XAS 

Aucvrrnr II:TEXAS 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

. 

,llaroh~ 26, 1947 

Hon. W. Riley Wyatt, Chairman 

State Prison Board 

San Antonio, Texas Opinion Ro. V-105 

Be: Authority OS ?risoa 

Board to direct general manager to permit 

the use of inmate labor 

on sewage project with 

Dear Mr. Wyatt: the City of Huntsville. 

Your request for aa opinion on the above cap- 

.tioned subjeot reads as follows: 

‘The Texas State Board of Health has 

-pract lcally condemned the exist Lag sewage 

disposal plant in Huntsville as Inadequate. 

“The Clt of tiuntsvllle has always 

handled the d I sposal of sewage from the prlson sjrstem in Huntsville since the prison 

has no sewage disposal plant of its own. 

At present, it is estimated the aewage 

flow iron the prison syetea coast’itutes 

one-third of the estimated total normal 

flow to the sewage treatment plant. 

“The City of H~tsvllle has never imposed a sewer service charge on the prison 

-. system because of, a contract entered into 

between the city aad the prison system, 

which provides that the prison sgstea will 

pay its’ prorata share of the coat of any improvements dr e#ienaions at the oity’8 aewer 

disposal plant. 

“In view of the foregoing hazards, the 

Texas State Board of Health has directed 

the Cit,y of Huntsville to take steps inanediatelg to correct the condition existing, 

and pith, referenoe to this sewage the City 

of Huntsville has called upoh the prlaon 
.- ._ 

ElOIl. M. Riley Wyatt, Page 2, V-105 

board to furnish Inmate labor in the construction of this sewer extension program. 

“In view of the contract heretofore 

entered into (aopy of which is herewith encloeed), and further in view of the benefits 

to accrue to the prison board, can the prlson board authorize the general manager to 

permit the use of Inmate labor on’ this project?” 

Article 6166a, of Vernon’s Civil Statutes, 

reads In part as follows: 

’ * * * All persons shall be worked 

within the prison walls and upon farms owned 

or leased by the State; and in no event shall 

the labor of a prisoner be sold to any contractor or lessee to work on farms or elsewhere, nor shall any prisoner be worked on 

any farm or otherwise upon shares except 

such farms be owned or leased by the State 

of Texas. ” 

In Opinion No. O-4322, addressed to Mr. S.,M. 

Lister, dated April 15, 1942, thi.s Department held that 

the Texas Prison Board does not have authority under Article 6166a, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, to permit the use 

of trusty prisoners by State offi,cials, members of the 

Prison Board, and employees of the prison system. In 

Opinion No. O-4727, dated July 3l, 1942, this Department 

held that while Article ,61660 authorizes the Prison 

Board to lease real estate for agricultural or grazing 

purposes, it was of the opinion that this does not authorize the contracting of convict labor under the cloak 

of a lease of real estate, and that Article 61660 must 

be construed together with Article 6166a, in that the 

employment of convicts as guards in the operation of 

the prison system is so obviously opposed to the general principles and the statutory policies hereinabove . 

mentioned and discussed, that the power will not be implied as incident to the general power of the manage,r 

to control the prison system; that authority was not 

vested to use convicts as guards to replace employed 

guards. 

The Iegislat ure , in its regular biennial appropriation, provides for the various employees and 
I&Q&I. M. RUey Wyatt, Pag&3, V-105 

operation of the Texas Prison System. It was the evident intention of the Legisinture to prohibit the use 

of convict labor In the performance of work pertaining 

to the prison system, when such work is to be performed 

outside the prison walls, and not on the farms owned or 

leased by the prison system. 

The manifest intention of Article 6166a compels us to answer that convict labor may not be tised 

outside the prison walls and off of State property for 

construction of sewerage lines in the City of Huntsvllle. 

SUMMAFiY 

Texas Prison Board is not authorized 

to direct the general manager to permit the 

use of inmate labor on sewage project outside walls or off of farms of Texas Penltentiary. (Article 6166a, V. C. 3.) 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GEI’iFXAL OF TEXAS 

BY 

Assistant 

A3:JMc:mrj 

APPROVED NAR. 26, 1947 

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