iluus on polioiar or* oovsring a thrae- opinion of t&is’ dapart- a bean rsOmOa. ontrol has her0t0r0ra ran00 protsotion and, agencies on a in advanoa out of our- enanae approprlatlons, t bus mktng a three fear oonttiaot.

Can the Board of Contziol lsg- iox? a three-year eon- inlatzrance Gan the various Stat. inetitu- aganol6s pay in advanar, fr0a ourrrnt appropriations, for praalums on p0liOiae Of In- suranoe oovarlng a three-year period?” This departrasnt ln~ Opini~on No. O-201, held the. State Board of Health was unauthorieed insure State property in its posrcrsion against lose bp firr, unless a speoliio had been mada for, that purpose.

That opinion was based upon the ~rop0~sltion laturs ths Lagis- NO. passed had in Senate .Oonauxrsnt Rssolutlon wo 0011Y”“lcA?wt4 IS 70 LI cOwm”rD u * WAIT”LHTAL OPlNleN “WL.ISLi APPROVED BY TWE ATTORNLI OLNLRAL 0” FIRST ASS,S,ANr

Honorable Harry Knox, Page 2 the Second Called Session of the 37th Legislature, &a-

clarad it to “be the fixed policy of this state to carry its own Insurance upon stata buildings and contents, that no insuranoe golioy shall be taken out upon any of the pub110 buildings and contents tharaof.. . .n

Our opinion No. O-842 holds the Commlssloner of Agriculture has no authority, in the abeanaa of a sproitlo for suoh purpose, to pay the premium on fire or caaualtp ineursnoe policy Issued on certain livsstock owned by the State..

An available, apealfio approprlatlon to pay premium on any kind of 8 polioy in favor o$ the State issued uould amount to a subsequent declaration of policy by tha Legislature and would, extant, rapaal the policy an- nounoed by the resolution above referred to.

Be have carefully examined the various appropria- tion bills passed by the 46th Legislature, and so far as we have been able to find, there are no spaoifio appropriations made to the various State institutions and agsnolas for purpose of paying the premium on the polloias under oonsld- oration.

“All pabllo oifioea and officers are oraaturas of law. The powers and duties of pub110 offioara by law. By being derlnad are defined and limited and limited by law, we mea,n the eat of a public of- ficer must be exprasel~ authorized by law or lm- plied therefrom. 22 R. C. L., p. 555, Sac. 114. It rollows the above that publia orrioers may from make only such oontraots for the government they represent as they are authorized by law to make.” Fort Vorth Cavalry Club, Inc. vs. Sheppard, 83 S.W. (2d) 660.

hrtar carefully raviawlng Chapter8 1 to 7a, lnolu- SiVS) of Title Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, we do not find whare the Board of Control is authorized to eontraot insurance for a three-year period. Therefore, first question is respectively answered tha negative.

Bonorabla'Harry Knox, Pa&a 3

In view of what has bran said abava, It naturally follows that your saoond question must be anzwarad negative is so answered.

Trusting foregoing fully amwars inquiry, we ara

Very truly your8 ATTOREET CBT8RhL Or TPJCAS Ardall William8 Asmletant AWlor

ATTORNEY GENERAL OP TEXAS