Can a Texas legislator take a part-time teaching job at a state university if private donated funds pay the salary?

Texas AG Opinion JM-32: Legislator Teaching Job

Plain-English summary

Speaker Gib Lewis asked whether a House member could teach part-time at a University of Texas component while being paid from private funds donated to the university, rather than from state appropriations.

JM-32 pointed to the constitutional bar in article XVI, section 40, which stops a legislator from holding another office or position of profit under the state. The opinion did not clear a paid instructor position. What it approved was narrower: an unpaid volunteer role.

"If the legislator serves the university strictly as a volunteer, being neither paid nor formally employed by it, we do not believe this provision will be violated."
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1983/jm0032.pdf

For a true volunteer, the opinion said the source of any separate income did not matter, unless the income was conditioned on the legislator continuing to be assigned by the university.

"The source of the legislator's income would then be immaterial unless its receipt were conditioned on his continued assignment by the university."
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1983/jm0032.pdf

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1983. 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.

Common questions

What does article XVI, section 40 stop a legislator from doing?

Holding any other office or position of profit under the state or the United States, except a notary public if qualified by law.

"No member of the Legislature of this State may hold any other office or position of profit under this State, or the United States, except as a notary public if qualified by law."
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1983/jm0032.pdf

Did the opinion approve the paid teaching position the request described?

No. It resolved only the volunteer scenario. A volunteer who is neither paid nor formally employed by the university does not run afoul of section 40.

Would it matter that the pay came from private donations rather than state funds?

For a genuine volunteer, the opinion said the source of income was immaterial, unless the income was tied to the legislator's continued assignment by the university.

Background and statutory framework

The concluding sentence of article XVI, section 40, added in 1972, is the provision at issue. The opinion noted its earlier reading in Attorney General Opinion MW-403 (1981), which had construed section 40 so as to avoid making it internally inconsistent with the part that lets legislators hold military or soil and water conservation district offices.

"This language was added in 1972."
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1983/jm0032.pdf

Holding

"A member of the Texas House of Representatives may volunteer his services as a part-time instructor at a state funded university without violating article XVI, section 40, of the Texas Constitution."
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1983/jm0032.pdf

Citations and references

Statutes and constitutional provisions discussed by JM-32:

• "article XVI, section 40, of the Texas Constitution" Official PDF
• "Educ. Code §76.01" Official PDF
• "Educ. Code §76.05" Official PDF
• "Educ. Code §65.36" Official PDF

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-0032
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1983/jm0032.pdf

Original opinion text

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

The Attorney General of Texas

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General

May 17, 1983

Honorable Gibson D. Lewis
Speaker of the House
Texas House of Representatives
P. O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. JM-32

Re: May a legislator accept a teaching position at a public institution of higher education if the compensation paid therefor is derived from private funds donated to the university

Dear Speaker Lewis:

Your letter requesting an opinion of this office reads:

A member of the Texas House of Representatives is interested in a part-time instructor's position with a component of the University of Texas system. He would be compensated out of private funds donated to the University. I respectfully ask your opinion on the following:

May a member of the Texas House of Representatives teach on a part-time basis at a state funded university, if he is compensated from private funds donated to the university?

In a follow-up letter you advise:

With regard to the above referenced opinion request it is my understanding that the member of the Texas House of Representatives will receive compensation from his teaching activities from a foundation or institution separate from and unconnected with the University of Texas at Tyler.

The concluding sentence of article XVI, section 40, of the Texas Constitution reads:

No member of the Legislature of this State may hold any other office or position of profit under this State, or the United States, except as a notary public if qualified by law.

This language was added in 1972.

In Attorney General Opinion MW-403 (1981), after noting that a different construction of the language would render section 40 internally inconsistent, this office concluded that the provision would not prevent a legislator from holding any additional military office or soil and water conservation district office. This results because another part of section 40 specifies that "nothing in this Constitution" shall be construed to prohibit military officers or officers of soil and water conservation districts from "holding at the same time any other office or position of honor, trust or profit."

If the legislator serves the university strictly as a volunteer, being neither paid nor formally employed by it, we do not believe this provision will be violated. The source of the legislator's income would then be immaterial unless its receipt were conditioned on his continued assignment by the university. See Educ. Code §§76.01, 76.05, 65.36; Attorney General Opinion MW-373 (1981).

SUMMARY

A member of the Texas House of Representatives may volunteer his services as a part-time instructor at a state funded university without violating article XVI, section 40, of the Texas Constitution.

Very truly yours,

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas