THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
July 5, 1989
Mr. Bryan M. Perot OpiniOn No. JM-1067
Executive Officer
Polygraph Examiners Board Re: Whether payment of a poly-
P. 0. BOX 4087 graph licensing fee may be re-
Austin, Texas 78773-0001 funded when the licensee dies
(RQ-1711)
Dear Mr. Perot:
You ask whether the Polygraph Examiners Board has
authority to refund a portion of the annual license fee to
the estate of a licensee who died during the term of his
license. We conclude that the board has no authority to
make such a refund.
The Polygraph Examiners Board is governed by the
provisions of article 4413(29cc), V.T.C.S. Section 17 of
article 4413(29cc) provides in part:
(a) Each polygraph examiner's license
shall be issued for the term of one year and
shall, unless suspended or revoked, be
renewed annually.
(b) A person may renew his unexpired
license by paying to the board before the
expiration date of the license the required
renewal fee.
Section 17A provides:
The board by rule may adopt a system under
which licenses expire on various dates during
the year. For the year in which the
expiration date is changed, license fees
payable on the date in effect at the time the
rule is adopted shall be prorated on a
monthly basis so that each licensee shall pay
only that portion of the license fee which is
allocable to the number of months during
which the license is valid. On renewal of
the license on the new expiration date, the
total license renewal fee is payable.
p. 5561
Mr. Bryan M. Perot - Page 2 (JM-1067)
This office has issued several opinions that considered
whether an entity had authority to prorate an initial
licensing fee when the initial licensing fee would be valid
for less than a year. Three opinions concluded that
language requiring the annual fee to accompany the
;~$Ui.tion for an initial license indicated that an entity
authority to prorate the initial fee. Attorney
General Opinions JM-399 (1985): M-1107 (1972); M-580 (1970).
In contrast, a 1975 opinion concluded that a statute that
set an annual fee but did not require the "annual fee" to
accompany an initial application permitted proration of the
initial fee. Attorney General Opinion B-708 (1975). The
statute in question in Attorney General Opinion Ii-708~ did,
however, require that a license be issued "upon receipt of
all license fees." Because of that language, Attorney
General Opinion JM-399 (1985) called into question the
continuing validity of Attorney General Opinion U-708.
In any case we think that the prior opinions make clear
that an agency must have either express or clearly implied
authority to prorate license fees. We find no prior
opinions that directly address the question of whether an
agency may refund a portion of an annual license fee to the
estate of a licensee who dies during the term of his
license. We conclude, however, based on the opinions
discussed above, that an agency must have either express or
clearly implied authority to refund a portion of an annual
license fee. Section 17A of article 4413(29cc) allows
proration of initial license fees under specified
circumstances. NO other provision of article 4413(29cc)
permits proration. The provision governing renewal fees
simply states that a person may renew his license "by paying
to the board before the expiration date of the license the
required renewal fee." V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29cc), 5 17(b).
Therefore, because we find no provision that permits, either
expressly or by implication, a refund in the circumstances
you ask about, we conclude that the Board of Polygraph
Examiners has no authority to refund a portion of an annual
license fee to the estate of a licensee who dies during the
term of his license.1
1. We do not consider in this opinion whether the board
has authority to refund the entire renewal fee before the
commencement of the year covered by the renewal fee.
p. 5562
Mr. Bryan M. Perot - Page 3 (JM-1067)
SUMMARY
The Board of Polygraph Examiners has no
authority to refund a portion of an annual
license fee to the estate of a licensee who
dies during the term of his license.
JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas
MARY KELLER
First Assistant Attorney General
MU MCCREARY
Executive Assistant Attorney General
JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General
RICK GILPIN
Chairman, opinion Committee
Prepared by Sarah Woelk
Assistant Attorney General
p. 5563