Case Information

*1 . NEY GENERAL

Hon. Bowlen Bond opinion NO. 0-3936

Crimilial District Re: Licensing of a passenger motor vehi- Attorney cle as such with a; “farm less of the use to be made of the passen- license” regard- Fairfieldi Texas

ger vehicle, under the provisions of kticle 6675a-6a and the licensing of drivers and operators of such vehicle un- der the drivers’ law, being kti- Dear Sir: cle 6687b.

We have your of November 10, 1941, requesting department on the above matters. Your letter as follows: “Many farmers in this County and adj,oilllng counties are registering their commercial motor vehicles; and in some instances passenger motor under Article 6675a-6a, Vernon’s Anno- vehicles, tated Statutes which comes from Senate Bill. No.

43, Chapter 116, age 144, General and Special Laws of the 4’7th E egislature.

“It the common practice for persons owning passenger motor vehicles .aud registered as such, to occasionally use trailers, attached to such ve- hicles of various commodi- and, especially Sor farmers ties belonging to them such passenger mo i with or vehicles and registered to attach. trailers to such vehicles and transport hogs and’ cattle to the Dallas and Fort Worth market. In the instant cases, the hogs and cattle are rai,sed on the farm ‘by the person trans- porting the same.

tfWlll you kindly give me an opinion on the following questions relative licensing and operation of motor vehicles, and the licensing the drivers and operators of such vehicles I+ DrIversI License Law?

a(l) ‘Does Art. 6675a-6a, Vernon’s Annotated authorize licensing of a passen- Civil Statutes, ger motor vehicle as such:with a ‘Farm License!, re- gardless of the us’e Tao be made of the passenger vehicle?

Hon. Bowlen Bond, page 2 (O-3936)

“(2) Is the operator of a passenger motor vehicle registered and use prtmarlly

when such passenger motor vehicle is being used pull a’trailer in which property is being trans- ported, required to have a license as a ‘Commercial Cperatort?

“Under my construction of the statutes and the definition of ‘Passenger Car’ and lCommerclal Mo- tor Vehicle r , under Senate Bill No. 43, as carried in Art. 667%1, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, and the various definitions and provisions of Article 6687b, Vernon’s Annotated Statutes, as enacted by House I3111 No. 20, Acts 47th Legislature, both of the above questions should be answered in the negative.

“However, of theAttorney General has more weight with local authorities who are demanding an opinion on these questions.e

Upon the facts contained in your you propound to us two questions which questions we will discuss in the order presented.

Question No. 1: Does Article 6675a-6a, Ver- nonls Annotated Civil Statutes, authorize llcens- ing of ~a passenger motor vehicle as such with a “Farm Licenselt, regardless of the use to be made of the passenger vehicle?

Article 6675a-6a of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, in part as followsr “When a commercial motor vehicle sought tb be registered and used by the owner thereor Q&J in t&g

orodwts. timber its mural state.

to market. or J;_o

~ruminb or the tr-

eor 0r -era from wolace 0f rew I ,m or raa, registration ree, the weight classifications herein mentioned, shall ‘be fifty (50%) per cent of the registration fee pre- scribed for weight classifications in Section 6 of the kct hereby amended, as amended this Act; . . pro- vided, however, all commercial motor vehicles, truck tractors’, ,road tractors, trailers and seml- *3 Hon. Bowlen Bond; page 3 (0-3936)

t,railers as defined In Section 1 of Chapter 23 of the General Laws of the Fifth Called.Se,ssion of the 41st Legislature, not coming within provisions hctshall be required to pay all registration and license f,ees prescribed by the other provisions of, Chapter 88, General Laws of the 41s.t Legislature, Second Called Session as amended by this Act.,”

Hrticle.6675a-1 (1) of Vernon’s &nnotated Civil Stat- utes of 1925 reads as follows:

lt’Commerclal Mo.tor Vehicles’ means any motor vehicle (other than a mot~orcycle or .passenger car) designed or used primarily for. the, transportation of property, including any passenger car which has been reconstructed so as to be used, and which is being used, primarily for ,deli.very purposes, with the except on of passenger cars used in the delivery i of the United States mailsi”

bticle 6675a-1 (j) of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Stat- utes of 1925, as follows:

N’Passenger Car’ means any motor vehicle other than a motor cycle or a~ bus, as defined this Act, designed or used primarily for transportation persons.”

