THEATTORNEYGENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Dr . M. H. Crabb, Secretary 

Texas State Board of Med-i~cal 

Examl.ners 

Medi.cal Arts Bu-llding 

F?rt WDrth, Texas 

Dear Dr. Criahb: 

Re: Travel Expense 3ut 3f 

Med:ical Reglstratign 

Fund. 

Y?u have ro2uested an opinion fr?m th,'e ?ffl.ce c3nce:;n!nc: the fn113v:ing questj9n: 

"We are desirous of knowing whether 

an Assistant Attorney Cenei;r,l other than 

one he';n~: paid the salary in Item 34 can 

be ::'aid traveling expenses out 3f Item 

3ii when he is en,gaC;ed -rn travel;~ng t? 

Bgard heerj~ngs 3f the State bard 3f Medical Exam'lners and re-resenting the said 

FiDard 'n the various District Courts 9f 

th.'s State." 

Items 34 and 35 3f the Appropriations to the Attgrney General's 0ff:ce cDn'cained in House Bill 133, Acts 3f 

the 53th Legislature, Rerular Session, 1957, Chapter 305, 

Page 870, at P2ge 9'17 (General Appropriations Act), read as 

f3llows: 

"Out sf the Medlcal 

Registration Fu'nd 

34. Assistant Attorney General 

35. Travel p;;; g;;; 

'i‘ 

Tntal out r~f the Dled'cal 

Registration Fund $9,500 $9,500" 

The Medical Regjstration Fund is a special Statutory fund created by the provisions 3f Art'cle 4498a, VP>- 

'1~7's C;vil Statutes. Section 3 3f Art~;cle 14498a reads in 

part as follows: 
. 

Dr. M. H. Crabb, page 2, (W-57) 

"All annual registration fees collected 

by the Texas State Bnard of Medical Examiners 

under this Act shall be placed i.n the State 

Treasury, to the credit of a special fund to 

be known as the 'Medical Registration Fund,' 

and the Comptroller shall upon requisition 

of the P80ard from time to time draw warrants 

upon the State Treasurer for the amounts 

specqfied in such requisit'on; provided, however, the fees from this Medical Registration 

Fund shall be expended as speclfled by Itemized 

approprl,ati,on in the General Departmental Appropriations Bi,ll, and shall be used by the 

Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, and under its direction, in the enforcement of the 

laws of this State prohibiting the unlawful 

practice of medicine, and in the disseminat'on 

of information to prevent the violation of such 

laws and to aid in the prosecution of those who 

vjolate such flaws. The Texas State Board of 

Medical Examiners shall. be authorized to employ 

and to compensate from such special fund employees and such other persons as may be found necessary to assist the local prosecut'ng officers of 

any county in the enforcement of all the laws of 

the State prohibiting the unl:;wful pract'ce of 

medicine, and to carry out the other purposes for,. 

which said fund ins hereby appropriated. Provided 

that all such prosecutions shall be subject to 

the direction and control of the regularly and 

duly constituted prosecuting officers, and nothing in this Act shall b,e construed as depri~vi;ng 

them of any authority vested in them by law. 

It is the Medical Board's interpretation of Article 

4498a and the General Approprlatlons Act above quoted that 

monies appropriated out of the Medical Registrat?on Fund by 

Item 35 may be expended for any travel by any employee of 

the Office of the Attorney General when traveling on official business in the enforcement of the Medical Practice 

Act. It is the Comptroller's i~nterpretation that "travel" 

ins limited to travel of the Assistant Attorney General who 

is compensated out of Item 3'1 above quoted. 

Section 3 of Arti.cle &+%a states the purposes for 

whi,ch Medical Registration Funds may be expended; namely, 

(1) as specified by itemized appropriations in the General 

Departmental Appropri.ation Bill (currently House Bill 133, 

above quoted); (2) and for the purpose of enforci~ng the 
D1~. EI. H. Crabl~, ;lacc 3, (WW-557) 

The I~art:culo;~ expense account currently turned 

dcwn by the Comptrollcr'r Offj~ce was for r~;mhursement 

of necessary expensc;r -incllrrcd by an As~stant Attorney 

Ccnerol who traveled on off!c!.al hue,incsc in mak-lng -Invest~:[;nt;.:\n of n c?m.,la7nt on f-lie w 'th the Texas State 

F ::,.d 3f Medi,cal Extiminc~~s 2lleGlng vqnlnt'Dne of the 

Medqcal Practl~ce Act. 

It ls noted thzt Ttem 3ij makes an appr3prl~at1on 

fo:; "travel. " Stnndl~nc; alone th:ls ~3rd does not limit 

travel. Therefore, the only llmltation f3r th.:s Item 

~1s the rl~ders In the ii:>proprI~2ti3n I?'11 and !!rt?.cle 

i+ 4g 1' a. We have c2.r~cfully examtned the General ;\]ipro?r'- 

et??n Act and thr:;c 'c no rl,der wh,'ch w?ulcl l-:,m.it Item 

3:~! t3 any one i~nd;v'dual. Llkerj;ise there is nsth?ng in 

the pre-ex~isti~n:: law (Art'cle 443&j which w-:cld l!~mit 

the nlumber 3f ei!lrloyees 3f the Attorney General's Off'ce 

wh> may travel 3n ~ff;c~al business ;n enforcing the prov's'3ns of the Xed+.cal Practi_ce Act. 

The-efore, you are advi.sed that Item 25 m2y be 

ex!?ended fC)r any Qff:ic-'al travel hy an cm;-lgyee or emaloyees of the !.ttorney Gcncral's Off-ice when traveling 

on 5ff:ci~zl bus'ness 'in the enforccmcnt ?f the :‘sr3viSiren? of the Medical Practice iict. 

Item 35 3f the arpr3prlat~'on to the 

Attorney General's Offr'cc cgnta?:i~ned 

in House !7-'11 133, Acts 3f the 35th 

Legislnturc, Regular Sees,lDn, 1957, 

Charter 3rj5, Page 870, at Page 947 

(General Arproyriat-!3ns Act) may be 

expended f3r 9ffic?al travel performed by any employee 31: employees 

of the Attorney General's Off-ice 

fgr travel-!ng on 3ffJcial business 

'.n the enforcement 3f the Fledi,cal 

Pract'ce Act. 

Yours very trtily, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General 3f Texas 
Dr. M. H. Crabh, Pa@ '1, (WW-557) 

JR:rm 

APPROVED 

Opinion Committee 

Geo. P. Blackburn, ChaIrman 

L. P. Lollar 

Martin DeStefano 

Jze Allen Osborn 

;yIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

: W. V. Geppert