EAATTQRNEY GENERAL 

PRICE, DANIEL 

Aun-xmu 11. TExas 

ATTO.RNEY GENERAL 

February 1, 1947 

Eonarable @aergo H. Sheppard 

camptrol1.r st ?ublio Aoeouats 

Austin, Texas Opinion No. V-07 

Be: 

Doar Mr. Sheppard: 

w,hloh we 

Parchase ef airplanes by 

Board 0r ReSenta or the 

University of Texas for 

we in omtmes of irstruation In ArreneuticaI Emgheeriq. 

He hav.0 received yokii letter of January 31, 1947, 

qaete in part a8 rdi0wr: 

‘1 am att&ching hereto rouaher olaia in rarer af 

&ile Fljin~ Senioe ror $8,9l+.CQ rer rour~airpiano* p.pwka~ea by The Bnireraity 0r Tax88 rer 

use'l~'ootarree of IMtruatleI h Aermeutloel tagindeiing . 

wI shall thank you to examine this claim in conneotiem with JMT spiai~n 0-401~. ana Op00iri0Oily 

to that paragraph whioh reads aa follows: 

“and advise this department whether or not we 1 

‘This past ses8lon 6r the Le&rlature 

passed Salute 13111 147 which authorizes 

the Board of Direotors Or the ApioUltUral and Yeohaniaal College to acquire an 

airport and equipment therefor. (Acts 

1941, 47th Leg., B. S., Ch. 81, S.B.147, 

p. 1QQ; Artitrle 2615c, Vernonls Annotated Ciril Statutes). This act is certainly indicative that specific legislative 

authority is required. The emergency 

clause of the act reads in part as follows:’ I 

, 

would be authorized to issue warrant in payment 

of such claim.” 

, 

Opinion Number O-4681, dated July 3, 1942, an-3 

: .,, B 
Honorable George H; Sheppard, Page 2 

addressed to the Sam Houston State Teactheml College, 

passed upon the qusstion as to whether thet collogb in& 

the authorit 

tly its to borrow meaey fer-the parpehe or W6permCir f 1 Pilet Training program and purehaimg 

planer to be used in training the boys taking this course.7 

It was held In the opinion as follows: 

*In the ilrst pS.seo, there Is 110 rtatrztcry 

authority far the oolle(e itrolr k m&&lain. 

such a prec;mm, In Seatiom 3 or Artiale 264T 

it is said: ‘Said board shall not olvlnue any 

depsrtment of lnstruotion prori&ed by liw, visa 

ne department shall be sstabllehsd for tba aupp0Ft o’r whloh prevision has not been made by 

‘the LegialatuN,* Pmrislon has not been mado 

by tha Leglslaturo ror this pregram. It follens that. the oellege may not purehno r&rplanes (I 7 

Su8i h l ituatloa~‘doea not exist with respeot to ~~ 

the Wniversity Or mxat3+ Wntier ArMale 25&5, Rovirrcl Clr11 Statute& the Board -or Regents ,ai the University of 

Texas has the broad power’ to *regulate the course er instruction and prescribe, by and with the ‘advice of the 

preressers, the books and authorities used in the seven1 

departments, and to qonier suoh degrees and to grant 

suoh diplomns as are: usually oenrerred and granted by 

universities aW The limitation impwad en the pewor rid 

authorfty of the Board of Regents of the State Teaohers 

College by Artiole 2647 dper,~ not apply to the Board or 

Regents of the UniversJlty of Teas; conversely the lat-’ 

ter-mentioned b,oard has wide latitude and broad direr+ 

tlonnrr powers with respsot to the oourse of instruatiea, 

Seteral fears ago the Board of Rsgents in the 

l rereiso of its dlsoretion dotemined that 8, need orirtl d for a oourse fn a,eronautf;oal engineering, and under 

its poeer “to remlate the course of instruation” and 

*to oonier suoh degrees and, tom &rant suah diplomas 8s 

are usually aonferred~ and granted by unirersitfes,Wthis 

&ours6 was, addad to the ourrfcula+ Then rise in the impo’rtance of aviation an,d allied iields in ~reoent years 

and :the need 0r a course in aeronaatioal l ryineori~ng in 

a rirst-class university l ro~ obrious. There ara:bo no 

‘doubt that;.the Board of Regents *d the povnr and authority to add ,thPs course. ~Moreover, the Legislat.uro has 

eloarly reoo&zed. this power dnd authority of the Board 

or BeRents, for it has prorided runde therefer, (See 

Aat8 1945, 49th Leg,, 

Ch. 399,). 

