The opinion
January 18, 1947
Eon. Reed McDonald
Chief Clerk
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
A & M College of Texas
College Station, Texas
Opinion Ho. V-01
Re: use of proceeds from
sale of land ana prop-
erty of an abandoned
sub-experiment statfon
to construct bui1dllng.s
'and other improvements
in connection with the
establishment of a new
sub-experiment station
on donated land,
Dear dir:
We have carefully considered the questfon pro-
pounded in your letter to this department, dated Deeeni-
ber 17, 1946. That question, copied verbatim from your
letter, is as follows:
"If the land for the establishment of a
new sub-experiment station is donated to the
A & M College, can the proceeds from the sale
of land and property that was abandoned be
used to construct buildings and other lmprove-
ments in connection with the establishment of
the new station?"
It is the opinion of this department that the
answer to this question should be resolved in the affirm-
ative with certain qualifications which are herein set
Our opinion is based on Articles 139 140 and 143
G$%onfs Annotated Texas Civfl Statutes R&s& of 192!?,
Section 6 of Article 8 of the Constitution of Texas'
Subsection 3 of the General Provisions of Chapter 3?'7a2
Texas Session Laws, 1945, enacted by the Forty-ninth Leg=-
islature in Regular Session.
Hon. Reed McDonald - Page 2 (V-01)
Article 139, Powers of Board, provides as fol-
lows:
“The Board shall have power:
“1. To establish sub-experiment stations
at such places in this State as it shall deem
proper In addition to those now In operation.
“2. To abandon or discontinue any sub-
station which may become undesirable for exper-
iment purposes; and If deemed necessary to es-
tablish others in their stead at such places in
the same county as it shall deem advisable.
"3. To sell any land or other State prop-
erty used in the operation of an experiment sta-
tion when so abandoned, and to apply the pro-.
ceeds of such sale in the purchase of other land
and property for the establishment of experiment
stations.”
The first object and purpose of Paragraph 3 of
Article 139 is clear. The Board of Directors of A. & M.
College is given the power to sell any land and other
property of an experiment station which has been duly
abandoned. It seems definite that this power of sale in-
cludes the right to sell the land, buildings and other
improvements and whatever equipment that was used in the
operation of the abandoned station.
The second object of that paragraph, we be-
lieve, is to give the BoaEd :he power to use the proceeds
from such sale for the gs ab Jo.&& of other experimental
stations. The phrase “to purchase land and property”wodd
seem to be merely descriptive and directive of the manner
in which the proceeds for the establishment of experiment
stations would be used. We do not believe the Legislature
intended to limit the use of the proceeds solely for the
e in the establishment of an
experiment station. To so construe the phrase as a llai-
tation on the use of the proceeds would, in effect, be
giving the Board the power to sell buildings and other im-
provements erected on land which had been used for an ex-
periment station, but would prevent the proceeds to be
used for the same purpose in the establishment of a new
station, and would force the Board to look to other funds
Hon. Reed McDonald - Page 3 (V-01)
for necessary buildings and other improvements in the es-
tablishment of a new experiment station. Such a result
was, in our opinion, not intended by the Legislature. Ra-
ther they intended by this paragraph to allow the proceeds
to be used for the purchase of land and for whatever physi-
cal equipment and improvements that might be necessary to
tk&full and complete establishment of an experiment sta-
.
However, Paragraph 2 of Article 139, when read in
conjunction with Paragraph 3 of the same Article, requires,
in our opinion, the new sub-experiment station, which Is es-
tablished with the proceeds from the sale of land and other
property of an abandoned experiment sub-station, to be lo-
cated in the same county of the sub-experiment station which
was abandoned. That it was the intent of the Legislature
that this provision be mandatory is made clearer by a read-
ing of the Acts 1913, S.S., p. 98, Section 6, which reads
in part as follows:
I,
.provided, however, no station shall be
abando:ei and re-located beyond the bounds of the
county in which such station was originally lo-
cated."
Article 143 reads as follows:
II the
location,
da board uw t&a IntO consideration ana re -
c%i e anv doD&&D, either in money, && or
othk property, to be used in the ooeratjsn
-t of UY such stat%&
and for experiment work, may lease such land'as
may, in its judgment be necessary for any o i the
purposes named in this chapter." (Unaerscorfng
ours)
We believe this article, by Implication, author-
120s the establishment of an experiment station on donated
land. The Board under its general power of sale in Article
139 would have the same power of sale with respect to any
land that is donated unconditionally and without limitation
as it would with respect to land acquired in any other man-
ner by the Board for experiment statfons; and no loss can
be seen by the erection of buildings and other improvements
on land received as a donation to be used as an experiment
station. To prevent such proceeds from being so used would
necessitate the acquisition and use of other funds when an
. experiment station was desired to be located or established
A
I
Hon. Reed McDonald - Page 4 (V-01)
on donated lands. Such, conceivably, could result in land,
which was desired to be donated, being purchased in order
to establish without an extended delay an experfment sta-
tion thereon. Certainly such was not the intention of the
Legislature. It is the opinion of this department that ft
was the legislative Intent to permit such proceeds provia-
ed for in Article 139 to be used in the establishment of
experiment stations on land recefved as a donation without
condition or limitation under Article 143, when such land
is located in the same county as was the land of the aband-
oned station from which the proceeds were derived.
The last sentence of Article l&O reads as follows:
"All funds received from the sale of sta-
tion lands or property shall be deposited in
the State Treasury and shall be paid out in
accordance with the provisfons of this chapter,"
Under this statute the proceeds from the sale of
land and other property of an abandoned sub-experiment sta-
tion must be deposited in the State Treasury. In order to
withdraw these funds from the Treasury for the establish-
ment of a new sub-experiment station it fs necessary that it
be done in pursuance of a legislative approprfatfon as re-
quired by the Constitutfon of Texas,
Article 8, Section 6 of that document provfdes In
part as follows:
"NO money shall be drawn from the Treasury,
but in pursuance of speciffc approprfatfons made
by law; nor shall any approprfation of money be
made for a longer term than two years, ., 0n
While the last sentence of Article 140 might possibly be
construed as an approprfation authority to allow the with-
drawing of such funds from the State Treasury, in the face
of the above constitutional provision and the repeated hold-
ings of the courts of this State, it could not be authority
for such an appropriatfon for a period longer than two years
from the date of the enactment of Article 140, which was
1913.
We are of the opinion that authority for the wfth-
drawal of such funds from the Treasury for the establishment
of a new sub-experiment station is granted by Subsectfon 3
of the General provisions of Chapter 377 of Texas Session
Hon. Reed McDonald - Page 5 (V-01)
Laws, 1945, enacted by the Forty-ninth Legislature in
Regular Session. This Chapter deals with the biennial
,appropriatlons for A. & M. College and other education-
al institutions for the fiscal years ending August 31,
1946, and August 31, 1947.
Subsection 3 of the General provisions of this
Chapter provides as follows:
"Institutional Receipts. No property
belonging to any of the institutions herein
provided for 5 nv sency therea shall
be sold or diszostd 0: without the consent
of its governing board, and all nrocee&
from the sale of such nronertp, from labor
performed from the sale of maEerials, crops
and supplies from fees, and any and all
other recelpJs shall become ad are he ebg
dce OP contInseL
and with the annroval of the sovereieg board
@&g hPiSaict~. Sa d e: v e boards
are authorized to use out of't:e uroceedg
of sali 1 receipts and fseds, in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, such amount8
as t hev shall deem necessarv for the SUDDOfi I
tit enance . OD eration andarovements o$
1 ttu 0 r
to the credit of anv sala &&j ,tutiona1 1 ca&
funds at said lnstit gtions or in the Stat:
Treasurv at the end anv fiscal vear arq
berebv reannronriatedOffor the above mentiogga
pumoses for the succeeu vea."' (Underscor-
ing ours)
It is our opinion that experiment stations of
A. Br M. College are Included in the phrase "or any agency
thereof." While the powers enumerated in this sub-section
3 are considerably broader than those given by Article 139,
such Article controls over the appropriation provisions;
and hence the powers of the board insofar as experiment
stations are concerned, are modified and controlled by Ar-
ticle 139. Such sub-section does, however, in our opinion
appropriate the funds so that they can be withdrawn from
the State Treasury for the establishment of new experiment
sub-stations.
Hon. Reed McDonald - Page 6 (V-01)
Proceeds from the sale of land and other
property used in the operation of an experiment
sub-station which has been duly abandoned must
be deposited in the State Treasury, but can be
withdrawn by the Board of Directors of A. & M.
College for the construction of buildings and
other improvements in connection with the es-
tablishment of a new experiment sub-station on
donated land. such land donated, however, must
be conveyed without any limitation or condition
and must be located In the same county as was
the land of the abandoned station or stations
from which the proceeds for such improvements
were derived.
Yours very truly,
APPROVED
JAN. 18, 1947 ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS
BY
Assistant