November 6, 1974 

The Honorable Charlie Chapman 

Executive Director 

Structural Pest Control Board 

313 East Anderson Lane 

Austin, Texas 78752 

Dear Mr. .Chapman: 

Opinion No. H- (H-443) 

Re: Authority to charge 

examining fee in 

addition to license 

fee. 

You have asked whether the Structural Pest Control Board of Texas 

(the Board) may charge an applicant for a license a fee to cover the 

Board’s expense in administering a written examination for the applicant? 

The Board was created in 1971 by enactment of the Texas Structural 

Pest Control Act, Article 135b-6. Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes. The 

Board is required to develop criteria for licensing persons engaged in 

structural pest control and may require applicants for licenses to pass an 

examination (Section 4). The types of license and their terms are set out 

in Sections 5, 6 and 6A. Sections 7 and 8 are as follows: 

Sec. 7 (a) An applicant for an initial or renewal 

license shall accompany his application with a fee 

of $50 for each place of business located in the State 

and a fee of between $5 and $15; as determined by 

the board, for each empl.oyee of the applicant who is 

engaged in structural pest control services. This is 

not to apply to those locations serving only as answering 

services for a licensed business. 

(b) A licensee whose license has been lost or 

destroyed shall be issued a duplicate license after 

application therefor and the payment of a fee of 

$10. 

Sec. 8. The.proceeds from the collection 

of the fees provided in this Act shall be deposited 

in a special fund in the State Treasury to be known 

as the Structural Pest Control Fund, and shall, be 

p. 2043 
The Honorable Charlie Chapman, page 2 (H-443) 

used for the administration and enforcement of the 

provisions of this Act. No expense incurred in 

implementing the provisions of this Act shall ever 

be a charge against the general revenue funds of 

the State of Texas. Any balance in the special ‘fund 

at the end of each State fiscal biennium in excess of 

appropriations out of that fund for the succeeding 

biennium shall be transferred to the general revenue 

fund. All money deposited in the Structural Pest 

Control Fund is hereby appropriated to the board 

for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of 

this Act for the fiscal biennium ending August 31, 

1973. 

We do not interpret either of these as expressly authorizing the collection of an examination fee separate and apart from the license fee. 

It is well established in our law that, mless a fee is provided by law 

for an official service required to be performed and the amount fixed by 

law, none can lawfully be charged. McCalla V. City of Rockdale, 246 

S. W. 654 (Tex. 1922); Nueces County V. Currington, 162 S. W. 2d 687 (Tex. 

1942);, Attorney General Opinion V-1426 (1952). 

Accordingly we answer your question in the negative. The only fees 

the Board may collect at this time are those expressly authorized in 

Section 7 of Art. 136b-6, V. T. C.S. 

SUMMARY 

In the absence of an express statutory authorization; 

the Structural Pest Control Board of Texas may not 

charge a separaf:e fee for administering license examinations. 

Very truly yours, 

8 

x?R 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General of Texas 

p- 2044 
The Honorable Charlie Chapman, page 3 (H-443) 

AP ROnVED: 

A 

CA ~‘-ep 

DAVID M. KENDALL, Chairman 

Opinion Committee 

p. 2045