MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

The Attorney General of Texas 

September lo,1981 : 

Mr. Jackie L. Vaughan 

Executive Director 

Texas Amusement Machine Commission 

1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 108E 

Austin, Texas 78723 

Dear Mr. Vaughan: 

Opinion No. MW-365 

Re: Per diem of commissioners 

of Texas Amusement Machine 

Commission 

Article 4413(41), V.T.C.S., established the Texas Amusement 

Machine Commission. Section 4 of that article previously 

that: 

All members of the Commission shall be compensated 

in an amount of Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00) per 

day for each day they are actually engaged in 

performing their duties whether or not in 

attendance at a meeting; provided, however, they 

shall not draw compensation for mcwe than sixty 

(60) days in any one fiscal year. In addition to 

the per diem provided for herein, members of the 

Commission shall be reimbursed for their actual 

and necessary traveling expenses in the 

performance of their duties. 

Senate Bill No. 486, which became effective September 

amended section 4 to provide as follows: 

All members of the Commission shall be entitled to 

a per diem as set by legislative appropriation for 

each day they are actually engaged in performing 

their duties whether or not in attendance at a 

meeting; provided, however, they shall not draw 

compensation for more than sixty (60) days in any 

one fiscal year. A member may not receive any 

compensation for travel expenses, including 

expenses for DX?dS and lodging, other than 

transportation expenses. A member is entitled to 

compensation for transportation expenses as 

prescribed by the General Appropriations Act. 

provided 

1, 1981, 

p. 1220 
Jackir I.. Vaughn - Page 2 (~~-365) 

With respect to the Texas Amusement Machine Commission, the 

General Appropriations Act, House Bill No. 656, provides in pertinent 

part that: 

The per diem for board members shall be actual 

expenses for meals and lodging plus an additional 

$75 for each day the member is engaged in official 

business of the Commission.... 

You are concerned about the conflict between section 4, as 

amended, and the foregoing provision of the General Appropriations 

Act. You ask: 

Are the Commissioners of the Texas Amusement 

Machine Commission only entitled to per diem and 

transportation expenses as stated in Senate Bill 

486, or are they entitled to actual expenses for 

meals and lodging plus per diem as stated in the 

General Appropriations Act? 

The legislative history of Senate Bill No. 486 indicates that no 

conflict with the General Appropriations Act would have arisen if the 

bill had been enacted in its original form. The original version of 

the bill amended section 4 to provide that commissioners shall be 

entitled to a per diem as set by the legislature rather than be 

compensated at the rate of $35 per day, but it left the language 

regarding reimbursement for commissioners' "actual and necessary 

traveling expensefill intact. The bill went through several changes, 

however, and the final version substituted the language that created 

the present conflict. 

General legislation cannot be enacted in an appropriations bill. 

Moore V. Sheppard, 192 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1946); Linden v. Finley, 49 

S.W. 578 (Tex. 1899); Attorney General Opinions MW-340 (1981); H-268 

(1974); M-1199 (1972). The general rules applicable in this area were 

stated in Attorney General Opinion M-1199, supra: 

An appropriation bill may detail, limit or 

restrict the use of funds therein appropriated or 

otherwise insure that the appropriated money will 

be spent for the purpose intended....A rider 

attached to the general appropriation bill cannot 

repeal, modify or amend an existing general 

law.... If a bill does more than set aside a sum of 

money, provide the means of its distribution, and 

to whom it shall be distributed, then it is a 

general law.,.. The distinction between a general 

appropriation bill and general legislation has 

been recognized in this state in the simple fact 

that the former merely sets apart sums of money 

for specific objectives and uses while the latter 

p. 1221 
Jackie L. Vaughn - Page 3 

does more than 

use of funds. 

(MW-365) 

merely appropriate and limit the 

When tested under these rules, the General Appropriations Act 

provision can only be regarded as "general legislation" to the extent 

that it purports to authorize the payment of expenses which Senate 

Bill No. 486 expressly forbids, i.e., expenses for meals aud lodging. 

Insofar as the bill and the General Appropriations Act provision 

cannot be reconciled, the former must automatically be deemed 

controlling. This is not an instance involving a conflict between two 

pieces of legislation standing on equal footing. 

We therefore conclude that the commissioners of the Texas 

Amusement Machine Commission are governed by Senate Bill No. 486. 

Accordingly, they are entitled to the $75 per day (not to exceed 60 

days in any one fiscal year) prescribed by the General Appropriations 

Act plus compensation for transportation expenses as prescribed 

therein. 

SUMMARY 

Pursuant to Senate Bill No. 486, the 

commissioners of the Texas Amusement Machine 

Commission are entitled to the $75 per day 

prescribed by the General Appropriations Act plus 

compensation for transportation expenses as 

prescribed therein. 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Jon Bible 

Assistant Attorney General 

p. 1222 
.l;?ckie+ I.. Vnughn - Page 4 (MW-365) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Bill Campbell 

Rick Gilpin 

Jim Moellinger 

P. 1223