Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

9s I. OFFICE OFTHEATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS ;;f :. AUSTIN nonornbla 600. II. l%t?pp%rd ccq8troller of Public dcoounts Austin, Texas tha Ststo 8% the ra- illegal paymnt rmde ority to Ia-. cnpe. on 0-511'1 nd- . WinSma, Chair- of~thc Bou%e of urr E. Il. Csp rcasury tba amount ily drew fran t&e ng- i;uadalupe-Blanc0 M.uveP I reoeived a letter frti&. 5~1th fan esoerpt Pron the 16&n- ard of Djxcctors of the~c;nada- vcr Authorii;y on April 9, 1P443. I aa cnclosin~ this Copy of the tinutcs and aelt: your ndvioc l&e to the accoptanoi3 of this orm?r a% a settlenont OP the mount duo the State a% a result of the illegal Faymmt m2de ts Kr&aps.* Ac00qanyir.q~ your lot&x ia, a c&y 0P the &der Or the &tkori.ty, t,o;;ctberrith 1.2. Cap’s assent, a% Sol- lossa Donorable Gee+ U. Sheppart.- page 2: WIU3NUS, E. M. Cztpe, a nembcr of the Board of’ Directors of the Uuu?.alupo-3jlnncoDirer Authority, wa% on the 11th day of April, 1953, duly elected and a polnted by that fioard of D5rcotors a% General Danager of tE 0 Auth0rdty, aM\ thOresfter, from and inoluPdng J*une, fWS, by order of the Doard of Directors, has been 11a3.d$100 per month, ahi& was denominated as *s;rlary*fur special services performed by hQx for tbc tioard and the Districti in addition to those :. duties incumbent upon him as a Wrcotor of the Authority, and ha% been p0id certain expenses incurred by him on be-- half of the Authorfty in his capacity as General hana~er, pb.ich 'salary' and oxpcnscs KCr0 p&d to said Cape in his oapaoity as i;cneral Unn~er under and by virtue of tuo oplaions romlcroiLby a ~formr Attorney General of Texas, whercin'it was held that a member of the Doard 'of Mreotors of such a District may act as General bianager, ruLd, wWl0 so aotfng, receive aompensatfon difPerent an& in aukl.$tiontom the per diex~compensation for attending meetinffs and~perform- 2% %ervico% 8% a nor&or 4P the Doard of Director%; and, sWkl3AS, thereafter, the Donorable Gerald 0. Xann, Attorney General of Toxas, in his opinion of D%reh $1, 1943, PO;@-&x17,, addrassocl to the fionorable J. E. WLnfree, ChaFr- man of the Special Comndttee of the Bouee 0f Repre%entatiPe%, held such payments to said Cape , as General blanager of the Authority, to be not lc@.l payments;. and, ~tIIJEKE&i,at tho time sa&d sum 4f $~GG permonth was ordered paid to safd Cape as a ~salaryt, it wa% fntended by ' the Doard to be c0mpensatlon to a Mrsctor ol the Authordty for 0.xtra per diem and expense23 incurred by hJ23 at~the d.droOt* Ion of the Xoard 8s a Director Of the District p,erforxdIISspecial anti eJrtraOrdinary services for the Authority and the Disttict, including etonolfmphia oxpenaes by him lncurr0d and expenses incurred by him in Purnishin~ office facilities, etatfonary and supp1ios, poatqe, and other azrpcnaoe necoseary in order to en- able of the proper performance of such special services rmslertxl to the board and the Distriat; and, %~~EAS, thl% Board ,of Dirootors has rcrieved the extra expense incurrci? by the said C~rm~rol Wns+r, and has also revj.ored the cstrn par diem earned by himan a Mrector 4P the Authority act&S under the direotion of the Board of Director%, for none of whhich paynent has otherwise becti mrcde, and find4 the fact to be that such items far exceed the sum% 90 paid to said Cape and dono%dnat%d a% *salary* to SxbCas xonorable ,Geor Ii, 4;hepprcl - page 4 *m~~~pon, th0 &id E. 2. tX~p@ a~@ead vfth this bwnrd of Direotwrs and the Authority to accept the term of ~aici sVx.clution, anI to cancel my cl&3 zqmn MS part a;;ainst the Authwity for any aLr;wunt fvr wX.ch tile llthwr- ity rroul& be indebte2 to hi12 by virtue of the ~ttcrs erore- saitid,relstinI: to 6u~s for which the Authority rronld be in- debtcd to hit twr per dica and erpcnses 08 a Director of the Authority 0% sixm by ssi& ~~enolution, an:1 prcsmtcc1 to ,-theBoati h3.s mitten accey,tance a.115aclmwxvlodgment.to such effect, ouch is as follorsz -*Board l?fDirectors GuMaluyra-Llanco River Buthority #ear Jmwnfels, Texiss l‘Ger ltlc lm3nfr . .4&y 8 Resoluti~on tiaptefl by pou'm 2q7ri.l9, 1943, you oancelled any cla3.33 against me for rcpaymsnt of m.ms of mmy paid to ~9 f-1-013and inoluding June, 19x3, as n ~salorp for epeolnl sarvioas perforzmd by riiens General Eanager for the hoard of Dj.rcctnre and the District amI for Cxpenses incurred by rue in n;y oapacity as suoh General kmzqer, the tuZ%ISof which ilesolutiun were by me in open oleeting ~acceptti. **This w%ll serve tw corxirm z4v express acceptaaae ot all the terms an& conditions of such Reswlutiob,, nhiah is incorporated herein by rcforence. .I ,I~ ,' . *Wery truly yourr, "t(S) E. k. CAPE' ", S'E. hi. clipE.t= ':A?# -~~Msw~pbn, the Board of D)iredOrs unminously dire&- ed;:t%lz. Chtiman uf this l0ard to infwrn the ownwrable Geargo II. Shcpprd, Coqtroller of public Accounts CP the State of Texas, or th e fa c t th a t ii l A. ~i’a ~c nfuo h r , the ScCrctarg-Treasurer of tllisAuthority, has never at my tiae dram any salary or cwxz- p%sntion from t;he Authority for any services prPommi by bin 8s Secretcuptrc?ctsurOrt the nnly ooz??penaationev0r paid said kpmfueht. hmiuq btY3 pid bit? In lr'isc3pcltp as n Mrnctor Cf t&o ,iutl;orityfor his per d%cnmwf $10 for each day spent in Qttu&sg g:Cetinq& OP the &ward ancl other b~minCss of ths MS- ftict 3s Circct& by thcii;crirt? , i~lu8 actual triivel~ingan;2 wthar -pCnSOS .= Uonorable Gee* U. Bhep&wd - page (5 UQ beg to advise that it is the opixion of a~~&+ prtment tho armn~emmt eoueuzatad by the order of t,.he Authority With ii%-. i%lpC? is SU.f-f'ikiOAt t0 nSOt the !jituat%On $molveA, and that your inquiry, therefore, shauld be ausvep- %a acooPaiAglp. The question aith which we are presently concerned 16 tiot iacr;ticnz wit3 that prescntod an5 ;Zecid& In cur Optu- fen HO. O-6117, but rather it ie Gnc arising in tb.e light of the rcsolutJ.on an& ssscnt above quo&-l -- a subsequent tram- acticn. -*In Ijection 4 of the statute it pwri.des that each Director shall receive $10.00 per day for eaoh day spent in attending naetings of,,the Doard and othelr lx~si~cse OS the D&s- triot that L5o fiosrd thinks necessary, Of couree, t&a Direotm Itn question is eutitled to cou@mition under that provision If he 4paoZifies under said proek3ion.* 1Pe called your attention to the abaro lauguage of O-6117 in our Opinion 3o.o-5170, The resolution reveal6 that W. Cape does qualify under that provision, and, in the light of the Authority~s order 2nd I&. Cape*s assent, the oaee stmds a8 though no illegal payment had ever actually bebn oitde+