committees in plain 

and unambiguous language the power to issue process and compel 

the attendance of witnesses. It is thus seen that the Legislature expressly delegated such authority where it wished to 

confer this power on a committee. It may reasonably be presumed that the Legislature would have done so inequally clear 

and unmistakable terms in the case of standing and special 

committees had the Legislature desired to delegate such power 

to those committees unconditionally. The validity of this construction is further confirmed by the fact that the Legislature 
Chairman of the Special House, page 6 (w-1235) 

made provision for the compensationof witnesses attending ,proceedings of the General Investigating Committees under ,process, 

but omitted such provision from the portions’of the statute 

dealing with special’and standing committees. 

(4) of Article 5429f. 

See Section 8(b) 

In the final analysis, then, it is the absence of any 

delegation of subpoena ,powers to the subject committee In the 

Resolution creating the commIttee that is determinative of our 

present inquiry and necessitates an answer to your third 

question in the negative. 

In answer to your fourth question, any use or disclosure 

of information which has been relinquished to the committee 

under the threat of being cited for contempt for failure to comply 

with the commands of subpoenas issued by the committee.‘which 

threat is inherent in every subpoena lawful’on its face, would be 

in excess of the authority of the committee. 

In answer to your fifth question, as the information 

that was delivered to the committee’s chief counsel in sealed 

envelopes is the property of the respective banks, and in view 

of our answer to your fourth question, the sealed envelopes 

should be delivered to the owners u,pon their request. 

SUMMARY 

The Legislature has given the subject committee the authority to request the described information by questionnaire but has not given it 

authority to compel the production of such information before the committee by subpoena and the committee cannot use or disclose such information as 

is relinquished to the committee in response to such 

subpoenas. 

Very truly yours, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

h&h%? 

“H:b$w* 

Assistant Attorney General 
Chairman of the Special House, page 7 (WW-1235) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Howard Mays 

J. C. Davis 

Bob Shannon 

Riley Eugene Fletcher 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERkL 

BY: Houghton Brownlee, Jr.