Source: https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/48morales/lo/1997/htm/lo1997045.htm
Timestamp: 2017-07-26 12:29:13
Document Index: 525475512

Matched Legal Cases: ['art. 4512', '§ 3', '§ 659', '§ 4', 'art. 4512', '§ 2', 'art. 4512', '§ 5', '§ 4', 'art. 8851', '§ 3', '§ 1', 'art. 4512', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', 'art. 4512', '§ 2', 'art. 8851', '§ 3', 'art. 4512', '§ 1', 'art. 8851', '§ 2', 'art. 4512', 'art. 8851', 'art. 4512', '§ 2', 'art. 8851', '§ 3', '§ 4', 'art. 4512', '§ 10', 'art. 4512', '§ 10', '§ 2', 'art. 4512', '§ 2', '§ 46', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 323', '§ 4', 'art. 8851', '§ 8', '§ 4', 'art. 4512', '§ 2', 'art. 4512', '§ 3', 'art. 8851', '§ 3', '§ 35']

Morales Letter Opinion No. 97-045
Mr. John P. Maline
and Occupational Therapy Examiners 333 Guadalupe, Suite 2-510
Letter Opinion No. 97-045
Re: Per diem compensation and reimbursement of travel expenses for members of the
Executive Council of the Physical Therapy
and Occupational Therapy Examiners, Texas
and the Texas Board of Physical Therapy
Examiners (ID# 38787)
You ask generally about the per diem compensation and reimbursement of travel
expenses for members of the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational
Therapy Examiners, as well as for the members of the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy
Examiners and the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.
You first ask whether members of the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and
Occupational Therapy Examiners (the "council"), other than the presiding officer, are entitled
to a compensatory per diem(1) as an Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy Examiners'
Board member when attending council meetings. The legislature created the council in
1993.(2) The council is comprised of two members from each of the Texas Board of
Occupational Therapy Examiners (the "OT board") and the Texas Board of Physical Therapy
Examiners (the "PT board") and a member appointed by the governor.(3) Members of the
council who are also members of the PT board or OT board are appointed to the council by
their respective boards.(4) The council member appointed by the governor serves as the presiding officer of the council.(5) The council's enabling statute provides as
follows with respect to compensation and reimbursement of expenses:
The presiding officer of the executive council is entitled to a per
diem as set by the General Appropriations Act for each day that the
presiding officer engages in the business of the executive council. Other members of the executive council may not receive compensation
for service on the council. A member may not receive any
reimbursement for travel expenses, including expenses for meals and
lodging, other than transportation expenses as provided by the General
V.T.C.S. art. 4512e-1, § 3(b). By the terms of section 3(b) of article 4512e-1, receipt of
compensatory per diem for service on the council by other than the
presiding officer is expressly prohibited. We believe, however, that
those council members who are also members of either the PT or OT
board are entitled to a compensatory per diem for service to their
respective board when attending council meetings. We first examine
the PT and OT board statutory provisions dealing with compensation. A member of the PT and OT board is entitled to a "per diem as set by
the General Appropriations Act for each day that the member engages
in the business of the board."(6) The term "board" in each of these
statutes is defined as the PT and OT board,(7) respectively. Neither the
language of the PT nor the OT board statute indicates that business of the
board encompasses service on the council.(8) It is our view, however, that
business of the board in each case does include service on the council based on the
function and composition of the council which we examine next. Both the PT and
OT boards were subject to the Sunset Act and being abolished September 1, 1993,
unless continued by the legislature.(9) The Sunset Advisory Commission
recommended abolishing the two boards and forming a combined
Texas State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners and the Texas
Advisory Board.(10) The legislature, however, retained the two separate
boards and instead created the council to oversee and administer the PT
and OT board statutes.(11) As part of this reorganization, a number of
functions required of the PT and OT boards were transferred to and are
now performed by the council.(12) Moreover, as indicated previously,
board members serving on the council do so by virtue of being a
member of the respective OT or PT board.(13) Thus, service on the
council is an additional duty of office imposed on members of the PT
and OT boards to effectuate the respective PT and OT board statutes.(14) Your next series of questions relate to the preemptive effect of
Government Code sections 659.031 through 659.033. Specifically, you
first ask whether the reimbursement provisions of the PT board statute
have been superseded by sections 659.031 - .033 such that PT board
members are authorized to receive reimbursement for travel expenses(15)
in accordance with the current General Appropriations Act. You
additionally inquire whether the OT board and the council statutes have
been similarly preempted by sections 659.031 - .033 with respect to
compensation and reimbursement of expenses.
The legislature, in an effort to standardize the per diem allowances
for all state boards and commissions, adopted in 1981 an omnibus per
diem statute, V.T.C.S. article 6813f, the predecessor to Government
Code sections 659.031 - 659.033.(16) Sections 659.031 - .033, containing
substantially the same language as the originally enacted article 6813f,
Section 659.031. Definition
In this subchapter, "state board' means a board, commission,
committee, council, or similar agency in the executive or judicial
branch of state government that is composed of two or more members.
Section 659.032. Per Diem Entitlement
(a) A member of a state board is entitled to a per diem in an
amount set by the General Appropriations Act for the member's service
(b) This section does not apply to a member of the legislature
who serves on a board by virtue of the member's office as a legislator. Section 659.033. Statutory Per Diem Suspended
(a) A law setting the amount of per diem for members of a
state board is suspended to the extent of conflict with this subchapter.
(b) The law setting the amount of per diem for a member of
a state board is not suspended if the General Appropriations Act does
not set the amount of per diem to which the member is entitled.
(c) A law setting a limit on the number of days for which a
state board member is entitled to a per diem is not suspended by this
Gov't Code §§ 659.031 - .033.
The appropriations act for the current biennium sets forth the
following per diem allowances:
Sec. 4. Per Diem of Board or Commission Members.
1.	As authorized by Section 659.032, Government Code, the per
diem of state board and commission members shall consist of (1)
compensatory per diem, if specifically authorized by law, at $30
per day; (2) reimbursement of actual expenses for meals and
lodging not to exceed $80 per day when traveling within the State
of Texas and reimbursement of actual expenses for meals and
lodging when traveling outside of the State of Texas and in an
amount not to exceed the rates specified in Sections 15.3 and 15.4
of this article; and (3) reimbursement of transportation and
incidental expenses at the rates specified in this Act for state
2.	If a law enacted after former Article 6813f, V.T.C.S., authorizes
per diem for members of a particular state or commission, but does
not specify the amount of the per diem, then the amount of the per
diem shall be as listed in the preceding subsection.
General Appropriations Act, 74th Leg., R. S., ch. 1063, art. IX, § 4, 1995 Tex.
Gen. Laws 5242, 6062. Section 2A of article 4512e, pertaining to the PT board, effective
September 1, 1993, provides as follows:
A member of the board is entitled to a per diem as set by the
General Appropriations Act for each day that the member engages in
the business of the board. A member may not receive any
V.T.C.S. art. 4512e, § 2A. Prior to 1993, the applicable compensation section, as
amended in 1981,(17) read as follows:
Each member of the board is entitled to a per diem as set by
legislative appropriation for each day that the member engages in the
business of the board. A member may not receive any compensation
for travel expenses, including expenses for meals and lodging, other
than transportation expenses. A member is entitled to compensation
for transportation expenses as provided by the General Appropriations
V.T.C.S. art. 4512e, § 5(a), repealed by Act of May 19, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch.
352, § 4.02(1), 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws 1578, 1607. The allowance for food and
lodging provided by Government Code sections 659.031 - .033 in conjunction
with the current appropriations act conflicts with the provision of the PT board's
enacting statute prohibiting the receipt of reimbursement for meals and lodging,
and gives rise to the present question with regard to preemption. In 1985, the Attorney General stated the following with respect to the
preemptive operation of the omnibus statute and the General Appropriations Act:
[T]he basic preemptive effect of article 6813f must depend
primarily upon when it was enacted. As a general rule, when two
statutes deal with the same subject, the most recently enacted statute
prevails. Consequently, a statute which is passed subsequent to article
6813f and which concerns the amount of per diem a particular board's
members are entitled to receive would create an exception to article
6813f with regard to that board or commission. Attorney General Opinion JM-382 (1985) at 7. Consequently, whether the
provisions of sections 659.031 - 659.033 supersede section 2A of article 4512e
depends on which of the statutes was enacted most recently. In this regard, we
note that even a slight amendment to a statute, originally enacted before the
omnibus statute, serves to preempt sections 659.031 - .033 if such amendment is
substantive and adopted after the enactment of the omnibus per diem statute. In
1988, the Attorney General determined that a 1985 amendment to the statute
providing per diem for members of the Texas Board of Irrigators reflected a
legislative intent to reinstate actual travel expenses authorized by an earlier
provision and prevailed over the omnibus per diem statute.(18) The amendment in
question replaced a $25 a day compensatory per diem provided for in the original
statute with a reference to the General Appropriations Act but retained the exact
language of the prior statute with respect to actual expenses.(19) The Attorney
General concluded that the amendment reenacted authorization of actual expenses
because the statutory reference to the General Appropriations Act eliminated any
argument that the legislature was unaware of the appropriations act and the
conflict between the provision of the appropriations act and that of the Board of
Irrigators statute.(20) Since its adoption in 1981, the omnibus per diem provision was last
substantively amended in 1983.(21) The only other change made to the omnibus
statute thereafter was its recodification in 1993 as part of the nonsubstantive
codification of the executive branch statutes as the Government Code.(22) The 1993
change to the omnibus per diem statute does not constitute a reenactment of the
omnibus statute since the legislature did not intend to substantively change the
law.(23) With respect to the PT board, section 2A was added to article 4512e in 1993
as part of the legislation continuing(24) and modifying the PT board as well as the
OT board and creating the council.(25) Unlike the per diem statute for the Board of
Irrigators, however, the only change to the PT board provision in 1993 was to
replace compensatory per diem set by legislative appropriation with reference to the
General Appropriations Act. It is unclear from simply examining the language of the statute,
whether the legislature intended to make a substantive change in 1993(26) and, thereby override
the omnibus per diem statute and the appropriations act for the biennium(27)
allowing reimbursement for meals and lodging. The legislative history of the PT
board statute and the circumstances of its adoption in conjunction with the 1993
statutory modification, however, does demonstrate a legislative intent to override
the omnibus per diem statute. The legislative history of the PT board statute indicates that the legislature
was aware that the 1993 legislation authorized reimbursement solely for
transportation expenses.(28) Moreover, the legislature used the same language with
respect to the council and the OT board, again, apparently with the awareness that
reimbursement only for travel expenses was being authorized.(29) It is unlikely that
the legislature intended that the PT board members receive reimbursement for
meals and lodging but not the members of the OT board or the council
notwithstanding the similarity in language.(30) Additionally, prior to 1981, receipt
of all actual expenses was authorized for the PT board.(31) The legislature in 1981,
subsequent to the initial enactment of the omnibus per diem statute,(32) however,
expressly amended the PT board statute to prohibit reimbursement of travel
expenses other than for transportation with the intent, it would appear, to do
exactly that.(33) The history of the PT board statute indicates a legislative intent to
prohibit reimbursement for travel expenses other than for transportation. To
conclude otherwise would ascribe to the legislature an intent to continue to enact
ineffectual statutes.(34) Based on the foregoing, it is our view that the legislature
intended to reinstate the prohibition against reimbursement of expenses other than
for transportation. Therefore, it is our opinion that section 2A of article 4512e,
enacted by the legislature in 1993, supersedes Government Code sections 659.031
- .033. Accordingly, members of the PT board are not entitled to reimbursement
The OT board is governed by article 8851, V.T.C.S. Section 3A(b) was also
added by the legislature in 1993 to article 8851 as part of the legislation
continuing and modifying the OT board.(35) Such section provides as follows:
V.T.C.S. art. 8851, § 3A(b). Prior to the 1993 amendment, the OT board
compensation provision stated that "[e]ach member of the board is entitled to a per
diem as set by legislative appropriation for each day that the member engages in
the business of the board."(36) Clearly, the legislature in 1993 substantively
amended the OT board's compensation provision such that section 3A(b) was
enacted subsequent to the omnibus per diem statute. Consistent with Attorney
General Opinions JM-888 and JM-382 as set forth above, section 3A(b) of article
8851 supersedes sections 659.031 - .033 and governs reimbursement of expenses
to the OT board members. Accordingly, OT Board members are not entitled to
receive reimbursement for meals and lodging.
