Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

. October 24, 1968 Honorable Robert'S. Calvert Opinion No. M-301 Comptroller of Public Accounts State Capitol Building Re: Whether certain travel Austin, Texas expenses of a District Judge are legally re- imbursed under Senate Bill No. 15, Acts of the 60th Legislature, Dear Mr. Calvert: Article 1, Item No. 13. you have requested our opinion on whether certain items in a travel expense account submitted to'you from a District Judge traveling to and attending the "National College of State Trial Judges" during the months of July and August, 1968, pro- vided for in Senate Bill No. 15, Acts of the 60th Legislature, Article 1, Item 13 of the appropriations to the Supreme Court, are reimburseable items of expense. Specifically, you asked, "whether the infirmary fee of $4.00, parking permit fee of $1.00, the rental of air-conditioning of $38.00 and the laundry charge of $14.75 is a legal charge properly payable by the State as reimbursement." Item 13 of the appropriations to the Supreme Court for the year ending August 31, 1968, reads as follows: "13. For expenses incurred by District Judges in attending the National College of State Trial Judges . . . $S,OOO.OO." The rider in the appropriations to the Supre_meCourt states with regard to Item 13: "The appropriation made in Item 13 above may be disbursed by the Chief Justice upon presentation of a sworn account setting forth the purpose for which the expense was incurred and the amounts thereof." In Attorney General Opinion M-118 (1967), it was held that riders in the general appropriations act were applicable to travel reimbursement for District Judges on September 1, 1967. Subdivision A of Section 17 of Article 5 of Senate Bill 15, - 1464- Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (M-301) provides that Judicial Officers shall be reimbursed for "actual meals, lodging and incidental expenses." The traveling expense account submitted with your request has been approved forpay- ment by Robert W. Calvert, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, in accordance with the provisions of Senate Bill 15 above quoted. The items which you have inquired about are individually explained by the District Judge submitting the travel expense account as follows: "Taken individually: "1. Infirmary - $4.00. This is a charge made by the University of North Carolina of all students uponlregistration. I did not use,the infirmary but was re- quired to pay this fee. We had no choice but to pay the same. "2. Parking Permit - $1.00. Likewise, this is not a charge for parking of the auto- mobile, but ,rathera permit which was attached to the windshield of the auto per- mitting its entrance to the school grounds. We had no choice but to pay same.~ "3. Air-Conditioning Rental - $28.00. We were housed in non-airconditioned quarters at a greatly reduced rate covering~room and board for weekly meals. We could have changed quarters to those which were air-conditioned off campus, which did not include meals. now- ever, it would have added substantially to our expenses. Actually, the out of pocket cost of air-conditioning was more than the $28.00 listed, but was put on the expense account at $1.00 per day. Here we had a choice but the additional expenses would have been.approximately $75.00 per Judge. "4. Laundry - $14.75. This was also an actual . out of pocket expense entailed by our at- tendance at the College. Except for our stay at the College where laundry had to be sent out, I assure you that it would have been done by my ever-loving wife in her own Bendix and with iron & board, as she has been doing for the past 25 years of our marriad~life." - 1465 - Hon. Robert S. Calvert, page 3 (M-301) ,: It is our opinion that in view of the explanations of expenses, which arose as reasonable incidents in connection with the authorized business trip, such items constituted "Incidental Expenses” incurred while traveling to and attending~the National College of State Trial Judges specifically authorized by the Legislature. Accordingly, you are advised that such expenses constitute expenses properly payable by the State as reimburse- ment. As a matter of future information, for possible ap- plication to situations arising under the 1968-1969 appropriation bill,~and in connection with the,parking permit fee, it is to be noted that in Subdivision A of Section 17 of Rouse Bill No. 5, Acts of the 60th Legislature, First Called Session, after in: cidental expenses we find the following phrase: "(exclusive of expenses related to automobiles for which transportation al- lowance is paid as provided by Section 14a. of this Article)". Therefore, for the-current fiscal year, traveling expenses re- lated to automobiles will be governed by Section 14a rather than Sec. 17a of Article 5 of House Bill 5. SUMMARY Charges required to be paid by a District : Judge traveling to and attending the National ,.',, College of State Trial Judges specifically au- thorized by Senate Bill No. 15 (general appro- priations act for the year ending August 31, 1968), together with certain rental and laundry charges, constitute "incidental expenses" in- curred and are authorized to be reimbursed out of an item of appropriation made for such pur- pose. truly yours, Prepared by John Reeves Assistant Attorney General -1466- Hon. Robert S. Calvert+,page 4 (~-301) APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman John Banks Malcolm Quick Ralph Rash James A. Cowden A. J. CARUBBI, JR. Executive Assistant - 1467 -