Can the Texas Commission on Fire Protection pay for a firefighter's room and board while attending training school?

TX AG Opinion GA-0296: Can the Fire Commission cover a firefighter's room and board at training school?

Plain-English summary

The executive director of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection asked whether the Commission could include room and board as part of a Fire Department Emergency Program (FDEP) tuition scholarship for firefighters attending training school. The Commission had been awarding a $600 grant covering tuition, a dormitory room, and a cafeteria meal ticket for a five-day training program, with an alternative reimbursement of up to $250 for room and board receipts if the firefighter stayed elsewhere. Many recipients are volunteer firefighters who have to leave their regular jobs to attend, and the Commission viewed room and board as an essential part of making the training accessible. The director also asked whether the Commission could fund room and board separately when the Texas Forest Service covered only tuition for some firefighters attending the same training.

The opinion concluded the Commission could do both. The governing statute does not expressly authorize covering room and board, but it directs the Commission to set its own rules and guidelines for determining scholarship amounts, and a state agency's express powers carry with them the powers necessarily implied to carry them out. Because the FDEP's purpose is to promote efficient fire protection by helping fire departments educate and train their members, and because paying for room and board would reasonably be expected to increase the number of firefighters, especially volunteers who must leave their jobs, who can actually attend training, the opinion found the Commission could reasonably treat room and board as integral to the scholarship. That same reasoning let the Commission separately cover room and board for firefighters whose tuition is already paid by another source like the Texas Forest Service, since the statute lets the Commission weigh the availability of other funding to an applicant and there is no reason that consideration would forbid, rather than permit, covering the remaining cost.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Who this opinion affected (as of 2005)

The Texas Commission on Fire Protection: The opinion confirmed the Commission's implied authority to include room and board as part of an FDEP scholarship, and to fund room and board alone when a firefighter's tuition is already covered by a different source such as the Texas Forest Service.

Volunteer and local fire departments sending members to training: The opinion meant firefighters, many of them volunteers who must leave their regular jobs to attend training, could continue to receive support for lodging and meals in addition to tuition, or receive room and board funding even if their tuition came from elsewhere.

The Texas Forest Service and other entities providing tuition-only assistance: The opinion clarified that the Commission's scholarship authority could fill the room-and-board gap left by a tuition-only award from another program, without duplicating the tuition portion.

Common questions

Can the Texas Commission on Fire Protection pay for a firefighter's lodging and meals while attending training school?
Yes, according to this opinion. Although the statute does not expressly mention room and board, the Commission's rulemaking authority to set scholarship-amount guidelines implicitly lets it treat room and board as an integral part of the scholarship.

Can the Commission fund room and board if a firefighter's tuition is already paid by the Texas Forest Service?
Yes. The opinion concluded the Commission may fund room and board alone in that situation, since the statute lets the Commission consider other available funding to an applicant, and doing so still serves the goal of increasing attendance at training.

Why does it matter that many firefighters attending this training are volunteers?
The opinion reasoned that volunteer firefighters who must leave their regular jobs to attend training face a real cost that room-and-board coverage helps offset, supporting the Commission's conclusion that paying those costs would increase the number of firefighters who can attend and thus serve the statute's goal of promoting efficient fire protection.

What is the legal basis for the Commission having powers the statute doesn't spell out?
The opinion applied the general rule that a state agency may exercise not only the powers a statute expressly grants but also those necessarily implied from the powers expressly granted, here the Commission's express authority to set guidelines for scholarship amounts.

Background and statutory framework

Government Code chapter 419, subchapter C, establishes the Fire Department Emergency Program to promote efficient fire protection for Texas residents by providing eligible local fire departments and public firefighting organizations with scholarships, grants, loans, and other financial assistance to educate and train their members. The Commission administers the program and adopts rules for it, including rules establishing criteria for evaluating applications with the assistance of a six-member funds allocation advisory committee, three members appointed by the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas and three by the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters. That committee reviews and evaluates applications and recommends approval or disapproval to the Commission, which must explain its reasons if it disagrees with the committee's recommendation.

Section 419.058 lets the Commission award scholarships and grants to eligible fire departments or firefighting organizations, usable only to educate and train members for their firefighting responsibilities, and directs the Commission to adopt rules establishing guidelines both for scholarship eligibility and for determining the amount the Commission may award. In reviewing applications, section 419.060 requires the Commission to weigh factors including the purpose for which the applicant would use the assistance, the applicant's needs compared to other eligible applicants, the applicant's financial need, the availability of other money to the applicant, and the applicant's ability to finance its activities without state assistance.

