Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Hon. 0. J. s. ,Elllng8on, page e. State employes to any typa of Oonventlon within the State or wlthout the State.* "(j) Sxoept a5 otherwlae sprolfioally sxmpted, the prWls~on~ cf this Act shall apply also to department hoods and nemboro of ~ompia- slons." There 10 XI0 43XWIiPtiOZI fXOrrCthe prOVsSsOD8 Of the rider of mambers of the Texas Mson Board. The rider further provides: "It la hereby furtherdeclared unlawful ror any psroon authorized to uaa a State-ormad auto- mobile In Oonnsation with euly buslnesrc 0r the State, to use euoh autOmobIle In oolineotlon with any otaupnign In which suoh department Ia dlreot- ly lntereeted, or In behalf or the oampelgnror meleotlon of the head of any departmat, and/or in any other m5nnar, tliae or plaoe than when suoh autcmobile la being wed in the interest OS and for the purpose of oarrylng out depart- mental State buaIne66. Any person yiolatlng thlo Sootion shall upon final 6onrlotlon be cab- Jeot to a line of not la55 thtul $50.00, nor more than #SOO.OO. In the event auah U5Q or ~oh automobile is belag zrndo wlth the kaowledge or the head of the departPlent, having oharge aS muh automobile, then suob 68partmeat head shall d50 be liable to puxhhmmnt Ia l iin5 0r n0t Inor@ than ~200.00. Any oourt or competent &lrl*- dlation ln the axxmiy Wh8l-O this Law la tlolat- ed shall have JurIsdIotIon to try 8uch oau60.* In our opinion, theso provfsloas of the fIdoT, 00n5trued togather, rdieot the logl5latIvs lateknt, not only that State orrlolals and mr~ployeer shall not reaelve reiaburmn&ntfaPsuoh item of traveling expense a8 satis, lodging, eto., lnourred in trar6llng to a f8onventlon Of any kind, wlthla or without the State, but also that 5uOb State offlola or State employees 5hsll not be I?snultted to us5 State-owned automobil ror the purpoes 0r oonver- ing thenselvec to such conventlone, thou&b they say WY Hon. 0. J. c. ELlln.g5on, Pago 6. other erpenlree lnourred on trip personally. The U84 Of an autauobilo purohaaed by the Stats involves en OXpendi- turo af State funds, In that svorjr u5e of suoh Stato- omsd eutcdnoblle of nooosalty ro5ults in a depreolatloo 0r the value of 5uob oar. You are, th5rerore. adrleod that the Prison BMXd mriy not pennlt lta mwbors or oftlolals of the Prl- eon to use a State-owned eutomobllo to oonvoy these men to the Amarfoan Wl6~n Congrssa In New York City, though thelr oxponooa, aeldo from the uao of tho oar, erq not ' to be pald from any Stoto funde. Ioura very truly ATTOWBY CZXSFtAL OF T!XAS &f&&&&u BY R. W. Falrohild A85i&Wlt j(LpPROVEDOCT 6. 1939