HonorableHoughtonBrownlee,Chairman, Committeeon ContingentExpenses The Senate Austin,Texas
Dear SenatorBrownlee:
OpinionNo. O-5111 Re: Authorityto )XIYadditionalcompensation to the JournalClerk and his assistant, under facts stated.
Your requestfor an opinionfrom this departmentis as follows:
"A resolutionadoptedby the Senate at the close of the regular sessionof the 47th Legislaturecontainsthe followingparagraph:
"'Resolved,that there shall be Printedseven hundredfifty volumes of the Senate Journals . ". . . The printing,of such Senate Journalsshall be done in accordancewith the provisions . of this resolutionunder supervisionof the Chairmanof the Committeeon ContingentExpense. . . . When the accountshave been certifiedto by the Chairmanof the Committeeon contingent expenses,said accountsshall be paid out of the contingent expensefund, etc."
"Ass&iingthat the proper printingof the Journalsinvolvesa large amount of correctingand editingof copy and ofpefreading and indexing, did the foregoingparagraphauthorizethe Chairmdnof the Committeeon ContingentExpensesto incur any expensefor this work in additionto the salariesof the JournalClerk and his assistantfor 90 days?
"The resolutionprovidedthat these clerksbe retained90 days each, presumablyfor the purposeof doing said editing,proofreading, indexing,etc.
"At the expirationof this period,these clerks reportedto the Chairmanof the Committeeon ContingentExpensesthat they had laboreddiligentlybut had not completedthe work and that they wished to return the Journalmanuscriptand other materialsinto his custody. HonorableHoughtonBrownlee- Page $ (o-5111)
"Aftersome discussion,the Chairmanof the Committeeon Contingent Expense (underautnoritj-of'iheabovekuotedparagraph)employedthe same two clerks t.1continuekheirwork long enough to make possible the publicationof the Journals. And the questionis: Can they legallybe paid for these services?"
Your questionshouldbe answeredin the negative. Our reasonsfor this answer are fully statedby a similarruling in our CplnionNo. o-5044, addressedto the Hon. Geo. H. Sheppard,Comptrolleroi Public Accounts, a copy of which we hand you herewith.
The Legislaturehaving most specificallyauthorizedthe extra serviceof these clerks for ninety days each, we can not enlargethe employment beyond that time. Without such enlargerlent, there is no preexisting law for payment.
Very truly yours
ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
s/ Ocie Speer
By Ocie Speer Assistant
ldw
Enclosure
APPROVEDFEB. 19, 1943 s/GroverSellers FIRST ASSISTANT AT!2ORWEYCSNSRAL
APPROVEDOPINIONCOMMITTEE BY B. W. B. CHAIRMAN