TEEATTORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

February 13, 1952 

I53.1. I'bray Ii. Hame, Jr. 

Coimty Attotiney~ 

Gtiayson county 

Sherman, Texas Opinion Ho. V-1406 

Re: Authority Of the Comlssloners' 

C0u.i-t to create a Social Sectmlty 

Fui~d to coiltaln annual advance 

dedications for Social Security 

matching contributions from the 

County ffeneiral Fund;the County 

Dsar MP. Rance: 

Road and Bridge Fund, and the 

County Officer8 Salary Fund, 

You?? request for an opinion contains the following question: 

would the County Auditor be authorized 

to transfer now and at the beginning of each 

fiscal year, an estimated amount into a fund 

to be known as the Social Security Fund from 

the County Road and Bridge Fund#th@ County 

General Fund and the~~coruity Officers Salary 

Fund, which are the funds from which County' 

employees are to be paid, In vlex of the fact 

that~no~fund, lmom as the Social Security 

Fund, has been previously set up?' 

House Bill 603, Acts 52nd Le 

ch. 500, p. 1480 (Article 695g, V.C.S. 7 

., R.S. 1951, 

, provides in 

part as follows: 

"Set; 2. The State Department ~of Public 

Welfare Is designated the State Agency to 

administer the provisions bf this Act. The 

Executive Director of the department shall act 

for it and shall direct and admInister its 

functions under this Act.” 

l Sec. 4. The State Agency is authorized 

to enter into agreements vlth the governing 

bodies of counties and with the governing 
Hon. Murray H. lfance, Jr., page 2 (V-1406) 

bodies of munlclpalltles of the State which 

are eligible for Social Security coverage 

under Federal law ,when the governing body 

of any of said counties OP munlclpalltles 

desires to obtain coverage under the old-age 

and aurvlvor’s Insurance program for their 

employees. . . .” 

“Sect; 5. The State Board of Public . 

Welfare Is authorized and directed to promulgate all reasonable rules and regrilatlons it deems necessary to govern appllcations for and ellglbilltg to participate 

In this program, and it shall prescribe 

the terms of the agreements necessary- to 

carry out the provisions of this Act and 

to Insure flnanc~lal responslblllty on the 

part of the participating counties and 

municlpalltles. 

*Sec. 6. . . The respective governing bodies are &thorlsed to pay contributions as requlped~ by these agreements from 

those funds from which the covered employees 

receive their compensation, and It Is expressly provided that all prior laws and 

parts of laws which fix a maxlmum compensation for any covered employees of oountles 

are hereby amended to allow payment of the 

matching contribution necessary to this 

program In addition to any maximum oompensation otherwise fixed by law.” 

“Sec. 7. .Each county and~municlpallty 

of the State Is authorlsed to submit for, approval by the state agency a plan for extending the benefits of the Federal old-age 

and survivor’s lnsmance system to employees 

of the county 0~ munlclpallty . . . no plan 

shall be approved unless it specified the 

source or sources from which the funds necessary to mske the payments required are to be 

derived and contains guarantees that these 

sources vi11 be adeQuate for this purpose 

(the State Agency may by appropriate rules 

and regulations require guarantees in the 

form of surety bonds, advance paymentsto 

escrow, detailed representations and assurances of priority dedication, or any legal 
Hon. Murray H. liance, Jr., page 3 (V-1406) 

uddertaklngs to creatd adequate securl 

nat each county and munlclpa P 111 

z2%i~:~;:~:i~::s~o: 2Like 

o that speclfl8d by Federal requlrem8nts to precede coverage cancellation. . . .* (Rmphasls added.) 

*Sec. 8. Matching contributions 

by the employ& io&tles OP munlclpalitles 

as presorlb-ed by the approved plan ti keeping with Federal requlrements~~shall be paid 

from the respective sources of funds from 

which covered employees receive their ccanpensatlon.g 

In compliance with Sectloh 5 of House Bill 

603, the Director of the State Board of Public Welfare has promulgated certain rules and regulations 

which he deems necessary to govern the applications 

for and 8lIglblllty to participate In this program. 

