Your letter ofJanuary E',lg42,requeste a legalopinionfran this de*tmntand lucorporatea the follovingstatementaa the faotual baaia tberefor:

"Clinton Park le a defense negro reeidentiel addition, onemile frcm the cltylimita ofHouetw,Texaaand consiata of 500 h-6 on acres of lend. The families of these residenta hevenomeena of trawportatlon toHouston except byuee of their limitednlrmb~r ~fautamobilea or SOalone P.aFk~Bue'~whioh pemeti by said addition, but not ti~~or'tita Beme. The owner of the GaleuaParkBua has offered to provide said tramp6rtati6n at the rate of 254 per rlde'per p&son. The residenta of thiti oawmnlty owot afford this high rate of traffic end have banded together in form- a non-profit orgenizetion celled the Clinton Park Bus Awn; have purchased ebns with a seetinScapacityof 39 perSona and are enlisting memberships into this club. Mempera are to coni3iat exclusively of the resldetlta of Clinton Park Addition end no one can ride on this bus but membera this club and their guests. There is to be no fee or fare charged or collected for the me of this ha. Membership fee in said club is to be $l.COper month per femily, end. this $l.OO permonth is tobe used in paying for the bus, gas, oil, end maintenance and operation. There are to be no profits or dividends dletribu'ced and this service Ehall not be open to the public but is to be epecificelly limited t0 the exclusive use of the members of this club end their Sueeta and the club membership la to be limited to the residents of this negm addition.

Honorable James E. Xilday, Page 2 (O-4317)

"The abovemtlcned bus la not a bus for hire; ldentl- fioatlon to ride will have to be eetabliahed, and the mQnber- chip fee of $1.00 per mcnth ehall not l&&t the number of ride8 a member or his family wlll'or oan make. The hue will.

only carry the member% through the addition to the closest bus line in the oity of Houeton end vice veree and no farther. Themembers of the club eremerelyettmupting to provide the residenta with the aoocmdlation transportation to and fma the edditlon to eHouetonCamuou Carrieranarenot attempting to establish a bus service for profit or for hire.

"Each member haa individuelly signed the prauisory note on the purchase of theirbus end are proport.ionatelJ liable on same. This I6 strictly a oammmity erraugment."

The queM%on asked Is whether this association may operate in the manner deacrlbed without fir&having obtained fra the Railroad Canrmission a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity pursuant to the provisions of Article glla, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes.

Subsection (c), Section 1, Article 9lla, reads in pert aa follows:

"The tern 'motorbua company'whenused in this act* ** meem every oorporation or persona ae herein defined l l l owning,oo&rolllng,operatiagormanaging anymotorpropelled passengervehicle,notaaDallyopareted onor overraiti, and ei+ged in the bueineas of transporting persona for ocanpeaaetion orhire over the public highwaye within the State ofTex=, whether operating over fixed route6 or fixed schedules or otherwi6e * * +." (Underscoring ours)

Section of 9lla provides e& follows: "Nomotor-bus ccmpany shellhereafter regularly operate for thetransportation of person5 aa passengera for ccmpenaetion orhire over the public highvass of this atatewithout first having obtained frcuu the ooxmtissionunder the provisiona of tbia Act l l * a certificate or permit declaring that the public convenience and neoesaity require such operation. * * *.*

In our opinion the operations of t.heCllntonParkBue Aasoci- t&m aa above described would not constitute "the business of trans- portating perso? for compensation or hire." The association irould there- fore not be required to obtain authority frcua the Railroad Ccmmission. *3 Honorable Jemee E. gilday, Page 3 (O-4317)

May we emphaaite, however, that our opinion is atriot limited to the faot situation 88 defined. Anamm&mentofthisnature eael4 edapte lteelf to eubterfuge and changes in certain essential features of the operatlou would render the Aeeociaticm amenable to'the requirements ofArticle glla.

Yours verytruly ATPORNEY GmERAL.avTExAs By /a/ Zollie C. Steekley Zollle C. StaeUey Aaeistent APPRovETl OPImm APPROVED JAN 30, 1942

col4mT?mE /B/ Grover Sellma

F~TASSIEQWT

ATltXWEY-