Case Information
*1 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS OFFICE OF THE AUSTIN
Bonorable Joe Xunaohik, Commlseioner
Bureau of Labop Statistica
Auetln, rPexar
Dear SlPI
.
to this depnrtnellt, been received n enizrsnt agemy.
for procuring employmnt. it contends that be- cause it 5s~ chnrglng no foe Par it3 scr:‘Fces
it fnlla within the GXCOptiO,?S cmticned in
Article 5209, R, C. S., of Toxns, Q Q *.
i-333 Xonorable Joe Kunsohlk, Page 2
Agenoy Act shall be cumulative of the Emplog- ment Agenoy Law.
"In other words, the question may be boiled down to this proposition; Do the exceptions mentioned in Article 5209, R. C. 3 apply to emigrant agents or do they to employment aGents transaot- a$&y solely ing an lntra-state bueineas?
The "Employment Agency Lav" is set out in Chapter 13 of Title 83 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texae, 1925, being Articles 5208 to 5221, lnoluslve.
Article 5208 deSLnes an employment agent. Article 5209, dealing vith exoeptions to Article 5208, ma&r
'The provlsfona of this chapter shall not apply to agents who charge a fee of not more than two dollars for registration only for procuring employment for school teachers; nor to any department or bureau maintained by this State, the United States Government, or any municipal government of this Stete, nor to any person, Slrm, pnrtnershlp, assoola- tion of persons or oorgorntion or any officer, or employee thereof engaged in obtain% or aolloiti~ help from him, them or it when no Sees are charged directly or indirectly tine applicant for help or the eppllcant for en- and stoc::raisers ployment; nor to farmers aotlng jointly or severally ti securmc laborers for their own use rrherc no See is collected or charged directly or indirectly, nor to any association or corporation charter- ed under the laws.of Texas conducting a free employment bureau or agency.' The RJ3mlgrant Agents Law" was enacted by Senate Bill No. 127, Aots of the 41st Legislature, 1929, Second Called Session, Pa&e 203. It 1s Sound In Vernon's Revised Civil Statutes as Ar- IH tlole 5521-8-1.
Seotlon 1 of Senate Bill Ho. 127 provldesr "Section 1. The term l@.grant agent' as used in this Act means every person. firm, cor- assocl8tion of persons engaged in poration *3 Honorable Joe Kunschik, Page 3
the business of hiring, entlclq, or sollcit-
lng laborers in this state to be employed
beyond the limits of this State and 1s also
meant to lncludo every person, firm, partner-
ship, corporation or sssociatlon of persons
mnintnlnm an office to hire, entice, or
solicit laborers to be employed beyond the limits of this State; and 1s also moLult to
include every person who, as on indcpondent
contractor or otherwise thsn es zzn agent
of n duly licensed eml@%nt scent ;>rocures,
or undertakes to procure, or assist in pro-
curing laborers for sn emigrant agent; and
every emigrant ngent shall be tozmcd end
hold to be doing business es such in each
and every County whcroin ho, in porson, or
throw an ¢, hires, entices or solicits
any laborer to be employed beyond the limits
of the State.”
A part of Section 2 of the above Act, reeds: “Sec. 2. Each cmlgrsnt agent shrill, before opereta ln Texas, secure a Stete
lioense as such, on spplicntlon therefor
to the Commlasioner of Labor Statistics of
the State of Texas. l * *.’
Section 3 of the s&ma Act provides: "Sec. 3. Any person, firm, aasociktlon of persons corporntlon who shall engaze in
the business of an emigrant esent in any coun-
ty in this State vlthou C having first filed
with the Conmlssioner of LnSor Stctistics of
the St&to of Texas, en qplication for license
cs emlgrsnt azont as above provided, and/or
without having first pzld nil otcte end county
occupation taxes end annual license fee ES pro- vidod by lav or without hevinz first sccurcd 8
..state license as ebovo provided, or without hav-
1~ first filed certified CO~J of his stzts li- cense with the Tcx Coilktor of such county
es abovo provided, end/or dho does not file monthly reports es provided by this Act, end/or who shall engage in the business of en emigrcnt agent in any county In this State without first *4 Bonorable Joe Kunsohik, Page 4
having designated such county as one of the
counties in vhich he proposes to do such
business in his original or amended appllca- tlon to the Comlssioner of Labor Stetistlor
I of Texas, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by
1 Sine not exceeding $500.00, or by lmjrlson-
ment In the county jail for not exceeding
six months, by both such Sine and fm-. , ’ prisonment
i Section 7 of the same Act also deals with the soope
! of aald Senate Bill No. 127 but vi11 not be copied here.
i
Section 8 of oald Senate Blli So. 127 provides; of this Act shall “sot. 8. The provisions bo cumulative of the cm$oymnt np,cncy 10~3 of
the Stnte of Texa3 and the err~loyncnt a-iencx
Laws aioreoela. shall be wnere consistent. ap-
licable to the movieions of this Act."
erscoring ours}
The Supreme Court of Texas In the case of State v. Laredo Ice Co., et al, 73 3. W. 951, in construing the effect of a oumulatlve provision to that in Section 8, supra, similar raldr
“The fourteenth section of tho act of 1899 concernimz trusts and monoDolie3 la in this “irne provislon3~of the fore.Toins
language!- sections, and tno i'ln33 3p.o ?onr.izlcc, provided
for violations 0;' CXs act 329.X. be !ZiL en2
construed to be culrr.llntive OS all lzvn no:r
in force in tni3 3ix~c. Counrei fOl a::;;olloes earnestly contend that the effect of this ;)ro- vision is to consolidate and to make one lav
of the act of 1895 and the act of 1199, and
theroby to give exerqtion Siiom proaocution
under the law OS 1899 to those nersons nho
are exempted by the-provisions bf the law OS 1895. The term lcrmulativc' indicates en
harmonious cocxistcncs 2lld CJ-OZl~?~tiCXt,
to one. An amendment to a statute is not mthcr -trP.n a con3oLia3;lcn oi iz3 iXi1773
Batlye' because it repeals and takes
the plaoe of the part of the law that It
Ronorable Joe Xunschlk, Page 5
amends, thereby becoming a part of the lav
amended. It Is true that, In seeking the
meaning of language used In a statute, it la
proper to consider all of the acts of the same
legislative body vhich are in aarl materla.