It can readily be seen the distinction between and “commercial motor vehiclesI’ the defi- “passenger cars” nitions above quoted rests upon the primary use to which such veh.icle is put. Commercial vehicles b,ei.ng those “designed or used primarily for transportation ,of pr,operty” and passenger oars being those “designed or used, primarily for of. persons”. Applying these definitions to fact presented in paragraph 2 of your letter wherein you say, “it the common pra,ct,ice for persons owning passenger motor vehi- to occasi,onally: ruse trailers at- cles and registered tached ,to such vehioles fork the t~ransportatioa of various com- them, and especially farmers with such modities belonging to passenger motor vehicles to such vehicles and registered-as such, to attach trail- ers and transport hog,s and cattle the Dallas and Fort Worth market,” it ,is clear that the primary use, of the vehicles in question would bring them under the definition above quoted of “passenger cars.”

We do not :believe that under the facts presented your the vehicles tin :question n,ould be entitled to be li- tensed with a farm two reasons.

Hon. Bowlen Bond, page 4 (O-3936)

(a) It will be noted that Article 6675a-6a, above quoted, provides for registrationof only “comWrcia1 motor vehicles” coming withinthe ~provisions of such statute and does not prov*,.de for such’registration ~6’ .passenger’cars. - Therefore the vehioles ‘in”question coming within the above .definition passenger cars would not be entitled to registration under Arti- cle 6675a-6a.

(b) It will be ‘noted that Article 6675a-6a provides sought to be‘registered’and’~ “when a commercial ‘mot~or vehicle used by the owner thereof. only in the .of his ‘own poultry, dairy, livestock, livestock products; timber its natural state, and farm products to market; or to~other points sale. or processing, or the ~transportation by the ow~ner there- of of laborers from their place’ of residence,, and materials, tools, equipment ‘and’supplies, without charge, ‘from the place ofpurchase or storage; to his own ‘farm or ranch, exclusively for his own use or use on such farm or .ranch. . . .I( We are of the opinion <hat the word ‘Ionly”’ as used in Article 6675a- 62 above means that the vehicles sought to be registered under the provisions of such Wticle shall be used only the pur- poses therein expresely~provided and for no other to entitle it to registration the reduced rate provided in such statute.

It department and you are there- fore advised that Article 6675a-6a does not authorize licens- ing of a passenger motor vehicle as such with a U1farm license,” regardless of the use to be made of the passenger vehicle.

The second question presented in your is as fol- lows:

Question No. 21 Is the operator of a passenger motor vehicle registered and used primarily when such passenger motor vehicle is being used pull required a trailer in which property is being transported

to have a lioenee as a cCommercial Operator 4 We have heretofore held in Opinion No. O-3560, copy of whloh is enaloeed herewith, the definition of %ommercial operatortt in Houao Bill No. 20 being Article 6687b-l-(n), con- tains no speoifio exemption of a farmer who is hauling his own produce to market. And that therefore such farmer would be in- of a l~oommercial opera- eluded withln legislative definition tor” set out in said House Bill No. 20, Article I, Section 1, paragraph (n).

In passing on the question ,preeented by you we are con- fronted with a somewhat dirfsrent fact than that pre- sented in Opinion No. 0-3560 in that under the present factual *5 Hon. Bowlen Bond, page 5 (o-3936) the farmer in question does not haul the property

the vehicle it self, but attaches a trailer thereto in which certain farm products are hauled to market.

The. definition’ of “commercial op~erator” contained House Bill 20, kticle I, Section 1, paragraph (n); being Arti- cle 6687b-l-(n) .of Vernon’s Civil Statutes of 1925, is as fol- lows: I Every person who ‘Commercial Operator.

l’(n) is the driver of a motor vehicle designed or used of property, including all vehicles vehicles used for delivery purposes, while said

are beine: u d for c mmercial or delivery puroose&.l’ (lJndersc%ng our:)

You will note that this definition provides, Chile said vehicles are being used for commercial or delivery purposes.” We believe that test to be applied the above quoted portion of the definition the use to which the vehicle is be- ing put and in the case in question the vehicle is being used for commercial purposes in pulling trailer the purpose We are of the opinion, therefore, and you are hauling property. so advised that your second question should be answered in the affirmative

Trusting this fully answers the questions present- ed by you, we are

Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By /s/ Douglas E. Bergman Douglas E. Bergman, Assistant APPROVED DEC 19, 1941

/s/ Grover Sellers

FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

APPROVED: &INIWCI”l”lTTEE

BY: I

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