THE iWrmlRhTE~ GENE-
OFT.-ExAS .
Ausrm;:- 7e.722
Gepteniber 26, 1967
6onorableJ. W. Edgar Opinion Bo. k-136
c0miesionir of Bducation .
Texas Educa.tion,Agency Ret Whether 6.S. 94, 60th Legia-
Austin. Texas lature (Article6252-17,,
.. Vernon's Civil Statutes) rc-
quite6 open meetings of'the .
State Textbook Committee,,~uu-'
:thorieed undet'Article2654-4,
Dear Dr. Ddgrr: Vernoix'eCivil Statutes:,
Your letter of August 16, 1967,;requesting the ,opiuion
of this office on the above-statedquestion reads, in part',.'be
follows:
'%ffectiveHay 23, 1967, was adopted Senate i
Bill Bo. 94 of the 60th Legislature (Article
62.62-17). It prohibits the holding of closed . ."' " .,
meetings by any ‘lgwernxmntal body’, therein de-
fined to include 'any board, conmission, depart-
ment or agency within the executive department .~
of the state, which is under the direction of
three or more elected or appointed members . . ..I
'Since the prim?~ryfunction of the State
Textbook Conmittee following careful examination
of textbooks offered4for adoption is, rixuply,to
recommend to the State Commissionera complete
list of textbookswhich such Committee apprwes
for adoptfon at the various grade levels and in .,
,thdvarious school subjects (the authority to
-adopt textbooks being reposed in the State Board
df Education),there,ie concern as to whether
Senate Bill 94 was intended a should be con-
strued as having applkcationto any such com-
mittee which performs in a recommendationand/or .
report,capacity only; . . ."
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I&J;W..;&!dgat,
., ‘page.2 (H-136)
,. ,‘..‘. .. .
.’ ..
'...
6enate'Bill94, Acts 60th Legislature,R.6., 1967,
c!h.271, p. 597 (codifiedas Article 6252-17, Vernon's Civil~
Statutes) prohibitsgovernmentalbodies from holding meetings
which are closed to .thepublic. Section 1 of the’ above P;ct
read& aB foliowst
0 ,!
‘.
~.':
YSection'1;' (a) Btcept-as otherwise provided ,.
in thisW,Acti'eveDyregular, special, 6r called meeti‘
inq,or session of every qoveramentalbody shall,be:..;
'o.pen
to the'public. '.,
_: ~(5)"A..;~wern~ntal.bodv.'within the meaning.
b’f this Act, is anv board, commission;deDartment,:.
or aaencv within the executive dewrtment of the '.
state, which is under the direction of three or more
elected or aDvointed members; and every Commissioners
Court and city council in the state, and every de-
liberahive.bodyhaving rule-makingor quasi-judicial
power and classified as a department, agency, or
political subdivisionof a county or city: and the
bosrd of trustees of every school district, and
every cour+tyboard of school trustees and county
board of education; and the governingboard of
every special district heretofore or hereafter
created by,law.m (Emphasisadded.)
Article 2654-4, Vernon's Civil Statutes, created's
State Textbook Couanitteeto replace a textbook committeecreated
by 6.B; 146, Acts 40th Leg., R.S., 1945, Ch. 144, p. 169 (codi-
fied as Article 2675b-5, Vernon's Civil Statutes).
Note that subdivision (e) of Article 2675b-5,Vernop'I
Civil Statutes, abolished the State Textbook Commissionand Y
transferred its duties and responsibilitiesto the State Board
of Education.
,.Section5 of A~rticle.2654-4,Vernon'8 Civil Statutes,
setb forth the duties and reaDonaibili.tiesof the.State Text-
book Cosnnitteeas .follower
“Sec. 5. It shall be the dutv of the Text-
book Committee to recommend to the Commissionera .
- 631 -
m, J. W..Bdgar, page 3 (M-136)
_ adODt,tiOr?at the various grade levels and ,inthe
various school subjects. It shall examine care-
fully all books submitted for adoption and shall
pre@re and publish for free,distrlbutiona list
of its recommndations to the State Commissioner.
The State Comuis~$h sue
$ecoxxended list.'buthe shall not olace tm
n C e nor
shall he'reduce to a single adoption any list for
a specific grade or subject in which multiple
adoption.16recommendedby the Conmittee.
"The State Conmissionerof Education, pur-
suant to the provisiou6 in the foregoing paragraph,
shall submit to the State Board of Dducbtion the
recommendedlist of contracts to be awardedeach
year. The State Board of Fdug&&u mav rrmwg
not olace thereon anv book not recommended
&v the State Cm, uox shall the Board
reduce to a single adoption any list for a specific
"grade 'orsubject in which multiple adopt'ioti-is"'
recommendedby the State Conmissioner. Said
contracts shall be entered into by the Board of
tion.* (Emphasisadded.)
Bdfica
Particularreference is made to the hereinbeforequoted
definitionof *governmentalbody' and the inclusion therein of '.
*any . . . agency within the executive department of the state,
which is'under the'directionof three or more elected or appointed
members.*
.‘. Webster's New InternationalDictionary, Second Edition,,
defineslagencym a s'Faculty or state of acting or exerting power,
action, instruxentation." Black's Law Dictionary,4th Edition,
defines the term *governmentalagency" to be "~asubordinate
creature of the sovereign created to carry out a governmental
function.g
The Textbook Committee is charged with the duty of
-;632 -
Dr. J. W.Rdgar, page 4 01~36) .
recoxuanding'tothe State Commissionerof Rducatlon'alist of text.
books&-andno book 'may'be accepted for use in the schools unle&
and 'itntil
it la apprwed 8nd put on such list by this committee,
.he exclusion of a book from use in our schools is a
major an& an importantdecision and constitutesthe exerciseof8
gwernmental functionby this body, whether it be called a board,
commission,agency or committee. ..
The Tentbook Corauitteemeets the requirelwntof being
an agency within the executive department,underthe direction,&f
three or’more elected or appointed membersand it is the'opinion
of this office that the inclusion of such committee within the
category defined as a lqwernmental body" is in line with the &x-
pressed spirit and intent of the Act.
It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that Senate
Bill No. 94, Acts of the 60th Legislature,Regular;Session,T967,
Ch. 271, pi 597 (codifiedas Article 6252-17, Vernon's Civil Stat-
utes)-,requires open meetings of the State Textbook Conunittee
au-
thorised,underArticle 2654-4, Vernon's Civil Statutes. ..
SUMMARY
., Senate'Bill Ro. 94, Acts of the 60th Legislature;.
Regular Session, 1967, Ch. 271, p. 597 (codifiedas
Article 6252-17, Vernon's Civil Statutes) requires
open meetings of the State Textbook Committee au-
thorfeed under Article 2654-4, Vernon's Civil Stat-
utes.
0 very truly, .
Prepdkedby Harold G.,Kennedy
Assistant Attorney General
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Dr. J. W. Edgar, page 6 (M-136)
APPRWBDa
.oPINIONCCMMITTBE
Hawthorne Phillips, Chairmati
Kerns Taylor, Co-chairman
Jack Sparks'
Houghton Brownlee
W. V. Geppert
A. J. CARUBBI, JR.
Staff Legal Assistant
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