OPINIONS. IN RE EXPENSES OF THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS. All fees received by the treasurer of the State Board of Medical Examiners as such treasurer, must be by him paid into the state treasury. The expenses of said board can only be paid by an appropriation regularly made from funds in the state treasury and warrant properly drawn thereon. State of Colorado, Attorney General's Office. Denver, Colorado, January 19, 1899. HON. CHAS. S. THOMAS, Governor of the State of Colorado. Dear Sir-Replying to your request for an opinion in the matter of the payment of expenses of the State Board of Medical Examiners, I have the honor to submit the following: This board was created by an act of the Third General Assembly. The act provides among other things for certain fees to be paid to the treasurer of said board. Session Laws of 1881, page 187, section 6. The question is now raised whether or not the expenses of the board can be paid out of the funds in the hands of its treasurer. The act above referred to provides further that all fees received by the treasurer of said board, shall be paid into the state treasury, and that the expenses of the board shall be paid out of the funds in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated. Session Laws of 1881, page 188, section 13. These provisions of law are still in force and answer the question raised, in the negative. The fees received by the treasurer of the board must be paid into the state treasury. The expenses of the board must be paid out of the funds of the state treasury when the provisions of article V, section 33, of the State Constitution have been complied with. Said section of the Constitution reads as follows: "No money shall be paid out of the treasury except upon appropriations made by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper officer in pursuance thereof." To the same effect are the opinions of Attorney General Engley found at pages 31, 69 and 115 respectively of his report for the years 1893-94, and the opinion of Attorney General Carr found at page 42 of his report for the years 1895-96. Very truly yours, D. M. CAMPBELL, By DAN B. CAREY, Assistant. IN RE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. Act of 1895, fixing number and compensation of officers and employes of General Assembly, is void. State of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, January 26, 1899. Dear Sir I am in receipt of your official communication, under date of January 17, 1899, transmitting a written protest, signed by certain members of the House of Representatives of the Twelfth General Assembly, and requiring my written opinion concerning your official duties in the matter of the said protest. The written protest which accompanies your communication is directed to you in your official capacity, and is signed by four members of the House of Representatives of the Twelfth General Assembly. It is a protest against the issuance of warrants for the pay of certain employes of the House of Representatives of the Twelfth General Assembly, employed under the act of 1895, upon the ground that said act of 1895 is unconstitutional and void. Your request for official advice is in the following words: "Kindly advise me whether this office shall be governed by the act of 1895, creating such offices, or not?" This opinion is rendered in writing in accordance with the statutes of this state, which provide that the Attorney General shall give his opinion in writing upon any question of law submitted to him by theAuditor of State. The Act of 1895, to which reference is made, is entitled, "An Act to amend sections 1 and 2 of an Act entitled, 'An Act to amend general sections 1579 and 1580; and to repeal general section 1581 of the General Statutes of the State of Colorado,' approved January 31, 1891," approved February 6, 1895. (Session Laws 1895, page 183.) This act fixes the number and compensation of officers and employes of the General Assembly, and was passed in obedience to the commands of Section 27, Article V, of the Constitution of the State of Colorado, which provides that "The General Assembly shall prescribe by law the number, duties and compensation of the officers and employes of each house; and no payment shall be made from the state treasury, or be in any way authorized to any person, except to an officer or employe elected or appointed in pursuance of law." The above act, as appears from the title thereof, was an amendment to a prior act passed for the same purpose, which will be found in Session Laws 1891, page 234. The purpose of the amendment of 1895 was to increase the number of officers and employes. and to increase the compensation of certain employes. In the discharge of your official duties as Auditor you must be governed in the matter of the issuance of warrants for the salaries of the officers and employes of the General Assembly by the statutes of the stateof Colorado. The act of 1895 being the last legislative declaration upon this subject, must, if valid and constitutional, control your official action. The question directly presented by the said protest and by your official communication, is the constitutionality and validity of said act of 1895. The act of 1895 was known as "House Bill No. 138." I have carefully examined the printed house and senate journals for the year 1895, the same being a reprint of the official proceedings of the Tenth Gen |