Case Information

*1 ._ Ol=F!CE OI= THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS . AWWIN

honorable J. S. ?kmMcort

:100utivo Dlroctcr

$tste %e;;i:rt-,rJ::t of ZubIic hlfsre :.u tin, Texas

Snd FTW?ti.CCtS pertmnt or 3u

the Eouse of 2

duct the iAVS

is set but'ln n:1d Eu&Xl'v lsora

investigctors

!Jivisloil ara allspd to have bcon treating old cgs assistxico eppli- criminstin~ betnocn nppllcants; that Q be cqm~3rec? t0 SubpdIa XitA3SS0S, 3n and faotual eviCenc0, 00:22!aAd the brinEin& b&ore it of such records of the Cld &a . Aszistr\noe Comisoiim ac it nay &en f&t and pro-

perf nnd thati w.Sd comlCt0?, irt zddltinn to con-

. . 5% *3 t-r 3 d ppornble 5. S. Zurohison, pa@ 3

tasad and appeared before the Gomittoe butrofuged to an&r rertaln questions propounded to hi& The witness after being r;rested undcr.a oomittzent issued by the Lieutenant Governor a,ed out a writ of habeas corpus whioh was @antQd by a mmber cf the Court of CrIminsl Appasls Gnd the case via0 set down for It was conte;:Ued by the Relator that ono branch of :oarlng. tie legislature had no cuthoritg ~to appoint a oomIttee and au- it to.oonduot an InvcetIS.atlon for the purpose of ob- (:orize, ~~ininS infositaticn and nakIn(i rscomendations and that If such ;ovcr existed, it oxisted in the Ls&slature as a whole and would rake the concurrent aotion of both Rouses, tog&ho? Viith the ap- ;roval of the Governor, to give life and validity to an InvestI- tatinS comittee, In holding that either Rouse zaay appoint oomfthx%3 to conduct investigations, the Court, through Judge Earper, said:

n* * * Soct~ion 37,.ort. 3,'oP the Constitu- tion provides that 'no bIllsha be considered un- 1eSS it has first been referred to a comIttea,* eto. Does this mean a comittee appointed byauthority of

, both houses? Since the organization of our govarme&

each branoh of the Legislature has assmed authority to appoint Its om oozmittcee, without the concurring action of the othor branch, and our Supre::.s Court in the case-of Day Land'& Cattle Coapony, v. State, 68 Tex. 544, 4 S, 3. (373, hol&s, 'The aaav:er of the do- .

fendant ellegsd that the act OS IFebruary 25, 1879, was never legally passed, In that. the bill~vms not referred , to a ootittee of eaoh house before it was acted upon, The anavior shows that ~tho bill vtaa referred to a com- , mittee by the Senate, who rcportod upon it favorsbly

before the Sonata aotod upon it; but that it won not referred to a cormnittee by the Douse of,Represontc,tives before that body acted upon it, Ths Constitution pro- vidas that 'no bill shall be considered unless it has been first referred to a cozimittee ana reported thereon.' Conat; art. 3, section 7. This-does not in terms re- i ’ quire a bill to be referred to a committee by each

house before it oan become a levr. The requirensnt is that a bill shall be "referred to a co.znittee and reported thereon' before It shall be considered. This, from the averments of the enswr, was done, and we osn- *4 EosoXable J. s. Uurchison, page +%

not, under the wording of the Constitution, say that nore than this was necesssry.'

Y&us It Is seen that, when a bill Is re- ferred to a comittee oreated by the Ssnr?te alarm, It hm been held a sufficient cozplience with sec- tion 37 PP article 3, thus rocoypizin~ the right of each branoh of the Legislature to appoint Its own co.mlittees; and section 11 of~article 3 semi- fioallg provides that 'each house nay detertine ; .

the rules of ifs em Proceedings,' and if the Sonata in the exercise of its aiscretion dec.3 it esaentisl to aapnirt a comittce to rather inform- tion and report beoi- reoo.~~~endstIons In rep*ard Tao the enactment of lam, wo think it had the povjer and au- thority. This has been the oonstruotion of our Con- stitution by all of our Lsgislaturos In the past, the oonstruction that the Congress of the United. States has given to the power possessed by eaah branch there- I 4 of, afid the oonstruction of the poWers of eaoh'branch

of the Legislature In aliiost every state'in tho Union, In the absence of oonstitutional Inhibition; and xe . I

hold that the Senate had the authority and pouer to create the aomittee and authorIze,It to gather In- formation and m&e reaomendntions on all subjects upon whIoh the Lcflislature would have the right to oneot laws. * * *q: (Underscoring ours} The facts In Terre11 vs. Bin& 118 ‘hex. 237, 14 S. 'f;* (Zd) 786, show that a tax surveys oomittea w~as oreated by a Joint Resolution by the 40th Legislature to colleot Information

