TITLE attorney-general

Opinion No. GA-0494

Shirley J. Neeley, Ed.D.

Commissioner of Education

Texas Education Agency

1701 North Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas 78701-1494

Re: Whether Education Code §44.031 and §44.033 apply to real and personal property lease-purchase contracts authorized under Local Government Code §271.004 and §271.005 (RQ-0500-GA)

S U M M A R Y

Education Code §44.031 and §44.033 apply to school district lease-purchase contracts entered under Local Government Code §271.004 and §271.005.

Section 44.031 of the Education Code allows a school district to contract for financial consultant services pursuant to chapter 2254, subchapter A of the Government Code, which permits but does not require a financial consultant to be selected through a request for qualifications or similar competitive process. Additionally, the negotiation procedures of Government Code §2254.004 do not apply to contracting with a financial consultant. A school district would not avoid the applicability of §44.031 or §44.033 of the Education Code to a lease-purchase contract under Local Government Code §271.004 or §271.005 by including the services of a financial consultant in the contract.

Opinion No. GA-0495

Mr. Mike Geeslin

Commissioner of Insurance

Texas Department of Insurance

Post Office Box 149104

Austin, Texas 78714-9104

Re: Whether the Texas Department of Insurance is prohibited from disclosing the identities of companies writing commercial property insurance along the Texas coast (RQ-0502-GA)

S U M M A R Y

The Texas Department of Insurance is not prohibited by §38.003(d) of the Insurance Code from disclosing the identities of companies writing commercial property insurance along the Texas coast.

Opinion No. GA-0496

The Honorable Jim Pitts

Chair, Committee on Appropriations

Texas House of Representatives

Post Office Box 2910

Austin, Texas 78768-2910

Re: Education Code §11.168 and its effect on an independent school district's authority to build or pay for infrastructure for new schools within the district (RQ-0503-GA)

S U M M A R Y

Education Code §11.168 does not prohibit an independent school district from paying impact fees imposed by a municipal corporation on the district for the district's new school development.

Education Code §11.168 does not prohibit an independent school district from leasing land and improving it.

Opinion No. GA-0497

The Honorable Ismael "Kino" Flores

Chair, Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures

Texas House of Representatives

Post Office Box 2910

Austin, Texas 78768-2910

Re: Whether the 2006 Qualified Allocation Plan of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs complies with Government Code §2306.6710(b) (RQ-0515-GA)

S U M M A R Y

Government Code §2306.6710(b) is a mandatory provision that requires the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to rank applications using a point system that gives the greatest number of points, in descending order, to the nine factors listed in that section. Section 2306.6710(b) does not permit the department to adopt additional criteria.

Government Code §2306.6710(b)(1)(B) requires the department to score proposed development projects based on input from "neighborhood organizations," which must be on record with the state or county in which the development is to be located and which must represent an area that contains the proposed development site. The 2006 Qualified Allocation Plan from the department defining "neighborhood organization" to include resident councils, but only to the extent the proposed project is located on property occupied by their residents, is in harmony with §2306.6710(b)(1)(B).

For further information, please access the website at www.oag.state.tx.us or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.

Deputy Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Filed: January 3, 2007