Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0032

# THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA · MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36130 [LOGO] CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL 79-00032 January 24, 1979 File #28 Dr. Asa N. Green President Livingston University Livingston, Alabama 35470 Colleges and Universities - Contracts - Employees A university may waive tuition fees for the spouses and children of faculty members. Dear Sir: This letter is in response to your letter of recent date which asked whether the Board of Trustees of Livingston University may "waive general tuition fees, in whole or in part, for the spouses and children of faculty members who have achieved tenure at Livingston University and for employees with equivalent length of service." Your question is answered in the affirmative. This question was previously answered in an opinion of this office dated September 13, 1974 to Mr. William A. Hoppe, Dean, Division of Continuing Education and Evening Study, University of South Alabama, a copy of which is enclosed for your convenience. It should be noted that the Board of Trustees of the institution addressed in the enclosed opinion does not possess constitutional authority but, like the Board of Trustees of Livingston University, derives its authority from statutory law. If I may be of any further assistance to you in this matter, please let me know. Very truly yours, CHARLES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By - DON E. LAWLEY Assistant Attorney General DEL/dc Enclosure THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA · MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104 WILLIAM J. BAXLEY ATTORNEY GENERAL GEORGE L. BECK DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL E. RAY ACTON EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT WALTER S. TURNER CHIEF ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL LUCY M. RICHARDS CONFIDENTIAL ASSISTANT JACK D. SHOWS CHIEF INVESTIGATOR September 13, 1974 Colleges & Universities Mr. William A. Hoppe Dean, Division of Continuing Education and Evening Study University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama 36688 Dear Mr. Hoppe: We have received your request for an opinion in which you inquired about whether or not the University of South Alabama can charge lower fees for (1) faculty and their wives, (2) for older people over sixty-five. These fees are for certain courses paid for by fees charged those who participate in them. I understand that these courses are completely self-supporting. The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the Equal Protection of laws. This command applies not only to state statutes and regulations but also to actions by state agencies. The University of South Alabama is an agency of the State of Alabama and, therefore, subject to the command of the "Equal Protection Clause." However, there are numerous cases of the United States Supreme Court and the Alabama State Supreme Court which state that people can be treated differently but differing classifications must be based upon some reasonable standard and cannot be arbitrary. In the recent case of Board of Trustees v. Talley, 291 Ala. 307, 280 S. 2d 553, the Alabama Supreme Court reaffirmed the idea that the Equal Protection Clause does not in all cases deny the state the power to treat different classes of persons in different ways. It would seem from the Court's decision, Mr. William A. Hoppe Page Two however, that distinction between different classes of people must be substantial and "must be reasonable under the facts of the case and not oppressive and prohibitive." (291 Ala. at 311) It is the opinion of this office that lower fees charged to both of these classes can be justified under the Fourteenth Amendment, since both are reasonable. It would certainly be in order for the University of South Alabama to charge lower fees for faculty and wives as fringe benefits. Charging people sixty-five and over lesser fees can be justified on the basis that most of these people are on fixed incomes and otherwise might not attend. Note also, that by statute in Alabama persons over sixty-five years of age are exempted from paying taxes on prescription drugs. See Title 51, Section 786 (4e), Code of Alabama 1940, Recompiled 1958, (Supp. 1974). It would thus seem that our Legislature has recognized the sixty-five and over age group as a reasonable classification in areas such as the one with which you are concerned. Certainly, there is nothing oppressive or prohibitive about the charging of lower fees in either instance and no student is placed in any unreasonable position because of this policy. Sincerely, WILLIAM J. BAXLEY Attorney General By- Rosa Hamlett ROSA HAMLETT Assistant Attorney General RH/ar