Hon. Gibb Gilchrist, President 

Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas 

College Station, Texas 

This Opinion 

Overrules Opinion 

,#o-6017 & o-5918 

in so far as they 

conflict 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-6903 

Re: Authority of Board of 

A. & M. College to purchase 

additional land for state 

experimental substation 

under facts submitted 

Your request for opinion has been received and carefully considered by this department. We quote from your request as follows: 

"Yesterday I handed to you an Abstract of title and a 

suggested Form of Transfer of 165.81 acres of land which we 

have arranged to purchase adjoining the property already 

owned by Substation No. 7 near Spur, Dickens County, Texas. 

With this I am attaching a certified copy of the action of 

our Board of Directors dated July 28 authorizing the purchase. 

"Payment for this land is to be made from the sales funds 

accruing from the sales from Substation No. 7 Which we seek to 

enlarge. These funds are now deposited in a local bank and. 

subject to payment by~the Comptroller of this College upon 

proper authorization. 

"Purchases of additional land for the substation have 

been made under the provisions of Articles 136 and 139, Revised Civil Statutes and have been made ,over the past 20 

years under authorization of these laws and the opinion of 

the Attorney General dated May 23, 1925, Question 1. 

'Will you kindly examine the Abstract and Transfer and 

if found satisfactory, give us your opinion thereon in accordance with the minute of the Board of Directors authorizing this purchase." 

We quote from t,he Minute you enclosed as follows: 

"MINUTE No. 148 - 45 
Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 2 (0-6903) 

"The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station is hereby 

authorized to purchase through the Spur Substation Sales 

Fund approximately 165 acres of land comprising all the 

Northeast Quarter (NE l/k) of H. & G.N. Railway Company 

Survey No. 247, Block No. 1, situated In Dickens County, 

Texas, and adjoining the lands of Substation No. 7, subject to the following conditions: 

"1. That the purchase be approved by the Attorney 

General of Texas; 

"2. That the land be appraised by at least two 

disinterested qualified appraisers; 

“3. That the land be surveyed by the County surveyor or by a qualified licensed surveyor. 

“4. That the title be approved by the Attorney 

General; and 

“5. That the purchase price be not in excess of 

$50.00 per acre, based on the actual number 

of acres, plus the cost of abstract and surveying. 'I 

Articles 136, 137, 138 and 139, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil 

Statutes, read as follows: 

"Article 136. Purposes 

"There shall be established at such places in this 

State as the board hereinafter named may deem proper, 

experiment stations for the purpose of making experiments 

and conducting investigations in the planting and growing 

of agricultural and horticultural crops and 80118, and 

the breeding, feeding and fattening of livestock for 

slaughter. Proceeds from the sale, barter or exchange of 

crops raised on any of said experiment stations shall go 

to defray the expenses of operating the same. 

"Art. 137. Main station 

"The experiment station located at the Agricultural 

and Mechanical College in Brazes County which is in part 

supported by the Federal Government shall remain at said 

point as a permanent institution. It shall be known as 

the Main State Experiment Station, and shall be under the 

supervision of the Board of Directors of such college. 

Such Board shall have the authority to accept from the 

Federal Government such aid in its support as may be 
i 

. ,- .- - 

Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 3 (0-6903) 

provided by Congress. All other experiment stations of whatever character, now or which may hereafter be established under the authority of this subdivlsion shall be considered 

sub-(ltatioqs. 

"Art. 138. Supervising Board 

"The Board of Directors of such college is vested with 

the authority, duties, and powers conferred by this subdivision upon said Board, and shall exercise a general supervision and direction over all sub-experiment stations established hereunder. 

"Art. 139. Powers of Board. 

"The Board shall have power: 

"1. To establish sub-experiment stations at such places 

in this State as it shall deem proper, in addition to those 

now in operation. 

"2. To abandon or discontinue any sub-station which may 

become undesirable for experiment purposes, and if deemed 

necessary to establish others in their stead at such other 

places in the same county as it shall deem advisable. 

"3. To sell any land or other State property used in 

the operation of an experiment station when so abandoned, 

and to apply the proceeds of such sale in the purchase of 

other land and property for the establishment of experiment 

stations. (Act6 1st C. S. 1913, p- 98)". 

We quote from H. B. 173, Acts of the 49th Legislature of Texas, 

1945 (Current appropriation act for A. & M. College and other state educational institutions) as follows: 

1, . . . For the purpose of paying the expenses incurred 

for administering the Pure Feed Laws in accordance with the 

provisions of Articles Nos. 3872-3881, inclusive, of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, and amendments thereto, 

there is hereby appropriated to the experiment stations of 

the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas out of the 

receipts accrued to the credit of the Pure Feed Fund for 

each of the fiscal years ending August 31, 1946, and August 

31, 1947, such amounts thereof as shall be necessary for 

the efficient administration and operation of said Pure Feed 

LaWS. The unexpended balance in said Fund may be used for 

any of the purposes herein appropriated for the Agricultural 

and Mechanical College, or for the purposes of CondUcting 
Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 4 (0-6903) 

experiments with feeds by the Texas Agricultural Experiment 

Station and for such other purposes as the Board of Directors 

of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas may deem 

advisable, provided that any salaries paid or supplemented 

therefrom shall not exceed those paid for the same or similar 

services in the Main College." (Underscoring ours) 

The Pure Feed Fund is a special fund in irhich there are deposited 

the tag and certification fees collected by A. & M. College on all feeding stuff used or sold in this State. The fees are paid to the Director 

of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at A. & M. and by him deposited in the State Treasury. Article 3875, V. A. C. S., provides in 

part as follows: 

II 

. s 0 So much of the inspection tax and penalties collected under this title shall be paid by the State Treasurer 

to the treasurer of the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical 

College as the director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment 

Station may show by his bills has been expended in performing the duties required by this title, but in no case to exceed the amount of the inspection tax and penalties received 

by the State Treasurer under this title. Id. Sec. 5” 

We quote from the Opinion of the Attorney General of Texas, 

dated May 23, 1925, Vol. 273, p- 300, Letter opinions of the Attorney 

General of Texas, referred to in your letter as follows: 

"Questions. 

"1. 'Under the law are the directors of the experimental stations of the A. & M. College authorized to buy 

additional lands without the consent of the Legislature 

for the purpose of en experimental station?' 

“2. 'If they have such authority, then are they 

authorized to use funds accruing from other experimental 

stations and divert the same to the purc'hase of lands 

for one particular experimental station?? 

"Answers. 

"Answering your first question you are advised that 

by the Acts of the First Called Session 1921, page 14,8, 

the powers originally held by the governing board of experimental substations were transferred to the Board of 

Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College. 

The provision of aaid Act which was intended as a substitution for Articles 14~ and 14pp and lkq of the Texas 

Complete Statutes of 1920, is in the following language: 
. . 

Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 5 (o-6903) 

"'The Board of Directors of such college are vested 

with the authority, duties and powers conferred by 

this subdivieion upon said Board and they shall exercise a general eupervision and direction over all 

experiment stations eetablished hereunder.' 

"'The Board shall have power, first, to establish 

experiment stations at such place6 in this State as 

it shall deem proper in addition to those now in operation.' 

"From the above it will be observed that the Board 

of Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College 

has the power to establish experiment stations and it 

would seem that such a power carries with it by necessary implication the power to acquire through purchase 

all lands which in the judgment of said Board may be 

deemed necessary to the perfect and complete establiehment of said experimental stations and in event said 

Board should determine at any time after the experimental 

station has been located that additional acreage to be 

used in connection with said substation is needed for the 

purpose of completely establishing said substations and 

is required in the operation thereof, we see no reason 

why the Board would not have the power to make the purchase of said additional acreage. Therefore, answering 

your first question you are advised that the Board of 

Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College has 

the power and authority to acquire through purchase from 

the owner the two additional sections of land mentioned." 

"Considering the second question above, you are advised that it seems Article 148s which provides that the 

proceeds from the sale, barter or exchange of crops raised 

on any experimental station shall go to defray the expenses 

of operating the same, refers only to the particular experimental stations raising such crops and said provision prohibits the use of such proceeds to defray the expenses of 

operating any other station and said proceeds cannot be diverted to defray the expenses of operating another station. 

If the proceeds from the sale, barter, or exchange of crops 

raised on any one of said experiment stations should be 

available for the benefit of another station, the same could 

be used only to defray the expenses of operation and could 

not be used for the purpose of establishing a substation or 

could not be used for the purpose of purchasing additional 

acreage for one of the substations for the reason that purchase money for additional acreage cannot be consideredzpenses of operation. Therefore, the Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College do not have the authority 
Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 6 (0-6903) 

to use the proceeds or funds accruing from crops on other 

experimental stations and divert the same to purchase lands 

for another experimental station. (Underscoring ours) 

"Having answered your first question in the affirmative, 

we deem it necessary, however, to add that the power and 

authority of said Board to make such a purchase cannot be 

exercised until funds are available for that purpose through 

an appropriation by the Legislature." 

