Case Information

*1 December 29, 197 1 Opinion No. M- 1025 Honorable William B. Sullivant District Attorney

235th Judicial District Re: Whether “riprap” falls within the definition of “loose County Courthouse Decatur, Texas 76234 material” as contained in

Section 3A (b) of House Bill No. 759, Acts 62nd Legisla- ture, 1971, R.S., Ch. 363, p. 1376.

Dear Mr. Sullivant:

Your request for an opinion of this Office and later supplemented by letter dated November 22, 1971, asks whether “r’iprap” would come within the definition of loose material as set out in Section 3A (b) of House Bill No. 759. The above-referenced provision of the Act reads as follows:

“(b) As used in this section, ‘loose material’ means dirt, sand, gravel, wood chips, or other material that is capable of blowing or spilling from a vehicle as a result of movement or exposure to air, wind currents, or weather, but shall not include agri- cultural products in their natural state. ” Inasmuch as “riprap” as you have defined it is crushed stone having a general.diameter of between 12 and 24 inches and such stone you have stated has fallen off of trucks onto the highways, we hold that “riprap” is capable of falling off of vehicles as a result of the movement thereof and consequently “loose material” within the purview of the Act.

It is clear from a reading of the language of the statute that the exact nomenclature of the commodity being transported is not, except insofar as agricultural products are concerned, the determining factor regarding the applicability of the Act. The purpose and intent of the Act is to

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. Honorable William B. Sullivant, page 2 (M-1025) prevent or prohibit any loose material from being load&i and ‘mans- .: ‘, ., ported in such a manner as would allow the material to, blow or spill from the truck onto the highways because of movement or wind, thereby endangering the traveling public.

To illustrate the applicability of the Act, a ~load of wat.ermelon& ; the same being agricultural products in the natural state, would, not. be covered by the Act even though a watermelon is “capable of spilling” from a truck because of the movement of that vehicle. On the’other hand, a load of rocks or boulders of the same size and shape as your average watermelon would be covered under the provisions of the Act inasmuch as they fall within the broad language of any “other material that is capable of . . . spilling from a vehicle as a result of movement. . . .”

Therefore, in view of the facts presented, we answer $our question in the affirmative.

SUMMARY ,’ ., “Riprap” under the facts presented, being a material which is capable of spilling from a truck or motor vehicle because of its,movement or exposure to air, wind currents, or weather, falls within the definition of loose material as contained in Section 3A (b) of House Bill No. 759.

Y&?s very truly, exas Prepared by Rex H. White, Jr.

Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED:

OPINION COMMITTEE

Kerns Taylor, Chairman

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman

-5ooo- *3 (M- 1025) Honorable William 8. Sullivant, page 3 Bart Boling

James Maxwell

Scott Garrison

Wardlow Lane

SAM MCDANIEL

Staff Legal Assistant

ALFRED WALKER

Executive Assistant

NOLA WHITE

First Assistant

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