The Attorney General of Texas
December 6, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
Honorable G. L. “Lynn” Tate Opinion No. H- 1272
Commissioner
Texas Department of Labor and Re: Authority of Texas Depart-
Standards ment of Labor and Standards to
Box 12157 contract with a private associa-
Austin, Texas 78711 tion to fund a Mobile Home
Information Center.
Dear Commissioner Tate:
You ask whether the Texas Department of Labor and Standards may
agree to fund a Mobile Home Information Center to be operated by a
nonprofit corporation. The nonprofit corporation has applied to you for funds
to establish a center which would provide information on warranty protection
and complaint procedures to mobile home purchasers and would facilitate the
resolution of complaints. You wish to know whether you may enter into this
kind of agreement with a private entity and whether you may fund this
proposal with either state appropriated or federal funds received by the
mobile home program.
The Department of Labor and Standards is responsible for administering
and enforcing the Texas Mobile Homes Standards Act, which regulates the
mobile home industry. V.T.C.S. art. 5221f. The Act provides for cooperation
with the federal government pursuant to the National Mobile Home
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. SS 5401-5426. The
Mobile Homes Standards Code adopted by the Department of Labor and
Standards must comply with standards established under the federal statute.
V.T.C.S. art. 522lf, 5 5. ln addition, the department has been designated as
the state agency for enforcing federal standards which the state has also
adopted. -See 42 U.S.C. § 5422(b); V.T.C.S. art. 5221f, § 9(c).
The Texas act provides the department with specific contractual and
rule-making authority as follows:
Sec. 4(a) The department may adopt standards and
requirements for the installation of plumbing, heating,
and electrical systems and for the construction of
mobile homes as it determines are reasonably
necessary in order to protect the health and safety of
the occupants and the public.
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Honorable G. L. ttLynn’t Tate - Page 2 (H-1272)
. . . .
(b)(3) The department may cooperate with all units of
local government within this state and, when requested, may
authorize local units of government to make and perform
inspection and enforcement activities. . . .
. . . .
Sec. 9(b) The department shall make and enforce rules
and regulations reasonably required to effectuate all
provisions of this Act and the notification and correction
procedures provided in . . . the National Mobile Home
Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.
. . . .
Sec. 15 The department may enter into contracts with the
Department of Housing and Urban Development or its
designees for the purpose of nationwide monitoring of
Department of Housing and Urban Development programs.
V.T.C.S. art. 5221f.
These provisions are specifically drawn to achieve the development and
enforcement of mobile home standards. They reflect the stated purpose of the
whole act - to protect the consumer by regulating the industry. V.T.C.S. art.
5221f, S 2. We find no provision authorizing the grant of funds to a private entity
for the purpose of disseminating consumer information. Nor do we find in article
522H or in other statutes relating to the Department of Labor and Standards any
broad contractual power that would authorize the described agreement. See, e.g.,
V.T.C.S. art. 5154a (duties of Commissioner of Labor and Standards). It is welt
established that an administrative agency has only those powers expressly granted
to it by statute or necessarily implied therefrom. Stauffer v. City of San Antonio,
344 S.W.2d 158 (Tex. 1961); see Attorney General Opinions H-897 (1976); H-366
(1974); M-1131(1972). Prior opinions which approved grants by state agencies to
other public and private entities have relied on express statutory authority. See
Attorney General Opinions H-140 (1973); C-673 (1966); compare Attorney Gene3
Opinion H-120 (1973). In the absence of such authority, we must conclude that the
department may not enter into the proposed agreement.
The department may have implied authority, as an incident to its regulatory
functions, to inform consumers about mobile home standards and legal remedies
available for violation of them. -See Attorney General Opinion M-H38 (1972). It
could enter into contracts for goods and services necessary to exercise this implied
authority. However, we do not believe the department may relinquish control over
its funds and the personnel exercising its authority to the extent contemplated by
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I . -
Honorable G. L. “Lynn” Tate - Page 3 (H-1272)
this agreement. In addition, several statutes place limits on the way in which state
funds may be spent for goods and services. See V.T.C.S. art. 664-3 (State
Purchasing Act of 1957); V.T.C.S. art. 6252-R (Poxon Classification Act of 1961).
See also V.T.C.S. art. 666b (lease of space for state agencies through Board of
Control); Attorney General Opinion H-138 (1973) (Board of Architectural Examiners
must contract for services and supplies through the Board of Control).
SUMMARY
The Department of Labor and Standards does not have
authority under article 5221f, V.T.C.S., to fund a Mobile
Home Information Center to be operated by a private
nonprofit corporation.
I
I
!
DAVID&. KENDALL, Fi@ Assistant
dAUJ
C. ROBERT HEATH. Chairman
Opinion Committee ’
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