Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1961 )

. . TEEA~TORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS December 14, 1961 Honorable Lynn Brown Administrator Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners 904 Lavaca Street Austin, Texas Opinion No. WW-1222 Re: Whether the Position Classification Act of 1961 applies to, ,the Texas State Board of Plumbing Dear Mr. Brown: Examiners. You have requested an opinion from this office on the question of: * .whether the Texas State Board of Pluibing Examiners Is subjeot to the Position Classification Aat of 1961, recently enacted.by the Regular Session of the 57th Legislature.” The Position Classification Act of 1961, House Bill 189, Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, Chapter 123, page 238,provides in part as follows: “Sec. 2 All regular, full-time salaried employments within the depart- mente and agencies of the State apecifled In Artiale III, m . .of the biennial Appropriations Act, shall conform with the Position Classlfloatlon Plan hereln- after described. and with the salary rates and provisions of the applicable Appropriations Act oommenalng with the effective date of this Aot, with the exceDtions and deferments hereafter provided in this Sectlon. “Effective January 1, 1962, all regular, full-time salaried employments in executive or administrative agencies of the State, regardless of whether their funds are kept inside or outside , . Honorable Lynn Brown, page 2 (WW-1222) the State Treasury, shall also conform with the Position Classification Plan hereinafter described and with the salarv rates and nrovisions of the General Appropriations Act with the exceptions hereinafter provided in this Section. "Specifically excepted from the Position Classification Plan herein- after described are .,. .such other positions in the State Government as have heretofore been or as may here- f'terbe excluded from such Position ilassification Plan D by direction of the Legislature." (Emphasis added) In Attorney General's Opinion No. WW-1095 (1961), this office held that the Position Classification Act of 1961 did not apply to the Finance Commission and the Banking and Savings and Loan Departments. In such opinion reference was made to certain portions of Article 342-112, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which provide that: II e . *Fees, penalties and revenues collected by the Banking Department from every source whatsoever shall be retained and held by said Department, and no part of such fees, penalties and revenues shall ever be paid Into the General Revenue Fund of this State. All expenses incurred by the Banking Department shall be paid only from such fees, penalties and revenues, and no such expense shall ever be a charge against the funds of this State. The Finance Commission shall adopt, and from time to time amend, budgets which shall direct the purposes, and prescribe the amounts, for which the fees, penalties and revenues of the Banking Department shall be expended; . . .It and the conclusion was reached in Attorney Generalrs Opinion WW-1095 (1961) that the Legislature considered that the Finance Commission and the Banking Department had been previously excluded from the Position Classi- fication Act of 1961 by virtue of the provisions found in Article 3&2--1X. Honorable Lynn Brown, page 3 (km-1222) Aa to the Texas State Board of Plumbing. Examiners, we find in Section 5 of Article 6243-101, Vernon's Civil Statutes, the provision that: "The Board shall administer the provisions of this Act. . 0 . The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to employ, promote and discharge such assistants and employees as it may deem necessary to nrowerlv carry out the intent and purpose o? this-Act, and to fix and pay their compensation and salaries and to provide for their duties and the .termsof their employment. . . .It (Emphasis added) In addition Section 7 of Article 6243-101 provides that: "All expenses incurred under this Act shall be paid from the fees collected by the Board under this Act. No expense incurred under this Act shall ever be a charge against the funds of the State of Texas. . . .; but no fees collected hereunder shall ever be paid into the General Fund of this state." Due to the similarity of language found in Article 342-112 and Section 5 and Section 7 of Article 6243-101, the conclusion logically follows and we are of the opinion that the Legislature considered that the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners had been pre- viously excluded from the Position Classification Plan of 1961 by virtue of the provisions found in Section 5 and Section 7 of Article 6243-101. Any other conclusion would render meaningless the provision of Section 2 of the Position Classifica- tion Act of 1961 that: "Specifically excepted from the Position Classification Plan herejn- after described are . . . such other positions in the State Government as have heretofore been or as may here- after be excluded from such Position ClassificaUon Plan . by direction of the Legislature." (Emphasis added) Honorable Lynn Brown, page 4 (Wbf-1222) SUMMARY The Position Classification Plan, extablished by the Position Classi- fication Act of 1961, does not apply to the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Yours very truly, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas PB:lgh:kh By Pat Bailey Assistant APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Riley Eugene Fletcher Eugene Smith Morgan Nesbitt Linward Shivers REVIEWED FOR THE ,ATTORNEYGENERAL BY: Houghton Brcwnlee, Jr.