because 'It is supposed that there has been
no change in the leglsintlve intent e.nil pur-
pose,' unless it Is manifested by some crnge
of language. Sutherland, Stat. Constr. ~283.
But this [13] a rule of construction, merely,
and does not constitute each act a-part of
every other act on the same sub<ect. Laws
which are uald to be in par1 &&&a ai%-
parts of a common system or polic , but are
not one and the same lav. * I l *
(Underscoring ours)
An examination of Senate Bill MO. 127 shows that it vas evidently passed to regulate and be applicable to instances where the prospective employee or emlfy-ant is hired, entticed or to be employed vlthout the State of Texas. The Em- solicited ployment Agents Lau seems to have been designed to regulate and be applicable to instance s where the prospeotive or‘ployee is to vork in the State of. Texas. There la some slmllarlty in several provisions of the two Acts.
Another rule of statutory construction which we be- lieve applicable in answer- your proposltloa is stated in the case of State v. Standard Oil Co., 130 Tex. 313, 107 S. W. (26) 550, where the oourt says:
"We are to interpret the language used ln a nanncr to make all relevant laus harmonl- ous, if we can, and in a manner consistent
with the public policy of the State, as vell
as in the light of thG evila sought to be
remedied by the legislation before ~6.~
See also 39 Texas Jurisprudence 171 and cases cited.
The court in 32x-r v. aaldwln, (Dist. Ct.) 57 Fed. (2d) 252, in upholding the Zm~1oymen.t ,Qents Lnw agsinst an .unconstitu- tionality attack leveled ct the provisions of Article 5209, e3 being arbitrary exceptions, made this pertj.nent statement, which vo think la applicable%
"The farmer or stockrs:ser or the free bureau make no charge. Tney seek immediate
Hdorablo Joe Xunechlk, Page
assistance. There lo every reaoon why there should be no fraud or overreaching in their solicitations placlsgs. The difference between a gratis service and a pay service Is rocognIz~ed In such CEDES as Llndsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co., 220 U. 3. 61, 31 Sup. Ct. 33;, 55 L. Ed. 369, Annotated Cases 912C 160, (and citing many other cases) + l *. The State has a rIr,ht to confine its restrictions to those classes which It deems need them. If the lav hits an evil vhere it Is most felt the prohlbl- tloa need not be all-ombraclng,” we can find nothing In the definition of an erd,-rant agent or ‘the other provIsIons of Senate Bill ilo. 127 vhich vould Indicate that tho Act was paosed to apaiy to tine type of lnstltutlons referred to in your inquiry. If the Instltution~s true purposes are those of a non-groflt, charItabie, religious, benevolent and educational Institution then its “business could hardly be said to come within the provisions 01’ Section 1 of the Emigrant ASoncy !.ct. ThiS WC thLr& [13] true even though In carryinS out Its real and primary pmgo3o3i-3, it incidentally rendered somo service which an ~iZiSr6ilt ASant mISht perform.
In vlev of the history of the servicon rcndcrod by such Institu- tions, which the Lqlolature xdst have knovn at the time of the gassage of the Act, and the fact that the Legislature In the
Emigrant Agents Act,’ itself, provldcs in Section 8 that “the provisions of this Act shall be cumulative of the Bm~lo~~ont hoency Law of the State of Texas end the 3nlo7rant A?~-~c~ Lmr a F oresaid shall ho where consistent, aiz@icrbia to tna 2rovlsions of this Act,” ve do not bclkzve the Leglsleturz Intended to change its previously dociared public policy so as to Include such Institutions strictly within the 3copo of Scnato Bill Xo.
127. Uo do not balLeve the evil aimed at and soilSht to be re,u- lated by the provisions of Senate Bill Bo. 127 Included the help- ful and incidental services rcndurad by a non-?rofYt, charitable, religious, educational and benevolent Institution. Zieither CFi.rl ve say that tho provIsIons of Article 5209 of the Emplo:mcnt Agent Act are Inconsistenti vlth the definltlon and provisions of the Emigrant Agents Act.
We believe that with due regard given to the exceptions as contained In Artlole 5209 as being applicable t; the provisions * of Senate Bill N$. 127, the “Employment Agents Act and the “EmI- grant Agent a Aot oan be construed harmoniously together and can *7 Eonorable Joe Kunsohik, Page be properly administered and enforced so as to regulate the
I evils sought to be oontrolled by the respective Acts.
For all of the foregoing reasons, it is our o2inlon, and you are so advised, in answer to yaw question, that the 5209, Revised Civil Statutes, exceptions of Artlole 1925, are to and are proper exceptfons to the provbdons of applicable Senate Bill Ho. 127, passed by the Acts of tho &lnt Legisla- ture, Seoond Called Session, 1923, Page 203, and the institu- inquired about, Under the faots Ln your inquiry, vould tion not be required to obtain an “Emigrant Agento!’ license. Tie trust that ve have fully answered yov.r inquiry.
I
Yours very truly ATTORNTGY GlZNFXAL OF TEXAS i I