Honorable Martin Dies, Jr. Opinion No. M- 669 

Secretary of State 

Capitol Station Re: Travel allowance and per diem 

Austin, Texas for members of the American 

Revolution Bicentennial 

Dear Sir: Commission of Texas. 

In your recent letter you requested the opinion of this 

office as to the travel allowance and per diem that may be paid 

under the provisions of Senate Bill Number 701, Acts of the 61st 

Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 (codified as Article 6145-8, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes), to members of the American Revolution 

Bicentennial Commission of Texas. 

Paragraph B of Section 1 of that bill makes provision 

for travel allowance and per diem for such members. Paragraph A 

of Section 4 of the bill appropriates money to the commission. 

Paragraph B of Section 1 reads as follows: 

“Members of the commission shall be reimbursed 

for mileage and per diem only, and shall receive no 

other compensation, perqufslte or allowance. The 

mileage shall be the same as allowed to members of 

the Legislature, to wit, ten cents per mile, to and 

from the place of meetfng and their respective places 

of residence. The per diem thall be Twenty-five Dollars 

per day or fraction thereof. 

We are of the opinion that in providing for mileage at 

ten cents per mile the Legislature Intended to deal only with 

Intrastate mileage from a member's place of resfdence to a meeting 

place In Texas, for the reason that the draftsman was careful to 

equate this allowance with the travel allowance provided for members 

of the Legislature when traveling to Its meeting place. Therefore, 

this statute as enacted will govern the mileage allowed when a 

member travels from his place of residence to a meeting of the 

commission; and he will be allowed ten cents per mile regardless 

of his mode of travel. 

Article 6145-8 fs silent as to other travel, hence other 

travel, such as a trip co Washington for a conference, will be 

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Hon. Martin Dies, page 2 (M-669) 

governed by the provisions of Article 6828a, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, enacted as the 'Travel Regulations Act of 1959. 

Section 3(a) of Article 6828areads, In part, as follows: 

"Reimbursement from funds appropriated by the 

Legislature for traveling and other necessary expenses incurred by the various officials, heads of 

state agencies, and employees of the state in the 

active dlscharae of their duties shall be on the 

basis of either a per diem or actual expenses as 

speclflca'Ily-flxed and appropriated by the LegElature in General Appropriation Acts. . . .I' 

The Legislature has made provision for certain transportation allowances under House Bill Number 2, the General Appropriation Act enacted by the 61st Legislature, Second Called 

Session, 1969. Article V, Section 13(b) of that Act reads, in 

part, as follows: 

'An employee traveling by rented or public 

conveyance, or the commercial transportation 

company furnishing same, is entitled to a transportation allowance equal to the actual cost of 

necessary transportation for performing official 

business. . . .ll 

We are of the opinion, therefore, that a member of the 

commission who travels to Washington or other out-of-state points 

on official business by commercial transportation is entitled to 

reimbursement of his actual cost of transportation. 

Article 6145-8 clearly provides a twenty-five dollar 

per diem for members of the commission. We are of the opinion 

that this statute Is controlling and that a member of the commission is therefore entitled to a per diem of twenty-five 

dollars per day or fraction thereof which he devotes to official 

commission business. General law would provide actual expenses 

for members of the commission when on official business, as they 

could qualify as heads of a state agency under Article 6823a, 

Section 2 and Article V, Section 16, of the General Appropriations 

Act. Article 6145-8 is a special enactment, however, and controls 

where there is a conflict with general law in the matter of per 

diem allowance. 

SUMMARY 

Under Article 6145-8, Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

a member of the American Revolutfon Bicentennial 

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Hon. Martin Dies, page 3 (M-669) 

Commission of Texas, when on official business of 

the commission, Is entitled to be reimbursed at 

the rate of ten cents per mile when traveling within 

the state to a meeting of the commission; such member 

Is entitled to his actual cost of transportation when 

traveling to points outside the state, and In either 

case Is entitled to a per diem of twenty-five dollars 

for each day or fraction thereof. 

truly y urs, 

_ 

zif* c , 

RD C. MARTIN 

ney General of Texas 

Prepared by James S. Swearingen 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

A. J. Gallerano 

Terry Reed Goodman 

Wardlow Lane 

Ivan Williams 

MRADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFREDWALKRR 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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