As discussed above, compensation to the council is provided for by section
3(b) of article 4512e-1, newly enacted by the legislature in 1993. Similar to the
PT and OT board statutory provisions, this section prohibits the reimbursement
of travel expenses for other than transportation. Additionally, section 3(b)
prohibits payment of compensatory per diem to council members other than the
presiding officer. Again, since article 4512e-1 was enacted subsequent to the
passage and amendment of the omnibus per diem statute, it preempts sections
659.031 - .033.(37) Therefore, section 3(b) governs the payment of compensatory
per diem and reimbursement to members of the council.(38) Pursuant to such
section, council members, other than the presiding officer, are not entitled to
receive compensatory per diem as a council member, nor are any council members
entitled to reimbursement for meals and lodging. Your next questions relate to the meaning of the terms "per diem,"
"transportation expenses," and "travel expenses," in relation to compensation and
reimbursement of state boards and commissions. The term "per diem" may
encompass both a compensatory per diem, which represents payment for services,
and a per diem that represents reimbursement for expenses.(39) Sections 659.031 -
.033 in conjunction with section 4(1) of article IX of the current General
Appropriations Act embraces both types of per diem: (1) a compensatory per
diem, and (2) reimbursement for meals, lodging and transportation expenses when
traveling.(40) However, in the statutes governing the council, and the PT and OT
boards, reimbursement for travel expenses, including meals and lodging, and
transportation expenses is specified separately from the per diem authorization.(41) Clearly "per diem" as used in these statutes represents payment other than for
reimbursement of expenses, namely compensation for services. Furthermore,
"travel expenses" as used in the PT and OT board statutes encompass cost of
meals, lodging, and "transportation expenses" since the statutes provide that "[a]
member may not receive any reimbursement for travel expenses including
expenses for meals and lodging, other than transportation expenses. . . ."(42)
You next ask whether the provisions of the current General Appropriations
Act supersede the compensation provisions of the council, PT board, and OT
board statutes. A rider to a general appropriations bill cannot amend, modify, or
repeal a general law.(43) Previous opinions of this office have addressed a similar
question and determined that to the extent the compensation provision of the
General Appropriations Act could not be reconciled with that in the enabling act,
the latter controlled.(44) Attorney General Opinion MW-365 summarized the
resolution of such conflict as follows: "Insofar as the bill [amending article
4413(41)] 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."(45) Accordingly, compensation provisions in the council, PT board, and OT board
statutes govern receipt of compensation and reimbursement of expenses by the
respective council and board members. S U M M A R Y
Members appointed to the Executive Council of Physical Therapy
and Occupational Therapy Examiners by the Texas Board of Physical
Therapy Examiners and the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy
Examiners are authorized to receive compensatory per diem as a
Physical Therapy Examiner Board or Occupational Therapy Board
member for attending council meetings. Members of the council, other
than the presiding officer, are not entitled to receive compensatory per
diem as a council member and are entitled to receive reimbursement
only for transportation expenses. Members of the Board of Physical
Therapy Examiners and the Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners
are entitled to receive reimbursement only for transportation expenses.
1. You ask whether the members may receive a "per diem." Based on the context of your question and
the fact that members of the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (the "PT board") and the Texas Board
of Occupational Therapy Examiners (the "OT board") under their respective statutes are not entitled to meals
and lodging, it is assumed that your question relates to compensatory per diem.
2. See Act of May 19, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch. 352, § 1.01, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 1578. 3. V.T.C.S. art. 4512e-1, § 2(a), (b). 4. Id. § 2(b). 5. Id. § 2(c). 6. V.T.C.S. art. 4512e, § 2A, art. 8851, § 3A(b) (emphasis added). 7. Id. art. 4512e, § 1(15), art. 8851, § 2(4). 8. See generally id. art. 4512e, art. 8851. 9. See id. art. 4512e, § 2(g), art. 8851, § 3(g), amended by Act of May 19, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., 352,
§ 4.02, 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws 1578, 1607. 10. See House Comm. on Public Health, Bill Analysis, S.B. 690, 73d Leg., R.S. (1993) at 1 (see
"Background"). 11. Id. at 1 ("The purpose of this bill is to maintain two separate policy boards that regulate the practice
of physical therapy and occupational therapy, [and] to create an executive council to oversee the boards . . .
."); see also V.T.C.S. art. 4512e-1, § 10. 12. See V.T.C.S. art. 4512e-1, §§ 10 - 16; see also Act of May 30, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch. 352, §§ 2.02
- 4.01, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 1578, 1584-1607. 13. See V.T.C.S. art. 4512e-1, § 2(a), (b). 14. Id.; cf. Attorney General Opinions DM-55 (1991) at 2; JM-903 (1988) at 3-4. 15. You ask whether PT board members are authorized to "receive travel expenses and compensatory
per diem as stated in the biannual [sic] Appropriations Act?" Since the PT board's statute already authorizes
the payment of compensatory per diem as set by the general appropriations act, we understand your inquiry
to be with respect to the travel expenses not authorized by article 4512e. 16. See Act of May 31, 1981, 67th Leg., R.S., ch. 428, 1981 Tex. Gen. Laws 1840, repealed by Act of
May 4, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch. 268, § 46(1), 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 583, 986. 17. Prior to 1981, section 5(a) of article 4512e, amended by Act of June 1, 1981, 67th Leg., R.S., ch.
779, § 1, 1981 Tex. Gen. Laws 2936, 2939, provided that:
The members of the board shall receive a per diem fixed by the board, not to
exceed $30 per day for each day they are actually engaged in the work of the board. The members shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in
the performance of the duties required by this Act.
The 1981 amendment prohibiting reimbursement of any travel expenses other than for transportation
was approved on June 17, 1981 and became effective September 1, 1981. The omnibus per diem statute was
passed May 31, 1981 with an effective date of August 30, 1981. The 1981 amendment would arguably have
prevailed over the omnibus statute until 1983 when the omnibus per diem statute was again substantively
amended. 18. Attorney General Opinion JM-888 (1988). 19. Id. at 2. 20. Id. at 3-4. 21. See Act of May 30, 1983, 68th Leg., R.S., ch. 761, § 1, 1983 Tex. Gen. Laws 4571. 22. See Act of May 4, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch. 268, § 1, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 583, 703. 23. Id.; see also Gov't Code § 323.007(a), (b). 24. See supra notes 9 and 11. 25. See supra note 2. 26. It would appear that the Comptroller of Public Accounts staff view is that the 1993 amendment was
non-substantive and, therefore, section 2A of article 4512e was probably superseded by the omnibus per diem
statute as was the predecessor PT board compensation provision. 27. The General Appropriations Act for the 1993-95 biennium also authorized a per diem inclusive of
actual expenses for meals and lodging not to exceed $75 per day. General Appropriations Act, 73d Leg., R.S.,
ch. 1051, art. V, § 4, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 4518, 5325. 28. House Comm. on Public Health, Bill Analysis, S.B. 690, 73d Leg., R.S. (1993) at 5 ("Sec. 2A
[s]pecifies that a member of the board is entitled to a per diem as set by the General Appropriations Act, and
may only be reimbursed for transportation expenses."). 29. Id. at 2. 30. In a letter to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, dated December 2, 1994, Senator Carriker, the
sponsor of the 1993 legislation creating the council and continuing and modifying the PT and OT boards, states
that the intent of the language in article 4512e, section 2A, article 4512e-1, section 3(b), and article 8851,
section 3A(b) was to ensure that all council members and board members would receive the same treatment. Additionally, Senator Carriker states that the language with respect to reimbursement in the three statutes was
intended to allow reimbursement for meals, lodging, and transportation expenses as provided by the General
Appropriations Act and as the PT board members had been receiving since the creation of the board. We may
not, however, consider such a post-legislative statement in our analysis. See e.g., Texas v. United States, 951
F.2d 645, 650 (5th Cir. 1992) (citing Bread Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Com., 455 U.S. 577
(1982) & Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases, 419 U.S. 102 (1974)); Rogers v. Frito Lay, Inc., 611 F.2d
1074, 1080 (5th Cir. 1980). 31. See supra note 17. 32. See supra note 17. 33. See Senate Comm. on Government Organization, Bill Analysis, C.S.S.B. 750, 67th Leg., R.S. (1981)
at 6 (one of the substantial differences between S.B. 750 and C.S.S.B. 750, among others, was that the latter
only allowed compensation for transportation expenses in addition to the legislatively set per diem). 34. See State v. School Trustees of Shelby County 239 S.W.2d 777, 781(Tex. 1951) ( "We should not
interpret the [statute] . . . so as to convict the legislature of foolish and futile action."). 35. See supra notes 9 and 11. 36. V.T.C.S. art. 8851, § 8, repealed by Act of May 19, 1993, 73d Leg., R .S., ch. 352, § 4.02(2), 1993
Tex. Gen. Laws 1578, 1607. 37. See Attorney General Opinions JM-888 (1988); JM-382 (1985).
39. See Attorney General Opinions JM-382 (1985); JM-349 (1985); MW-388 (1981). 40. See Attorney General Opinions JM-426 (1986) at 2; MW-388 (1981) at 3. 41. V.T.C.S. art. 4512e, § 2A, art. 4512e-1, § 3(b), art. 8851, § 3A(b).
43. See Tex. Const. art. III, § 35; Moore v. Sheppard, 192 S.W.2d 559, 562 (Tex. 1946); Attorney
General Opinion JM-382 (1985) at 2.
44. See Attorney General Opinions MW-388 (1981); MW-365 (1981).
45. See Attorney General Opinion MW-365 (1981) at 3. Texas OAG home page | Opinions & Open Government