Applying the general principle that a state agency's express powers carry with them the powers necessarily implied to accomplish them, the opinion read section 419.058(b)'s directive that the Commission set guidelines for scholarship amounts as implicitly authorizing the Commission to decide that room and board is an integral part of a scholarship award, particularly given the statute's purpose of promoting efficient fire protection and the practical reality that volunteer firefighters must leave their jobs to attend training. The opinion extended the same reasoning to the Texas Forest Service scenario: because section 419.060(4) already directs the Commission to consider the availability of other funding to an applicant, and because covering room and board alone would still serve the goal of increasing training attendance, the opinion found no basis to treat the Commission's authority differently just because a different agency was covering the tuition portion.

Citations

Statutes:

• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.052(2) (Vernon 1998)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.053(a)(1), (3)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.053(b)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.054(a)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.054(d)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.055
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.058 (Vernon 1998)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.058(b) (Vernon 1998)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.059(a)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.059(c)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.060
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.060(4) (Vernon 1998)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 419.063

Cases:

• Pub. Util. Comm'n v. City Pub. Serv. Bd., 53 S.W.3d 310, 315-16 (Tex. 2001)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0296
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2005/ga0296.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

GREG ABBOTT

January 19, 2005

Mr. Gary L. Warren Sr.
Executive Director
Texas Commission on Fire Protection
Post Office Box 2286
Austin, Texas 78768-2286

Opinion No. GA-0296

Re: Whether the Texas Commission on Fire Protection may provide reimbursement for room and board as part of a Fire Department Emergency Program tuition scholarship for students who attend a training school (RQ-0255-GA)

Dear Mr. Warren:

You ask whether the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (the "Commission") may provide reimbursement for room and board as part of a Fire Department Emergency Program (the "FDEP") tuition scholarship for students who attend a training school.[1]

Subchapter C of chapter 419, Government Code, establishes the FDEP "to promote efficient fire protection for the residents of this state by providing to eligible local fire departments and public fire-fighting organizations . . . scholarships and grants to better educate and train their members." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 419.052(2) (Vernon 1998). The Commission is directed to, inter alia, "administer the fire department emergency program as provided by this subchapter and commission rules . . . [and] adopt rules for the administration of this subchapter." Id. § 419.053(a)(1), (3). "The rules adopted under Subsection (a)(3) must include rules establishing criteria to be used in the evaluation of applications for grants and loans with the assistance of staff." Id. § 419.053(b). The FDEP "is created to provide scholarships, grants, loans, and other financial assistance to eligible local fire departments and other public fire-fighting organizations." Id. § 419.055. "A local fire department or other public fire-fighting organization may apply in writing to the commission for a scholarship, grant, loan, or other financial assistance." Id. § 419.059(a). The Commission is required by rule to "prescribe the form of the application and the procedure for submitting and processing the application." Id. § 419.059(c). Section 419.054 provides for the establishment of a "funds allocation advisory committee . . . composed of six members," three of whom are appointed by the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas, and three of whom are appointed by the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters. Id. § 419.054(a). The function of the committee is to "review and evaluate all applications for financial assistance under this subchapter," and to "recommend to the commission which applications should be approved and which applications should be disapproved." Id. § 419.054(d). "If the commission does not concur with the committee's recommendation, the commission shall indicate to the committee the reasons that the commission did not concur with the recommendation and return the applications regarding which the commission did not concur to the committee for further review and evaluation." Id.

With regard to scholarships and grants for education and training, section 419.058 of the Government Code provides:

(a) The commission may award scholarships and grants to an eligible local fire department or other public fire-fighting organization. A local fire department or other public fire-fighting organization may use a scholarship or grant awarded under this subchapter only to educate and train its members to more effectively meet the members' fire-fighting responsibilities.

(b) The commission by rule shall establish guidelines for determining eligibility for a grant or scholarship under this subchapter and for determining the amount that the commission may award to an eligible local fire department or other public fire-fighting organization. To be eligible for a scholarship or grant, a local fire department or other public fire-fighting organization must establish to the satisfaction of the commission that without a scholarship or grant the local fire department would be unable to adequately train and educate its members.

(c) The commission by rule shall determine the types of educational and training programs for which the commission may award a scholarship or grant under this subchapter.

Id. § 419.058 (emphasis added). In reviewing an application for a scholarship or other financial assistance, the Commission must consider, in addition to criteria established by its own rules, the following factors:

(1) the purpose or purposes for which the applicant would use the scholarship, grant, loan, or other financial assistance;

(2) the needs of that applicant as compared to the needs of other eligible applicants;

(3) the financial need of the applicant for the money;

(4) the availability of other money to the applicant; and

(5) the ability of the applicant to finance its activities without a state scholarship, grant, loan, or other financial assistance.

Id. § 419.060 (emphasis added). Finally, section 419.063 imposes certain limitations on the Commission's awarding of scholarships, grants, loans, and other financial assistance, none of which are applicable here. See id. § 419.063.

You indicate that the Commission awards scholarships

in the form of a $600 grant, which provides reimbursement for tuition, and room and board to entities for their fire fighters who attend Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) annual fire fighting schools. The $600 amount is based on actual 2003 costs for an individual to attend the five-day TEEX Annual Municipal School training at the College Station campus. These costs include $350 for tuition, $150 for a dormitory room, and $100 for a cafeteria meal ticket at the TEEX facility. However, if the individual chooses to stay and eat at a place other than a TEEX facility, then FDEP will make a reimbursement for room and board receipts up to $250.

Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. You state that, because "[m]any of the fire fighters who are awarded these scholarships are volunteers who must leave their regular jobs to attend the schools," the Commission has for several years regarded room and board as "an essential part of providing the education and training under this statute." Id. You first ask whether the Commission is authorized "to include room and board reimbursement as part of an FDEP tuition scholarship for individual students attending a training school." Id. at 2.

A state agency may exercise only those powers expressly conferred, together with those that may necessarily be implied from the powers expressly granted. See Pub. Util. Comm'n v. City Pub. Serv. Bd., 53 S.W.3d 310, 315-16 (Tex. 2001). Subchapter C of chapter 419 of the Government Code does not expressly authorize the Commission to include the cost of room and board as part of the scholarship awarded to fire fighters to attend the annual fire fighters training school, nor does the statute provide any guidelines for determining what expenses may be included. Rather, section 419.058(b) directs the "commission by rule [to] establish guidelines . . . for determining the amount that the commission may award to an eligible local fire department or other public fire-fighting organization." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 419.058(b) (Vernon 1998). In our view, this provision implicitly authorizes the Commission to determine that the cost of room and board is an integral part of any scholarship. As you note, many of the scholarships are awarded to volunteer fire fighters who must leave their regular jobs to attend the program. We believe that the Commission may reasonably conclude that paying the cost of room and board would increase the number of fire fighters who attend the training program, and thus fulfill the statute's mandate to promote "efficient fire protection for the residents of this state." Id. § 419.052.

You also state that the Texas Forest Service (the "TFS") provides tuition for some fire fighters to attend TEEX annual schools, but does not provide reimbursement to these fire fighters for room and board. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. You ask whether the Commission may "fund room and board for fire fighters who attend the TEEX annual schools under a TFS tuition-only scholarship." Id. at 1-2.

In our opinion, the Commission may do so. As we have concluded, the Commission may pay the cost of room and board for those fire fighters to whom the Commission grants scholarships because room and board may be viewed as an integral part of training. But the Commission is also authorized to consider, among other factors listed in section 419.060 of the Government Code, "the availability of other money to the applicant." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 419.060(4) (Vernon 1998). If the Commission may reasonably conclude, as we have stated, that paying the cost of room and board would increase the number of fire fighters who attend the training program and thus fulfill the statute's mandate to promote "efficient fire protection for the residents of this state," see id. § 419.052, there appears to be no reason to deny the Commission the authority to pay for room and board where the cost of tuition is paid by an outside source. So long as the Commission determines that providing room and board is integral to providing access to training and education and that providing only for room and board would increase the number of fire fighters who attend the training program, the Commission is authorized to pay such costs.

SUMMARY

The Texas Commission on Fire Protection is authorized to provide reimbursement for room and board as part of a Fire Department Emergency Program tuition scholarship for students who attend a training school. The Commission may, in addition, fund room and board for fire fighters who attend the school under a Texas Forest Service tuition-only scholarship.

BARRY R. McBEE
First Assistant Attorney General

DON R. WILLETT
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

NANCY S. FULLER
Chair, Opinion Committee

Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

Footnotes

[1] Letter from Gary L. Warren Sr., Executive Director, Texas Commission on Fire Protection, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General (July 15, 2004) (on file with Opinion Committee, also available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us) [hereinafter Request Letter].