Ch. 377 and Aats 1943, 48th Lq., 

In Opinion C-4681, mentioned above, we qaotad 
Honorable George H. Sheppard, Page 3 

the following exoerpt from the mse of Fort Worth Cavalry Club vQ Sheppard, 125 Texas 339, 83 S.W., (2d)tXO: 

“All publia offioes and orfiaers are creatures of 

law e The powers and duties of public orricera 

are defined and limited by law. By being defined 

and limited by law, we mean the aot of a public 

officer must be expressly authorized by law, or 

implied therefrom. 22 R.C.I.,p.555, B 114 o..” 

If the Board oi Regents have the power to pro- 

.vlde for the teaahing of aeronautical engineering in the 

University of Texas, then it follows that authority exists to make that ,power efi’eotire. The Board of Regents 

has detennlned th4t the oourse of instruction could ,be 

improved by the use of the airplanes mentioned in your 

letter. The Board has the authority to make suoh determination;, and it appears to us to be most reasonable. It 

‘is, therafore, evident thmt it is our opinion that the 

Board of Regents has the authority to pumhase subject 

planes If funds are available therefor. 

Bo. 

You are concerned with that portion of Gpin~on 

O-4681 which reads as follows: 

“This past session or the Legislature passed Senate 

Bill 147 which authorizes the Board of Directors of 

the Agricultural and Mechanical College to acquire 

en airport and equipment theref’or, (dots 1941,47th 

Leg. R.S,, Ch. 81, S-B. 147, p. 100; Article 2615c, 

Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes) D This act is certainly fndioative that speoirlc legislative authbrity la required, The emergency clause of the ,act ~,~, 

reads~ in psrt as follows: 

*Sec. 3, The feot that said institution In ‘~’ 

in urgent need of the authority to acquire 

and operate an airport in oonneation with 

ooursea now being taught and those contem- 

“‘: ‘plated, and to permit its more erreotive 

*cooperation in the Wationml Defense Program, 

creates an emergency, . ** (Emphsais supplied) .” 

The quoted matter can clearly be distinguished 

from the situation under consideration. In the first plaoe 

Senate Bill 147 (Article 2615c, Vernon’s Annotated Civil 

Statutes) granted the authority to aoquire en air art rather than ei lanes, 

7f-s-lm 

It is our opinion that ‘t F-be ’ s a ute 

wma enabte the authority to aoquire an airport 

would exist without question. Article 2608 provides thst 
Honorable George.H, Sheppard, Page 4 

the “leading objeot of the College 8bmll be, without excladim other scientifio and olassitpl studies, and fnoludi&g rilitrry tactfos, tb te80h meh branekes of leerstiy aa are related to l gTioultur* ~36 the meakaibd rtim.~ 

Althe h tlm ,Bmrd or DiShet#m M the A@i~ultuhl l ti 

Meohan Yml doll~ge of Terrti is &+en wise dfre~iWe~ 

powers w~th.ret 

P 

eot 

2613, Seeti@I 6 

to the OouPIn ei study (See AGiolb 

, still the authority to aaquira, 

wee-h pree rrpn dsttBt,f. thyefor4, smate ,111 1 

i# * 

Arti;lh.8~, whicrk~auWeti.eea th.‘Beard’of Be* 

.. gaata to rem&r*9 tie aem0 et iuatxmotieat ua8 l h o tu 

by tiie Legislatare fl 1613, a tfme wlU# r?iatier and merolaaut1Qaa ePgiPee~l 

IWU~~P ~ruimwsal: 7 

wbm in thdx iaifue3,~ New awe- 

.. engldmsring fields d 8 OM or t;hpr meat akpo*at 0r tbkb 

TM Legfalatare drelr r0r065w that 

the imparaitfoa of restrictisne aad lfritstiem on the 

onwu tQ be ~tmgkt at a uniremity would, in etfeot, 

rtrlU%:* eduwtie3*1 sdvaremnt - that ii a uaivemfty 

is to a6atfWe to br aa inrtitrrtion sr the rirst clam, 

,it inuat be able to keep abreast of the tire8 by the en3mrgsaqat efiatgr6es taagkt ana the addition 0r’llir tlelde 

of study0 * 

In anmwer to fmar quertfel, pert gre advised tket 

it is the oenaf4srad rapiafon of this department tlmt the 

Board of Regents is authorized te purohase a$rplanes for 

me in ootire~ Of inntmotf@n @fiend in Asroaautloal Bagineering, ff +nds a” available ior that purpose. 

The Beard of Regents of the Ukfvenfty ei Texa8 

18 authorieed.to pumhme afrplerms for use ia OO~AFSW o? 

irrstrua~+oq-ef;eredi? A~~ruutfee*f ~neeri&g, if funds 

AFE’IWVBB pPtl,1947 ATTOllWf% m OF TEAS 

EU: 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

B. L++. fy.+..L 

George W. Spa 

Assistant 

GWS~jrb ~. 

Approved Opinion Committee- By F-D, ,Chalmn