### ram GENERAL

August12,1971

Hon. Bevington Reed Commissioner ofHigher Education Coordinating Board Texas College and University System P. 0. BOX 12788 Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711

Dear Dr. Reed: Opinion No.M-927

Re: Method of calculating the amount of funds tobe included indetermining the "netgeneral revenue appropriations to the established public medical schools," pursuant to Article 2919e-2.1(&)(f), Vernon's Civil Statutes.

Your recent letter requesting the opinion of this office concerning the referenced matter states, inpart, as follows:

"TheCoordinating Board has under consideration proposals to contractwith Baylor College ofMedicine and Baylor College ofDentistry asprovided inArticle 2919e-2.1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, and in items 8 and 9 of the appropriations to the Coordinating Board, Texas College andUniversity System, for the year ending August 31, 1972, as contained in Senate Bill No. 11, 62nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1971. The Coordinating Board respectfully requests your opinion concerning themethod of calculating the rates of disbursement of these appropriations. Specifically, what amounts of funds shall be included indetermining

. . .the net general revenue appropriations to the established public medical schools

. .-.'as this phrase isused in Section l(f) ofArticle 2919e-2.1, V.T.C.S.?" Apposite portions ofArticle 2919e-2.1, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provide as follows:

-4521-.

Hon. Bevington Reed, page 2 (M-927)

"Section 1. Wherever used in thisAct, the respective terms shall have the indicated meaning unless context otherwise requires:

II

. . .



### “(f) 'averageannual state tax support per undergraduate medical student enrolled at the established public medical schools'-- an amount calculated by dividing the net qeneral revenue aporopriations to the established public medical schools for the fiscal year nextpreceding the scholastic year of disbursement by the total number ofundergraduate medical students enrolled in those schools
on October 15of said fiscal year.
II

. . .
"Sec. 3.A. In the exercise of the rights, powers, and authority described inSection 2of thisAct, the Coordinating Board may disburse to Baylor College ofMedicine, during each scholastic year of disbursement, an amount equal to the average annual state tax support per undergraduate medical student at the established public medical schools multiplied by the number ofbona fideTexas resident undergraduate medical students enrolled at Baylor College ofMedicine: provided, however, that the Coordinating Board shall never disburse an amount exceeding the amount appropriated by the Legislature for this purpose.

"B. Subject to the limitations described in Section 3A of thisAct, the Coordinating Board is hereby granted the right, power, and authority to establish, by contract with Baylor College of Medicine, themethod bywhich the above-described disbursement shallbe accomplished, andmay prescribe such reasonable rules and regulations as are necessary toascertain the average annual state support per undergraduate medical student at the established public medical schools." (Emphasis added.) -4522-Hon. Bevington Reed, page 3 (M-927)

Section 4 of the foregoing Article gives the Board a similar power to contract with the Baylor University College of Dentistry. The last sentence of that Section provides that:

"For the purposes of this section The University ofTexas Dental Branch at Houston shall be used to calculate the average annual state tax support per undergraduate dental student."
Article IVof Senate Bill 11,Acts of the 62nd Legislature, R.S., 1971 (GeneralAppropriations Act for the fiscal year commencing September 1, 1971), in setting forth appropriations for the Coordinating Board, Texas College andUniversity System, contains the following line item appropriations for the next fiscal year:

“8.

“9. Funding for Baylor College of Medicinei inaccordance with H.B. 586, Sixty-first Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 2,500,OOO Funding for Baylor University College ofDentistry inaccordance with H.B. 586, Sixtyfirst Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 1,700,000"

H.B. 586, referred to in the foregoing appropriations, isnow Article 2919e-2.1, Vernon's Civil Statutes, portions ofwhich have been set forth hereinabove.

The term "netgeneral revenue appropriations", is a term which appears in theAppropriations Bill for the appropriations to each of the established public medical schools (the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the Southwestern Medical School atDallas) defined by Section l(c) of Article 2919e-2.1. This term has appeared in these appropriations in all of the fiscal years relevant to the funding of the enabling legislation under consideration. The amount represented bv the "netceneral revenue approrxiations” isdetermined by sub-

-4523-Hon. Bevington Reed, page 4 

### (M-927)

tracting from the "grand total" of the educational' appropriations to the respective medical schools such other income as the schools are expected to realize. For example, line item appropriations to theUniversity ofTexas Southwestern Medical School atDallas for the fiscal year ending August 31. 1971, aggregated a "GrandTotal" of $7,906,406. TheAppropriations Bill for thatyear (HouseBill 2,Second Called Session, 61st Legislature, 1969, page IV-371 indicates that "estimated net income" of $666,300 was subtracted from this grand total, leaving a "netgeneral revenue appropriation" of $7,240,106. The term "netgeneral revenue appropriation" reappeared in the appropriations to these two institutions for the fiscal years ending August 31, 1969 (HouseBill 5,First Called Session, 60th Legislature, 1968, pages IV-31 and IV-33), 1970 (House Bill 2, Second Called Session, 61st Legislature, 1969, pages IV-35 and IV-37), 1972 and 1973 (SenateBill 11,Regular Session, 62nd Legislature, Pages IV-30 and IV-33).

