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eXpendit

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Contract Expenditures
Contracts that Extend Beyond the Life of Appropriations

A contract including terms that extend beyond the expiration of appropriations in effect when the contract is entered into, must contain a provision that specifically limits the agency’s financial obligations on the availability of sufficient appropriations. The provision is necessary to avoid the creation of an unconstitutional debt.

Sources [+]

Texas Constitution Article III, Section 49; City of Big Spring v. Board of Control, 404 S.W.2d 810, 814 (Tex. 1966); Texas National Guard Armory Board v. McCraw, 132 Tex. 613, 126 S.W.2d 627, 634 (1939); Charles Scribner’s Sons v. Marrs, 114 Tex. 11, 262 S.W. 722, 725 (1924); City of Tyler v. L. L. Jester & Co., 97 Tex. 344, 78 S.W. 1058, 1062 (1904); Opinion of the Texas Attorney General Nos. JM-969 (1988), JM-709 (1987), JM-394 (1985), MW-512 (1982), MW-70 (1979), M-656 (1970), M-89 (1967), C-206 (1964), C-134 (1963), WW-424 (1958), O-5962 (1945).

Lease of space by state agencies

A lease contract made by the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) is automatically dependent on the availability of money appropriated by the Legislature to pay for the lease. Examples of space leased by state agencies include:

  • Office space
  • Warehouse space
  • Laboratory space
  • Storage space exceeding 1,000 gross square feet
  • Boat storage space
  • Aircraft hangar space other than hangar space and adjacent space leased by the Texas Department of Transportation at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and operated for the purpose of providing air transportation services for the State of Texas
  • Vehicle parking space
  • A combination of these kinds of spaces

The information provided in this subsection does not apply to:

  • Radio antenna space
  • Residential space for a program of the Health and Human Services Commission
  • Residential space for a program of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
  • Space to be used for less than one month for meetings, conferences, conventions, seminars, displays, examinations, auctions or similar purposes
  • District office space for legislators
  • Space used by the Texas Workforce Commission
  • Residential property acquired by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs or the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation offered for sale or rental to individuals and families of low or very low income, or families of moderate income
  • Classroom and instructional space for an institution of higher education, except as provided by the State Purchasing and General Services Act, Texas Government Code Section 2167.007.

See also: Excess Obligations

Sources [+]

State Purchasing and General Services Act, Texas Government Code Sections 2167.001, 2167.0011, 2167.055(a), (e).