. 

'TRE AITORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

AUSJTIN. 'PNNASJ 78711 

.lOEN l.. ElIA. 

A- o-AI. May 3, 1977 

Honorable Paul Cromwell Opinion No. If- 987 

Chairman 

Board of Pardons & Paroles Re: Representation of inmates 

Room 711, Stephen F. Austin by legislators before the 

Building Board of Pardons 6 Paroles. 

Austin, Texas 70701 

Dear Mr. Cromwell: 

You inquire about the circumstances under which members 

of the Texas Legislature may represent inmates of Texas 

prisons before the Board of Pardons and Paroles. Before 

granting parole to a prisoner, the Board may interview him. 

Code Grim. Proc. art. 42.12, 9 15(c). By Board rule, inmate 

interviews are conducted privately and not as public hearings, 

a practice expressly permitted by the Texas Open Meetings Act. 

V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17, 9 2(p). Any person who represents an 

inmate in his interview with the Board must submit an affidavit 

stating whether he has received or will receive a fee for his 

services. Code Grim. Proc. art. 42.12, S 18. 

you ask whether legislators may represent inmates for a 

fee in connection with such proceedings in view of the following 

provision: 

(a) No member of the legislature shall, 

for compensation, represent another person 

before a state agency in the executive 

branch of state government unless: 

(1) the representation is made 

in a proceeding that is adversary 

in nature or other public hearing 

which is a matter of record. . . . 

V.T.C.S. art. 6252-9b, S 7. 

The Board of Pardons and Paroles is a state agency in\, 

the executive branch. - See V.T.C.S. art. 6252-9b, 9 2, (5)(A) 

p. 4104 
Honorable Paul Cromwell - page 2 (H-987) 

(xiv) and (8) (A) (i). An inmate interview is neither public 

nor adversary; therefore, members of the Legislature may 

not represent inmates in such an interview for a fee. 

YOU also ask whether the Board may refuse to allow legislators who are receiving a fee to represent inmates of the 

Texas Department of Corrections. 

rules respecting the interviews. 

The Board has power to make 

Article 42.12 of the Code 

of Criminal Procedure provides in part: 

The Board may adopt such other reasonable 

rules not inconsistent with law as it may 

deem proper or necessary with respect to 

. . . the conduct of parole hearings., . . . 

Sec. 15(d). 

The Board shall formulate rules as to the 

submission and presentation of information 

and arguments to the Board for and in behalf of any persons within the jurisdiction 

of the Board. 

Sec. 18. Under these provisions we believe the Board may 

adopt rules governing the qualifications of persons who repre- . sent inmates before it; however, in order to be valid, an administrative rule discriminating between persons must have a 

reasonable basis related to the purpose of the rule. Railroad 

Commission v. Shell Oil Co., 161 S.W.Zd 1022, 1026 (Tex. 1942); 

Ground Water Conservation Dist. No. 2 v.,Iiawley, 304 S.W.Zd 764, 

767 (Tex. Civ. App. -- Amarillo 1957) writ ref'd n.r.e. per 

cur&m, 306 S.W.2d 352 (Tex. 1957). Ame forbidding legislators from representing inmates for a fee in closed proceedings 

before the Board merely reflects the statutory prohibition of 

article 6252-913, and we believe it would be found to be reasonable. Of course, neither the rule nor the statute prohibit 

appearances by legislators when no fee is involved. 

SUMMARY 

Article 6252-9b, section 7 prevents legislators from representing inmates for a fee 

in private interviews with the Board of 

Pardons and Paroles. The Board may make 

a rule forbidding legislators from representing inmates for a fee in proceedings 

which are either nonadversary or nonpublic. 

p. 4105 
Honorable Paul Cromwell - page 3 (H-987) 

Very truly yours, 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

p. 4106