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2015 Op. W. Va. Att'y Gen. 1 (2015)

handle is hein.sag/sagwv0058 and id is 1 raw text is: State ot West Virginia Office of the Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (304) 558-2021 Attorney General January 20, 2015 Fax (304) 558-0140 Brian Farkas Executive Director West Virginia Conservation Agency 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East Charleston, West Virginia 25305 Dear Mr. Farkas: You have asked on behalf of the Commissioner of Agriculture, in his capacity as the Chairman of the State Conservation Committee, for an Opinion of the Attorney General pertaining to whether West Virginia Conservation Districts have the legal authority to award scholarships using public funds. This Opinion is being issued pursuant to West Virginia Code § 5-3-1, which provides that the Attorney General shall give written opinions and advise upon questions of law, . whenever required to do so, in writing, by... any.. state officer, board, or commission, To the extent this Opinion relies on facts, it is based solely upon the factual assertions set forth in your letter to the Attorney General's Office. According to your letter, a question has arisen concerning scholarships that have been administered by the State's Conservation Districts. You explain that Conservation Districts have awarded scholarships to individuals and groups for some period of time, and encompass such activities as school tuition, entry fees, workshop expenses or direct cash payments. These scholarships are given for various reasons, but are usually tied to agriculture or conservation activities and programs. In two recent opinions requested by Conservation Districts, however, the West Virginia Ethics Commission noted that it was unable to find express or implied authority to use the Requester's public funds for the purpose of awarding scholarships. A.O. 2012-42 at 3 (addressing whether a Conservation District may expend public funds to award a $500.00 scholarship to a District supervisor's child who resides with his parents); accord A.O. 2013-06 at 4 n.8 (noting that the Ethics Commission has found no explicit statutory authorization for a District to expend its public money on scholarships). The Ethics Commission specifically recommended that an opinion be sought from this Office as to whether Conservation Districts are authorized to grant scholarships. A.O. 2012-42 at 3. State Capitol Building 1, Room E-26, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Charleston, WV 25305

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