# The Attorney General of Texas
December 23, 1982 MARK WHITE Attorney General
Supreme Court Building P. 0. Box 12546 Ausfin. TX. 76711- 2546 5121475-2501 Telex 9101674-1367 Telecppiar 5121475-0266

1607 Main St., Suite 1400 Dallas, TX. 75201-4709 2141742.6944

4624 Alberta Ave.. Suite 160 El Paso, TX. 799052793 9151533.3464
1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 ~auston, TX. 77002.6966 7131650-0666

606 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479 6061747-5236

4309 N. Tenth, Suite 6 McAllen. TX. 76501-1665 5121662.4547

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 San Antonio. TX. 76205-2797 5121225.4191

An Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer Mr. James B. Bond, General Counsel TexasA and M University System 319 SystemBuilding College Station,Texas 77843 OpinionNo. ~~-532 Be: Whether the Texas Forest Servicemay grant state funds to private landowners for reforestationof idle lands DearMr. Bond: You have requested our opinion as to whether the Texas Forest Servicemay grant state funds to private landowners for reforestation of idle lands. The Texas Forest Service is an agency of the Texas A and M University System, under the general supervision of the board of regents. gduc. code SACS. 88.001, 88.102. The board appointsa state forester, who serves as the director of the Forest Service. Educ. Code sec. 88.101. The general duties and authority of the Forest Service in general, and the state forester in particular, are described in subchapterB of section 88 of the Texas Education Code. None of these statutesmakes any referenceto the grant of state funds to private landownersfor reforestationof idle lands or for any other purpose. In Attorney General Opinion H-1272 (1978),this office said that the Department of Labor and Standards lacked statutory authority to fund a Mobile Home Information Center to be operated by a private nonprofit corporation. Noting the well established rule that an administrativeagencyhas only thosepowers expresslygranted to itby statute or necessarily implied therefrom, Stauffer v. City of San Antonio, 344 S.W.2d 158 (Tex. 1961),Attorney General Opinions H-897 (1976).M-1131 (1972).the opinion observed that prior opinionswhich had approved grants by state agencies to other public and private entities had relied on express statutory authority. See Attorney - GeneralOpinionsH-140 (1973);C-673 (1966). In our opinion, the Forest Service similarly lacks authority, either express or implied,to grant state funds toprivate landowners. Even if appropriate legislationwere enacted, however, such a grant would raise substantial questions under article III, section 51 and

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article XVI, section 6 of the Texas Constitution,which provide, in pertinentpart:

Article 3, section 51. The Legislature shall have no power to make any grant or authorize the making of any grant of public moneys to any individual, association of individuals,municipal or other corporationswhatsoever.... Article 16, section 6. (a) No appropriation for private or individualpurposes shall be made, unless authorizedby this Constitution.... No proposed legislationhas been presented to us, and we cannot speculate as to particular statutory language, if any, which might avoid those constitutional prohibitions. In certain instances, however,both the courts and this office have approved statuteswhich authorized grants of public funds to private individuals, so long as the expenditure was made "for the direct accomplishment of a legitimate public purpose." Barrington v. Cokinos, 338 S.W.2d 133, 140 (Tex. 1960). See also State v. City of Austin, 331 S.W.2d 737 (Tex. 1960); Davis v. City of Lubbock, 326 S.W.2d 699 (Tex. 1959); Harris County v. Dowlearn, 489 S.W.2d 140 (Tex. Civ. App. - Houston 1972,writ ref'dn.r.e.); LetterAdvisoryNo. 107 (1975). SUMMARY The Texas Forest Service, an agency of the Texas A and M University System, lacks statutory authority to grant state funds to private landowners for reforestation projects. Whether legislation granting such authority would be consistent with article III, section 51 and article XVI, section 6 of the Texas Constitution would depend on whether the grant of state funds would accomplisha legitimatepublicpurpose.

-MARK WHITE AttorneyGeneral of Texas JOHNW. FAINTER,JR. FirstAssistantAttorneyGeneral RICHARD E. GRAY III ExecutiveAssistantAttorneyGeneral

p. 1924. . Mr. James B. Bond - Page 3 (MW-532)

Preparedb$ Rick Gilpin AssistantAttorney General APPROVRD: OPINION COMMITTEE Susan L. Garrison,Chairman Jon Bible Roxanne Caperton Rick Gilpin PatriciaHinojosa Jim Moellinger BruceYoungblood

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