Honorable Robert S. Calvert 

Comptroller of ‘Public kccounts 

,Opinion ~No. W-177. 

kstin, Texas Re: Legality of the expenditure of State fundsfor 

stationery, supplies and 

postage for each member 

of the House of Rep,resentatives for their use 

until next meeting of the 

Dear Mr. Calvert: 

Legislature, pursuant to 

H.S.R. 479. 

Your request for an Opinion dated June 17, 1957, reads 

as follows: 

“I am enclosing a copy of HSR Resolution No. 

479 and call your attention to the following language found on page 6 of this Resolution: 

“‘RESOLVED, That each Member of the House of 

Representat,ives of the Fifty-fifth Legislature, be, 

ygo;s hereby? allowed an additional Fifty Dollars 

each, with the Committee on Contingent Expens,es for expenditures of stationery, supplies, 

postage, telephone tolls, and/or telegraph tolls. 

These Members that have exceeded the amount heretofore authorized shall be entitled to have this additional amount paid from the Contingent Expense Fund, 

but no more. t 

“You have in subsequent opinions advised concerning the legality of telephone and telegraph 

toll charges. Please advise me as to the legality 

of the expenditures of State funds for stationery, 

supplies and postage for e~ach member of the House 

of Representatives for their use until the next 

meeting of the Legislature .I’ 

The aforementioned Resolution was adopted by the House 

on May 17, 1957, and deals primarily with post session matters 

affecting the House. It is not clear whether the $50.00 allowance to each member therein made for stationery, supplies, postage, telephone tolls and/or telegraph tolls was to be expended 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (Ww-177) 

prior to adjournment or whet~her it was intended to be a betweensession allowance for each member for the purposes specified, 

or for both purposes. 

Insofar as the resolution authorizes expenditures by 

members for said purposes prior to adjournment of the Legislature, we think it clear that both the authorization, and the expenditures pursuant thereto, are permitted by law; but insofar 

as it might authorize between-session expenditures for any of 

said purposes, the great weight of authorities by which we must 

be guided, prohibits same. The question presented is not one of 

first impression b 

ii 

any means. Commencing with Attorney General’s Opin?on O-377 (1941) the Attorney General has consistently 

held that compensation of.Legislators is strictly specified and 

limited by Section 24 of Article III of the Texas Constitution; 

that reimbursement for “personalUU as opposed to “legislative” 

expenses is ,in the nature of unauthorized compensation; and that 

the only expenses that are “legislative’t are those that relate 

to public purposes concerned with duties imposed by law on members of the Legislature. The above opinion treats the subject 

in an exhaustive manner, citing numerous court decisions of this 

and other jurisdictions in support of the proposition therein 

announced. To recapitulate such authorities at this time could 

only serve to unnecessarily prolong the opinion. See also: 

Attorney General’s Opinions numbered v-84 (1947) V-211 (19471, 

v-772 (1949), MS-40 (19531, W-131 (19571, WW-146 (1957). We’ 

do however 

io: No. O-3378 

uote from that portion of attorney General’s Opin- 

(1941) dealing with the distinction between a 

“personal” and ‘Jlegislative” expense, as follows: 

‘IIt is believed that the matter of Legislative 

and personal expense may be rationalized~as follows. 

Legislative expense is that incident to the workings 

of the Legislature as an actual law-making body, as 

a wholes, as the Legislature itself, when in session; 

through a special committee delegated by the Legislature while in session to work on a legislative matter 

between sessions; through personnel employed to close 

matters after adjournment; or through employees maintained between sessions for the care of the Legislative halls or for maintenance of a central office or 

clearing house for legislative matters between sessions. These expenses are for the mutual benefit of 

all members--for the Legislature itself. 

t8Personal expense, on the other hand, is that incurred, or which may be incurred, by a Member between 

sessions working under his own will, in his own discretion and as a matter of individual enterprise -- 
. : - 

Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page '3 (W-177) 

not as a part of the Legi~slature in session or .under extraordinary assignment from the body between 

sessions. 

“If, therefore, an allowance of expenses to individual members of the Legislature during a session, 

or while on a committee assignment between sessions, 

is presumptively legislative expense, it does not 

follow that, an expense allowance to each member indiscriminately between sessions is likewise so. To 

the contrary, in our opinion the latter is presumptively personal expense. 

“Essentially this view is grounded upon the historical and constitutional concept of a State legislative office together with the practical workings 

of the constitutional methods with reference thereto, 

and the discernible weight of the cases in support 

of such conclusion.” 

The foregoing authorities preclude our making ,any valid 

distinction between expenses for telephone tolls between session, 

with which Opinions WI-131 and W-148 were concerned, and expenses for stationery, supplies and postage. We think betweensession allowances for either, unless such expense occurred under such circumstances as to come within the definition of “legislative expense” as that term is defined above, would constitute 

an unlawful use of State funds. 

SUMMaRY 

Insofar as HSR 479 of the 55th Legislature 

may authorize members of the House of Representatives to expend State funds for stationery, supplies, postage, telephone tolls and/or telegraph 

tolls, between sessions of the Texas Legislature, 

same is invalid as authorizing the expenditure of 

State funds for an unlawful purpose. 

Very truly yours, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

LP:PF:wb 

-Leonard Passmore 

Assistant 
Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 4 (W-177) 

APPROVED: 

6P~NIO~‘~OMMITTEE: 

H. Grady Chandler; Chairman 

Larry Jones 

Joe Rollins 

Milton Richardson 

REVIEWED FOR TRE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Geo.'P. Blaciburn