Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE A’ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
ative date of Bouae Aat of S&h Leg- 48th 343gblatur8.
of the 3enste a/ Bob Darker secretary 0Y cm3 3eaat.o F'rlce Drnlel a/
Speaker of the iiouae of Eiepre8eatative8 *2 ,.
85’ $&ah 24, 1943, by the folloving Votes Yeas 102, Nwa 5.
/a/ Clsrenae Jane* i&et Clerk of the house of’ Repressntatives PILRDnIT3RoFFIcPoF SIX SxoRETAxY OF STATX THIS 2nd lax OF A it 1943 A~',~WS&=~~&kRU'=S P a/ Coke R. Stevenson $earetsry of State Oovernor n containa an eamrgenay clause.
The bill Seotlan 39 of Article Ilx of the Constituttiuu of reads r0lm8 a Ga8,
"X6 .tiv passed the Iagialature, exoept the genwal appropriation aat, shsll tske effeot or go into forae until nS.natg dsr8 sSter the ad- of the semdon at vhisia vas enssted, journment unless ln aase OS an emergemay, vhlah emergenay mustbeM~eased.S.naprssabl.e or in the body OS rot, the &@laturo shall, by vote OS tva- thuds OS all th e members abated to l a ah B~use, othervise direct; Mid tote to be takea by Teas and nays, entered upan the journsls.” Zn sm apln$om of tbls departmsnt dated Idaroh 26, 1922, by ths Honorable Wallace lifmklna, Assistant Attorney ffeneral, vhlah opinion vs8 approved by the Romorablo U. A. Keelfae, At- torney Genersl, it Yam held tbst Were bill aarrylne sn ew- prey alwse and dlreatiq that it beaame 4ffeatlve an date aertain, passes the House and &n&e under suspsnslon OS the rule requiring bills to be resd on three seversl dsys, or ps88es both houses vith three several days’. aon8idWsticui, and the flnsl psssage in either ‘instsnao is by recorded tvo-thirds v6tc. the bill becanes effective as direotsd by the Legislature, but ii in final ptmsage the House or 3enat.s concurs in an sSnaidrPsnt it must be by tvo-thirds vote entered OS reoord vote tskan by yeas and nsys and a& tha journals, before such bill cS0 become eftectlvs as an emergenay measure.
. 8% Ih&artment 0S Agriculture, psge 3
In the opinion above referred to it vas saldr 90 hold that & tvo-thirds reaorded vote is unneoesaar~ in oorrourring on suoh amendment Ye mustaonolude thatin saane prior stage air the pro- oeduro of bill It vas ilnally psssedd, %vo lines OS author&t188 exist ou the defhltlon oi rlnsl UUls the vomiing ,oi our statute is auf- P-We* support the sozaaluslon above, yet lf fib&e& it be neaessar~ to adhere to or resirrt one ol the two lines OS &nthoritles asntLone6 ve vould sm- bmerths holbtngtbstvotlnguponsuah snsmsnd- ment as ve have bef0re.us Is voting u+n the final pesoage or the bill.'
Jlnoe the renditlan of this dspsrtaent~s opinion ti, 1922 the tvo bigbest oourta of Texas hsve followed tr?e sazue rule 8s eunaunoad fn that~ opinhxh
In EX psrte Mcry, 40 9. W. (2d) 811, the Court of CrlaUnal Appeala. of Texas In 1931, Ln passing Npon 8 8i1ULer~ question to the one vith vhlah ve'are hare aonoerned, said: ,~
. It seems enough to ray thst a reasan- bbls &id*l~g,giaal lnterprstatlon or the .aamtrollln$ provision of the Constitution of this state aau- fore upon t&e Legislature both the power, by a reaorti vote vlth majority or tvo-thirds or the members of each house, to ahauge tine within vhlah an aat of the Legislature llvry ordlnsrll7
beaoasp: effective, requires they exsr- CLSO sudh autharlty and povsr at time vhen they beaome avsre of the ternq ot the law as fln- ally agreed upon. Previous gctlon up- a 5111 % its ieltiaf before purterial md rsdlcsl stages, absnges have been nods, vould not aontrol."
In Caplea v. Cole, 102 3. W. (2d) 173, the Supreme Court of Texas in 1937, ln an opinion vrltten by Jurtiae 3bsrp, with reference to a sIpilsr question vlth vbiah ve are here amaerned, saldr
*This precise question has never been be- fore this oourt for decision. A conflict has arisen by reasoa af EM opinion rendered by the court or Civil .+peals 3t Zort Worth, in the case *4 . . .
DtqNrtMnt of &rlculture‘~‘~ge 4
of uilson I* rouns Oounty aardvlr0 a Furniture 3. IL 873, and M OpipiOP rendered by t~‘Couz%~tC~imfnalA~ala iatha case of XX
l&y, ll8 Tui~Cr. R. 165, 40 3. W. (26) F- 11. IA tha Wilaoa Case the Court oi Clvllhp-
pealahald,I.noiieot, thattha9aaaa2a of abill rsuulred to be takan by ayes ad nays is tha rot. by *hLoh Woh houu 8da9ta it:aiter final
,rWdln& and not~th8t vote by vhloh tha house la vhfoh it arfgirvkd may subarqcently oonaur in mmta aadai~br the other house. !thla ease did not rbmch th0 Suprenu, Court, far as our records ahav, aad ho&king thmeln hna never been approved 0 diaagprovsd’by thla aomt. In the &lay Case tha Court ot Crimlzial Appoala held, aubatana8, that a auhatitute bill, dlffarent froa tha orl&nal bill, not passed by a record vote d1011ing ,OQOQW~~~CO 0r .tv0-thud8 or th0 bgialatuve, ,vaa lnefr0ctiv0 88 in amergonoy
maaauro; and that the pouer to make an emarganay ~aaure muat,k axemired vhan the k@.alaturo begoars ar8ro.d the torma ocntalned in tha bill 8a SInally agreed i~pon and passed. !Ihe Court of ,Clvil&w8la follovad the rula a~ouaoad bp tha Court of OrimLnal Appsala in the May Case, and .hald that the vote upon tha asendamnta, and not
tha vote t&pm the original bill, vould oontrol.
