The Spectator., 1915-02-26
ATTORNEY EY-GENERAL HOLDS IT WAS NECESSARY EXPENSE
 OF GOVERNMENT.
DEPARTMENT WAS CREATED
Business of Bringing It's Products to the Attention of the World.
Little Rock

Attorney General w. l.. Moose holds that the bill appropriating $40O00 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition was properly passed. In an opinion given Representative Belote and others who had requested 1t, he said:
 q have examined Senate Bill No Il and find from it that it undertakes to legalize and validate the acts of the governor in appointing a commits sion to provide for and manage the Arkansas exhibit at the Panama Ex- position at San Francisco. to approve and confirm the appointment of off cers of said commission made by the governor; specifies the officers who may receives salaries for their ser vices, and those who may not receive sioner general and secretary to draw warrants on the state treasury to pay salaries and expenses.
 For the time being the state has assumed to create another department of the state government, namely, d commission charged with the duty of exhibiting the resources of Arkansas at the Panama exposition. If this commission had not been created by the bill, and the legislature had as sumed to appropriate a sum of money to enable private citizens to exhibit the resources of the state at the ex- position, it seems to me the bill, to be constitutional, would have had to be approved by two-thirds of both houses of the General Assembly un- der the section of the constitution quoted above In each case, the ap- propriation could not be classed as a necessary expense of government
 The state has the power, except for the provision of the constitution for bidding the creation of any other per manent state office, if the legislature was so minded, to create a permanent department of government whose duty would be to exhibit state resources In such way as the law might require: and this might be done by the vote of the bare majority of a quorum of each house.
 Tn the present instance, the legis- lature has attempted to create a tenn porary department, and place upon that department the duty of making an exhibit of the states resources at the said eXposition; has created off cers to assemble and manage the ex- hibft; and in the performance of their duties, these officers are acting for and on behalf of the state: in fact, are state officers.
 Tt seems to me, therefore, that if the state may lawfully create a com mission by bare majority vote of each house to exhibit its resources at an exposition. that an appropriation to pay expenses of 1the commission would properly be considered neces- sary expenses of the government, be- cause the commission, for the time being, is part of the government.
 'So l conclude that inasmuch as the state has decided. as it has the right to decide, to go into the business of bringing its products to the attention of the world by exhibiting those products at the Panama exposition. and has provided commission to carry out this purpose. which com mission acts under State law, that the appropriation provided by the act to cover the expenses of the commis- sion is a necessary expense of gov ernment and requires only a mojority of the votes of each house for it's passage"