AURTXN IGTEXAR 

March 22, 1960 

Mr. Frank M. Jackson 

Executive Secretary 

Teachers Retirement System of Texas 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. ww-815 

Re: Does the Board of Trustees 

of the Teacher Retirement 

System of Texas have the 

authority to make payment 

out of the Teacher Retirement Expense Fund to the 

General Revenue Fund for 

rent for space occupied by 

the Teacher Retirement System in the State Office 

Building and related quesDear Mr. Jackson: tions. 

We quote as follows from your recent letter: 

"1. Does the Board of Trustees of the 

Teacher RetirementSystem of Texas have the 

authority to make payment 

Retirement System Expense 

Revenue Fund for rent for 

Teacher Retirement System 

Building? 

out of the Teacher 

Fund to the General 

space occupied by the 

in ,the State Office 

"2. If the answer to question 1 is affirmative, what State Official should bill the Teacher Retirement System for rent and ,deposi,t the' 

rent paid to the General Revenue r'und? 

"3 . Does the Board of Trustees of the 

Teacher Retirement System of Texas have the 

authority to make payment out of the Teacher 

Retirement System Expense Fund to the General 

Revenue Fund the amount certified by the State 

Auditor in the form of a Comptroller's P-l invoice as the cost of the audit made during the 

year ended August 31, 1959?" 
-. - 

Mr. Frank M. Jackson, page 2 (~~-815) 

An appropriation by the Legislature is not necessary 

in order for the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System to make the expenditures in question. Attorney General's Opinions ~~-600 (1959) and WW-565 (1959). 

In Attorney General's Opinion ~~-565 (1959) we said, in 

part, as follows: 

1, . . . the respective funds of the two 

retirement systems here involved fihe Teacher 

Retirement System and the State Employees 

Retirement Systed may be expended in accordance with the general laws governing the 

operation of the two systems without prior 

specific appropriation by the Legislature of 

Texas. . . ." (Emphasis added). 

Section 10 of Article 2922-1, Vernon's Texas Civil 

Statutes, provides for the creation of the various funds of 

the Teacher Retirement System. Included is the Expense Fund 

from which all expenses of administration and maintenance 

are directed to be paid. Section 12 of the statute places 

the general administration and responsibility for the proper 

operation of the System in a Board of Trustees and authorizes the Board to establish rules and regulations for the 

administration of the funds created by the Act and for the 

transaction of its business. More particularly, Section 12 

provides in part: 

II . . . persons engaged by the State Board 

of Trustees, and all other expenses of the Board 

necessary for the operation of the Retirement 

System, shall be paid at such rates and in such 

amounts as the State Board of Trustees shall aprove, provided that in no case shall th b 

&eater than that paid for like or sirnil% szrvice of the State of Texas." (Emphasis added). 

This Department has approved a provision proposed to 

be incorporated in the General Appropriations Bill which 

would appropriate to various special fund agencies occupying space in the State Office Building a certain sum for 

the payment of office rent to the State Building Fund. 

Attorney General's Opinion WW-604 (1959). There it was 

sarid: 
Mr. Frank M. Jackson, page 3 (~~-815) 

"Since the occupancy of such space is 

necessary to the carrying out of the particular duties of an agency of the State, 

the Legislature is authorized to appropriate 

moneys for the payment of rent. and II . . . the above quoted language is'valid 

since it carries out the purpose of the general law creating the special funds . . ." 

The same reasoning compels a like result in the 

present case. According to your letter, the agency was 

directed by the State Building Commission to move into 

the State Office Building. This agency, like others housed in the State Office Building, is being billed for rent. 

The payment of rent for space occupied by the Teacher Retirement System in the State Office Building is clearly 

necessary to carry out the purpose of the'general law creating the special fund. Beyond a doubt it is an *expense of 

the Boerd necessary for the operation of the Retirement 

System" within the meaning of Section 12, Article 2922-1, 

Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes. 

From the above quoted portion ~of'Section 12 it is 

seen that the amount to be paid as rental is left up to 

the Board so long as the amount is based upon actual expenses of the Board'necessary for the operation of the Retirement System and is not greater than the rent paid by 

other agencies of the State. Hence, your first question is 

answered in'the affirmative. 

Turning now to your second question, Section 7 of,Artitle 678m, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, provides, in part, 

as follows: 

"The Commission shall obtain title for the 

State and retain control'of the real property acquired for sites and of the buildings located 

thereon until final construction is completed 

and the buildings are occupied by the State agencies to be housed' therein, at which time the 

management and control of said buildings~shall be 

transferred to the Board of Control. . . ." 

We are advlsed by the State Building Commission that in 

the case of the State Office Building this transfer has been 

made to the Board of Control. Therefore, it is our opinion 

that the Board of Control has the responsibility of billing 

the Teacher Retirement System for rent in the State Office 
Mr. Frank M. Jackson, page 4 (WW-815) 

Building, and your second question is answered accordingly. 

Cogent to this inquiry is the fact that the Teacher 

Retirement System Act, Article 2922-1, Vernon's Texas Civil 

Statutes, provides an exclusive method whereby payments are 

to be made from the funds under the control of the State 

Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System, Subsection 3 of Section 13 of that Article provides as follows: 

"The Treasurer of the State of Texas shall 

be the custodian of all bonds, securities, and 

funds. All payments from said funds shall be 

made by him on warrants drawn by the State Comptroller of Public Accounts supported only upon 

vouchers signed by the Executive Secretary of 

the Retirement System. A duly attested copy 

of a resolution of the State Board of Trustees 

designating such person shall be filed with said 

Comptroller as his authority for issuing such 

warrants." 

It follows that the expense of office rent is to be 

paid in the manner prescribed above and in no other way. 

We observe that Section 15 under Article III of the 

General Appropriations Bill of the 56th Legislature refers 

to the payment of office rent by transfers from Special Funds 

to the General Revenue Fund. That provision, however, does 

not apply here since it relates only to the agencies grouped 

under Article III, and the Teacher Retirement System is classified in the General Appropriations Bill under Article IV. 

Relative to your third question, Article IV of the 

General Appropriations Bill of the 56th Legislature in referring to the Teacher Retirement System appropriates a certain 

sum to the "Special Trust Account in the hands of the Treasurer," and Article V, Section 10 of the general provisions of 

the bill provides: 

"None of the appropriations herein made 

shall be used to employ any firm or person to audit the books of any department, board, commission, 

institution or State agency, this being the duty 
Mr. Frank M. Jackson, page 5 (W-815) 

of the State Auditor; provi.ded, however, 

that in any instances where the funds available to said State Auditor are not, in his 

judgment, sufficient for any requested or 

contemplated audit, the department head or 

heads havbng authority to disburse the appropriations herein made are hereby authorized to 

direct the State Comptroller to transfer from 

any appropriations to the appropriation herein 

made for the State Auditor the amount which 

in the judgment of the State Auditor is necessary for the purpose of making such audit." 

However, the Legislature cannot by rider in an appropriation bill amend a general law. Attorney General's 

Opinions V-1304 (1951) and w-604 (1959). Therefore, any 

authority the Board has to pay the cost of the audit must 

be found in the general law governing the Teacher Retirement System. 

From what we have already s,i.id, it is clear that 

the general law governing the Teacher Retirement System 

authorizes the Board of Trustees of the System to pay this 

claim for an audit if the Board finds it to be an expense 

necessary for the operation of the Retirement System, and 

it is no more than the amount paid by other State agencies 

for the audit. This the Board of Trustees has apparently 

done since it amended its budget to provide for the payment 

of such claim. But the cost of the audit, like the rental 

payment, must be paid according to the exclusive procedure 

provided in Subsection 3 of- Section 13, Article 2922-1, 

Vernon's Texas Civlil Statutes, the above quoted portion of 

the General Appropriations Bill to the contrary notwithstanding. Your third question is consequently answered 

in the affirmative. 

SUMMARY 

The Board of Trustees of the Teacher 

Retirement System has authority to pay 

rent out of the Expense Fund of the 

Teacher Retirement System to the General 

Fund for space occupied in the State 

Office Building. The Board of Control 

has the responsibility of billing the 

Teacher Retirement System for rent. The 
Mr. Frank M. Jackson, page 6 (~~-815) 

Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System has authority to pay 

out of the Expense Fund the cost of 

an audit made by the State Auditor. 

All payments from the Expense Fund are 

to be made in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Subsection 3 of 

Section 13 of Article 2922-1, Vernon's 

Texas Civil Statutes. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WtLSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Assistant 

HGB:mg:ms 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Lawrence Hargrove 

Jay D. Howell 

Raymond V. Loftin, Jr. 

Charles D. Cabanlss 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore