Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

XAS Aucvrrnr II:TEXAS PRICE DANIEL ATTORNEY GENERAL . ,llaroh~ 26, 1947 Hon. W. Riley Wyatt, Chairman State Prison Board San Antonio, Texas Opinion Ro. V-105 Be: Authority OS ?risoa Board to direct gen- eral manager to permit the use of inmate labor on sewage project with Dear Mr. Wyatt: the City of Huntsville. Your request for aa opinion on the above cap- .tioned subjeot reads as follows: ‘The Texas State Board of Health has -pract lcally condemned the exist Lag sewage disposal plant in Huntsville as Inadequate. “The Clt of tiuntsvllle has always handled the dI sposal of sewage from the prl- son sjrstem in Huntsville since the prison has no sewage disposal plant of its own. At present, it is estimated the aewage flow iron the prison syetea coast’itutes one-third of the estimated total normal flow to the sewage treatment plant. “The City of H~tsvllle has never im- posed a sewer service charge on the prison -. system because of, a contract entered into between the city aad the prison system, which provides that the prison sgstea will pay its’ prorata share of the coat of any im- provements dr e#ienaions at the oity’8 aewer disposal plant. “In view of the foregoing hazards, the Texas State Board of Health has directed the Cit,y of Huntsville to take steps inane- diatelg to correct the condition existing, and pith, referenoe to this sewage the City of Huntsville has called upoh the prlaon .- ._ ElOIl. M. Riley Wyatt, Page 2, V-105 board to furnish Inmate labor in the con- struction of this sewer extension program. “In view of the contract heretofore entered into (aopy of which is herewith en- cloeed), and further in view of the benefits to accrue to the prison board, can the prl- son board authorize the general manager to permit the use of Inmate labor on’ this pro- ject?” Article 6166a, of Vernon’s Civil Statutes, reads In part as follows: ’ * * * All persons shall be worked within the prison walls and upon farms owned or leased by the State; and in no event shall the labor of a prisoner be sold to any con- tractor or lessee to work on farms or else- where, nor shall any prisoner be worked on any farm or otherwise upon shares except such farms be owned or leased by the State of Texas. ” In Opinion No. O-4322, addressed to Mr. S.,M. Lister, dated April 15, 1942, thi.s Department held that the Texas Prison Board does not have authority under Ar- ticle 6166a, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, to permit the use of trusty prisoners by State offi,cials, members of the Prison Board, and employees of the prison system. In Opinion No. O-4727, dated July 3l, 1942, this Department held that while Article ,61660 authorizes the Prison Board to lease real estate for agricultural or grazing purposes, it was of the opinion that this does not auth- orize the contracting of convict labor under the cloak of a lease of real estate, and that Article 61660 must be construed together with Article 6166a, in that the employment of convicts as guards in the operation of the prison system is so obviously opposed to the gener- al principles and the statutory policies hereinabove . mentioned and discussed, that the power will not be im- plied as incident to the general power of the manage,r to control the prison system; that authority was not vested to use convicts as guards to replace employed guards. The Iegislat ure , in its regular biennial ap- propriation, provides for the various employees and I&Q&I. M. RUey Wyatt, Pag&3, V-105 operation of the Texas Prison System. It was the evi- dent intention of the Legisinture to prohibit the use of convict labor In the performance of work pertaining to the prison system, when such work is to be performed outside the prison walls, and not on the farms owned or leased by the prison system. The manifest intention of Article 6166a com- pels us to answer that convict labor may not be tised outside the prison walls and off of State property for construction of sewerage lines in the City of Hunts- vllle. SUMMAFiY Texas Prison Board is not authorized to direct the general manager to permit the use of inmate labor on sewage project out- side walls or off of farms of Texas Penlten- tiary. (Article 6166a, V. C. 3.) Yours very truly, ATTORNEY GEI’iFXAL OF TEXAS BY Assistant APPROVED NAR. 26, 1947 A3:JMc:mrj A&d&