Montana Attorney General Opinion 17-167

Opinion No. 167. Teachers Retirement System-Expense Fund-Appropriations. HELD: The State's contribution to the Expense Fund of the Teachers Re- tirement System is an appropriation from the General Fund of the State. October 5, 1937. Honorable Ray N. Shannon State Treasurer The Capitol Dear Sir: You have asked if the $4,000 con- tributed by the State to the Teachers Retirement System under Section 8, subsection 5 (c), Chapter 87, Laws of 1937, is an appropriation from the General Fund, or if it is to be deducted from the $75,000 contributed under Section 11. Section 8 of the Laws of 1937 pro- vides for the method of financing the Teachers Retirement System. Five funds are created, an annuity savings fund, an annuity reserve fund, a pen- sion accumulation fund, a pension re- serve fund, and an expense fund. The Annuity Savings Fund consists of contributions from the compensation of members to provide for their annu- ities. The Annuity Reserve Fund is the fund in which the reserves on all an- nuities are held and from which the annuities are paid. The Pension Accumulation Fund is ~he fund in which shall be accumulated all reserves for the payment of all pen- i;ions and from which pensions or benefits shall be paid to the benefici- ,!ries. The State is to pay into this fund certain percentages of the earnable compensation of each member of the Retirement System as normal and de- ficiency contributions. But until the legislature has established reserves the parts of the Act dealing with Reserve to be built up by State contributions are inoperative. But until that time the State shall pay the retired teachers the amounts due them under the provisions of the Act, not exceeding $75,000 in each year. The process for computing the normal contribution rate, the de- ficiency contribution rate, and the amount payable by the state is set forth and provision is made for the discon- tinuance of the deficiency contribution once adequate reserves are accumu- lated. This subsection further provides that interest on all funds of the retire- ment system shall be credited to the Pension Accumulation Fund and the amounts required to allow interest on the Annuity Savings Fund, the Annuity Reserve Fund and the Pension Reserve Fund are to be transferred from the Pension Accumulation Fund. The Re- tirement Board is given authority to transfer to and from the Pension Ac- cumulation Fund the amount of any surplus or deficit in the Annuity Re- serve Fund or the Pension Reserve Fund, as shown by actuarial valuation. In the Pension Reserve Fund is held the reserves oil all pensions granted to members not entitled to prior service credit and it is from this fund that this type of pensions and benefits are paid. The Expense Fund is the fund from which the administrative expenses of the retirement system are paid. This fund is accumulated by (a) a yearly deduction of $1.00 from the compensa- tion of each member of the system, (b) transfers from the Annuity Savings Fund, and (c) contribution by the State not to exceed $4,000. It is this $4,000 about which you have inquired. Section 11 provides: "Contribution by the State. (1) From and after the first day of July, 1937, there shall be and is hereby ap- propriated from all moneys derived from the sales of liquor at all of the state liquor stores within the State, five percentum (5%) of all of the net receipts of such sales for the purpose of creating and maintaining the pen- sion accumulation fund created by and in Section 8 of this act. Begin- ning on the first day of August, 1937, the Montana liquor control board shaH on the first day of each month or as soon thereafter as the said Mon- tana liquor control board has de- termined the net receipts from all sales of liquor at the state liquor stores for the month next preceding, disburse to the state treasurer a sum equal to five per centum (5%) of such net receipts,. such sum to be taken from moneys derived from the sale of liquor at the state liquor stores. If at any time when such disburse- ment is required hereby to be made, there are not sufficient moneys on 196 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL hand to make the same, the deficit shall be made up from the first re- ceipts from the sales of liquor at the state liquor stores received by the said Montana liquor control board there- after. The state treasurer shall im- mediately upon receipt of any and all sums hereby required to be made to him, place them in the pension ac- cumulation fund created by and in Section 8 of this act. Provided that if the receipts shall exceed the amount required under the provisions of sub- division (3) (a), Section 8 of this act, said surplus shall revert to the general fund of the State." It is clear that the state treasurer is required to pay all receipts under sec- tion 11 of Chapter 87. Laws of 1937, to the Pension Accumulation Fund, and provision for reversion to the General Fund is made in case of surplus. All through the act the legislature has pro- vided for transfer of moneys from one fund to another under certain con- ditions. but in this particular section there is no such provision. Likewise, in Section 8. subsection 3, there are pro- visions for transfer of moneys from the Pension Accumulation Fund to other funds mentioned in subdivision (i) of subsection 3. But again there is no provision for the transfer of any money to the Expense Fund. The familiar rule of expressio unius would apply, and the logical conclusion is that the legislature did not intend any transfer from the Pension Accumula- tion Fund to the Expense Fund. No source for the $4000 expense money is specified and no specific fund has been named as in the case of the other ap- propriations. Disbursements for a purpose for which a special fund has been created, or set up. must be made from such funds rather than from the general funds of the state. but where appro- priations are not specifically made pay- able out of a special or particular fund they are payable only from the gen- eral fund. 59 Corpus Juris, 232. Therefore, it is my opinion that the appropriation for the Expense Fund in Section 8, subsection 5 (c) of Chapter R7, Laws of 1937. is an additional ap- propriation to the $75,000 in Section 11 and is payable out of the General Fund I)f the State.