Opinion No. 80-123 (1980) Ag

The Attorney General is in receipt of your request for an opinion wherein you ask, in effect, the following question: May the Legislature constitutionally appropriate funds and authorize expenditure thereof for the purpose of providing matching funds to subsidize Amtrak operations? By way of summary, the United States Congress enacted as Public Law 91-518, 84 Stat. 1327, codified as45 U.S.C.A. 501 et seq., the "Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970" (hereafter "Act"), a congressional authority to create the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, otherwise known as "Amtrak." Among the purposes…