Dear Sir8 44 don I&. O-5690 

Rer %&her SaB. 266, 48th Leg., R.S. 

withmspeot torentals, applies to 

rentals or 108~0s of land in whiah 

no building is involved. 

Acknowledgment is hereia made of your letter of Ootober 19, 1943, 

wherein you request a oonstmotion of Acts 1943, 48th Legislature, Regular Session, Senate Bill 266, governing rentala with speoial reference to rentals or 

leases of latid by the Righeay Department to be used for tmperary erection of 

State-owned earehouse~s or for storage space for materials and equiRsmat used 

by said departsmut in the prosecution of its work. 

I,, 

Senate Bill 266, Sections 1, 2 and 3, proride as followss 

"Section 1. Hereafter all departasmts andagencies of the State 

government, whenrental apace is needed for aarrying oa the essential functions 

of suohagencies or departments of the State Government, shall suhait to the 

State Board of Control a request therefor, giving the type, kind, aed~siee of 

building needed, together with any other necessary descriptiom, end stating the 

purpose for which itwill be used and the need therefor. 

'Sec. 2. The State Board of Control, upon receipt of suchrequest, 

and if the money has been made available to pay the rental thereon, and if, ia 

the disoretion of the Board suoh spaae is needed, shall forthwith advertise in a 

newsmper, whioh has been regularly published and circulated in the city, or 

town, where such rental space is sought, for bids on such rental spaoe, for the 

uses indicated and for a period of not to exceed tn0 years. After such bide 

have been received by the State Board of Control at its principal offloe ill 

Austin. Texas, and publioly opened, the award for suchrental coatract will be 

made to the lowest and beat bidder, and upon suoh other terms as maybe agreed 

upon- The terms of the contract, together with the notice of the award of the 

State bard of Control will be suhnitted to the Attorney &eral of Tex88, who 

aill cause to be prepared and exeouted in acoordanoe with theterms of the 

agreement, suoh oontraot in quadruplicat9 one of which will be kept by each party 

thereto, one by the State Board of Control, and one by the Attorney General of 

TECO%S 0The parties to suoh contra& will be the department or sgenmoy of the 

government using the space as lessee and the party renting the spaoe as lesSOr- 
Honorable Do C. Greer, page 2 (O-5690) 

"Sea* 3. Within thirty days after the effective date of this A&, 

all departments anda genoies of the State Government at this time leasing or 

renting space from any parson, firm, or corporation whomsoever, will cause to 

be prepared and delivered tothe State Board of Control in Austin, Texas, a copy 

of any written rental or lease l gmemenow a t in force and current, or any statement of any oral understanding upon whioh any lease or rental pablia funds am 

being expended, ff such action has not already been taken." 

In Opinion No. O-5566, this Department advised (the Ccsnptroller) 

with respect to the constructionand applioation of Senate E&l1 266 to storage 

rentals on automobiles and other cwdities, in the oourse of which opinion, 

we said: 

"The subjeot matter - the essenoe- of Senate E!Ul 266 is the 'rental spaeel 

when needed by an agenoy or deDartanent of the State gorenmvsnt.. It oontemsates not only the rental oontraot but St obrmtemplatss that the eubjeof matter 

of the contract - the space needed 

room, offies, or other quarters, 

- b the spaoe such asthat of a building, 

to be oooupisd by thea geaoy ordspartment, or 

its employees, in the carrying on of an essential govermnental funotion. In 

other vmrds, the subjeotmatter of the rental, it is oomtapla~,will be under 

the control, for the time being, of the agency or department, astiefena *rental' 

is generally understood. The word trentals is one of a well understood meaning,~ 

and presumtively it was so used by the Legislature. Furthermore, this oonstruotion comports with the general purpose ofthe aot.” 

The underscored wording of the above opiniDn we believe is equally 

applicable to the~faots of this opinion: that is, the "rental spaoes oontmuplated 

by Senate Bill 268 is space within a building, room, office, or other quarters, 

and it nms imbmrdd that there be a taking ovur of said quarters for the oocupanay of theagenoy or depariaaent, or its employees, in the arrying on of its 

essential governmental funotion. 

. Senate Bill 266 provides that when a State de~rtment or agency needs 

rental spaoe to oarry on its essential functions, it shall submit to the State 

Board of Control a request therefor, "giving the type, kind, and siae of the 

building needed, together with any other necessary description . . ." Clearly, 

whenever the words "rental s&moe" or "spaoe" are used throughout tbe.whole dot, 

theyrefer to and contemphte space needed in-a building or other like quarters. 

The said general words "rental spaoee and espaoe" as used in the Act are limited and modified by the speoifio clause in the statute requiring the depam&e& 

needing spaoe to submit a request therefor "giving the type, kind and size of 

the building needed;" they were not so used-as to be con8tnted in their widest 

sense but should be held as applying only to the thing enumerate, "buildings* 

or quarters ofihe same kind and class. Had the Legislature oontemplated in its 

enaotment the rental or lease of land asp distinguished fromtherental of space 

in a building, it is reasonable to suppose it would have definitely indioated 

that intention bytbe aaployment of words specifioally applicable to lands or 

land spacoo 
Honorable D., C. Greer, page 3 (O-5690) 

Furthermore, the ordimPly functions of the great majority of 

&ate departments and agencies are not such as will ordinarily clothe them 

with incidental powers or authority to leaso lsnd for the oarrying out of 

their nurposesa In the absenoe of such necessary inoidautal pwer, or of a 

statute vesting authority in the &ate department oragenoy to lease or reQnt 

land forits gevermnental purposes, that power remains and lies ih the'tigislaturee Senate Bill 266 confers authority oa the %atO Board of Control 

to enter oontraots for the rental of space. The contract which the State 

Highway Dsplr-hnent contemplates OOBS~~iag is a lease of land as distinguished from a contra&? for rental space in a building or 1 ike quarters. 

Applying the ocmmon and usual meaning to the anrdsaa used in the statute, 

it is reasonable, ws tNnk, to conolude the Legislature did not oontanplate 

We execution of land leases or rentals by the State Board of Control 

noting for and through the other State deporlxaonts and l genoies. 

It is therefore the opinion of this department that Senate Bill 

266 does not apply to the renting or leasing -of land iawhioh no building 

is involved. 

Verytruly yours 

ATTCRREY GEBERAL OF TEEM 

By /s/Chester E. Ollison 

Chester E. Olliscm 

Assistant 

APPROVED NOV 4, 1943 

I*/ Grover Sellers 

FIRST ASSISTAXC 

ATXORNEY GENERAL 

APPROVED 

Opiniom..CcsWttee 

=V?flB 

CW