Rule 2352 provides; 

“A special fund separate and apart 

from all other public moneys shall be established by the county OP municipality to be 

known as the 'Social Security Fund' and to 

be admlnlstered by the county or municipality 

exclusively for the purposes of the agreement.' 

Under the authority bf House Bill 603 and 

Rule Ro. 2352 of the State Board of Public Welfare 

governing Social Security, the commlssloDers~ court 

of Grayson County is authorized to set up an 8scrow 

fund for the purpose of carrying out the purposes of 

House Bill 603. 

Under Section 8 of House Bill 603 matching 

contributions by the employing counties are to be 

paid from the respectI+ SOUPC~B of funds from which 

covered emplOy88d receive their COmp8nSatiOn. The 

soupes of funds to pay for the county employees ellglble for participation under this pl.axi aP8 the County General Fund; the County Road and Bridge Fund, and 

the County Officers Salary Fund. 

Section 7 of House Bill 603 authorizes the 

commissioners1 court to transfer the funds from the 
Hon. #haPPay H. mSllC8, Jr., page 4 (v-1406) 

Offlcers~SaIary Fund, 'the Road'and Bridge Fund &nd the 

County GenePal Fund Into the~ftuid to~~be known as the 

Social SecuPlty Fund. The County Social Security Fund 

Is an escrow fund set up or Created for carrying out 

the purposes prsvlously authorized for the funds from 

which the employees Pecelvs their compensation. 

The commlsaloners~ COUPt Of the COUIlty do85 

not have the authority to transfer funds from one eonstltutlonal fund, such as the County Rotid and Bridge 

Fund, to another constltuti6nal fund such as the County 

General Fund. Such a transfer would, in effect, expend 

funds raised by taxation ostensibly for one purpose foP 

another purpose or Class of purposes. C&roll v. Wllllama, 109 Tex. 155, 202 S.W. .504. ~Sandgrs vi 

zl;ipz?O (TeX. Clv~. App. 19201. 

Lo oney, 

H owever, the comcourt by taking the funds from these constitutional funds and transferring them Into the Ccunty Soclal~Securlty Fund merely insuP88, by an escrow arrangement/the payment P8qUiP8d Under the Social SeCUPity 

plan. These payments would ordinarily be mfid8 from the 

funds which compensate the participating county employees 

and payment into escrow Is but a means for fulfilling 

the requirements of Section 7 of House Bill 603. Therefore, It is OUT opinion that the commLssloners' court of 

a county which d8SlP8S to obtain coverage. under the oldage and survlvor~s Insurance program for their employees 

Is authorized to cP8iit.e a Social SecuPlty Fund to contain 

advance dedications for Social Security matching COntPibutlons paid from the County General Fund, the County 

Road and Bridge Fund, and the County Officers Salary 

Fund. 

SUHMARY 

The commlssloner~~ court of a county 

desiring to obtain coverage under the old 

age and survivor's Insurance program for 

their *mp10ye*5 Is aUthoPiz8d to create an 

escrow fund (Social Security Fund) to contain annual advance dedications for Social 

Security matching contributions. 

. 
. 

Hon. Hurray H. llanoe, Jr., page 5 (V-1406) 

The commlaslonerst court Is authorlsed 

to pay county matching contributions' Into 

the Social Security Fund from the respective 

sourc8s of funds frcm which covered employees 

receive their compensation, Viz. County General Fund, Cbimty Road and Bridge Ftidj and 

the-County Officers4 Salary Fund. ~'House Bill 

603, Acfs'52nd Leg., R.S; 1951, ch. 500, p. 

14fIO (Art. 6g5gr V.C.S.). 

Yours very truly, 

APPROVRDz 

J; C. Davlb,~Jr. 

County Affairs Division 

B; Jacobson 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D. PIathews 

First Assistant 

RHH:IZh 

I 

PRICE DARIEL 

Attorney General 

BY 

Robert H. Hughes 

Assistant