The Honorable Pete Laney 

Chairman 

Opinion No. Ii-920 

House Administration Committee Re: Allocation of office 

Texas House of Representatives space in the Capitol to 

P. 0. Box 2910, Capitol Station news organizations. 

Austin, Texas 70767 

Dear Chairman Laney: 

You have asked our opinion on several~questions relating 

to the practice of furnishing office space in the Capitol 

to news organizations. 

your first four questions are: 

1. Does the State have a legal obligation to furnish office space to members 

of the media? 

2. If the State does have a legal 

obligation to furnish office space, then 

may the State select between individual 

companies as to amount of space and to whom 

space is granted? 

3. May.the State provide office space free 

of charge to private concerns operating media 

services in the Capitol including businesses 

and associations who provide their subscribers 

or members with information about the Legislature? 

4. May the State charge for space allocated to 

private concerns operating media services in 

the Capitol including businesses and associations 

who provide their subscribers or members with 

information about the Legislature? 

p. 3855 
The Honorable Pete Laney - page 2 (H-920) 

Virtually identical questions were posed by the House 

Administration Committee in 1973 and were addressed in 

Attorney General Opinion H-184 (1973). After a discussion Of 

relevant authorities, we said: 

[T]he House of Representatives has no 

constitutional or statutory obligation to 

provide rent free space to members of the 

media in the Capitol Building but . . . 

consistent with our traditional notions 

of open government and the need for an 

informed citizenry, and consistent with the 

purposes of the Open Meetings Law, the 

House and/or the Board of Control are amply 

justified in making a reasonable amount of 

space available for proper media purposes. 

And see Article 3, S 16, and Article 1, 9 8, 

Constitution of Texas. 

. . . . 

Assuming that the space provided to the 

members of the media is insufficient to meet 

the needs of 'all legitimate members of the 

media,' it is our opinion that the House of 

Representatives or whoever else allocates the 

space, may do so in one of several ways, the 

only requirements being that the classifications 

of those who are to have space and those who 

are not must be reasonable and must not be based 

upon any unconstitutional discrimination. - Id. 

at 4-5. 

Your current questions attempt to distinguish between 

traditional news organizations and special interest newsletters. 

The latter would normally be directed to a relatively small 

group of subscribers who are interested in specialized 

information provided by the newsletter and are willing to 

pay subscription rates much higher than those associated 

with regular newspaper subscriptions. We do not believe 

that there is any necessary distinction between general 

news-gathering organizations and commercial special interest 

publications when determining whether their presence in a 

state-provided office contributes to the public interest in 

an informed citizenry. Virginia 'State Board of Pharmac 

Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc.,- - L.E d . +976). 

p. 3856 
The Honorable Pete Laney - page 3 

Thus, in answer to your first 

is not obligated to furnish office 

(H-920) 

three ,questions, the State 

space to members of news _ organizations, but it has ample authority to provide such 

space. We note that some sort of press room space is 

provided in or near 49 of the 50 state capitols. The 

fiftieth state provided such space in the past and planned 

to do so again on completion of its new capitol ,building. 

The Citizens Conference on State Legislatures, Legislative 

Openness at 128 (1974). Furthermore, a room for reporters 

has always been contemplated as a part of the current Texas 

capitol building. 

Building Commission 

Third Biennial .Report of the Capitol 

(1886). 

-- 

The space may be provided to 

commercial, speciar-interest newsletters as well as to general 

newsgathering organizations. If the lack of space makes it 

necessary to distinguish between individuals in regard to 

the amount of space which is granted, distinctions may be made 

SO long as they are reasonable and so long,as rules are 

neither written nor applied to effect a content based discrimination among news organizations or reporters. Whether 

any particular distinction is reasonable will depend on the 

facts of that case. 

Your fourth question involves charges for space and 

was also addressed in Attorney General Opinion H-184. That 

opinion indicated 

in the absence of legislation authorizing 

the collection of rent, no rental may be 

charued for svace made available to members 

of the media or to others in state buildings. 

Tarrant Count v. Ratikan Title Compan 

199 S.W.d nex. Civ. App. -- Ft. &th 

1947, no writ). 

Thus, the collection of rent is unauthorized unless 

and until the Legislature takes action to provide statutory 

authority for the rental of space. 

Your next question is: 

5. If the State provides office space for 

the exclusive use of the media, may the 

State require that the members of the media 

determine guidelines for the allocation of 

space to those persons or entities desiring 

the use of the press areas? 

p. 3857 
The Honorable Pete Laney - page 4 (H-920) 

While no specific proposal is before us, it is our view 

that any scheme by which allocation of space in the Capitol 

was totally surrendered to a private organization would 

constitute an invalid delegation of legislative power. 

See Tex. Const. art. 

- 

Your final question is: 

6. If the answer to [question 5) is 'no', 

then may the Legislature mandate rules, 

guidelines and definitions through which 

legitimate members of the press may be 

determined and qualified to occupy the 

office space furnished by the State? .In 

addition, may the Legislature mandate rules 

by which qualified members must abide in 

order to continue in the use of the office 

space provided by the State? 

As indicated in Attorney General Opinion H-184, the 

Legislature may establish procedures or guidelines for the 

allocation and use of space. The guidelines must be reasonable 

and not based on any unconstitutional discrimination. While 

the Legislature may not totally delegate the allocation of 

space to a private organization of news representatives, it 

may certainly seek the advice of any official or unofficial 

group in determining the rules, regulations and guidelines 

it will promulgate. 

SUMMARY 

The Legislature is not required to 

provide space in the Capitol for news 

organizations, but it has ample authority 

to do so. The Legislature has ultimate 

authority for the allocation of space, but 

p. 3858 
The Honorable Pete Laney - page 5 (H-920) 

its rules must be reasonable and neither 

'written nor applied to effect a content-based 

discrimination among news organizations 

or reporters. 

Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

Opinion Committee 

jwb 

p. 3859