, 

THE ATFORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

AURTIN. T-e 78711 

The Honorable John R. Bigham, Chairman Opinion No. H- 608 

Environmental Affairs Committee 

House of Representatives Re: State funds which may 

Capitol Building be used by the Parks and 

Austin, Texas Wildlife Department for the 

construction of a headquarters 

building at McKinney Falls 

State Park. 

Dear Representative Bigham: 

You have requested our opinion concerning the funds to be used for 

the construction of a Parks and Wildlife headquarters building at McKinney 

Falls State Park. You ask: 

(1) Which state funds may be used b the Parks and 

Wildlife Department in constructing its new state 

headquarters on a portion of McKinney Falls State 

Recreation Park? 

(2) Is the erection of such a building a proper 

“capital outlay” or other proper use of funds 

described in article 4386b-2, V. T. C. S. ? 

(3) Is the erection of such a building a proper use 

of Texas Parks Fund No. 31? 

Your attention is directed to the Parks and Wildlife Department’s 

appropriation in the General Appropriations Act for the 1973-75 biennium, 

House Bill 139, 63rd Leg., Regular Session, 1973. In a rider attached to 

the regular appropriations provisions for the Department, the Act provides 

for an appropriation of: 

. . . the unexpended balance of appropriations made 

to the Parks and Wildlife Department for construction 

of a State office building as provided in the General 

Appropriations made by the Sixty-Second Legislature 

. . . for the same purposes and subject to the same 

restrictions for the biennium beginning September 1, 

1973. 

p. 2693 
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The Honorable John R. Bigham - Page 2 (H-608) 

The current appropriation therefore appropriates the unexpended balance 

of the appropriation made in the previous biennium, for the same purpose 

and subject to the same restrictions. 

The previous appropriation, found in Senate Bill 11, Acts 62nd Leg., 

Regular Session, 1971, as amended by Senate Bill 7, Acts 62nd Leg., 1st 

Called Session, 1971, was likewise in the form of a rider to the Department’s regular appropriations for the biennium ending August 31, 1973: 

In addition to the funds appropriated hereinabove, 

there is hereby appropriated out of such funds as 

may be available to the Parks and Wildlife Department an amount NTE $8, 000, 000 for construction 

of a State office building for the Parks and Wildlife 

Department to be located at McKinney Falls State Park 

including facilities for wildlife scientific research and 

comprehensive park and statewide outdoor recreation 

planning. Such amount to cover planning, site development, professional services and fees, salaries and 

wages, capital outlay including utilities, equipment, 

park areas and other improvements related thereto 

and all other necessary costs and expenses whether 

by contract or direct payments. 

The current appropriation is made subject to the same restrictions 

as the original appropriation, and the original appropriation was not 

limited to any specific funds but was limited to a total amount not to 

exceed $E,OOO,OOO. Therefore, the answer to your first question is that 

the current appropriation subject to the “amount” limitation of the 

original appropriation, would. permit the use of the unexpended balances 

remaining at the conclusion of the 1971-73 biennium in such funds as may 

have been available to the Parks and Wildlife Department. The current 

Appropriation Act rider does not, in our opinion, appropriate additional 

money for such purposes. It merely reappropriates funds on hand but 

unspent during the previous biennium. See Attorney General Opinions 

WW-280 (1957), WW-23 (1957) and V-1117(1950). 

In answer to your second question, Attorney General Opinion 

M-952 (1971) held that the funds available to the Department under the reappropriation may be transferred to the Operating Fund and expended for 

the construction of the building in question pursuant to article 4386b-2, 

V. T. C. S. See Attorney General Opinion M-574 (1970). 

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p. 269’4 
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The Honorable John R. Bigham - Page 3 (H-608) 

Your third question refers specifically to Texas Parks Fund No. 

31. This fund was created by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., ch. 292, p. 1200 

amending article 7.06, V. T. C. S. Tax-&n. 

Fifty cents of the tax levied under this Article 

on each 1,000 cigarettes shall be credited to a 

new special fund known as the Texas Parks Fund 

which may be used by the Parks and Wildlife 

Department for the ac uisition, plannin 

develo ment of state parks an 

i-E-!-- 

--e-a historicgiit%d . . . 

mphasis added). 

In Attorney General Opinion H-575 (1975) we said “to the extent 

that the operational expenses of the Department are referable and allocable 

to the acquisition, planning, or development of state parks and historic 

sites, they may be financed from Texas Parks Fund 31. ” Likewise, the 

use of Parks Fund 31 is appropriate in the construction of a Parks and 

Wildlife Headquartersbuildirg at McKinney Falls State Park, but only to 

the extent that the building is related to or will be used in the acquisition, 

planning, and development of state parks and historic sites. See Attorney 

General Opinion M-952 (1971). What proportion of the buildingisallocable 

to those purposes is a question of fact. 

SUMMARY 

The current appropriation of unexpended balances 

to the Parks and Wildlife Department for construction 

of a State office building at McKinney Falls State Park 

is referable to the previous appropriation therefor; 

it authorizes expenditures of balances remaining at 

the close of the previous biennium in the funds from 

which expenditures were previously authorized. 

Very truly yours, 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General of Texas 

p. 2695 
The Honorable John R. Bigham - Page 4 (H-608) 

APPROVED: 

NDALL, First Assistant 

OBERT HEATH. Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

jwb 

p. 2695