The Attorney General of Texas 

August 10, 1978 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General 

Honorable John J. Kavanagh, M.D. 

Commissioner 

Opinion No. H- 1227 

Texas Department of Mental Health 

and Mental Retardation 

Box 12668, Capitol Station 

Austin, Texas 78711 

Re: Whether the Texas Department of Mental Health and 

Mental Retardation may furnish 

housing facilities, meals, and 

laundry service to employees 

who are interns in disciplines 

that are not medically related. 

Dear Commissioner Kavanagh: 

You have requested an opinion regarding construction of a provision of 

the Appropriations Act applicable to the Board of Health Resources, the 

Texas Youth Council, and the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental 

Retardation. The provision, first placed in the Appropriations Act in 1959, 

provides: 

As compensation for services rendered, any institution under the jurisdiction of the respective governing 

boards may provide free meals for food service 

personnel and volunteer workers, and may furnish 

housing facilities, meals and laundry service in 

exchange for services rendered by interns, chaplains in 

training, and student nurses. 

(Emphasis added). Acts 1977, 65th Leg., ch. 872, art. II, S 2(b), at 2797. 

You are specifically concerned with the proper construction to be given 

“interns.” The issue is whether “intern” means a medical intern, a doctor in 

training after completion of medical school, or extends to individuals in 

training in other disciplines such as psychology, occupational therapy and 

recreational therapy. We find no direct guidance from the legislature or the 

courts construing the word “intern.” Intern has been defined as 

an advanced student or recent graduate in a professional field (as teaching) who is getting practical 

experience under the supervision of an experienced 

worker. . . . 

P. 4905 
Honorable John J. Kavanagh, M.D. - Page 2 (H-1227) 

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary R60 (3rd ed. 1961). 

In giving meaning to “interns” we must examine the purpose and intent of the 

legislature in giving meals, housing, and laundry services as compensation to 

student nurses, chaplains in training, and interns. We believe that the purpose of 

this allowance is to provide additional compensation to employees in professional 

training who are customarily paid a low or nominal salary. In 1959, when the rider 

first appeared, the Appropriations Act provided student nurses with the lowest 

salary of all positions specified for the state hospital, special schools, and the 

Texas Youth Council. There was no classified position for a “chaplain in training,” 

although there were positions of “chaplain.” The word intern was used to describe 

only one classified position - ‘Clinical Psychologist Interne” - whose salary was 

below average. Acts 1959, 56th Leg., 3d C.S., ch. 23, at 491. We note that this use 

of “intern” by the legislature in 1959 was not referring to a physician intern. The 

clinical psychologist intern was not listed with the “medical series” positions. This 

leads us to conclude that the word “intern” should be broadly defined to include 

individuals in training to acquire experience which might lead to professional 

status, i.e., therapists, psychologists. We note that under article R, section 2(b) of 

the 1977 General Appropriations Act, employees who are not interns, chaplains in 

training, or student nurses must pay for meals, lodging, and laundry. 

SUMMARY 

The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental 

Retardation may furnish housing, meals, and laundry service 

to employees who are interns in nonmedically related 

disciplines. 

Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

%d 

DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant 

&U,JT& 

C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 4906