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Honorable Claude Isbell Executive Secretary Board of Regents State-TeachersColleges Box K, Capitol Station Austin, Texas January 22, 1957

Opinion No. WW-3

Re: Payment of travel expenses of the presidentsand/or

Dear Sir:

We refer to your request the following data and question: their authorized representatives of the six State TeachersColleges to Austin during sessions of the Legislature.
presenting, in substance,

'OnDecember 20, 1956, the Board of Regents of the State TeachersColleges passed the following resolution:

"The Presidentand appropriatemembers of the administrative staff of the six Teachers Colleges under the jurisdictionof this Board be authorized to attend calledmeetings initlated by the Council of College Pr,esi.dents and the following agencies; LegislativeBudget Board, the Governor'sExecutive Budget off~ice, the Commission on Higher Education, or the Advisory Committee to the Commission on Higher Education and also in response to calls made by legislative committees;with the understanding the resolution on the same subject adoptedby the Board at Huntsville,Texas, on October 26, 1956 remain in full force and effect. The motion adopted at the October 26 meeting reads as follows: The Board authorize the presence of the several presidentsof thesix teachers colleges, and/or their authorized representativesand the necessary official travel incident to the said presence in Austin, Texas, for the performanceof

.Ron. Claude Isbell, page 2. (OpinionNo. 

### WW-3)

their official duties and responsibilities at appropriate times during the interval in ' which the forthcomingregular session of the fifty-fifthLegislaturemay be convened. Such travel to be approved by the Chairman or a member of the local committee,provided the Chairman cannot be reached. In making a request for permission to go to Austin at State expense the Presidentwill set forth in his request the
reason for going and after he has returned to give the Board a report on his activities and accomplishmentswhile in Austin."'
Question: Would the administrativeofficers or representativesof the state teachers collegesby complyingwith the foregoingresolution,be authorized to visit the City of Austin at any time during the 55th session of the Legislature and have their expenses paid for such trips out of the funds of these colleges?

Section 21 of ArticleV of House Bill 140, Acts of the 54th Legislature,Regular Session, 1955, chapter 140, page 

### 1348at page 

### 1584 (BiennialAppropriationBill, Special Provisions GenerallyApplicable to Agencies of Higher Education) provides:

'Travelauthorizations.,None of the moneys

appropriated in this Article to the respective state agencies of higher educationmay be expended for reimbursing the official travel expenses of any executivehead thereof, or of any member of the administrative staff thereof, to Austin during sessions of the Texas Legislature without the specific and advance,written approval
or authorizationby the Governing,,Board .ofsuch state agency of higher education.

The explicit language of Section 21, supra, contemplates that before any of the administrativeofficers of the sevsral state agencies of higher education,which includes the state teachers colleges, shall' be entitled to reimbursementfor travel expenses to Austin during sessions of the Texas Legislature It must appear that wrltten authorization for the specific trip was obtained from the governingboard of the proper agency of higher educationbefore such travelwas performed.Hon. Claude Isbell, page 

### 3. (OpinionNo. 

### W-3)

Opinion No. O-4203 (1941)of this department concerned
a provision of House Bill 272, Acts of the 47th Legislature,Regular Session, 1941, similar to the provisionsof,Section 21, supra. It was held in this opinion that since the advancewritten consent of a school'sgoverningboard was not obtained as required~ by the statute, prior to the performanceof out of state travel, reimbursement for such travelwas not permitted. We quote, in - part, from the language of the foregoing opinion:

"The act is clear and explicit In its requirement that 'notravel shall be performedoutside the state except upon the advancewritten consent of the school'sBoard,,of Regents or Trustees'. No exception is made from this requirement, authorizing such travel in emergencywithout the advance written consent of the school'sBoard of Regents
or Directors. We are not at liberty to reai such. exception into the provisionsabove quoted.

We are confrontedwith the f,urther question of whether the Board of Regents of the State Teachers Colleges could delegate legal a,uthority to its chairman or a member of the local committee to pass upon applications for travel authorization to Austin during sessions of the Texas Legislature. It is our view that the Legislatureby use of the language "specificand advance, written approval and authorizationof,,the governing board of such state agency of higher education indicated its intention that only the governinghead of such state agency of higher education should exercise the discretion and authority therein contained, and that the exercise thereof could not be delegated to either the chairman of theBoard or Agency or a member of the local committee. The general rule of law here applicable is statedby~34 Texas Jurisprudence,Section 79, page 459, as follows:

"It is a general rule that public duties must be performedand governmentalpowers exercised by the officer or body designatedby law - that they cannotbe delegated to others. This is particularlytrue of dutieswhich are j,udicial in their nature or which call for the exercise of reason or discretion ant which are a part of the public trust assumed.Hon. Claude Isbell,page 4. (OpinionNo. WW-3)

We, therefore, conclude that the various administrative officers of the State Teachers Colleges shall be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses to Austin during sessionsof the Texas Legislatureonly If the provisionsof Section 21, House Bill 140, supra, of the General AppropriationBill of the 54th Legislaturebe compliedwith. This requires that such officer shall obtain the advance written consent of his governing board for each trip and that such consentmay,be grantedby said board only while in regular or special sessionwith the necessary quorum present for the transactionof business.

SUMMARY

In order for the administrativeofficers of the State Teachers Colleges to be entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses to Austin during sessions of the Texas Legislaturewritten, advance a,uthorization

for each trip must be given by'the Board of Regents of said Colleges pursuant to the provisionsof Section 21 of ArticleV of House Bill 140, Acts of the 54th,Legislature,Regular Session, 1584. 1955, chapter 140, page 1348 at page Such authority can be granted by the Board only at a regular or specialmeeting thereofwith the necessary quorum present for the transaction of business.

Yours very truly,

WILL WILSON Attorney General

LP:zt

APPROVED:

OPINIONCOMMITTEE

H. Grady Chandler, Chairman