TEEA'ITORNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 1,. T-EXA~ 

BVJLL WI&SON 

A-RNEYG~NEc-I. January 29, 1960 

Mr. D. C. Greer 

State Highway Engineer 

State Highway Building 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Mr. Greer: 

Opinion No. WW-790 

R.3: Whether the provision in the 

Appropriation Bill (H.B. 4, 

56th Leg., 3rd Called Session, 

19591, authorizing service and 

safety awards, and transportation to receive them, is constitutional. 

Your request for an opinion from this office concerns the following question: Is the State Highway Commission authorized to award pins and 

certificates for longevity of service and safety award pins and certificates 

for safe operation of State equipment, and to authorize the transportation 

of an employee with twenty-five years or more of service from designated 

headquarters to Austin to receive such longevity award? 

The General Appropriation Bill,to the Texas Highway Department 

provides in House Bill 4, Acts of the 56th Legislature, Third Called Session, 

1959, Chapter 23, page 442 at 590, as follows: 

"As compensation in addition to that authorized 

to be paid above, the Highway Department is authorized to purchase and give to its employees at periodic intervals, under such rules and regulations as 

have been or may be adopted by the State Highway Commission, service award pins and certificates for 

longevity of service and safety award pins and certificates for safe operation of state equipment; and 

the Department is also authorized as further additional 

compensation to provide, at state expense, for the 

transportation of employees with 25 years or more of 

service from their designated headquarters to Austin 

and return at intervals of not less than 5 years for 

the purpose of appearing before the State Highway Commission to receive said longevity service awards." 

Section 51 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas provides, 

in part, as follows: 

"The Legislature shall have no power to make any 

grant or authorize the making of any grant of public 
.-- . . 

Mr. D. C. Greer, page 2 (Ww-790) 

moneys to any individual, association of individuals, municipal or other corporations whatsoever . . . " 

The constitutional provision ouoted above. orohibits "aratuitnus 

disposition of the state's money, property, or contractual rights." Rhoads 

Drilling Company v. Allred, 123 Tex. 229, 70 S.W.2d 576 (1934); Friedman v. 

American Surety Company of New York, 137 Tex. 149, 151 S.W 2d 570 

However, it is clear that the Legislature is not relegated to comuensatina 

employees only by yearly or monthly sums of mon>y. 1; is permissible to - 

includeoth,r items as a portiouof an employee's camp-nsation. Examples 

are readily found where certain ,mployees receiv- housing, laundry, maid 

service, etc. We are not faced with the same consid-rations involved in 

Attorney General Opinion WW-153 (1957) because we h,re have a specific legislative appropriation establishing these awards as part of the eligible 

employees' compensation. Senate Bill 43, Acts 56th Legislature, Third Called 

Session, 1959, Chapter 85, page 144, is the general law setting salaries 

and compensation of state employe?s at the amount established in the General 

Appropriation Bill. In our opinion, the awards in question are perquisites 

of, employment directly related to and in payment of the eligible employees' 

service to the state. They, therefore. are not prohibited gratuities within the meaning of Section 51 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas. 

It remains to determine whether such awards are prohibited by 

Sec. 44 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas. Said section reads 

as follows: 

"Sec. 44. The Legislature shall provide by law 

for the compensation of all officers, servants, agents 

and public contractors, not provided for in this 

Constitution, but shall not grant extra compensation 

to any officer, agent, servant, or public contractors, 

after such public service shall have been performed or 

contract entered into, for the performance of the 

same; nor grant, by appropriation or otherwise, any 

amount of money out of'the Treasury of the State, to 

any individual, on a claim, Teal or pr-tended, when the 

same shall not have been provided for by pre-existing 

,law; nor employ any one in the name of the State, unless 

authorized by pre-existing law. (Emphasis added.) 

In our opinion the awards in question are not prohibited by the 

above quoted constitutional provision. Just becaus- the awards are based 

on the length of the employee's service, it does not follow that the awards 

are "additional compensation" in payment for past service after such service 

has been performed. It is within the discretion of the Legislature to determine that a state employee is more valuable to the State today because of 

his experience gained by long and faithful past performance. This is the 
Mr. D. C. Greer, Page 3 (h'W-7'90) 

very foundation of longevity payments authorized for various state employees. Of course, if an award were to be attempted from public funds to a 

former employee no longer connected with the State, Sections 44 and 51 of 

Article III would prohibit the same. It is an entirely different matter, 

however, to recognize a current employee's experience record and to increase 

his present and future compensation accordingly. The Legislature has seen 

fit to provide a portion of that increased compensation in the form of the 

awards and presentations in question. We find no constitutional prohibition 

to'this most worthy recognition. 

SUMMARY 

The Texas Highway Department has authority to purchase longevity and service award 

pins and certificates, and to pay the expenses 

incurred in traveling from different points 

in Texas for the purpose of receiving such 

awards, there being a specific appropriation 

for such purpose. 

Very truly yours, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

Tom I. McFarling 

Assistant 

TIM:aw 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMIlTEE 

James H. Rogers, Chairman 

Houghton Brownlee 

R. V. Loftin, Jr. 

Morgan Nesbitt 

R~IEWEDFORTHEATIORNEY GENERAL 

BY: 

Leonard Passmore