The Legislature has consistently used the term "net general rev nue appropriation"

5 tomean the grand total of the educational appropriations to theDallas and Galveston medical schools, less other educational income realized by those institutions. Thus, when the Legislature:utilized thephrase "net general revenue appropriations to the established public medical schools" in its definition of the statutory rate of disbursement to Baylor Medical School, the inescapable conclusion isthat the

1 All of the appropriations set forth in the current appropriations bill for theUniversity ofTexas Medical School atDallas are for educational purposes. The appropriations set forth in the current bill for theUniversity ofTexas Medical Branch at Galveston are divided into tv?oportions:
one for "educational units", the other for "hospital units." It seems clear that the Legislature intended that only the "educational unit" appropriations, and not "hospital unit" appropriations, for theMedical Branch at Galveston should be used in determining the "netgeneral revenue appropriations" for that Branch: see the computations set forth at pages 6-7, infra.

2 See footnote 1, supra. -4524-Hon. Bevington Reed, page 5 (M-927)

Legislature intended to incorporate by reference the above-mentioned
sums appropriated to the twopublic medical schools. Even ifa narrower interpretation of the phrase were possible, the Lnaislature has declared, in Section 6 ofArticle 2919e-2.1, that "all of the terms and provisions of thisAct are tobe liberally construed to effectuate the purposes, powers, rights, functions and authorities herein set forth." To afford this phrase a liberal construction means to give it its "generally accepted meaning, to the end that themost comprehensive application thereof may be accorded, without doing violence to any of its terms." See, for example, Maryland Casualtv Co. v. Smith, 40 S.W.2d 931 (Tex. Civ.App. -Dallas, 1931, nowrit).

The meaning affixed to the term, "netgeneral revenue appropriations" by the Coordinating Bohrd in itsbudget requests of the 62nd Legislature, although notbinding on theAttorney General or the Courts, isentitled to great weight. Moorman v. Terrell, 109Tex. 173, 202 S.W. 727 (1918);Slocomb v. Cameron I.S.D., 116Tex. 288, 288 S.W. 1064 (1926):Neubert.v. Chicaqo R.I. &G.R.Y. Co., 116Tex. 644, 296 S.W. 1090 (1927);United States v. T.I.M.E., Inc., 252F.2d 178 (5thCir., 1958), cert. denied, 358U.S. 810 (1958).

In itsbudget request for the fiscal years ending August 31, 1972, andAugust 31, 1973, the Coordinating Board quoted the statutory definition of average annual state tax support forundergraduate medical students enrolled at the established public medical schools, and ascertained this amount by (1)totalling the net general revenue appropriations for educational purposes to theUniversity of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston ($7,417,020; this figure isderived by subtracting the anticipated income from educational and general funds of $960,897 from the total of $8,377,917 appropriated for educational units, which isthe total of line items 1 through 9, found inHouse Bill 2, Second Called Session, 61stLegislature, page IV-35) and University ofTexas Southwestern Medical School atDallas ($7,240,106) for theyear ending August 31, 1971, as set out in that appropriations bill, and (2)dividing that sum ($14,657,126) by theminimum number ofundergraduate medical students require.3

-4525-Hon. Bevington Reed, page 6

tobe enrolled at the two schools (1,020) to arrive at an average annual state tax support forundergraduate medical students of $14,370. (3) Itnoted that 175bona fideTexas residents were expected to enroll atBaylor Medical School ineach year of the forthcoming biennium, thenmultiplied $14,370 by 175, and arrived at a figure of approximately $2,500,000. The Coordinating Board requested this amount for each year of thebiennium, and the 62nd Legislature provided full funding of this request.

The necessary conclusion is that the Legislature accepted the Coordinating Board's interpretation of all of the elements of the phrase "average annual state tax support per undergraduate medical student enrolled at the established public medical schools", including "netgeneral revenue appropriations."

The rate of disbursement established by Article 2919e2.1,Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, is clear and unequivocal. This general lawutilizes the phrase "netgeneral revenue appropriations" in its generally accepted meaning, as established by the appropriations to theUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical School inDallas and theUniversity of Texas Medical Branch inGalveston, aswell as the executive interpretation of this phrase utilized in thebudget request of the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System. That the 62nd Legislature accepted the interpretation ty the Coordinating Board, and fully funded the Coordinating Board's request pursuant to this interpretation, establishes beyond question themeaning which must be attached to "average annual state tax support per undergraduate medical student enrolled at the established public medical schools" as set out in Section l(f),Article 2919e-2.1.

You are, therefore, advised that the term It

. . . the net general revenue appropriated to the established public medical schoo1.s

. . .'I as this phrase isused inSection l(f) of Article 2919e-2.1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, means the "GrandTotal" ofappropriations to theUniversity of Texas Southwesteim Medical School atDallas and theUniversity of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, less such other income as may be realized by these schools from educational sources.

-4526-Hon. Bevington Reed, page 7 (M-927)

SUMMARY

The term W

. . .the net general revenue appropriated to the established public medical schools

. . . Was this phrase isused in Section l(f) of Article 2919e-2.1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, means the "GrandTotal" of appropriations to the University ofTexas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas and theUniversity ofTexas Medical Branch at Galveston, less such other income asmay be realized by these schools from educational sources. Ver$Zuly yours,

Attor yGeneral ofTexas
Prepared byAustin C. Bray, Jr. Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE

Kerns Taylor, Chairman W. E.Allen, Co-Chairman

James McCoy Scott Garrison Fisher Tyler James Quick

MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Legal Assistant

ALFPED WALKER Executive Assistant

NOLA WHITE First Assistant

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