Opinion No. O-3100 of this department holds that the statutes 

authorizing the Department of Public Safety of Texas to install and operate a police radio broadcasting station are broad enough to authorize 

the purchase of land upon which to establish the station. We quote from 

said opinion as follows: 

"The statutes above quoted authorize the installation 

and operation of a police radio broadcasting system for the 

purpose of preventing crime, detecting and apprehending law 

violators, and for the directing of the activities and functions of the law enforcement agencies of the State, the counties and the municipalities. Thus, the Department of Public 

Safety could purchase suitable land on which to install and 

operate said radio station as a part of said authorized 

broadcasting system with moneys appropriated for the installation and equipment of such a system; first, if appropriations of the department are broad enough to cover such a 

purchase; and second, if such a purchase could be designated 

a necessary and incidental expense in carrying out the power 

granted to the department to install such a system. 

"We think such a purchase is authorized by the General 

Appropriation Bill for the two-year period ending August 31, 

1943, known a.8 Senate Bill NO. 423, p* 1231, 47th Leg. 1941, 

wherein it provides for an annual appropriation for the department of Public Safety, Main Division, designated as Item 

106, as follows: 

"'106. Postage, supplies, arms, wire communication, 

radio equipment, radio supplies, printing and contingent expenses; hospitalization and medical services when injured in 

line of duty, funeral expenses when death results from injuries received in line of duty; surety bonds, books, all 

necessary expenses of operating a police training school at 

Camp Mabry for training peace offi.cers generally and members 

of this department, and any other necessary departmental expenses, including equipment. 0 . 0 0 s D . 0 0 $55,9500000' 

"We have underscored the words 'any other necessary departmental expenses.' Under the emergency circumstances 
Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 7 (O-6903) 

quoted in your letter the purchase of suitable lend appears 

to be necessary and incidentalto the eatablishrnent of an 

efficient broadcasting system; suitable land in this respect 

might possibly be regarded a6 part of the necessary radio 

equipment, and the expense for obtaining mxue may be properly regarded &a one of these neceseary departmental expen8e8 provided for in the above quoted item 106. 

"In the case of Herring v. Houston National Exchange 

Bank, 269 S. W. 1031, wherein there was a purchase by the 

Texas Prison Commission, without the approval of the Legislature, of a mill and site, part of the consideration being 

land on which the mill was situated, it was held and approved by the Texas Supreme Court that there was no violation of V.A.C.S. Supp. 1922, Art. 6184, forbidding the purchase of 'land' for the prison system of Texas, without the 

Legislature's approval, the purchase of the land being only 

incidentalto the purpose of establishing a mill and factory 

for the said system a8 authorized by law. 

"In the quoted Herring case, the Supreme Court of Texas, 

in the face of an existing statute which forbade the purchase 

of land by the Texas Prison Commission, unless approval of 

the Legislature wa8 first secured, looked upon the forbidden 

purchase of laud as incidental to the authority granted to 

the Commission to establish a mill and factory and upheld 

the act of the Commission. There exists no similar statute 

which would limit the land purchasing power of the Department of Public Safety. It appears, therefore, that the proposed purchase of suitable land for the erection of an authorized radio station by the Department of Public Safety 

under said. circumstances may with greater certainty be determined as necessary and incidentalto the power given it 

to install and operate such a station. 

"In the ca8e of Terrill v. Sparks, 104 Tex. 191, 135 

S. W. 519, the Supreme Court of Texas, in discussing an official's authority under an appropriation bill, quoted from 

Sutherland on Statutory Construction, a6 follows: 

"Whenever a power is given by statute, everything 

necessary to make it effectual or requisite to attain the end is implied. It is a well-established 

principle that statutes containing grants of power 

are to be construed so as to include the authority 

to do all things necessary to accomplish the object 

of the grant. The grant of an express power carries 

with it by necessary implication every other power 

necessary and proper to the execution of the power 

expressly granted. Where the law commands anything 
Hon. Gibb Gilcbrist - Page 8 (0-6903) 

to be done, it authorized the perfomnance of whatever 

may be necessary for executing its commands.' 

"Furthermore, it is a well known fact, that broadcasting stations canuot be located on any sort of land. Quoting 

from your letter: 'For efficient transmission of messages 

by radio, it is necessary that the aerial and ground system 

be erected on certain types of soil. D . .I It is only reasonable to impute that the Legislature was sufficiently informsd in these matters when it created the power in the Department of Public Safety to install and operate a radio 

station, and provided appropriations to install and operate 

same. In view of the fact that the Legislature did not attempt to specify where the station should be located and did 

not confine it to any particular ground, the Department of 

Public Safety was authorized necessarily to ascertain for itself suitable land for such purposes and to pay for same wi.th 

appropriations granted it. 

"Under the emergency circumstances of the case and in 

the light of the statutes authorizing the establishment of a 

police radio broadcasting system, it 18 our opinion that the 

purchase of suitable land on which to erect a radio station 

for the Department of Public Safety Is necessary and incidental 

to the purposes of preventing crime, detecting and apprehending 

law violators, and for proper enforcement of the powers of your 

department, that the same is authorized, and the money appropriated in Item 106 of the Department of Public Safety appropriation (Senate Bill k23? p0 1231, 47th Leg. 1941) may be used 

for the purchase of said suitable land." 

Also, to the same effect see Opinion No. o-6579 of this department. 

We enclose herewith copies of Opinions Nos. O-3100 and 0-6579 

for your information. 

Section 44 of Article III of the Texas Constitution provides: 

"The Legislature . . . shall not . 0 , grant, by appropriation or otherwise, any amount out of the Treasury of the 

State, to any individual, on a claim, real or pretended, 

where the same shall not have been provided for by pre-existing law." 

As shown above, the Board of Directors of A. & M. College is 

given the statutory power to establish experiment and sub-experiment 

stations as the Board sees proper. It is our opinion that such a broad 

power carries with it by necessary implication the power to acquire 

through purchase all lands which, in the judgment of the Board, may be 

deemed necessary to the establishment of such stations and in the event 
Hon. Gibb Gilchrist - Page 9 (0-6903) 

the Board should determine at any time after the experimental station 

or sub-station has been located that such station or sub-station needs 

additional acreage for the purpose of more perfectly and more completely establishing said station or sub-etation, we think the Board would 

clearly be authorized to purchase such additional acreage for such purposes. We therefore hold that Articles 136 and 139, V. A. C. S., eupra, 

constitute sufficient "pre-existing law" to support appropriation6 available for the purchase of the lands inquired about. 

It is our opinion that the Board of Directors of A. & M. College is authorized to purchase the lands inquired about and pay for same 

from any unexpended balances in the Pure Feed Fund. 

In your letter you stated that "payment for this land is to 

be made from the sales funds accruing from the sales from: Substation 

No. 7”. We assume that the sales you are referring to are the sales 

of crops from the substation. The section of Article 136, dealing with 

such crop sales is as follows: '. 

11 

. . . Proceeds from the sale, barter or exchange of 

crops raised on any of said experiment stations shall go 

to defray the expenses of operating the same." 

The 1925 opinion of this department, quoted above, specif,ically held 

that the purchase of additional acreage for an experimental farm could 

not be considered an expense of operation. We agree with this holding 

and think it is sound, We therefore accordingly hold that the Board 

of Directors of A. & M. College does not have authority to expend the 

sales funds of substation 7 (acquired from sales of crops from said substation) for the purchase of the lands inquired about. 

Opinion Nos. O-5918 and 0-6017 of this department are hereby 

overruled in so far as they conflict with this opinion. 

If the Board desires to purchase the land inquired about from 

the Pure Feed Fund a new minute should be entered to that, effect. If 

such is the Board's desire, please send us a copy of a new minute authorizing the purchase from the Pure Feed Fund end we will then write 

a separate title opinion on the title to said land. In the meanwhile 

we will hold the abstract until we hear from you further. 

APPROVED NOV 8, 1945 Very truly yours 

Is/ Carlo6 C. Ashley ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTFXAS 

FIRST ASSISTANT APPROVED By /s/ Wm. J. Fanning 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION Wm. J. Fanning 

COMMITrEE Assistant 

BY /a/ BWB 

WJF:BT:IM CHAIRMAN