ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF %?EXAS
Wy .2X, 1968
Honorable J. K. Willlame Opinion NQ. M- 237
Conaqfasioner,CoordinatingBoard
Texas College 6rUn&versitySystem Re: Whether the Coordinating
San Houston Building Board of the Texas Col-
Austin, Texas 78701 lege and University Sys-
temmay allocate funds
to the junior:colleges
named in,the Appropriatiou
Act .(SenateBill NO. 15,
page 1571, omthe basis
of the larger total of
semester hours taught in
approved courses~,Lnclud-
ing those in excess of
18 to any student and
also those in excess of
64 total houre earned
Dear ktr.Williamst by any student.
In your request for an opinion on the captioned question,
you state the following:
'Paragraph2 of the appropriationst0
the Texas public junior colleqee (page 157
of Senate Bill NQ. 15 as enacted by the
Regular Session Qf the 60th heqislatUxer
1967) prwides a8 follows:
“‘Paragraph 2. It Is epecificallypro-
vided that, out Of the BmOUnt apprQpr$ated
hereinabws to Bee County Juntor College, tQ
Central Texas College, to Galveston Comunity
College, to College of Mainland, and to Tarrant
- 1153-
DQu. J. K. Williams, page 2 (M-227)
County Junior College, the amount actually to
be paid in each case shall not exceed:
“‘Four FlundredSeventy-fiveDollars ($475)
times each of the fir& four'huzidred fifty (450)
full-time equivalent students enrolled on the
twelfth class day of the fall semester of 1967,
as determinedby the State Auditor, plus FQW
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($450) timea:each full-
time equivalent student in excess of the first.
four'hwaraa fifty (4501, similarly determinaeI.O
*In accordancewith the abwe provisions
of this Act the State Auditor was asked to
prwiae us with the enrollment @as determinea
by the State Auditor' and accordinglyhas fur-
nished us with such full-time student equivalent
enrollment. However, his audited enrollment
data show not only the total semester hours
taught in apprwed courses for State appropriation
purposes, but breaks out that portion of theee
total semester hQurS which are in excess of 18
for any individualstudent and in excess of 64
for any student who has or thereafterwill have
in excess of 64 total hours earned. He then
suggests that we not funa the institutions
for these hours 'in excess of 18 and in excess
,of 64.’
"We request your opinion as to whether the
CoordinatingBoara may allocate funds to the
colleges epeclfied in paragraph 2 as shown above
on tlaebasis of the,larqertotal of semester
hours taught in approved cour8es (including
those semester hours which are in excess of
18 to any student and the number of hours taught
to any student who has or thereafterwill have
in excess of 64 total hoursearned). Cur CM-
tern is whether the~law does not intena that
we fund the junior college for all semester
credit hours produced in approved courses,
regardless of the number of hour6 taken by
- 1154-
Won, J. K. Williams, page 3 N-237)
any student as such.
". . .Y
The State Auaitor has aavieea you as follows:
"As to your question concerning,thebasis
for disbursing funds to these Colleges, let me
say that we are sympathetic to the needs of these
Schools as expressed by yau. However, without
considering the legal aspects of another approach,
it would seem that funds should be disbursed to
them on the Sam5 basis that appropriationswere
made to the other public junior colleges,for the
fiscal year ending August 31st, 1968. As you
know, historically these appropriations(includ-
ing those to colleges newly created in recent
years) have been based on the full-time student
equivalentswhich excludea semester hours taught
in excess of 18 to any student and excluded the
number of hours taught to any student who has or
thereafterwill have in excess of 64 tOt%l,.hour5
earned."
We have been furniehed the audit report of enrollment
records of public junior COllegeS of Texas for the fall semester
1967, prepared by the State Auaitor, which contains the figures
and shws the method of calculation used by the State Auditor
in determining the enrollment records.
The statute,underoonsiderationis a part of the
Appropriation-GeneralAct of the 6Gth~Leqialature- Regular
Session, 1967, ,beinqa portion of Senate :BillNo. ,15,found
under the subtitle "TEXAS PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLPXXS - STAT8 AID,"
page 157 of said Senate Bill 15, and found on pages 225012253
of General and Special Laws of Texas, 60th ~Legislaturs- Regular
Session, 1967.
In addition to paragraph 2 of said statute which is
above quoted, we deem the followingquoted portions~of the
statute to be significant for purposes of~this opinion,,to-wit:
-1155-
Hon. J. K. Williams, page 4 W227)
"Paragraph4. To be eligible for and to
receive an appropriation,a Public JUniQr
College must be certified as required by . . .
and comply with the following provisions:
“a. . .
.Only student semester hours
of enrollment in courses approved for this PW-
pose by the CoordinatingBoard shall be counted
in determiningthe number of full-time student
equivalents for each public junior college,
'full-timestudent eauivalents'beins hereby
defined as fifteen (15) semester hours of such
enrollment;.
"b, . . .
“c . l . .
"8. . . .
"e. Report to the CaordinatingBoard,
Texas College and University System at such
times and in such manner as said Board may
prescribe, the number of semester hours taught
in excess of eighteen (18) to any students, and
the number of hours taught to any students who
have or thereafterwill have in excess of sixty-
four (64) total hours earned in this and any
other accreditedcollege.* (hmphasisadded.)
It will be noted that even though paraqrpph 2 pro-
vides that the number of full-time equivalent students shall
be “as determinedby the State Auditor,* the Legislaturenever-
theless specificallydefined "full-timestudent equivalent,",
resulting in the function of the State Auditor being ,ministerial
rather than discretionary.
We think that a survey of past legislation in regard
to appropriationsfor public junior colleges evidences that
since 1955 the heqislaturehas ceased to require the exclusion
of hours over 18 and in excess of 64 from considerationin
arriving at the number of full-time student equivalents.
-1156-
. .
Hon. J. K. Williams, page 5 W-237)
The 47thr 48th, 49th, 5Oth, aud 51st Legislatures
(1941-1949)provided for appropriationsof specific ,amounts
to each of the various junior colleges, but the disbursements
of such appropriationswere expressly put on a per capita basis
for each full-time student, with the number of full-time students
to be determinedby dividing the total number of semester hours
carried by all students by the number 15, so that each 15 semester
hours of enrollment is equivalent to one full-time student. It
is noted that the per capita amounts increasedwith each suc-
ceeding Legislature.
The 52nd and 53rd Legislaturesprovided again for
per capita disbursement,and again the 15 semester hour,defini-
tion of full-time student was expressed:however, these two
Legislaturesdeclared that there shall be excepted from the
number of hours to be divided by 15 the following: (a) all
hours wer 18 carried by any one student, and (b) all hours
carried by any student who has or thereafterwill heve in excess
of 66 total hours earned.
The 54th Legislature, for the first time, provided
for no per capita disbursement. In other words. appropriations
were made for each college and there was no provision to the
effect that the appropriationsWere to be disbursed in accord-
ance with the number of full-time equivalent students. Further-
more, no exception of any kind is made for hours in excess of
18 carried by ~astudent or for total hours in excess of 66 (or
64) earned by any one student. Here, for the first time, the
Auditor is required to report these excess hours Over 18 and
64 to the Legislatureand to the Texas Central Education Agency,
which at that time had administrativecontrol of junior colleges.
The Act of the 55th Legislaturewas practicallythe same as the
54th. except for amounts appropriated.
The 56th, 57th and 58th Legislaturesagain provided
for no per capita disbursement,with the exception that the 58th
Legislature provided for per capita disbursement for a new junior
college. Here again no exception is made with regard to hours in
excess of 18,and 64 as above described;but each junior college is
required to report the excess hours over 18 and 64 to the Texas
Central EducationAgency, at such times and in such manner as
said Asencv m%v direct.
-1157-
Hon. J. K. Willi%ms, page 6 (M-237)
The 59th and 60th Legislaturesstill provided no per
capita formula for disbursement,except with reference to the
new junior colleges (see paragraph 2 of the Act of the 60th
Legislatureabove quoted) and with reference to disbursement
of the contingencyappropriation. Both os these Legislatures
provided for a contingencyappropriation,$1,000,000under the
59th's Act and $l,SOO,OOO under the 6Oth's Act, and such con-
tingencies are to be disbursed on % per capita basis with re-
gard to increased enrollments from one fall semester to the
next. Again no exceptions are made with regard to the excess
semester hours of enrollment Over 18 and 64, respect$vely:but
again reoorts %s to such matters %re required by each school to
the CoordinatingBoard, Texas Colleges and University System,
at such times and in such manner %s seid Board shall require.
We have therefore concluded that only in the Acts of
the 52nd and 53rd Legislatureshave exceptions to disbursements
been based on exclusion of hours over 18 taught to any one student
and hours over 64 for any student who has or thereafterwill have
in excess of 64 total hours earned. (As a matter of fact, these
Acts specify 66 total hours rather than 64.) Beginning with the
54th Legislature,through the 60th Legislature,these matters
with respect to hours in excess of 3.8and 64, respectively,are
merely required to be reported. Undoubtedly,from information
furnishedby the Auditor's office, these m%tters are required
to be reported so that they can be taken into considerationwith
reference to appropriationsby the next succeeding Legislature.
Although appropriationsapparentlyhave historically
been made based on the exclusion of hours over 18 and 64, BS
aforesaid, there is no history showing that disbursementshave
been so,llmited,except under the two Acts of the Legislature
in 1951 and 1953, when such exclusionswere expressly made a
part of the law. The basis for appropriationmay be quite dif-
ferent from the basis for disbursement.
As far as disbursementis concerned, the intention of
the Legislaturemust be ascertained from the statute. The
statute is plain and unambiguous,placing disbursementto the
new junior colleges on a per cepita basis of full-time student
equivalents,and with the term "full-timestudent equivalents"
being expressly defined as meaning 15 semester hours of enroll-
ment, without any exceptions noted.
- 1158 -
Hon. J. K. Williams, page 7 (M-237)
Senate Bill No. 15 on the matters herein considered, is
plain and unambiguous,and therefore any departmental or ad-
ministrativeconstruction of it contrary to its plain wording
cannot have force of law by reason of practice. An administra-
tive constructionof a statute can have force of law only when
the statute in question is ambiguous and the administrativecon-
struction has been consistent and unequivocal over % long period
of time, usually after successive Legislatureshave convened.
Humble Oil & Ref. Co. v. Calvert, 414 S.W.2d 172 (Tex.Sup.1967);
Texas Railroad Commission v, T.&N.O. Railroad Co., 42 S.W.2d
1091 (Tex.Civ.App.1931, error ref.).
We thus conclude that the Coordinating Board may
allocate funds to the colleges specified in paragraph 2 .of.
the Act of the 60th Legislature on the basis of the larger total
of semester hours taught in approved courses, including those
semester hours which %re in excess of 18 to any student and the
number of hours taught to any student who has or thereafter will
have in excess of 64 total hours earned. The allotments can be
made strictly on the basis of full-time student equivalents*
with that term being defined as 15 semester hours of enrollment.
SUMMARY
The CoordinatingBoard of the Texas College
and University System may allocate funds to ,the
junior colleges named in paragraph 2 of the Ap-
propriationsAct (Senate Bill No. 15, page 157)
on the basis of the larger total of semester hours
taught in approved courses, including those in ex-
cess of 18 to any student and also those in excess
of 64 total hours earned by any student. The num-
ber of full-time student equivalents, upon which
the allocations are made, should be determined by
the State Auditor, but the State Auditor must con-
sider 15 semester hours of enrollment as being a
full-time student equivalent,without excluding
hours in excess of 18 carried by any student and
without excluding total hours in excess of 64
earned by any student.
- 1159-
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