OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
t \p.!J
.
Honorabla Braaf 0. Ckntry
Chalmaa, Tona JUghvmy Comlsrlon
Aurtln, Taxam
D04r Sir: Opinloa llo. 0
‘158hava gltan oar ion to your latter
of AIiguat go, rherala
of the Coaalealoaera a
Stcta Hlghvm~ Dopart
clotion of stat. atats burlnera pur-
poaea pertslnl4g f their travallng
erpensae will be OS thr State Highway
FUM.
that tha Asroaktlon will
ngtoa,
Saptamber 16-19, in-
ring nattarr or 8dmlnlrtn-
44aao8, draign, tertl4g,
oua Fllghuay Departmnta and
: Road4 hdmlnlrtntlon.
enoloee a copy of 4 letter of date
ad to you by the Bonorabh Thonaa E.
of the United Iltatra Pub& Road8 Ad-
trr ateter that it 18 laport4nt that
e reprera4tatlrea at the meeting.
Cooparatlon b&roan thr Stat0 Hi(pnr Dopartmsnt
&a4 thr Fedora1 Gorsrzment in raapaot to the oo4atruotfon of
highway8 i4 lxDrea4ly provldod for in Arti WTlq-4, Ratlsed
Clril atatuter ol Tax48, whleh lnu6emtaa 88 one of the objrota
Eononbla Brady P. Oeatrr, Page L
for whloh the State Highway Fund 10 dadloato4~
“(bl For the oonotruotlai, in oooperutloa with
the Frdrrcrl Ooraramoat to tho extant of Tedem aid
to the ltateo, of hlghwap of durable type of the
graetoot public neoeoolt~.*
It ia olrar, theretoro, that cooperation rith the
~edaral Oorarnznent in the ooaatruotIon of highway8 to the
extent of Fe4eral aid to the Stutao, by pour department, la
eopaolall~ made the buolaaso of your dep a r tma t, lnd attan-
daooa upon meeting8 ho14 for the purpooa of oftooting lueh
oooperatlon i8 the performance of 8 sort of the 8t4te'o
busineoa eoorAtt.ed by law to your department.
A ziore serious qusotlan rlnaa, hovievar, la oonaea-
tlon with the matter of ?apent of traraling expenoeo la-
curred in attendlna ruoh meeting. Thlo lo by roaoon o? tha
hot that Senate 3111 487, Aota of the 46th Leglolaturo, ha8
expraoolt prohibited the payment of trovellng oxpenoea la-
curred In going to snp t:?pe OS convention within the ltato
or v.Athout the atate,
In o’tr opinion No. O-1737, WI construed the term
*oonvcation-, ao used In Senate 9111 427, as iollowo:
*fir are impelled, ther3?orr, to the oonclu-
olon that the Ls~lolature UOO6 the Wrd 'OoOven-
tits' in Ito eopsclol or populer,r&her t&an lta
brood, llgnifioance, oonveyin& the Idea, gon-
eraly, of !iy neetlag of nanbera or dalegate
of a private organization, pattr’, olub, ooolety,
or the llkr, for the looompllahmant of rem8
oo-aonobjoot.'
In tblo opinion ue golntod out that it oould not
have been Intrnded by the Legislature that the rootrIotlon
ajalnot paying trarel.Ing. sxpenoeo to oonvcatIono ohould
lpplr to authorized meetlngo or1184 kp agmoica of gore,ra-
u.,pO.tofor the purpooo OS o ooompllahiag tho function@' of
govrrnmrnt impoasd upon thorn, and that to apply oGoh a
conotruction v0Ul.d be to impute to the Legialsture on Intent
to parelse by In4irectloa the admlnlatrotlon of the very ‘1
Eonombta bra47 2. Oantry, Fnga 3
lf?alro of gorornmont ?or whIoh lpproprlatlona were nude at
length in Ssncta 5111 4E7 o? the 46th Leglalatura,
Whether ba relmbumed tar expaaooa
70~ WY lnourrad
in atten4anoo upon the meeting 4aoorlba4, thrreiorr, drpenda
upon whether ouch a meeting ia a *convantloaW wlthln the
WNfll or Senate Bill 437. This, in turn, dopenda upon a
aotr rz nation of the question whether thr meeting lo cne
of the members or delegate8 o? a prlrata orgaalautloa.
Sn this connaotlon, wa a r el4Tlaa6 by your Mr.
Green that the kavlcan Aaooolation o? Stnte iilghvay Ortl-
01410 was orgaolzr4 rpore than 20 ysaro a 0. Illr. Croon ed-
vlaeo us that the occasion for the orgn f tatlon o? the
Association waa a rrqueat ty the offloIalo or tha Public
Koado A4inInIatmtIon o? the Federal OovirnJzent that such
an organlxatloa 50 l??ected as 4 lnotrumctallty for tho
2romotlon of airectlro cooptration between the state8 an4
Federal governxmto in rsopaot to the oonotruotlon of
highways. This otsteaent o? the Origin o? the Aoooolatlon
an4 the pagore to be acoozpllahed by it la cokroborated In
your lettar of January 26, 1940, to thlo deprtzxnt, a por-
tion o? which la quote4 In our opinion No. O-1903, so
f ollowo:
*The namberohlp of the Aserlaen Aseoclation
or Stats EIi+‘.*ay OfrIcialo 1s cm2080a of rsprr-
ae.~tstIveo of the Public Roads Adainlotratlon and
all or the Highway tspartnento o? tbe otat.no and
territories or the United States. The 4000010-
tioa is recognized by the Public Roads A&mlalo-
tratlon aa the pollor-forairy organlrltlon in
netters of a4nlnlotr4tion, accounting, dealgn,
conotructIon, n;atarialo taatlng, mIntan4noa,
u&hods an4 proooCure, and 3uch pollclea and pro-
c?dures as are set forth and ado?trd by the
Asoocletlon ara Incorporated in the standard@,
roqalremanto an4 reports req,llred by the Fubllc
Roada Administration of the State Hl6hway Do-
partmtnto. The rxeoutlv4 oommltteo of the Aooo-
elation haa full authority to review the United
Stats0 numbera rondo oys tm and tha numbering
and arkIn thereo?, and to makr 844ItIono,
Bonorablo Srady P. Oentry, Paz-.,
4
ohangor , rsrlrlonr , lxten8lon8, or reduction8
In raid road 8yrtus, and to ntiar thr mark-
ing prorcrlb8d ior ruoh ro8d8. . . .”
It 18 not t0 be qU88tiOll8d that the m8!Uber8Of
your dOptWtS8IIt might, at th8 r8qU88t Of the ?UbliC RO8d8
I(dm1nirtratiOnOf the United stat88, 3888JIble in %8hln&On,
0. C., or 8on8 other p&S, with rimilar ropr88mtatitr8
rrom othsr 8t8tO8, r0r a j.olnt dl8ous81on 0r tho Qetbod8
of OOOjWat1oA between the 8tatO and f8d8IWi 868llOiO8with
rO8peOt to thr ooartruction of highW8y8. Thi8 would not
be a conv8ntlon, brcause 1t would mt b8 a Sl88ting or a
private organization. If, in this mesting, it should be
decided thnt the bu8lnesc of the maetln~ might be .aoro
ex~edltlou8ly handled by organizing the oonrerenoe, 8lect-
i4 orrioere, and 88hCtiG& OCtitt888, there would 8tll).
br no oonvention, ior the mason that, though there would
be an organization, that orsanlzation would r,otbe private
in oharactcr, It appe3r8 to U3, and we 80 hold, that thi8
18 rubotantlally what ha8 been done in effeCti% the Or-
gaoizatlcn known sa the American isroolatlon oi Stat8 Elghway
orrlclalr. Considering the blstory oi the or@ml%atlon of
the h88OC1atlO!l.and ths >ur>Ose8 IOr whloh It ~36 omanlzed,
and the nature of Its ~UI~tlbIZ8snd Its relation to the
Federal ai-ercy,-yeore of the o~lnlon thnt it 1s not "a
privets or.~snizotIon*,but, on the contrary, has been vested
with an 0frioiai charsoter.
You sre therefore advised that the traveling ex-
penee8 im?urred in attcrdiq the Voting Of tin18organization
will be eligible ror payzent out of the appropriation8 made
to your depcrtmnt b.-thr Leg18laturo for traveling erprn8so.
Ycurs very truly
/ APPROVED
Au6 31, 1940 OF TEXAS