OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
websk;t of pour letter
oi June l4# lea01 ironIthio de-
&lartment, Thloh la 10+01 .
al ApproprlatlonBill Sor thr Blenalnm
or 1939~1941. me r000mnexlat10ml of
the Bowa et Dlreotore lmluaed, ,wolml,
l d0Wled et for l@i$o-40 aBlowtlng
to @9,094, I
b"df wa8 estlaated that the
0~00~ fee@w0taa oduoe @4,eoo on
thebtie Of the mro1 L for the Long
~errlon of 1936-3s ana *ho 8anmer Session
or lns8#I Bootorliabey otatea that he
399
Br, iIcwr PI naine7 - mga 8
hod not yet had rufflaient time te
ltua 7th e rr e
eo o wlendBtioto pMer -
mlthlr to m&3 reooiweadatlonaon
all cr the item.
l@On mction of nootor Yorgaa,
reoomled Is7Dr. Apmmorth, the Boml
toted to levy tho few am rooonmw&3a
by the Board oi Diredora of the ?exar
udoq i #o,, one a0irv per bong fh-
rlon wmeeterand titty cents per Stun-
wr &w~sion term, per student, effect-
ive at the beginning oi the Long ses-
@ion o? 1930-40. On wtion of Sfmator
nlaowrt, seoonded b7 Dootor Ayneo-
worth, the Board then empcmred Reol-
dent RBiney to ap we and put into
operation, after Grth er study, abua-
get for the Teras Union for 1939-40;~
*Aa you knm, the aaee of HOrpsrP. Ra.%ne7,
ot al, t . Jmea L. Malone, rbioh im now pend-
ing in the Court of Oitil A ~lm&r$e over
the oolleotfon of thir fee Ki * MalOne
IS the 0x07 student who her tiled 8 Rlit or ikxg
kind in tbh conneotion tuoept for oopd rho
jolaM with Malone in hi. firet tit, vhioh TOI
abated l~7 the trial aourt * She foe0 were uni-
Sormly oollooted from all etudente for the Tiret
l‘eweter of the rohool year l@aQ-40, but all of
them uhlch hare not been aoai ed to the Teaam
union b;r the ottientr, are ltr11 being held by
the Audltm and hare not been made atdlablo
for es ndlture by the utiversitg. Nom o? the
studen r(Ipaid under a Sororrlprotest, nor did
an7 write @protest’on their reooiptr.
When reglstmtion for the wooed 8emerter
begsn, it had beeOw prett7 &eneral17 known
amox the rtudente that the Attorne7 Benoral
WI ooate~ that the ~euspeneo statute@ rp
rtk:nt”, feer collected from the Unirereltf
. BrMsntl that cwaeed eome etudents
rho opposed wing 1 heee foea to rrite lo r o m
roaeipte, and the CWbOn
tihe3.r eo
file In our Awlitor*e Offior,
teat ,I There are perhape a h
Jwnorablo Powr P. Itrine7- Page g
lXo suitsha?@ been Pil8d for the ?80
awary af the foes Wd uader pote8t, mah
am aro oontem@lated b7 the *rrmpease rtatute*,
ArtiOle ?067b, Vr A. 0. 6.
IThe Union Board 18 the gmerninf b?
oat8bl18hedb7 order of the Board oi egea l
to adadnister the afCidP8 of the texar onion.
That Board oon8istr OS iire rtudentr, two ox-
etudentr, and two fraultq melplera~ Slieor-
a= OS the Board or Begents providi for the
board and the 8ddd8tIMiOn oi thes exa8
Union 18 tc be fouxklla folum I, pti 3$--21,
Regent*8 minutsr, a o8rtifiatl00
bar be& furai8hti you in 60meo lxon with tho
litigatIoa no8 pending.
'The Baud of Direotorr of the tera8
Union 18 now eagaged in 0081
to be atabmlttodto the PO arr
oompliaace with the order ot
referred to aml 8ubreotton 19 0S the 8urrent
ap oprf8tioaabill, Althou& we tuwo aot ce-
F
oetsdare@eath‘oefhe BoaMof D&motor8
of the texarunioa that TO tura aver to them
the fees rhiob have been oolleoted,we bntiet-
pate that the7 8187meke ouoh l request 810ng
with thebudgetwhioh the7 afbmit,baredupon
the &mnirSom8 OS arid aubreotiea 19,
*la additioa to the queetiona of l&W
whiah are ixmolred in the handling 6t rho
fees *h&oh have been solleoted ad the lery-
fng of the fee8 for the rohool 7ear 1D4041r
it ooours to me that there na7 be 8ow legal
questions imolred~ It oeew that the fee8
dght be coosiderod tolunt8ry pfiyment.8~wbioh
the Dnirereit7 would hato no authority to re-
turn to the 8tudeatr even though the fe#
81StS~~fYnall7be held rold
. Therefore, I
aaavor to tho following quee
'1. If the Board ofPJreotor8 oi th.
roxar Union ehould 0011 upon the Auditcr o?
the UatrerritJ Of t’erlt8 to make Wa%lablO fOP
expenditure, under its control rad ubjeot to
EomMblO EemW. PI Rainey - Page4
12 older, the ia mhiah have been oolloetod
lud8d by him for the iir#t #Ow#ter of
year 193040~ would it be hi8 duty
'2. If th8 Board Of bir8OtOPS Of t&O
textam Paion8h0uiaaall u 0 fh8 budltor to
make arailable for expe nap0tare under its eon-
trol and 8ubjeOt to it8 OI'dOr,the fee8 H&h
ha+8 been oolleoted aM impounledby him for
the SeOOad #SlB38t8P, would it be hi8 duff ti
do 80)
‘3. If your answer to ~08tiOll NO. 2 18
in the affirmative,should he inolude all of
the seoond sewoter fees a& a01 hold bp U,
or should he rot&a thorn8psid uad8r p&'otOSt,
even though no suit ha8 been filed for their
recwer7t
%. ti YOul OpiniOXl doe@ 8ubaeOtiOn 19
of the ourrent appropriat~onrbill require that
the Board of Regents levy s Texa8 Union We, or
18 it rithin the di#Orotim Of tbS Board Of Ro-
gontr 68 to whether or not thef 1ev 8-l'
ZbO CBS8 Of BOSlSPPl-108Itf4inqf3tti V89 akEE38
L. Utxloae,deoided b7 our Court of ~1~11 Appeals for the
Third 8U~erPehldfOi~ DiSfriC't OXI- ti,lo(o, illVOlV8d
the TSlidity Of StUd9Ilt fS88 WOOlUIt TOus UlliOn,md
that oourt reversed the &@nent of the trial oourt end
rendered the Oauae ia favor Of the appellant,upon the
ground that the payment and recovew of mmb fees oam,
mithln the wope Of &tiele lOafi Of ~eMOag8 &Wb9d
Ciril 8tstuter.
*Bee. 1. Any parson, firm or eorp~ation
who ma7be required to ~tofhehedof any
departmad of the Stat0 QWernwnt any OCOupa-
tion, gr088 reoeipt, frcrrrohi8e,
license or
other &wirilOge t8x or f80, and who beli8Ye8
or contends that tho aam0 18 unlawful and that
ouch publio offiaial 18 aot lwfully entitled
to de&u-d or oolleot the maw shall, awerthe-
~onmabl8 iioximPI Rainey - Page 6
fO88 be l'S@MdtO pS7 OuOhroPunta8 SUOh
publh oPfiain1 alurged with the oolleotion
thereof arrfdeem to be due the State, anI
8rmll be OI3titiSato aoaom suoh papcent
with 8 writton protest, mee"J
tiag out iu117
mad la detail eaoh aml every gtwund or reaeoa
why it 18 OOntfWi5d that atlobdemand 18 anlbW-
fw or uaauthoriced.
*See. 2. Upon the payment Of SUCh tluee
or fear, 8~OOZQRlUiSd b7 SUOh written protect,
$he taxp~pr shall hsT0 nlnoty(So)days from
said date Within ThiCh to file Suit iOr the
reaooery thereof Zn sny court of competent
juriediotionin Trade bounty, Texae, and
none other. 0uoh suit shall be brought
against the pub110 offiolal chsrgod rith the
duty of oolleoting 8uah tax or fee@, the
State Treaeurer and the Attorney Genersl.
The Issues to be determined In euch emit
ahall be otij thOee lU'i#illgoat Of t&e
grounds or reasons set forth in 8x023witton
protest 8s or1&inslly tiled. The rightof
BP&k%1 ehafl8XiSt SO iZl OthOl' 08808 prorided
by law. Provided, however, rhere a olssa
s&Ion 18 brought by any taxpayer all othor
tSXpS7WS belonging to the Olaea s5i I'e~O~
sented in lnloh0168S action who haTe properly
~oteeted SO herein jC’OTid8d shall not be re-
quired to file 8epal'ateBuitS but shall be en-
titled to and gorerned by the deci8ion render-
f$iillPUoh 01asS 8otiOn.
*Bee, 3. It ehall be the duty of euah
bile offiolal to transndt dally to the State
easurer all money eo rooeired
itf with Q do-
tailed list of all thoee reaitt& samom anb
he ehdll inform the gtate Treasurer in uriting
that euoh wney ta(ipfifa under protest a8
herolnsbore Forided. A depeit receipt &all
be iseued by the Qomptroller for the deilg to-
tol, of such remlttanoes from eaoh departmentI
and the oashier of the Treasury Department
ah811 keep a ao8h book to be oalled ~Buspenee
Cseh Book,' in which to enter euah deposit
reoeipts. Upon the reoeipt of ouoh wnsy by
the Btato TrescrurerIt shall be hi8 duty erd
h8 IS herebyrUw&md to i8madbtOu ti fort&
with pleoe the sami ln Mate dep08ftorio8bear-
bg iatOls8tS.n the lulb nmm8r u aq other
fundodtb.etakro
SUah b9~8it8ri.8 at
Treasurer,~hallf~rther boro+o&te CrllO-
Oat0 -tOWl' iat8FOSt f8 8U%8d 011 8UOh i\uabr
uad to oreaM tat. aammt t4mrad to mob w-
BSl,4886lUltIlBt~ th8 St&US .f 8U.hEI.w
E f~f~~tW'Bdn.d ~Sh#MiSl wed.
@see. 4.
thhetimamlrithinth0
ar ia the avant it firwl
SUah ruit tlut thhe StlW
8q potion Mmroof,
rata interest
State, thoamA in that eventit 8bsll be the
ant7 of the mat. Trea8urer to trander muoh
money fromthe looouat to the proper
8~apxm8
fun& of the Stetoby pluing the portion thore-
Of belonging t0 tbO BktO in SUQB lbtl b lb8
fSetrm6e Of a de&I.SftI)8rI%tr mOn NO I;dO-
~dtWSi'rolltOl'tU'MLIt8 WOi88Ued,thef
atmll be S~%toa~d ia tb8 0a8h book, and the
0parluat0mhfo.h wah PoaeJ 18 SO tram-
.Fpdd Sh.llb. FOObl'ff SM&t& Umrmith.
Ia the *rent, haeve t&t #titt@ brought
~auohtu or vi& the time sml within
thhewanerE"J eMiaabw8 prodded, cad it ba
tltallyd@taW that8UdrmOn8~ SO p8idb7
auoh taxpapr,, or any part thareof, was un-
laufullj aewaded by muah publie offioial and
that th0 801y) bel.Z&S t8 OUohttimfOr, t?lSIk
and in th8t ffent it Oh811 be the aat of the
otate Prea8mertoroSmd m0b ammat, together
with the pro rata iatore8t earned therooa, to
8UOh taXpcYOP w fb. 188l&ZI0.Of a rspund TOW
CPnt,thO SW t0be iSWed in 8. to #ori@@
&ad to ba mea for’ asking OUOh re p"ti8, to be
#~1sb~&O8igmtd @t&Xbfuad~~aXitS'
Md SUab VMMlltS ShSlt be WittSB ud
b7 the Ooaiptroll8r
am% 8CWtOr81@8d b7
Stat0 Treasurer and oharged 8grinrt the ma-
pnae aaoount, aa heroin8bwopn%dedr ud
8hall then be returned to the Comptroller
a& aOiiT8Md by him to the Per8OM entitled
to noeivo the maw.@
#Uoh f 008 l%&i~e?k?% ~t%?jr?~~~i%~~
fullJaadinbtail Habrab
it 18 OOntUha that SUoh aWUbd tutlawful or unbuthor-
t0 be dOtW8dMd in aloh
ant7 #OS8 ti8izq Out of the
Ln raeh Tritt8a pOtO#t s8
Itw&llfurthorbo reeathstla up Went ths
amlt. (roe. 8)
The writfag by the student mob foes u II
the Pooeipt Uhd the asrbon OOpiOS Of llafL
protest9 aould not in eventbe omrrtrued to be won a
T th the 8tatUtO
nfb#tMtirl aomplisnoo"p: k86XUstOl7 ObWO
requLring the ltatem8nt of the po~n88 of illogal-
laer of Ruthorit affe0ting the ~Ol~8OtiO~ Of the
tee. PO that, all euoh Tee8 heretofore
oolleotea
from
8tUaMt8 radar t&OOfreUWtMOSSStded b7 ;fOUShOUiab8
dealt with in the USUa1 OOW8. without to auah On-
dOr#eBMt upon the reeeiptr, axalam th M protest vhat-
ever hsd beaa psde. b Other?TOM@, it vi11 be fh0 &If
of thQ uai78r8it7 Auaitar, upoa PO eat of the texar u&m
Bof&, ta wke a+ailiblo sll muah p"de8 oollooted ior fe39-
, MS, TO bOliW8, ~03'8 7OW qU88fiOM 1, # Aada.
subreotian (10)of the gonoml pwl83on8 of
Bau8. Bill Ho. I&U, the A PO tion Billtar Inatitu-
tioaa of Ki@M' Lssra for OUrreBt bieauinm, 18
SO fO11OVSC
*The Bo4rd et legeats of the University
of Texas IS herely 6Uthwi88d t0 lovr a 00~
lOOI lto b ent
$ 08a Otto eXe8ed f h aDOllV
L$l) par student tar oaab 8m3ster of the
~O88iOtlsrldnot to exasad Piif7 Cents
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion