We refer to your letter of recent date acknow- ledged by this office on March 4, 1947, wherein you stated that the County Treasurer of Montgomery County has received $6,607.95 from the State Treasurer as the county's part of National forest receipts, and the Com- missioners Court wishes to distribute this sum in ac- cordance with Artiole 2351b-4, V. C. 9. You wish to be advised as to what interpretation should be placed on the word "area" as used and found in the second para- graph of said statute. Article 2351b-4, Vernon's Civil Statutes, pro- '.

vlaes, in part, as follows: "That, whereas Congress has heretofore passed a law which provides that thereafter twenty-five per centum (25%) of all moneys received during any fiscal year from each national forest shall be paid at the end thereof by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State . . . in which said forest is sit- uated to be expended as the State . . . Leg- islature may prescribe for the benefit of the public schools and the public roads of the county or counties in which the national forest is situated, and whereas the Legisla- ture of the State of Texas has not prescribed any method for prorating said funds, now, therefore, be it enacted that the Commissioners Courts of the counties in Texas in which such national forests are situated are hereby auth- orized to prorate all such funds received and to be received from the Federal Government for timber and all other income derived from such land as follows: *2 “4 * '" Hon. A. E. Hickerson, Page 2, v-93

*Fifty per cent (56) of such money re- ceived shall be allocated to the school dist- riota in proportion to the area in said dist- riots, and fifty per cent (50$) of same to the county for the benefit of the public roads in said oountg. Provided the Commissioners Court may transfer the fifty per cent (50s)received by said Court to the sohool distrIots.*

Section 500, United States Code Annotated Title 16, Chapter 2, provides that national forest ;e- celpta payable thereunder to a State and received there- by may be expended as the State Legislature may prescribe for the benefit of public schools and public roads of the county or counties in which such national forest is sit- uated.

It is the opinion of this Department that that portion of the national forest receipts received by the county by virtue of the provisions of Title 16, Chapters 2, Seotion 500, U.ELC,A., and Article 2351b-4, V. C,. S.j _ for,publio school pnrpoaea should be prorated and trans- by the Commissioners Court to all the school dis- ferred tricts within the county In proportion to the area in said school districts; further, that the term uareaB1 as used in Article 235113-4, means area of the school dis- triots .located In the county, and does not mean area of national rarest lands.

National forest receipts received by a county under Title 16, Chapter 2, Section 500, U.S.C.A., and Article 2351b-4, V. C. S., for publio aohool purposes should be prorated and transferred by the Commissioners' .Court to all school districts within the oounty in propor- tion to the area in said school distriots.

RAresw aa used in Artiole 2351b-4, V. C. S., means area of the school distriots in the coun- ty.

Very truly yours, ATTGRREY GERRRAL OF TEXAS Ry ~ z.w ATTORNEY GENRRAL Chester R. Ollison 0RG:djm:mrj:jrb Assistant