¶0 The Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion asking:
"1. May a county treasurer, upon appropriate resolution approving such by the Board of County Commissioners, deposit under the authority of 62 O.S. 87, ad valorem tax receipts in banks on a time deposit basis pending their apportionment at the end of each calendar month?
"2. If the answer to question '1' is in the affirmative, does a deposit by certificate of deposit qualify as a 'time deposit' as that term is used in 62 O.S. 87?

¶1 Title 62 O.S. 87 (1981) provides in pertinent part:

¶2 As noted in the emphasized portion above, 62 O.S. 87 requires that only those funds not needed during the time covered by the time deposit may be placed in such an account. The threshold inquiry is thus whether ad valorem tax receipts may qualify for deposit in this manner. Title 68 O.S. 24209 (1981) provides:

¶3 In A.G. Opin. No. 82-110, we held that 68 O.S. 24209 governs only the apportionment and transfer of ad valorem tax collections, we further stated that the section creates a mandatory duty for the treasurer to apportion and transfer such funds at the end of the month. After apportionment of the funds, 68 O.S. 24210 (1981) requires the county treasurer to make a statement to the county clerk showing the amount apportioned to each entity which is entitled to receive such funds, and the county clerk then issues a warrant for the amount shown, payable to each such entity.

¶4 The fundamental rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and, if possible, give effect to the intention and purpose of the legislature as expressed in the statute. Jackson V. Independent School Dist. No. 16, 648 P.2d 26 (Okl. 1982). Moreover, where.the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, it will be accorded meaning as expressed by the language employed. Matter of Phillips Petroleum Co., 652 P.2d 283 (Okl. 1982). Clearly, since the funds in the custody of the county treasurer are unavailable for use by the entities entitled to receive the funds until the end of each month, they are not "needed," under 62 O.S. 87, until such time as they are apportioned and distributed at the end of each month.

¶5 Assuming, then, that the ad valorem tax monies collected by the county treasurer during a given month may be deposited on a time deposit basis, you ask if a certificate of deposit qualifies as a "time deposit," under 62 O.S. 87, supra. The phrase "time deposit" is not defined in the Oklahoma statutes, nor have we located any cases in which an Oklahoma court has construed its meaning. However, a "certificate of deposit" is defined in the Uniform Commercial Code, codified in Oklahoma at 12A O.S. 3-104 (1981), as follows:

See also, Moon Motor Car Co. of St. Louis, Mo. v. State, 1 P.2d 358, 361 (Okl. 1931), in which the Court defined a certificate of deposit as an "acknowledgment of a deposit with an agreement to repay it at a specified time, with interest."

¶6 It is well settled that to find legislative intent, statutes are to be construed by reading their provisions with ordinary and common definitions and understanding of the words used unless the context dictates a special or technical definition is to be understood. E.g., Riffe Petroleum Co. v. Great Nat. Corp., Inc., 614 P.2d 576, 579 (Okl. 1980). The phrase "time deposits," as used in 62 O.S. 87, may thus be distinguished from deposits "payable on demand," also provided for in that section. Thus, where monies are deposited in contemplation of withdrawal at a specific time, as opposed to monies deposited for withdrawal at any time ("on demand," subject to general statutory notification requirements), they may fall within the definition of a "time deposit." Such is the case with certificates of deposit as described in 12A O.S. 3-104 and by the Oklahoma Supreme Court as set forth above.

¶7 In addition, in 62 O.S. 87 (1981), supra, there is contained authorization for the State Treasurer, as well as county treasurers, to deposit surplus public funds on a time deposit basis. 62 O.S. 89.1 et seq. then provide guidelines and limitations regarding the deposit of funds by the State Treasurer. 62 O.S. 89.1 speaks directly to the deposit of State funds in certificates of deposit. This provision for such deposits on the state level, indicates the Legislature contemplated certificates of deposit would be used as a form of time deposit under 62 O.S. 87. Jackson v. Independent School Dist. No. 16, supra; Wood v. Independent School Dist. No. 141 of Pottawatomie County, 661 P.2d 892 (Okl. 1983), stating the rule that legislative intent is to be ascertained from the whole act in light of its general purpose and objective.

MICHAEL C. TURPEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF OKLAHOMA
SUSAN BRIMER AGOSTA
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL