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![handle is hein.sag/sagne0028 and id is 1 raw text is: Whether or not Commission for the Hearing Impaired members are authorized by Neb.
Rev. Stat. § 71-4731 to conduct fundraising activities. Page 1 of 2
Opinion 98001
DATE: January 5, 1998
SUBJECT: Whether or not Commission for the Hearing Impaired members are
authorized by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-4731 to conduct fundraising activities.
REQUESTED BY: Tanya D. Wendell, Executive Director Commission for the Hearing
Impaired
WRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General
Melanie J. Whittamore-Mantzios, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion from our office as to whether members of the
Commission for the Hearing Impaired (hereinafter referred to as Commission) would
be authorized to conduct fundraising activities pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-4731
(1996). Neb. Rev. Stat. § 71-4731 provides as follows: [t]he Governor may accept gifts,
grants, and donations of money, personal property, and real property for use in expanding
and improving services to hearing-impaired persons of this state. It is our position that §
71-4731 does not permit members of the Commission to conduct fundraising activities.
The only thing authorized by § 71-4731 is the acceptance of donations by the Governor
for the purpose of improving and expanding the services for the hearing impaired persons
of Nebraska.
Administrative bodies only have that authority specifically conferred upon them by
statute or by construction necessary to achieve the purpose of the relevant act. Southeast
Rural Vol. Fire Dept. v. Nebraska Dept. of Revenue, 251 Neb. 852, 560 NW.2d 436
(1997) and Grand Island Latin Club v. Nebraska Liquor Cont. Comm., 251 Neb. 61, 554
N.W.2d 782 (1997). We can find nothing within Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-4720 through 71-
4733 (1996) that suggests that the Commission is authorized to conduct fundraising
activities. The absence of specific statutory language authorizing the Commission to
engage in fundraising activities is significant in that the Legislature has specifically given
the authority to apply for gifts and contributions to the Nebraska Dairy Industry
Development Board, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 2-3957 (1991), the Department of Roads, Neb.
Rev. Stat. § 13-1206 (1991); the Department of Economic Development, Neb. Rev. Stat.
§ 81-1268(3) (1994); the Rural Development Commission with the concurrence of the
Department of Economic Development, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-1285 (1994); the Governor's
Policy Research Office, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-135 (1994); the Commission on Mexican
Americans, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,271 (1996); and the Commission on the Status of
Women, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-8,260.01 (1996). We must conclude that the Legislature did](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagne0028&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)