The Honorable Ben F. McDonald, Jr. Opinion No. H- 289 

Executive Director, 

Texas Department of Community Affairs Re: Whether Parks & Wildlife 

P. 0. Box 13166, Capitol Station Dept. may furnish food 

Austin, Texas 78711 and housing as part of compensation paid to employees 

under federally funded proDear Mr. McDonald: gram for youths. 

You have submitted twio questions to u’s concerning a proposed program 

to operate a State Youth Conservation Corps this summer. The program 

authorized by the United States Congress, October 27, 1972, under the 

provisions of Public Law 92-597. will provide federal funds to employ 

.youths aged fifteen through eighteen to work in Texas state parks for a 

period of eight weeks. The youths will work approximately thirty hours 

a week to perform various maintenance tasks in the parks. 

The Texas Department of Community Affairs (hereafter, Community 

Affairs) entered a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture and the United State Department of the Interior on 

December 13, 1973, to serve as the “prime grantee” responsible for 

arranging the State Youth Conservation Corps Program, 

Community Affairs and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 

(hereafter, Parks and Wildlife) propose to implement the program under 

an interagency cooperation contract whereby Parks and Wildlife would 

be responsible for actual operation of the program this summer. Under 

such a contract,+ Community Affairs would reimburse Parks and Wildlife 

for a portion of the operating costs incurred in the program, 

One of the federal requirements governing the operation of the program 

is that some arrangement must be made for the youths to secure adequate 

food and housing for the duration of their employment at the state park, 

The most expedient and surest method to provide food and housing to the 

youths is for Parks and Wildlife t.o protide it, either directly or through 

an independent contractor, 

p, 1348 
The Honorable Ben F, McDonald, page 2 (H-289) 

Your questions are: 

1. Under the circumstances set forth above, is Parks and Wildlife 

legally empowered to expend funds for feeding and housing the youths 

it employs ? 

2. If the above question is answered in the affirmative, do 

Community Affairs and Parks and Wildlife have the legal authority 

to enter an interagency cooperation contract whereby Community 

Affairs reimburses a portion of the costs incurred by Parks and Wildlife in providing such food and housing? 

The answer to your first question would depend upon (1) the existence 

of general legislation authorizing the Parks and Wildlife to engage in the 

described activities (Article 3, Sec. 44, Constitution of Texas) and (2) a 

specific appropriation for those purposes (Article 8, Sec. 6. Constitution 

of Texas). 

Bearing in mind that all powers, duties and authority of the State 

Parks Board have been transferred to Parks and Wildlife (Article 978f-3a. 

Vernon’s Texas Penal Auxiliary Laws, See, 4), we are of the opinion 

that there is ample pre-existing general law to authorize the expenditure 

you describe, ,. 

Article 6070b, V. T, C, S, , 

“Sec. 1. The Texas State Parks Board is hereby 

authorized and empowered to acquire State park sites 

by purchase, gift or otherwise, and to improve, 

beautify and equip, and to contract with any person, 

firm or corporation for the improvement, beautification 

or awipment of the State parks of this State to such 

an extent as to said Board mightbe deemed advisable., 

The authority herein given to purchase is limited to 

two years from the effective date of this Act a . , . ” 

(Emphasis added) 

The Parks and Wildlife Department has ample authority to contract 

for the maintenance of srate parks by virtue of Set; 1 of Article bOYlr, 

V>T.C.S., which provides. 13 part: 
The Honorable Ben F. McDonald, Jr., page 3 (H-289) 

I! 

. . , The Parks and Wildlife Department is hereby 

authorized and directed to cooperate . . . with all other 

departments of the state and local governments . . . . 

It is the intent of the Legislature to add to the purposes, 

functions and duties of. . . counties, to acquire lands 

for public recreation purposes, to construct thereon 

facilities for public use, to provide for the operation, 

maintenance and supervision of such public recreation 

areas, and to enter into agreements with other local, 

state or Federal Agencies for planning, construction, 

maintenance, and operation of such facilities, together 

with necessary access roads thereto, and to maintain 

adequate. sanitary gitsndards. on the.lan&and water. areas 

as a. patt of and adjacent to such recreation areas. ” 

(Emphasis added) 

And see Attorney General Opinion H-170 (1973). 

We think that clearly if Parks and Wildlife finds it necessary or 

convenient to furnish to its employees both lodging and meals as part 

of their compensation, it has the authority to do so. 

It has been suggested that Sets, 50 and 51 of Article 3 of the Texas 

Constitution would prohibit the use of these funds. We have had numerous 

occasions to write concerning the requirements of these sections and 

have concluded, with ample judicial support, that they require only that 

the expenditure of funds be made for a proper public purpose. State v. 

City of Austin, 331 S ~ W, 2d 737 (Tex. 1960); Attorney General Opinions 

C-584 (1966); H-143 (1973); O-4140 (1941). 

Whether there is such a purpose is a decision for the Department 

which will be overturned by the courts only if it is clearly arbitrary. 

