THEAT~O~EY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Grover Sellers 

AlTORNEY GICNl!xaAL 

Ausniw,1.T~xan 

(Overruled by 0-6903 insofar 

as conflicts) 

Hon. C. H. McDowell 

Acting Director 

Opinion NO. 0-6017 

Re: 

Texas Agricultural 

Authority of Board of Directors 

Experiment Station 

of A.& M. College to purchase addiCollege Station, Texas 

tional land for Main State Experiment Station. 

Dear Sir: 

We acknowledge receipt of your letter of May 12, 1944, 

requesting an opinion from this department on the legality of a 

proposed purchase of two tracts of land, consisting of 215 and 

219 acres) respectively, in Burleson County, Texas, by the Board 

of Directors of A.&M. College for use for experimental purposes 

by the Main State Experiment Station in Brazes County, Texas. 

You have also submitted to us abstracts covering these two tracts 

of land for our examination, but in view of our conclusion with 

reference to the authority of the Board of Directors to make this 

purchase, we find it unnecessary to examine the abstracts. 

In our recent opinion No. o-5918 we held: (1) That the 

Board cf Directors of A.&M. College had statutory authority under 

Articles 2613a and 2613a-5, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes to 

purchase land “conveniently located in reference to the campus” 

for “college purposes” and (2) that the 48th Legfslature had appropriated the unexpended balance in the P’ure Feed Fund “for such 

purposes as the Board of Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas may deem advisable.” On the basis of 

these holdings we were of the opinion on the facts stated that 

the Board of Directors of A.&M. College was authorized to purchase the Seth Mooring and the John Lawrence farm as a part of 

the physical plant of A.&M. College and pay for the land out of 

the avaflable balance in the Pure Feed Fund. 

Your letter states the purpose for which the proposed 

purchase is to be made is 

poultry and livestock.” 

“for research on feeds and grains for 

The purposes for which the Board of Directors purchased the Seth Mooring and John Lawrence farm were 

stated to be: 

“1 . To afford additional space and a better type of 

soil for research and kindred work on feeds and grains for 

poultry and livestock and in all other phases of agriculture 

for the ~Agricultural &periment Station and Zor research 

projects for graduate students in agriculture. 
Bon. C. .H. McDowell, page 2 (O-6017) 

"II. To provide for expansions in the production and 

processing of livestock, poultry, dairy, farm crops, and 

horticultural products in order that the College may better 

accomplish to a greater degree the following objectives: 

“a. Afford more practical training for students in 

all phases, of agricultural research, ,producti,on and manageDent. 

“B. ~&large certain processing facilities so as to 

give students training in the commercial operations of such 

plan+X. 

“C. Furnish a large portionof animal, dairy and horticultural products used in the mess halls. 

“n. Produce a larger portion of the feeds required 

for livestock and poultry kept by the &periment Station 

and School of Agriculture.” 

Sect ion 44 of Article III of the Texas Constitution 

provides that : 

“The Legislature . . . shall not . ., . grant, by appropriation or otherwise, any amount of money out of the Treasury of the State, to any individual, on a claim, real or 

pretended, when the same shall not have been provided for by 

pre-existing law.” 

The quest ion here is not whether the money is available 

for the purchase’ of this land, but whether any pre-existing law 

authorized the purchase of this land by the Board of Directors of 

ii&M. College at the time the 48th Legislature pa’ssed the current 

appropriation bill. If there was no such pre-existing law authorizing the purchase the appropriation bill cannot be construed as 

conferring this authority. Fort Worth Cavalry Club, Inc. v. Sheppard,125 Tex. 339, 83 S.%(2) 660. 

Chapter 8 of Title 4 of the Revised Civil Statutes of 

Texas, 1925, and the amendments thereto are devoted exclusively 

to State Experiment Stations, their establishment, maintenance, 

ma operation. The powers of the Board of Directors of A.&M. 

College with reference thereto are separately enumerated. The 

Board is given power to lease land for experimental purposes, but 

its ~only power to buy land is limited to those instances where 

the Board of Directors has sold land which has “become undesirable for experimental purposes” and deems it advisable “to apply 

th,e proceeds of such sale in the purchase of ,other land.” Article 139, V. A.&S. There is no general authority in this law to 

purchase land for experimental purposes comparable to the authority conferred by Article 2613a and 2613a-5, Vernon’s Bnnotated 

Civil Statutes to purchase land for college purposes. 
Hoi. C. H. McDowell, page 3 (O-6017) 

From time to time the Legislature has passed amendments to Chapter 8 of Title 4 authorizing the establishment of 

sub-experimental stations in different parts of the State but 

these laws have always provided that these stations were to be 

located on land donated by citizens of the community which would 

be benefited by the establishment of the sub-station. Of course, 

if the Board of Directors has authority to purchase additonal 

land for the Main State Experiment Station, it would likewise 

have authority to purchase additional land for the numerous substations located throughout the State, that is at 1ea.s; ;aelzfng 

as there was money available in the Pure Feed Fund. 

the opinion that the statutes which we relied upon as a basis for 

out Opinion No. O-5918 should be limited to the purchase of land 

for college aurooses. 

We, accordingly, advise that, in our opinion, the proposed purchase of the two tracts of land in Burleson County is 

not authorized by pre-existing law and the Pure Feed Fund cannot 

be used for this purpose. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By /s/ Fagan Dickson 

Fagan Dickson, Assistant 

APPROVED MAY 73 1944 

/s/ Grover Sellers 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE 

BY: OS, CHAIRMAN 

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