TEEEAT~~ORNEY GENERAL 

OF XAS 

June 27, 1962 

Honorable H. D. Dodgen Opinion No. WW-1366 

Executive Secretary 

Game and Fish Commission Re: Construction of Item 5 

Austin, Texas of theappropriation to 

the Game and Fish 

Dear Mr. Dodgen: Commission. 

Your request for an opinion reads as follows: 

"At a recent regular meeting of the Game 

and Fish Commission, the Commission accepted 

the option to purchase a building and portion 

of a block in downtown La Porte, Texas. The 

building to be used to house one of the five 

regional offices of the Game and Fish Commission. 

"It was the Commission's intent to pay 

forthe aforementioned land and building out 

of Item No. 5 of the Commission's current 

Biennial Appropriation Law, being Senate Bill 

No. 1, First Called Session of the 57th Legislature. 

"Approval of the Governor, as required by 

paragraph 2, page 94 of this Act, is in our 

hands. 

"In deciding to purchase the property in 

question the Commission based its authority 

upon the provisions found in the first paragraph, page 164, of the above mentioned Act, 

referring specifically to the term 'capital 

outlay.' 

"For your information the Comptroller's 

expenditure classification of the particular 

purchase is No. 66. 

"There has been some oral conversation at 

the Comptroller's office as to whether or not 

Item 13, page 93 of the Game and Fish Commission's appropriation, may be an exception to 
Honorable H.D. Dodgen Page 2 Opinion No. Ww-1366 

Item 5. We shall therefore appreciate 

your opinion as to whether the Game and 

Fish Commission may proceed with the acquisition of this property to be paid for 

as above indicated." 

Items 5 and 13 of the appropriation to the Game and 

Fish Commission of the current General Appropriation Act 

read as follows: 

"For the Years Ending 

h?wt 31, August 31, 

"5. 

1962 1963 

Consumable supplies and materials, 

current and recurring operating 

expense (excluding travel); operation, and maintenance of passenger 

automobiles; replacement, operation 

and maintenance of aircraft; and 

capital outlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,283,800 1,236,800" 

'13. Building purchases,construction or 

remodeling: 

a. For construction of headquarters 

buildings in Matador Wildlife 

Management Area............... 50,000 U.B. 

b. For construction of headquarters 

buildings in Big Hill Wildlife 

Management Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 

C. For constructionof various boat 

docks and storage buildings for 

berthing of Game and Fish boats 5,000 5,000 

d. For remodeling and storage buildings at Texoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000 1,000 

e. For remodeling Marine laboratories 

at Seabrook and Rockport...... 1,500 It 

The term "capital outlay" as used in Item 5 is defined 

by the Legislature in the General Appropriation Act as follows: 

"The term 'capital outlay! as used in 

this Article shall mean and include items 

set out in the Comptroller of Public 

Accounts' Expenditure Classification,effective September 1, 1959, and numbered 60 to 

69.” (Section 11, paragraph 2 of Riders 

to Article III) 

According to your request, the purchase of the building and a portion of a block in downtown La Porte, Texas, is 

included in the Comptroller of Public Accounts' Expenditure 
Honorable H.D. Dodgen Page 3 Opinion No. ~~-1366 

Classification No. 66. Therefore, this particular expenditure is included in Item 5. 

Following the appropriation to the Game and Fish 

Commission is contained the following rider: 

"None of the funds appropriated above 

to the 'Game and Fish Commission may be expended fork the purchase of land unless such 

land has been surveyed so as to determine 

that the acreage involved reasonably and 

closely approximates the acreage supposedly 

involved. Land will not be purchased without prior approval of the Governor after 

obtaining the advice of the Legislative 

Budget Board. None of the funds appropriated herein may be expended for the purchase of land unless such land is purchased with the condition expressed in the 

deed of conveyance that all income from 

the mineral estate from leasing, production and/or sale, and from pipe line rightsof-way purchases will be deposited to the 

General Revenue Fund." 

You state in your request that the above rider has 

been complied with. It is noted that the expenditure of 

Item 13 would not necessarily be involved in purchases 

covered by the above quoted rider. Therefore, it is our 

opinion that the appropriation contained in Item 5 for 

"capital outlay" constitutes an additional appropriation 

from those items contained in Item 13. You are therefore 

advised that Item 5 may be 

lined in your request. 

expended for the purposes outSUMMARY 

Item 5 of the appropriation to the Game 

and Fish Commission for "capital outlay" 

may be expended by the Game and Fish Commission for the purpose of purchasing a 
Honorable H.D. Dodgen Page 4 Opinion No. ~~-1366 

building and portion of a block in downtown La Porte, Texas. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Assistant Attorney General 

Charles R. Lind ' 

Assistant Attorney General 

JR:ms,sh 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE: 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Fred Ward 

Gordon Zuber 

Bob Shannon 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore