Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1943 )

i. , - ~--.-
. OWICE OF THE ATI’ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AU8TlN
euul.Do.~
lrnouloaay
‘.. .
Ronorable i¶elvla C. Eldean, Ymbeh
EOard Or Regent8, State Tea&me COnO608
Runtsvllle, TeXae
I.
Your rii8t two queetlonr inquire whetbbr it is man-
datory under.the Retirement dot that faoulty m6mbers of the
Teacher8 Colleges' be retired,rlthout exaeption, upon their
reaching age reventy. Seotkon S.of the Teacher Retire;oont Act,
88 amended by Chapter 377, Acts of ~ths 48th Legialatare~ (Art.
2922-1, Vernon's Annotated Civil %&Ute8) provides for volun-
tary retirement 0r %anbersn Of the Retlrernent 3ylltellI
at age
ilonorable Llelvvin"C.iildsbi, page'f2
sixty, if the member shall tive caupletad twenty or more year9
of "oreditable 8ervlcem 80 drflued by the Aot; the sma section
further provldest
aAny member in'aervioo who 438 ettalned tl1O
qe 0r 8eVwfl0) year8 ehnll be retired forth-
By it8 axproos term, therefore, ths Act proVidU8
for tie ran-voluntary retlranont et age creventy 0r only those
employ008 or the TeaO,hors cO113ge8~vho~er6 %enborsn 0r the
F;ctIremnt $ystem, no't>&t term iq detined by Section 3 of the
Act, a8 ameudedl,and, even.88 to members who reaoh ssventg
yours of age, it ia prixided that-y remain in sorvioe
with tho approval 0r their employare. There I8 no r9qulrenfmt
contaiued in t.59Rstircuaent Act, therefore, that mambars or ti-19
faolrlties of tho TOnch0r8 Collegem bo retired without exceptlm,
upon thdr~raaohing seventy year8 0r ~0. If such persona aro
member8 of the Teacher RetIreneat System, thby nag rf2sd.h in
SOrViCC 8rtor I&p3 80V3nty Otiy Upon, the S.rrbiIELtiVe sj.~20Vnl Or
tholr OP lo rsl but, if suoh approval ia give, ma-Aors of tim
Rettim* SJ’S OSI IStly OOlltinue in SWViOS.
II. r
Your third and fifth questions relsta to tim sane
&em&l inquiry, aad will be COn8ider9d to&iiier; ci~syare a0
follow9:
"(3) Sir.09 each a011989 ha8 a local cox-
nittee calposed Or ttiee Of th0 E&gent8 eelectod
from the Board, Should they be inveat9d with the
power to decide to retain or dl8mIss member8 0r
the ra:acultTwho have reached t3e age 0r seventy
or should this nili% be by the entirs Board in-
stead of tie uomittoe?
iionomblc C. Xid8On, Pa&o $3
"(5) ifho i8 the OmplOyer Of a member Of
the ra0uity who reach08 seventy year8 of 820 or
more - the Dosrd 0r Regent.8, the locnl cr?;nittco,
or the pre8ideXt of the COlle~o?"
In the sense of t29 ultinate, the State of ToXas fo
t-i-2onployer 0r members of tk0 r30ulti93 0r i&e sovo201 Stat0
Tonckxws Colleges. On Its behalf, howover, the Dowd of Re-
;ents of the State Foachers Collo~es by law is 'ckaza-;edwith
tim ro3po~IbIlity of fhe @moral colltrol 3nd z~ns~c:~nt of.
all State Teaohers Collo~ee for white persona CA X.Z~ % C -;I
enploy aud dIsahrir;;epre3ident8 or priricipaln, tozckzs, trtxto-
w3rs and other 91&07098t 0 9 0 ." ~(ArtiCb 2247, 'i'braX1'3
Araotatsd Civil Statutes.) The continued cr,plo;?.%cnt cL’ tkc
several faculty saber3 of the State Teachers Colfo;2o, tllsrc-
fore, ia expressly dependent upon the'exeraiso of tllspxcr of
the Eoard of Rezents to mploy such persons on behalf of t‘%
State under tho authority oonferred by tho quoted otntute.
/ ``~S;'eoasgl!%efrcm your qUe8tiXI3, howovcr, Lab hour
lnquiribs``relfite'~to mz%tirmentn uader~ tAe 'fe?lc``r,'I!jt.~renent
Act, rather~'than to tensiilation of services by’~irilrih~cl or bj
failure of the Roard of Regents tzo aontinue the coztract of
oaployaent In err9Ot. X8 above ob8erved, th0 iW&wmnt Act
provide8 for automatic, non-voluntary retiremnt 0: zmbcrs of
the RetireZmnt Sy8teIn upon their roaching the ago of %?~entg
ye.9281 but it is provided that such a member my rcmati in
service "with the apjjroval
plicable to' ezsployees of the
"c:~ployer* as wad in thl8
5 or L.-ection1 of the Retirment Act as follo~sr
n '&ployert s'hallm~an the ?tate of Texas
and any of ita deslmted &Sent8 or agencies with
reapon8ibilIty end nuthority for public education,
such a0 0.0 Q the board8 or rei;onto 0r State col-
leges and *unIvorolties s +Y c .I'
- ..d
. .
Honorable Rdelvln c. Eidson, pnco #4
Under the Ratlroment Act, thoreforo, .$&no zomr;era
of the Rotirament system on tho.faculties 3f t:;a':'oocnws*
colleges, must retire rr0m aervlae, unZor3 the Roard of zese.ot3,
by afflrmstlve action ap>rovos thair continuat:or in 3crviao
of 7Z10 inetitutlon. Ce bcllove the above an3wrs j-::w fifth
quaotlon.
Pour third question in affect inquires w::cL;ar t:ie
Board of ReSenta may dalegsto to o committee of t;roz t~;o .~GFJ~
to decldo rhothor faculty mombecs who rccrci savcni~ yticr.3of
nRe sksll bo rotlred. Agoin, Re assumd t&t j-ir;* ii>.'.Jsti9r.
ro-
ht4S to thO34 enDlOY4OS i?lO BrB nt4dX?re OI" t29 ,'&ls.:es*
.letiro-
mont system. - -
.
i
., 9.
A8 a (;enorsl rule; h .i3osrdor other ofl'&ial's e&n&
wag dele;;ate to others tiia dlschar5o'of m&lotcrisl duti&
which do not oall for the exeraioo of dlsaraticn; snd may not
dolo&e to others the discharge of duties and functions atiah
call for reason or discretion. Rome Zoolocioal drana Co. v.
cat2 of Lsllas, 45 s. ;:. (2il)71~5~Sankntij;clo V.
French; DO. 575, 15 S. G. 4408’ Eoeohtm, Rii&rOwsnd
airicora, aem. 566, p. 36Ci; ,%4 Toxi'~Jtii&" 459,cTrB...
_ ~,..~, .L
".'i
1% see no violation of th& rule asinst deiloLation
of authority,
horrevor, In the selection by the Bcnrd of Zie&onta
of a committee of its members to review msndatory rotire:;ient
aaaoa arlaing under tho ,Teaaher Retirement Act in too eovoral
institutiona under their jurisdiation. Ths puLllc ',ood sub-
sarved by the rule a&n& doloSation of powers 13 to ins-~-c
the making of docislons of, pallag b7 the off iciols to si~om tk
pnrticulsr dioorotlonary functiona ero entruatod; prcsuxably,
they were soloctod to exorcise that~ JudDant or dlacrotlon bo-
qouse the7 were deemed fit and aompetent. In the pressnt in-
atmnce, however, the policy of rotlroment of mombars of the
Teachor Retlramont System vh~n thay achieve th& &T-O of aevcnty
yours Is the pub110 policy of the Stato declared bnw@ leS-
lslative enactment; to this rule of r9tlreaont, t:heAct ~rovidea
asl csccptlon; viz., ti%t mombsra over aevczty ma-j oohtinue tn
. .
Honor&lo Uelvln C. Eldson, pa;4 45
service upon tho approval of their Omploy4rs. b%ik33 ai'tiSl7l-
ntivs aotlon of th4 employer approvirq continuationin aervico
is taken, the requiraslentthat t&3 member retira fort:lrith up-
on becoml~ seventy results by opuration at tke aiauuto. 3ir.c~
tho policy of retirement -hnobeen dotarminod 'ostii4Lailalature,
the discretionary authority v$lch ia loft ta Lc cxcrcisad by
tineRonrd of Rci;onts,as osploy4r under t2.eR!ctiror,Jnt
Act, la
not ahoth.zrto retire thoaa Rotirenont f.yat4z;f-5~:b~ar5
cho be-
come sevonty, but rath4r'shethor it shall affk~itiv~ly cpprovo
continued 4mploym4nt in exceptional cases of such zomboro. .\s
in the lnatanoe of ori:lnal cmplo-ymontof psrao.%?el,tho 3oard
certaialg any dblet>te t?lS i&otion of invosti~a~fcll and rccozx-
tendation to a oosnittoo of its mnbera; ar.d, if tLa Eoard ap-
i;rovoa tho action of the comnitte4, insofar as it concern5 th4
contractsmado with 0-k continued employwnt of those persons
v&o ar4 selected to read:1 in.service, it has not abdicatad.
Its functions to its comsittoe. Russell v. Gaze, 66 Tex. 428,
1s. U. 270; Golvestor.Counti~v. Gresham, (Tax. Clv. App.) 220
561. Thoao m4mbors of th4 Rotiremsnt System nho reach
s. :';'.
mandatory retirement u:o, and who arc not rec``onded by the
conmitt for oontinuod service aro not diachar;:4d by the cow
nittsc, nor rotlrad by tim Board; thy SiIilplg COnlCKit&in til0
;4noral rule of policy pr4ocribed by tne Le.;iclaturu t.=L til4y
shall ratire upon arriving at a:;eeoventy.
III.
Your last Inquiry is ambodied in your fourth ques-
tion; viz:
"(4) If swcbors of the faculty aoventy
yaars of aso should be roloased from active
ssrvloo, should nersbers of the Board of iio-
dents who are seventy be rotaiwd as members
of t:be Eoord?”
As framed, the question seems to b4 ono of policy;
55 such it is beyond t:kogrovinco of this departmentto anover,
for the dotermizatlonof zattors of policy in smh matter5 is
. .
Iionorable
Melvin C. Eldeon, pa@ #S.
a legislativefunction. Conaldered,~homoer, as a q\lestioa
vhether otiktotl~lava ProYldo for retirment ot nmuors or
the Doard of Rogmfs of the State Tercimrs*Collcps upon
their roaching the a$p of eovsnty years, you are advised that
t*heydo not.
Very truly yours
Oaynor Kendall
Assistant