Authority to Sponsor and Charge Fees
A state agency may pay the cost of sponsoring a seminar or conference if it has statutory authority to sponsor it. A state agency has statutory authority if the seminar or conference bears a reasonable, substantial, and direct relationship to the duties and functions of the agency.
A state agency with statutory authority to sponsor a seminar or conference may charge a fee to each person who attends. The fee revenues may be used only to defray the sponsorship expense. Applicable expenses include the purchase of food when the registration fee for the seminar or conference contains a mandatory and non-separable cost component based on a cost recovery methodology to pay for the cost of food provided to attendees during the seminar or conference.
If the state agency receiving fee revenues qualifies as a state agency under the State Funds Reform Act, the revenues must be deposited into the State Treasury unless an exemption in that Act applies.
Sources [+]
State Funds Reform Act, Texas Government Code, Sections 404.091–404.097; Opinion of Texas Attorney General No. M-619 (1970); GAA, Article IX, Sec. 8.07.