TEE ATTORNEY GENERAL
3 i
OF TEXAS
Hon. oeo. w. cox, M. I). Opinion No. V-548
State Realth OSSiaer
Department of Health He: Legality 0S the mini-
Auetin, Texas mumstandards of oper-
ation and maintenance
of hospitals receiving
Federal aid under Pub-
law Law 725,79th Con-
gresa.
Dear Sir:
Your request for an opinion states:~
"The United States Public Health
Service has requested an Attorney Qen-
eral's opinion relative to legality OS
the minimum standards of operation and .'~
maintenance OS hospitals reoeivlng fed-
era1 aid under Public Law 72 OS ,.the
79th Congress. Section 623 7d) sets up
the requirements for minimum standards
of operation and maintenance for such
Sederally aided projects.
"The standards set up by the State
Board of Health's construction program
are included In the Texas State Plan for
Hospital Constructlon, copy of which Is
forwarded herewith."
Subdivision (a), Section 623, Public Law 725
of the 79th Congress, is, in part, as follows:
II
. . . Such State plan must --
"(7) provide minimum standards (to
be fixed in the discretion of the State)
for the maintenance and operation of hos-
~pitals which recqive Federal aid under
this part; . . .
Subdivision (d) of the same Section is as fol-
Hon. Geo. W. Cox, M. D.,page 2 (V-548)
lows:
“IS any State, prior to July 1, 1948,~
has not enacted legislation providing that
compliance with minimum standards of main-
tenance and operation shall be required in
the case of hospitals which shall have re-
ceived federal aid under this title, such
State shall not be entitled to any further
allotments under Section 624.”
Ii. B. 503, 50th Legislature 1947, is known as
the “Texas Hospital Survey and Construction Act’ and
was enacted iti coinpllance with Public Law 725, 79th.Con-
grese. It provides specifically that the State Health
Officer, with the advice of the Hospital Advisory Couu-
cll, is authorized and directed to provide such methods
of .adminlatratlon, appoint a Director and other ‘Person-
nel of the Dlvisi&,-ind take such other action as mae
be necessary to compls with the reaulrements of the Fed-
ai?al’-Act. Thenpromulgation of’mlnimum standards Is a
hectitisary’prerequlsite to receipt df further aid. Pur-
suant to such authority and in view of slich requirement
a State Plan .Sor the cons’tructltin of hospitals was pro-
mulgated and approved by- the State B.oard OS @alth on
the 8th day of September’, 1947; and by the Hospital
Advisory Council on September 15, 1947. In euoh plan,
minimum standards of operiitlon and malntenanoe are set
forth on page 73, et seq., and ‘desi.gn&ted therein as
Exhibit G. It is specifically provided that all insti-.
tutidns receiving federal aid under Public, Law 725 shall
comply with the minimum standards of. operation and maln-
tenance therein set forth. lo question fs here raised-
as to the power of the Legislature to delegate this rule-
making power.
Although H. B.~ 503 does not specifically pro-
vide for the promulgation of rules fdr the operation
and maintenance for federally aided projects, neverthe-
less the intent OS H. B. 503, taken as a whole, is to
comply in every respect with the Federal Hospital Sur-
vey and Construction Act. The Texas statute, by impll-
cation delegates to the State Health officer power and
duty to promulgate such rules. It is, therefore, the
opinion of this Department that H. B..503, 50th Legls-
lature 1947, is sufficiently broad in scope to provide
ample authority for the promulgation of the minimum
standards of operation and maintenance 'as set forth in
the State Plan for the construction of Texas hospitals.
423
Hon. Geo. W. Cox, M.: D., page 3 ~~~-!WI
Having complied with such requirement, the State of'
Texaa thus. fulfills the minimum standard> provision of
PubliqLaw 725.
1_
SUMMARY
,- H; B. 503* 50th Legislature ~1947, Is
sufficiently broad in scope~to'authorlze
the promulgation of the standards of oper:
ation and maintenance as provided in the
State Plan for hospital construction in
Texas and are legally sufficient to comp;y,,
with Public Law 725, 79th Congress.
Yours very trulilg;,
ATTORREYGENERALOF TEXAS
BW:mw : "' Bkrnell~Waldre,p' '~
:~Asslstant
APPROVED:
&&.d.&! I:.,