Letter Opinion 1971 No. 097

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                                                                 August 10, 1971
 
 
 
Honorable R. Frank Atwood
State Senator, 42nd District
220 Bellingham National Bank Building
Bellingham, Washington 98225                                                      Cite as:  AGLO 1971 No. 97 (not official)
 
 
Dear Sir:
 
            We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated August 4, 1971, requesting an opinion of this office with regard to the validity and effectiveness of a certain appropriation contained in chapter 288, Laws of 1971, Ex. Sess.
 
            By § 18 of this 1971 act, the legislature created ". . . a permanent property tax committee for the purpose of making a thorough examination of the property tax and its administration."
 
            In order to fund the operations of this new committee, the legislature expressed itself in § 19 of the act, as follows:
 
            "There is hereby appropriated the sum of $50,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary to accomplish the duties and function imposed upon the permanent property tax committee by section 18 of this act."
 
            You have stated your request with regard to the foregoing section as follows:
 
            "I would appreciate your written legal opinion in regard to whether the above language constitutes a valid appropriation.  Specifically I would appreciate a clarification of whether an appropriation must specify the fund from which the appropriation is made or does the failure to specify a fund automatically imply the obligation on the state general fund."
 
             [[Orig. Op. Page 2]]
                                                                     ANALYSIS
 
            For the reasons set forth in an opinion of this office to the state auditor dated March 26, 1945, a copy of which you will find enclosed herewith, it is our opinion that the foregoing appropriation contained in § 19, chapter 288, Laws of 1971, Ex. Sess., supra, is a valid and effective appropriation of moneys from the state general fund.  Accord, as well, the several opinions of the Oklahoma supreme court which are cited and discussed therein.  We note that the governing language of the Oklahoma constitution is comparable, in all respects, to that of Article VIII, § 4 (Amendment 11) of the Washington State Constitution.
 
            We trust that the foregoing will be of assistance to you.
 
Very truly yours,
 
FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
 
 
Philip H. Austin
Deputy Attorney General