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OROVER SELLERS 

Attorney General 

Dr. E. N. Jones, President 

Texas College of Arts and Industries 

Klngsvllle, Texas 

Dear Dr. Jones: 

Tm ATTORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Austin 11, Texas 

Re: Can the Board of Directors of the 

Texas College of Arts & Industries 

legally enter into a contract with a 

coach who receives a part of his salary 

under the educational appropriation bill 

and agree to pay him out of the athletic 

department income for a longer period 

than one year? 

Your letter of December 28, 1945, reads, In part, as follows: 

"If a coach 1s paid entirely from the athletic fund, the source of which 

1s entirely from athletic department income, I judge it 1s in order for a 

contract of two, three. five or more years to be entered into. It would seem. 

from newspaper reports, that the University of Texas and A. & M. College follow such a plan. 

"Would the signing of a contract for more than one year at a time be legally tenable if the Institution, being smaller, does not employ a coach for lntercollegiate athletic purposes only, but uses a part of his time for physical 

education activity work and thereby pays a part of his salary. at least, from 

state appropriatlo"s?' 

A proper determination of your question requires a review of the following pertl- 

"ent Statutes and Section 6 of Article VIII of the Texas Constitution, to-wit: 

“Sec. 6. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in pursuance of 

specific appropriations made by law; "or shall any appropriation of money 

be made for a longer term than two years, except by the first Legislature to 

assemble under this Constitution, which may make the necessary appropriations 

to carry on the government until the assemblage of the sixteenth Legislature. 

The 49th Legislature at its Regular Session 1" 1945 speclflcally passed legislation on this subject 1" Senate Bill 324 (Chapter 362, page 652, Laws of 1945). Section 1 of 

which reads, in part, as follows: 

"Section 1. The salaries of all State Officers and all state employees, 

except those Constitutional State Officers "hose salaries are speclflcally 

fixed by the Constltutlo", and except the salaries of the District Judges and 

other compensation of District Judges shall be, for the period beginnIng 

September 1, 1945. and ending August 31, 1947, In such sums or amounts as may 

be provided for by the Legislature in the general appropriation bills. . .' 

I" confonnlty with Section 6 above, the 49th kgislature in 1945 passed what is 

oommonly called the Educational Appropriation Bill (Chapter 377. page 682, Acts of Regular 
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Session, 1945). Section 1 of which appears as follows: 

"Section 1. (a) That all balances I" the institutional funds of the 

Several State I"stlt"tio"s named in this Act, at the close of the fiscal 

year ending August 31, 1945, including balances in their revolving funds 

at that time, and the entire Income in said funds during each of the two 

fiscal yeax ending August 31. 1946, and August 31, 1947. which are not 

otherwise appropriated for either or both of said fiscal years are hereby 

appropriated for the support, maintenenoe, o?eration, and improvement of 

said State l"stitutlc" during each of said fiscal years, respectively." 

At page 765 of Chapter 377, supra, appears the specific appropriation to Which 

you allude, viz.: 

"Health and Physical Education" 

For the Years ending 

Aug. 31, 1946 Aug. 31, 1947 

39. Professor and head of Department $3,300 $3,300 

40. Associate professor 2,300 

41. Instructor 2,200 2,200 

42. Instructor 2,200" 

Subsection 11 of Chapter 377. supra, reads: 

"Athletic or Fxtramural Department. The general provlsion~ made in this 

Act shall not apply to athletic or extramural departments, and as to these 

exceptions, the governing board shall make such necessary rules and adjustments as may be deemed advisable." 

Section 1 of Article 2654d of Vernon's Annotated Statutes of 1925. reads, in 

part, as follows: 

"The governing boards of . . . Texas College of Arts and Industries , . . 

may retain control respectively of the following sums of money collected at 

each of said Several institutions in carrying out the functions of a" educational lnstltution. such as . . . receipts from school athletic actlvltles 

. . ." 

The lnstit"tlonal funds, including receipts from school athletic activities, mentioned in Section 1 of Article 2654d, and appropriated by Section 1, Subdivision (a) of 

the Educational Appropriation Bill for the current biennium are State funds and could not 

be expended unless they were appropriated by the Legislature. 

It 1s apparent that the coach, If employed, will be an employee of the College, 

and his salary will be paid from State funds. whether he Is paid entirely or partly from 

receipts derived from the school's athletic activities, or from the appropriation made 

to the College out of the State's General Fund for the current blennlum ending August 31, 

1947. Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Texas College of Arts and Industries are 

unauthorized to enter into a contract with an employee for his services for a term extending beyond August 31, 1947. the expiration date of the current appropriation made for such 

purpose. 
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You are further advised that we know of no legal objection to your Board making 

a contract with a teacher or athletic coach for his services for a period of time extending beyond August 31, 1947, subject to subsequent appropriations being made by the kglslature to pay his salary for such time of employment. If no such appropriations are made 

such a contract would then tennlnate when the current appropriation expires, August 31, 

1947. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY QENERAL OF TEXAS 

By a/ Wm. J. Panning 

Wm. J. Fanning 

Assistant 

WJF:AMM:“c 

APPROVED JAN lb, 1946 

s/ Carlo6 C. Ashley 

FIRST ASSISTAliT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Approved Opinion Committee Ey s/BWB Chairman