R-744
Dr. Theophilus'S. Palnter, President
The University of Texas '
Austiy 21, Texas Opinion No. V-399
Re: Applicability of Artl-
c3.e2654b-1, exempting
certain students who
are veterans from pay-
ment of school fees,
to the payment of ac-
tivity fee authorized
by s. B. 228, 50th Leg.,
R. S., 1947.
Dear Sir:
r
\,
Your request for an' opinion reads, in part,
as follows:
"Certain veterans who are exempt from
the payment of those fees covered by Arti-
cle 2654b-1 as amended have ralsed the ques-
tion as to whether they are exempt from the
payment of the student activity fee estab-
lished as ayrequired fee by the Board of Re-
gents of ThkUnlversity of Texas pursuant to ,
the provlslons of Senate Bill No. 228."
Supplemental facts verbally supplied by you
are to the effect that there are approximately one hun-
dred students presently registered In the University
who, for one reason or another, are not eligible for
educational benefits under the "G. I. Bill of Rights"
(Public Law No. 16 78th Congress and Public Law No.
346, 78th Congressj, but are veterans within the mean-
ing of the exemptlon contained in Article 2654b-1,
V.C.S. It is expected that this number ~111 Increase
during the next several years. Your inquiry relates
to student veterans coming within this category.
Based,upon these facts, the questlon thus
presented is whether veterans who are exempt from the
payment of fees under Article 2654b-1, supra, and who,
Dr. Theo,nhilusS. Painter - Pe.gf?
2 v-399
for one reason or another, are not eligible for educa-
tional benefits under the “G. I. Bill of Rights,” are
exempt from the pajrmentof the student “activity fee”
provided For in Senate Bill 228, Acts of the 50th Leg-
islature, Regu1a.r+ssi.on, 1947, Chapter 66, p, 96.
In answering this,question,,it is necessary
to review the legislative history of the several dif -
ferent statutes involved,
The 40th Legislature ct its Regular Session
In“1927 enacted whet is now Article 2654n,,V.C.S. This
Article provides, in part, as Tallows :
“Sec. 1. No Ste.teeducations1 instltu-
tion shall collect from the student thereof
any tuition, fee or charge of any kind’vhat-
ever except as permitted by this Act, end no
student shell be refused admission to or dls-
cha.rgedfrom any such institution for the
non-pament of any tuition, fee or charge ex-
cept as permitted in,thi$ Act.
"SBC * 2. Any such educational institu-’
tion may collect from each student a matric-
ulation fee of not to exceed thirty’($30)
dollars for any term of nine months, and lab-
oratory ch:!rgesto cover actual laboratory
mn teri.:,‘?s
;:nd3u.n:)l
ies used by such stud.ent
not tt)cxceod.j.nany event four (:j4cCO)dol-
lars fnr e.nyone year from o,nyone student
in Any one lobOrAtory course. O . 1
“Sec. 3 a’ The words ‘State oducational ,
Fnstituti.ons’as used.in this Pet nhell in-
clude the following and my branch thereof:
The University of Texas; , + .
“Set c 4, Nothing in this Act shall pre-
vent the collection of fees or chrrges volun-
terily ?ri.tl by the students to cover the ex-
pense of student activi~ties ; provided, how-
ever, that the same shall never be made com-
pulsory or required by the educationel insti-
tution ns a conditi.onprecedent to a student
entering or continuing at ssi.dinstitu-
tion.
DP, Theophilue S, PaIntap - Page 3. v-399
-1m 1933 ths 43~d Uglalatu~e at its Ffmt
Call&l Session emoted wPx&%am now th% ffr3t two Sec-
tions of Aptfole 2654b-1, v.C,S, It Is the~efn pro-
vided, In pvart,as follovvs ..,
Yl%C* 1, Tim gavemfmg boards of the
sev%Pal fnstftutloa3 of &oll.%giat%P&w&,
suppoPt%d en whole 01"in p.wt by publiC
fund3 app~op~feptadfrom the Stat% TF%a3wy',
am hs~eby authcr~zad amd directad to 'ex-
&apt analexempt al.1~~tfeens of T%xa3, vho
*have resfded in ?exere fop a paHod of not
less than twelve (12) mom%hs PPLfOPto $tl%
da%% ofp~*%g?.3trat~on;and‘;sho ~nrvsd dwfng
,the Sp&nfnh-Am.srlcanand/or dwing the Wopld
War as MWSSS OP fn the errqwdfames of th%
mnftea 3tertes d~wfng C,hi3
World War; erna who
~2% honorably dfseh3z~gadthcwefrom, from
the pEqwSat of !sill dw3, fens and ChaPgee
wb.%tsoev8P,fmelufi:i_t~g~Pacts
for eo~~sspo~d-
emee eouPses; prov~d@si,how~w-E+l~~ that the
foregofm ex%mptfora3klal.l n.otkz:a
constzuod
to apply to depos,its,auoh ~9 X1.blra~y, or
laboratory deposits, vhieihmay t% requf~od
it2ths natum of a sacur4ty for tk return
of OP propor cap% of property loan& fop the
U38 of st~udstats, tlOPto any Pees oP,chtwg%3
for ,l.odg9mg,bo&md OP clothfmg‘ D 0 *'ls
APt,,f@le
2ij54b-13i-,ood,a3
enaet,%din 1933, un-
tll Sectiou 3 w?s add.%dby the 46th LegfFulatw%, effec-
tfve.May 15,'1943, Tkis latt%fuseet%oizsaa3eE&cted to
extend p~erious World W&w % %uftYoa a.ndf%e exemptions
In stats colleges clrtxlamfvvar3ltli.ss to veteren3 or World
War II* The seotion maas, irepa&., as follows: ,
"See. 3. All of"th% etbowesand for@-
goimg pPoviaiotls)eotlaft~onsarace
batmfft3
h%r%inahov% in thP3 Ar-Cialapravi.dedfol?
in sectrom 1 and In Se~tlorl2 3hnll apply
and BCCPU8 to the b2nofit cf ull niwses,
memb%re of the Woman's A3'mg&~LX.lfa:Fy.
C!oPpS,
Flom%n'sAuxflicwg Volu.nt%%rEmerganay Serv-
ic%, snd.all membess of th% Uuited Stsat‘es
armed ~;OPDO~,regMPdl%43 of WhetlET lxm%s%~~S
of.the Unftxd St&e3 Army or of t&e IIrif,t%id
States lkvy OF 0~3 Dnfted State3 Coast Gwrd,
who t15ve, OP me now 88rvfmg, o.??who may aft-
ep the passage 0r this Act, serve FQ the
.Dr. Theophilus S. P&iUt8P - Page 4 v-399
armed forces of the Unlted States of America
during the present World War Number II . . .'
The 49th Leglsl&ture Regular SeBslon, 1945, :;
?L
,
: ;~f:
added Section 4 to'Artlcl.82654b-1: It reads, in part, .,-‘~$
,
i,,ij(
83 follows:
“Sec. 4. The exemption from the payment
Of due3, f%8s, and charges as provided here-
L in&bove In Section 1 and Section 3 of thls
Art1018 shall not apply to or include honor-
ably discharged members of such United States
Armed Forces, or other persons hereinabove
named, who are eligible for education or
training benefits vrovided by the United
States Government under Public Law No, 16,
mth Congress, or amendments thereto, or
under Public Law No. 346, 70th Congress, OP
amendmenta thereto, or under any other Fed-
eral legislation that m&y be in force at the
time of registration In the college concerned
of such %x-service man or woman. . . .'I (Pm-
phssls ours)
The 50th Legislature, Pe ular Session, 1947,
enacted Chapter 66 (Senate Bill 22ti supra) amending
Sect,ion4 of Article 2654a, so as t; hereafter re&d and
provide as follows:
“sec. 4. Each of the governing boards
of the various Institutions of higher edu-
cation named in Sectlon 3 of this Article is
,
expressly authorized, whem deemed necessary
by-said governing board, to require and col-
lect a fee or charge from all students req-
l.SterlngIn said institution to cover the
costs of student services which the s&Id
governing board deem necessary or helpful in
csrrglng on the educational function3 of the
Institutions, these services to include such
serv%ces as textbook rentals, recreational
activltles, health and hospital service, art-
ists and lecture courses, debating and ora-
torical actlvltles, student publications, snd
other approved student activities; provided
however, that no student Shall be required
to pay for such services more than Fifteen
ars per semester or entire sum-
All fees and charges whleh hsve
Dr. Theophllus 9. Painter - Page $ ,’ v-,399
heretofore been collected, charged oreat-
tempted to be collected by the various ln-
stltutlons of higher education for any of
the purposes named in this section under the
heading of,student.serv,lces,regardless of
the name’by which such fee was designated,
all oS.~whlchfees having.been charged, col-
lected or attempted to be collected under
authority of Article 2654-a or 2654-c of the
Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, are hereby
in all respects validated, confirmed, ap-
L
proved and authorized a8 though they had been
authorized.,
and oolleoted by specific order
of the varloua governing boaPdar” (Erupila313
ours)
- Pursuant to the provlalona of Section 4, Ar-
tlcle 2654a, V.C.S., as now amended, the Board of Re-
genta of The University of Texas has exercised the dls-
cretlon given It by the Act and established as a re-
uired fee an “actlvlty fee” in the 8nm of Fifteen
9 $15 .oo)~Dollars. This “activity See” became effec-
tive a8 O’Sthe beglnnln of the first semester of the
present,school year (19 &T-1948).
