Opinion letter to Mr. Joseph Jaeger, Jr. and the Honorable Hardin C.

Mr. J os eph J3.e~er. Jr . Dir ect or of nark3 Missouri State Park 1oard P. o. nox 176 May 12, 1971 Jefferson City, Missouri 65101 Honorable Hardin C. Cox State Representative Distr ict ~o. 78 State Capi tol Duildinr- J e fferson C1ty, ~iasouri 65101 Gentl emen : Answer by letter-Wood OPI'liO~ LETTER NO . 10 F J LED /6 ~r. J aeger has i~quircd if the r~rsourt ~tate Park noard may l egall y loan a c rcd~~ ~d r e l ated equipment, procured by the Board with appr opriated funds, t o a political subdivisi on or non-profit orranizntion for dredrring ox-bow lakes 1.n ruosouri. The particu- l ar appropriation used by the Board to obtain t he equipment was as fol l ows: "To the ~ta~ e Park Poar~ "For the purnose of renoving -u~ ~rom the l ake at Bi p; Lake St at e Pflrl<, Holt County , t"1ssouri. "Vrom General ~evenue .•••.. $110 , 000.00" (Section 7 ~, House Bi ll ~o. 15, 7 3 r~ General Assenbly, L. 19£5, p . 7: f or th~ ~e riod en1- 1ng June 30, 19G6) The Park Boar d i s generally authori zed to hol d "lands, sites , objects or facilities" which are purchased, condemned, l eased or donated for stat e park purposes, and to" . . • improve, mai ntain, Mr. Joseph Jaeger, Jr. Honorable Hardin C. Cox operate and regulate .•. such lands, sites, objects or facilities .•. [to] promote the park pro~ram •.• " (Section 253.040, RSMo). In our Opinion No. 420 to Mr. Jae~er on October 28, 1969 (copy enclosed), we stated the view that this statute only permits the Park Board to expend public monies on lands owned or leased by the State of Missouri for park purposes. Assuming that the State of Missouri does have title to Bi~ Lake, we believe use of the dredge thereon is proper. However, for the same reasons expressed in Opinion No. 420, we believe that use of the dred~e on a lake not owned by the State of Missouri would be improper. Representative Cox has raised the following separate but re- lated questions: In view of the specific appropriation in 1965 for dredRing Big Lake, may the Park Board with- out additional legislation move the dred~e pro- cured throu~h this appropriation. If the lep,islature each year since 1965 makes "line item" appropriations to the Park Board for the specific purpose of dredging the lake in Big Lake State Park, and if in 1970 the legislature makes a blanket reduction in the Park Board's total bud~et, does the Park Board have the ri ~h t to entirely discontinue the dredging operation at Big Lake State Park, or must the Park Board only reduce the dredgin~ operation proportionate to the overall budget reduction? We interpret Representative Cox's first question to ask if the dredge at Big Lake State Park can be moved to a different state park in the discretion of the Park Board for the purpose of dredg- ing another state owned lake therein. Under the rule that an appro- priation measure may not amend a substantive statute (Article III, Section 23, Constitution of Missouri, 1945; State ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 113 S.W.2d 783, 790 (Mo. bane 1938)), we do not believe that Section 75, House Bill No. 15, supra, can either broaden or restrict the general powers conferred upon the Missouri State Board by Section 253.040 , RSMo, and we are accordin~ly of the ooinion that the Park Board may utilize property procured through the ap- propriation within the general purposes exnressed in Section 253.040, RSMo. Therefore, we believe that the Park Board may move the dredge and related equipment to a different state park for use on an ox- bow lake owned or leased by the State or Missouri and held by the Board for state park purposes. -2- Mr. Joseph Jaeger, Jr. Honorable Hardin C. Cox With regard to the second question or Representative Cox. our examination of the appr opriation l aws fro~ 19G5 to the nresent re- veals that Section 75, House Bill No. 15, 73r~ General ~s sembly (L. 1965 , p. 75) is the only spec1 r1c ~ppropriat i o~ to t he Park Board for dredging at ~1~ La~e St~te P ~rk. Tn vi ew or t his fact, it appears that the question 1s ~oot . Enclosure : Op. No . 420 10-28-69, Jaeger Yours ve ry truly, JOH~~ C. DA~IFORTH AttornPy Oener~l -3-