-necessary to the revision of the tax lous of the State. Tha t,hat the members of the ComIttee were to ' esolution'provided % e paid Ten ($10.00) Dolltirs per day for aach day they served. ~PPellce, as a citizen and taxpayer sought to enjoin the C&p- troller frora IssuisC warrants to the comittec msmbws beoausa, yes he contended, the Comittee was unconstitutional and void. i ' h spsakinf: of the xi&t of each Rouse to appoint i.nvestiCating

fmmittces, t&e court said: *5 _'

Eonorable J. S. Xurchison, page.5 -n* * * fn declaring, in section 11 of article 3, that 'eaoh house may determine the rules of its own proceodings,r the Constitution plslnly delegates to each hope the choice cf methods for the nose ea- vantogeous use of its fur&ions in the exeroise of the stz~te's 'legislative povier,' which ?.<r. Cooley defines es 'authority under'the Constitution to make $a~, and to alter and repoal them;' CoolayCs Con- .stitutional Limitations(8th Ed.) p. 163. Favinp.

such ohoico of methods, oaoh house is fully authorized to appoilitmitteas to moire invasticaticns and con- duct 'inouirics and cethcr infor-zsticn with rcsnoct to the operation of subsis'uin~ ler;-s and the need for their improvezjont, alteration or repeal. ~oCX.Cllooh v. Xary- : and, 4 Y&eat. 409, 4 L. sd. 579. l!!ot only doss the

Constitution, in the grant of the rule-making pov;er, authorize either house to name such commi.ttces as it may deem necessary or proper for purposes oS.investi- gation and inquiry, when looking; to the disobsrge of any logitlmate function or duty of such house, but the Constitution 2668 further andmakes oonsideration by a oommittce a condition precedent to tho enaotment of any law. Sebtion 37, article 3.

na * * The authority of oath houoe'to use. legislative oo.mmittees of inquiry and investigation is affirmad in c)o'oloyfs Conutitutionsl Limitation3 (eth Xd.) at page 275, where the nutho? says: , ;

"'6ech ho& must also be ailo:cd to proceed in its oiw way in the collection of such informetlon as may seem Important to a proper dis- charge of its functionsand.whensver tt is deeuea desirable that witnesses shoulcl be examined, the power and authority to do so isvery properly re- ferred to a oozunittee, with any powers short of final legislative or judioial action as may seem i ’ necessary or oxpodicnt in the partioular case.'

We * * Our oonclusion that the Lofisl.ature OX oit!zr house pozs333es authority to order co:+

a.

. .

r

:,,orable y.‘% t-!urohdson,. page 6

Tho above oited authorities clearly ostablieh tho ;o.ior and authority of the f:cuse of Xoprssentctlvcs to oppolnt ;cz.xfttees to cocduct ,inveetit;etiosa e.?d 1n;ulriee into mtters~ 11th rosgecrt to which 13&3latlon is 002t03pi3toa. ti z?aking ocn.Por&nf, to the grovisiona of ,Eouzie $iz>le Its invaati.;3tion, S~aolatl.on :Ior 71, such comlttee ~111 be clearly cotins with ‘dce euthority of Chc State.” The porxr rnatca~~ in the I~OUCO i of Bepr~se:~t~tiv~.~ hno, tit our o~tiion, been lc~itlr~tely oxar- ! tired throu,-h the g,n,diux of Eouse ::lzl;lo &xiolution~No. 71P. .%o- : om!ia~ly,, it i3 our o;iuios? t!:at the cmzittee so appointed is,

llthill t&l MMllil?? Of Seotfon 31, SWiiitV Dill 3’0.~ ,90, 46th legis- i:turo, “duly authorized by the State * * * to aako” an InaDeotlon Or tba rocozda wntionsd in ycur ODInion re~uoat. The 8bovo coudl.uston :.S not or inCOm- inoOnaiEt8nt

;:tlble with Attorney @aore Opinion Ho. O-2432;: in Opiaion tbo a_usstioa imd.er 6onaidcr::tlon ViflS ri!d!:sr under I FO. CJ-2432, Aotioa 31 of Se:!ats Bill Xo. 96, 66th :egisl~tu~re, ah explogco Of tta Department of i?ubl~!.c ~:~;‘elf~~r& oow1.d be aozrolled to dia- 01030 tn court, in 0 c,scs J.nvol.vi!:~ Frivato wrtioat my OS the f3ota Jr;& l:~form~~t~i~;i~.td $2 c':tm rcc2?~:5 Or applicants $, or rocj.plantn of, old. ~ago &%fstanc%r The oDinion is crbsrly l&&ted to c-23 ?uestlon pr.x%~tsa there13 and sow tat purportj to BGS:YO~ 0 question rs~nrdlsi: tha rl,?kt of Stste affioo?a to insyloct old o$e aaai,stailo6 records :LI connection rlth t!wir official dutiei. \

Yours very truly