We know from a study of the records of the
University that the agencies of the University deriv-
ing financial support from the “activity See” are: (1)
Athletrc Council; (2) Cultural Entertainment; (3) Cur-
tain Club; (4) Wcmen’s i3Zee Club; (5) Men’s Glee Club;
(6) Longhorn Band; (7) Oratorical Assoostion; (8)
Co-Ed Handbook; (9) ~studentOowernmanti and (l.0)Texas
Student Publications. &me of these;agencies receive
any support from State appropriations provided by the ,
Legislature to the University. (See appropriations for
,Educetlonal Institutions of Righer LeermIng, 50th Leg-
islature, R. S. ,1947, Chapter 339. ) Yet the money de-
rived from the I’activityftte”supports and provides
facilities for the conduct of these enumerated extra-
currioular activities OS social, recreati.onal,and ed-
qcatlonal natures. There Is no longer any doubt that
these activities come within the functions of a pres-
ent d8y Univereity. Rainoy v. Malone, 141 9. W. (2d)
713 (Tex. Clv. App. 1940) 0 Certainly such activities
aid in the development of what vas described In early
debates and mesaaRes a8 a “unlversltv of the first
class. ” See &neYdlct’s History OS The University of
Texas
-P pp. 23, 26, 233, 238, 255.
Dr. Thsophllus 5. Painter - Page 6 v-399
It is a wellestablished rule of statutory
eonstruotlon that the Intent of the Leglslature as
expressed in statutoryenactments may be gathered from
statutes relating to the same,subject ratter--statutes
Id.par1 mater&. Thls rule is based on the presumption
,thet whenever the Legislature enacts a provision It has
lo mind the previous statutes relating to the same sub-
ect matter. 2,.Sutherland Statutory Construction 535,
B 5201.
The above.rule is applicable tothe statutes
under consideration because Artiole 26548, supra, deal-
ing with the subject of tuition, fees, and char es In
State educational institutions, and Article 265&b-l,
supra, dealing with the exemption of veterans from pay-
ment of fees end charges in State educationaL $nstitu-
tions, are in par1 mateHa.
In Section 1 of Article 26548, supra, “any
tuition, fee or charge of any kind whatever’ Is prohib-
ited except as speoiflcally permitted. ~Seotlon 2 of -
this Article suthorize@ ,and.treats with matriculation
and laboratory fees. Seotlon 3 names the State,schools
included within the Act, and then Section 4, as It ex-
isted prior to its amendment by the enactment of Senate
Bill 228, expressly treats with a student “activity
fee” by providing ‘not,hing,inthis Act ahall prevent
the collection of ,fees or charges voluntarily paid by
the students to cover the expense of student activi-
ties.” It Is thus apparent that ,studentactivity fees,
as provlsledfor insection 4, were placed in a different
classification and category from “tuition, fee or charge
of any’kind vhatsoevsr” and “matrfculation” and “gabore-
tory” fees mentioned in Sections 1 and 2,
When the LegZsleture enaoted Seotion 1 of ii&
title 2654b-1, aupra, a phrase similar to that found $n
Article 2654a, supra, is used; and it is provided that
the veteran shall be exempted from the payment of “all
dues, fees and charges whatsoever.” Xnasmuch as the
phrases “tuition, fee or oharge of any kind whatever”
Snd “matriculation fee” as ,used Ln ArtFcle 2654a patent-
ly do not include student “activity f%es,” the phrase
“duea, fees, and charges whatsoever” aa used in Section
1 of Article 2654b-1 is not to be construed as lnoluding
student “activity fees.” Purthormore, the student ac-
tivity fee orQ$.nally provided for in Section 4 of Ar-
ticle 26540, supra, was permissive, and it was not there-
fore necessary to exempt a etudont from its payment.
: Dr. Theophllus 3. Painter - Page 7 v-399
Articles 2654a and 2654b-1 being In pri materla, it
necessarily follows that the Legislature In exempting
the veteran from the payment of all "dues, fees and
charges what~soever"in Article 2654b-1 intended to ex-
empt him from the pa ent of those fees muired by the
terms of Article 265f?
a. 2 Sutherland Statutory Con-
struction 530, supra.
The Legislature in amending Section 4 of Ar-
tIcle 2654a, supra, so as to require a fee or charge
from 811 students to cover the cost of student aotlvl-
ties could have easily provided for an exemption from
payment In favor of the class of veterans covered by
this opinion If it had so Intended. Cf. Article 2589f,
V.C.S. (Said Article, which was enacted In 1945, spe-
cifically provides that any student exempt from the pay-
ment of the tultlon fee shall be exempt from payment of
the Texas Union fee therein provided for.) It did not
see fit to do so.
Therefore, it la our opinion that veteran etu-
dents who are exempt from the payment of fees by Article
2654b-1, Sections 1 and 3, V.C.S., are not exempt from
the payment of the student activity fee provided for In
Chapter 66, Acts of the 50th Legislature, Regular Sea-
slon, 1947.
SUMMARY
The exemption extended to veteran stu-
dents by Artlole 2654b-1, Sections 1 and 3,
V.C.S., does not operate to exempt such vet- ,
eran students from the payment of 8 student
activities fee required by State College
Boards under Senate Bill 228, Acts of 50th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, Chapter
, P.,96.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
'&<,
ATTORNEY GENERAL
By kf!~-=-~ ‘n7a;tAcuc-p
Charles D. Mathews
DJC:CDM:jt Assistant
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion