Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1961 )

August 18, 1961 Honorable H. R. Nleman, Jr. Opinion No. WW-1120 Executive Director State Building Commission Re: Authority of the State State Office Building Building Commission to Austin 1, Texas obtain services and enter Into contracts with other State Dear Mr. Nieman: Agencies. You have requested an opinion as to the legal authority of the State Building Commission to obtain services and enter into contracts with other State Agencies or Departments of State Government regardless of the approval of any other State Agency. The factual background of this request is as follows: The Comptroller of Public Accounts returned a State of Texas Purchase Voucher submitted to it by the State Building Commission, and requested that such purchase vouch,erbe approved by the Board of Control. The payee under this purchase voucher was the Texas Highway Department, and the services rendered to the State Building Commission by the Texas Highway Depart- ment were for soil testing and analyses for the State Building Commission in the Capitol Area Expansion Plan Program and for copies of logs and tabulation data pertinent thereto. The charges for such services amounted to $435.00. These services were rendered by the Texas Highway Department pursuant to a contract previously entered into by and between the State Building Commis- sion and the Texas Highway Department. The purchase voucher contained upon it, as authority for such contract and the payment for the services rendered, a reference to Section ,$I of Senate Bill 134, Acts 54th Legislature, Regular Session, such bill being codified as Article 678i1,Vernon's Civil Statutes. Section 5 of Article 678~1,Vernon's Civil Statutes provlces that: 'The Commission is authorized to take any action and enter into s contracts necessary3 providxr the Honorable K.R. Nieman, Jr., page 2 @W-1120) obtalnlng of sites m Q,R planning, &&puning dIlg construction -- of the building a memorlals provided for by Section 51-b, Article III of the Constitution, and the Commission la also authorized to take any action R@# enter Into any gontra;;: tii;btain sites which it deem% nece ry order to provide for the orderly future development of the State Bulld- lng Program which is contemplated by this Act, Insofar as appropriations permit. . ``omtnisslon M call w &he +eias Hlahway DeDartment to & aDDroDrlate tests and analyses of -- the natural materials at the site of each bulldlnu constructeq to insure that foundations of’siid buildings will be adeqtate for the life of the buildings. (Emphasis added ) Section 8 of Article 678~1, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, provides that: ?he Commlssion shall have the authority to call on any DeDartment of State Government & assist 14 &R carrvu out the duties of the Com- mission. And particularly, It shall be the duty of the Board of Control to do and perform such acts and func- tions In connection with this Act as the Commission may direct; and to that end any portion of the money appro- priated to the Commission may be allocated by the Commission to the Board of Control and expended by it under the direction of the Commission in carrying out the provisions of this Act." (Emphasis added) The above quoted provisions of Article 678m would constitute sufficient authority for the State Building Commission to obtain the services of and enter into contracts with other state a encies. In Attorney General’s Opinion No. W-349 (1958), this office held, In passing upon the validity of a proposed contract between the State Bullding Commission and the Texas State Historical Survey Committee in which the Texas State Historical Survey CommIttee was to provide certain . I Honorable H. R. Nleman, Jr., page 3 (W-1120) services for the State Building Commission, that there was authority for such contract under the provisions of Article 678~. The provisions set forth in Article 678111do not designate as a requirement that such contracts be approved by the Board of Control. Consequently, we are of the opinion that contracts pursuant to Article 678~ are not required to be approved by the Board of Control. SUMMARY Contracts entered into by the State Building Commlsslon with other State Agencies pursuant to the p,rovlsionsof Article 678111 do not require the approval of the Board of Control. Yours very truly, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas PB:lgb APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Elmer McVey Morgan Nesbitt Bob Eric Shannon Thomas Burrus REiVIEWl3DFORTHEAT'I0RNFXGENERAL BY: Howard W. May8