Honorable 0. B. Ellis

Director Department of Corrections Huntsville,Texas

Dear Mr. Ellis: Opinion No. W-496
Re: Authority of the Department of Corrections to negotiate an interagency agreementwith the State Board of Education for the repair and rebinding of public school textbooks.
We quote fromyour request for an opinion as follows:
"For some time we have been negotiating

with the State Board of Education for public school textbook repair project. This has been a successfulprison industry in many states. We are particularly interested in the project from a standpoint of giving gainful employment to the physically-handicapped inmates In our charge. From preliminary studieswith the Board of Education, It seemswe could do an excellent job, make somemoney for the Department of Correctlons,and save somemoney for the school system. The Board of Education and admln$.stratlve

officers have expressed a willingne~ss

to co-operatewith us. They asked their counsel for an opinion, and they were told that such a project would violate the Constitutionof the State of Texas.
"Inreality, this Is not a binding job and neither Is it a printing job, but it Is a repair project. The work consists of cleaning up used textbooks by erasing all writing and sanding all the edges. The very badly damaged books are separated,missing pages are replaced from discarded books, and whenthe cover is in bad shape the cover Is replaced and the book rebound. The only printing involved is stamping the title on the cover."Honorable 0. B. Ellis,page 2 b'w-496)

Section 21 of ArticleXVI of the Constitutionof Texas, requires that all contracts for public printing and bindingbe given to the lowest responsiblebidder, and reads as follows:

"sec. 21. All stationery,and printing, paper used in the Legislativeand other depa&ents of the government, shallbe furnished,and the printing and'binding of the laws, journals,and departmentreports, and all otherprinting and binding

. . . , shallbe performed under contract, to be given to the lowest responsiblebidder, below such maximum price, and under such regulations,as shallbe prescribed by law. No member or officer of any department of the government shallbe in any way Interested In such contracts; and all such contracts shallbe subject to the approval of the GoTernor, Secretary of State and Comptroller.
Contracts for the repair and rebinding of books required to be placed Inpermanent covershave long been awarded by the Board of Control,with the approval of the Governor, Secretaryof State and Comptroller,to the lowest responsible bidder In accordancewith the foregoing constitutionalprovision. The fact that certainphases of the work contemplated by the Interagencyagreement between the Department of Corrections and the State Board of Educationwould not constitute "printing"or "binding",does not render thatpart of the agreement calling for rebinding of books less objectionable. The rebinding of books by Interagencyagreement Is prohibited by Section 21 of ArticleXVI of our State Constitution. The cleaningand repair of books up to the rebinding stage,however, Is not prohibited.

You are, therefore, advised that the contemplated Interagencyagreementbetween the Department of Corrections and the StateBoard of Educationwhich, among other things, covers the rebinding of school textbooks,would be violative of Section 21 of Article XVI of the Constitutionof Texas and hence Illegal.Honorable 0. B. Ellis,page 3 (w-496)

SUMMARY

The contemplated interagencyagreement between the Departments of Corrections and the State Board of Education which, among other things, covers the rebinding of school textbooks, would be violative of Section 21 of ArticleXVI of the Constitution of Texas, and hence illegal.

Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas

LP:zt
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE onard Passmore Assistant

Qeo. P. Blackburn, Chairman William E. Allen Byron Fullerton Jack Goodman
REVIEWEDFORTREATTORNEYCEWERAL BY: W. V. Ceppert