Appropriations for the proposed purposes may be found in the General 

Appropriations Act for 1974 - 1975 [Acts 1973. 63rd Leg., ch. 659, p.1786) 

in items 7‘1 l2xuid’23 of the. appropriation to the Parks and Wildlife Department at pages ,2005 and 2007, as follows: 

“7, Seasonal and Part-time help 667. 754 52b. 972 

p: 1350 
The Honorable Ben F. McDonald, Jr., page 4 (H-289) 

“12. Park Improvements 

l’A.State Comprehensive Outdoor 

Recreation Plan - - for updating Texas’ comprehensive 

outdoor recreational plan, 

including personal services, 

classified personnel, travel 

and other expenses 327, 295 335,606 

“B.Maintenance, repairs and equipment; including wages and other 

expenses, whether by contract 

or direct payments, in existing State Parks 459,750 ,l, 142, 700 

, & U. B. 

“23. There is hereby appropriated from 

the Texas Park Fund, pursuant to 

Article 4 of House Bill 730, Acts 

of the Sixty-Second Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1971, for the purpose of planning, acquisition and 

development of State parks and 

State historic sites. Such expenditures include, but are not limited 

to, salaries and wages, professional 

services and fees, travel, capital 

outlay, including land and improvements thereto, and all other necessary costs and expenses whether by 

contract or direct payments. ‘I 12,000,000 12,000,000 

& U. B. 

The receipt and use of federal funds for these purposes is expressly 

authorized by Section 19 of Article V of the Appropriations Act (supra. at 

p. 2208) and by rider to the Parks and Wildlife appropriation at page 2012, 

We therefore answer your first question that, in our opinion, Parks 

and Wildlife is legally empowered to expend funds for feeding and housing 

the youths it employs, 

p. 1351 
. 

. 

The Honorable Ben F. McDonald, Jr., page 5 (H-289) 

The program in question was authorized by Public Law 92-597, 

86 Stat. 1319 amending the Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970 

(Public Law 91-378, 84 Stat. 794). The original act provided a youth 

conservation corps as a pilot program within the Departments of 

IntCrior and Agriculture. The amendment extended the program to 

pilot programs on state lands financed by federal grants. 

Reciting the high unemployment rate among young people 16- 19 

years of age, the report of the House of Representatives recommending 

Public Law 92-597 (House Report No. 92-1460, 1972 U.S. Cong. and 

Ad. News, p. 4943) states its purpose to be “to provide additional 

employment for young people ages 15 through 18 . . . ” 

The Community Affairs was created by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., ch. 879, 

p. 2697 [now found as Article 4413 (2011, V, T. C. S. ]. One of the powers 

expressly conferred upon the Department by that Act is found in its 

Sec. 4(12) requiring the Department to “administer, as appropriate, State 

responsibilities for programs created under . . . federal acts creating 

economic opportunity programs. ‘I 

In our opinion, the program of the Youth Conservation Corps Act is 

an economic opportunity program and is one the Department of Community 

Affairs is expressly directed to administer on behalf of the State. 

The Interagency Cooperation Act, Art. 4413 (32), V. T, C. S. authorizes 

and encourages contractual arrangements between various arms of the 

State government to carry out its functions. Section 3 provides: 

“Any state agency may enter into and 

perform a written agreement or contract 

with other agencies of the state for furnishing necessary and authorized special or 

technical services, including the services 

of employees, the services of materials, 

or the services of equipment = . . . ” 

It is our opinion that the two statutes, Article 4413 (201) and Article 

4413 (32). V. 1. C.S., acting in concert, give to Community Affairs the 

general authority to act on behalf of the State under the Youth Conservation Corps Act and to contract with Parks and Wildlife to acrually 

p. 1352 
The Honorable Ben F. McDonald, page 6 (H-289) 

implement the program by putting young people to work. We are 

further of the opinion that these acts would authorize expenditures 

to feed and house those youths so employed. 

Among the appropriations to Community Affairs (Appropriation Act 

for fiscal 1974-1975. supra, at p.1929) is item 9 “Grants to State 

Agencies and local Governments”. As in the case of Parks and Wildlife, 

the use of federal funds is expressly authorized by the Appropriations 

Act, supra at p. 2208. And see Sec. 25 of Article V of the Appropriations Act, supra, at p. 2209. 

In summation, it is our opinion that there is both pre-existing 

general law and specific appropriations authorizing the Department 

of Co-unity Affairs and the Parks and Wildlife Department to enter 

into an interagency cooperation contract to carry out the program of 

the Youth Conser~vation Corps Act, including the expense of feeding 

and housing young people employed by it. 

SUMMARY 

The Parks and Wildlife Department is authorized 

to expend funds to feed and house young people employed 

by it in maintaining state parks and is authorized to con - 

t-act with the Department of Community Affairs for the 

reimbursement of those expenses, or a part of them, with 

federal funds, 

Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 
I 

. 

The Honorable Ben F. McDonald, Jr., page 7 (H-289) 

APPJ++WjjD: 

DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 1354