. . .
8 . . . .
9nMklerrorr, ve agree vith th0 how xay ma., and OS the CourtcfCx’lminalA9peale in the
hold that this bill bsoama effeotiva Umadlatoly ast0r ftr paaa~ge. is olear ‘that the objeot It of the provision cf the Constitution above quoted if tt bill i8 t0 th 0sr88t b5dm0iy i8 ribat on its passage, it nuat contain an emergbnop clause, aab awh bill must be passed by vote or two-thirds ol all the numbers olaotad to eaoh house, and auuh Vote to be taken by yeas and nays und entered u9M the journals. We think the rule prcacribed bg the Constitution also a99ll.e~ to amendments and reporta of conference oommlttws.
If tfiia were not true, It is quite obvioua how tha rule could be abused. A hax%uleaa bill night be parsec ia it8 inception bp the requlalte vote,
86C Depactmento?Agriuultur8,pa~ 5
andthenbe mento ba put radfcallyamendedf3ndsucharaend- into lmmdl~te offoot without tha
vote r-tired by the Conatitutlon~ If auoh Were the rule, tha vok on the originalbillwouldoon-
trol as to vhethm it beam8 a lav lmmdlat8lp its final passage, and not th8 f+rral vote artec
aubaequsntly taken on th8 mmndmenta 9;laoed there- on by the other branch of the Leglrlature, and the plain provision of Courtitutlon fMUidn8
that it be adopted by l vote of two-thirds of all tha mombare ai oath botuo, in order to deolaro an omergonay, oould be wradodrm
3enate.Bill 3.34, Acts of~the 48th Legislature, passed Senate by a votp of 27 yeas and-0 nays. Thereafter it vaa the _ _ sent to the Hou88 vher8 It vaa aa8ncieci and paaeU a8 aaena8Q by vote of 102 yeas and 5 nay% The bill was then rsturn8d to the Senate vbere the liouse amendnenta were ooncurred in by (L VlV8.VoO8 Vote, as reflected on page ,574 of the Senate Journal. la therefore the opinion of this department that Senate Bill Ho. 134, &to of the 48th Legialaturro, la not of- feotive as an 8m8rgenoy mamu- as Sonat. Journal fails tO such maawe reuelved reflect the required tvo-thirds to refleot that the fInal Vote vote of the San8te and fails oar taken by ayes end naya as requlmd by Section 39 of ASi-~ 018 III of the constitution of Texas.
&'Isglalatwe adjouriml on Hay 11, l943, &rb t& full days after auoh date. bill b8okaea 8ffeative ninety ~: &use Bill IIo. 52, Aota of the With refezenae ve have maa.ned the dOcum8nt filed ie 48th Legialat~8, or the Secretary of State and rind the f~l.l~Vln& the offlc8 oertificatsa
and notations endorsed on same: / John Lee Smith /a/ Price Daniel eeldent of the senate Speaker OS the Eouae *I hereby certirp that 3. 8. No. 522 vaa pass- ed th8 House on April 8, 1943, by tha fo1lovl.q votec Yeas 112, Nay8 6.
/a/ Clarence Jmea Chiei Clerk of the House *6 'X hereby beatify li. B. lo. 52 vaa pass- that ed by the Swat@ on April 21, W3, by the iollov- fng vote: Yes8 26, ilay 0.
s/ Bob Barker Seoratary of the S8te 'JlPiJRov3Dr Data PILED IH 5 OFFICE OF
Governor TM( SE’ORETARY ‘3F STATE !FBIS 3rd MY OF XUY 1943 PE ll O’CLGCX Am ~I l6ImPRa~ Thhe House Journal rsfZeote On &a 1580-1681 that the bill vaa jMaaod by that body Vote of 102 ayes u agUru& 7 nays on .;prll 8, 1943. It vaa passed b the 3anato bj- a vote, of 26 yeas vith no naye on April 21, 3, refleotaa $ on page 883 of the 3enate Journal. :a observed that the bill vaa illed in the ofiioe
of the Searotary of State on May 3, 1943, without the algnat* of Oovvrmr. The bill was therefore effective on X&y 3, 1943.
Uhet vaa said ln this de~artment*a opkmn Xo. O-f&7, which opinion vam addressed to the Somrable Sidney I&thmn, @eo- ~~:: rotary Of &kt@, uaciar date of June 1, 1943, i8 likeViSe ap&- oable in thla instlnce. In that opinion it vaa aaldr
“Thho reasoa r”or this anmmr la that the tven- ty days alloved Governor Und8r the olraum- etanoes stated by you vltnin which to file the Bill Vlth his objections or approval are dnya of grace or prlvllsge of time ulthln vhlch he may exerolae his discretion of executive approval or disapproval. When, however, even though sizort 2f period. he has exercisea his prerogative, te has fully f*mctioned, the matter is out of hi8 COAX- trol, and the Biil bacosles el’f’native according tO
it.8 torrrm 88 though he had amleatml to oxsrofm the prl~lle~e of the full tventJ day8 alloved him.' ‘Phi8 department’s opinion MO. O-1064 hereby ax- pronely ov~r~u.led, lasoior 88 it may oonfllet 01th the hold- 2.qi1 expretrred in thlr opinion. , - > very truly your8
E%Z:db