### Mr. Wilson E. Speir, Director

Texas Department of PublicSafety 580.5 North Lamar Austin, Texas 78751 OpinionNo. M-430 Re: Applicability ofdrive-a-way in-transit license plates under Article 6686 (b),V. C.S.; as amended byHouse Bill 600of the 61st Legislature, R.S., 1969, andinterpretation of theterm
“commercial vehicle carrying a load” as used in Article 6686 (a) (6LV.C.S. Dear Mr. Speir: Inyour recent request concerning theabove-captioned matter, you have asked this office for an answer to thefollowing twoquestions: 1.’ Does Article 6686 (b), Vernon’s Civil Statutes, as amended by House Bill 600of the 6,lst Legislature, R.S., I969, nowprov.ide.. for drive-a-way in-transit license plates to be used on both new andused house trailers, trailers andsemi-trailers, or does this section apply only to themovement of newhouse trailers, trailers andsemi-trailers? 2. Whatis themeaning of theterm “commercial vehicle carrying a load” as used inArticle 6686(a) (6), Vernon’s Civil Statutes, and as this term relates to themeaning of theterm “convey” as used in Article 6686 (a) (4) [b], Vernon’s Civil Statutes? Withrespect toyour first question, Article 6686 (b), prior to its amendment by House Bill 600, provided for drive-a-way in-transit licensing of “new vehicles from the manufacturer or anyother point of origin”

. As amended, this Article nowprovides for such in-transit licensing of “new vehicles and other vehicles, includinghouse trailers, trailers, andsemi-trailers from themanufacturer or anyother point of origin” [Emphasis added], The only change, with the exception of an increase inthe licensing fee andtheallocation of funds collected, brought about by House Bill 600was theaddition of theemphasized words in thepreceding quotation. Your first question seeks a determination as towhether this added

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Mr. Wilson E. Speir, page 2 (M-430)
language covers only “new” house trailers, trailers and semi-trailers, or whether it may be construed as covering both “new and used” house trailers, trailers and semi-trailers. Article 6686 (b), prior to its amendment, related only to the movement of

“new vehicles”

. Attorney General’s Opinion No. M-292 interpreted this language as relating only to new motor vehicles capable of operating under their own power. That Opinion specifica1Iy excluded the movement of new trailers and mobile homes. At the time of that Opinion, there was no question as to whether Article 6686 (b) applied to used vehicles - clearly, it did not. The only purpose of the recent amendment, as stated in Section 4 of House Bill 600, was to clarify the law so as to authorize issuance of in-transit license plates to be used to transport and deliver

“new trailers and mobile homes” [Emphasis added]. There is no in&cation that the amendment to the act was intended also to cover the transportation and delivery of “used vehicles”

. Therefore, the answer to your first question is that only new house trailers, trailers and semi-trailers are covered by the recent amendment of Article 6686 (b). In this respect, House Bill 600 changes the law and Attorney General’s Opinion No. M-292 is superceded insofar as the latter stated that trailers and mobile homes were not covered by Article 6686 (b). With respect to your second question, Subparagraph (4) [b] of Article 6686 (a) sets out one of the circumstances under which a dealer may use temporary cardboard numbers corresponding to his license number. Such a “facsimile” of his ’ dealer’s license number may be used:

“to convey or cause to be conveyed his unregistered vehicles from the dealer’s place of business in one part of the State to his place of business in another part of the State, or from his place of business to a place to be repaired, reconditioned, or serviced, or from a point in this State where such vehicles are unloaded to his place of business, including the moving of such vehicles from the State line to his place of business, and such vehicles displaying such tags while being so conveyed shall be exempt from the mechanical inspection requirements.
. . ” The language of this section indicates that the dealer’s facsimile is to be affixed to the vehicle which is actually being conveyed; it makes no distinction as to whether the vehicle is moving under its own power or is being towed or carried by another vehicle. Therefore, it appears that the facsimile of the dealer’s tag may affixed to a self-propelled vehicle such as a truck, truck-tractor, automobile, or bus, or it may be affixed to a trailer which is not capable of moving under its own power.

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Mr. Wilson E. Speir, page 3 (M-430)
The question for which an opinion is requested arises from the fact that subsection (6) of Section (a) limits the use of a facsimile of the dealer’s license tags. Specifically, this subsection provides that:

“The use of dealer’s license or facsimiles thereof is urohibited on service or work vehicles or on commercial vehicles carrying a load; provided, however, that a boat trailer carrvine a boat will not be considered to be a commercial veh&lg carrying a load.

. .” The term “commercial vehicle” may be defined as any type or make of vehicle which is designed for or adaptable to commercial purposes, i.e., the transportation of persons or property. Stecher v. State, 365 S.W. 2d 800 (Tex. Crim., 1963); Carbet-Barbour Drilling Co. v. Hanna, 222 P. 2d 376 (Okla. Sup. 1950). The phrase “carrying a load” is self-explanatory and may be taken to mean the moving by any method of any extraneous burden. Therefore, Article 6686 (a) (6) prohibits the use of a facsimile of the dealer’s tag on any vehicle which is designed for commercial purposes and which is actually being used in the movement of an extraneous burden of any type. Under this construction, subparagraph (6) of Section (a), as it relates to subparagraph (4) [b] of the same Section, would not prohibit the use of a facsimile of the dealer’s license number on a commercial vehicle which is not being used for commercial purposes, such as a truck or a truck-tractor moving from the dealer’s place of business in one part of the state to his place of business in another part of the state. Similarly, a semi-trailer could be moved between two such points within the state under a facsimile of the dealer’s license number provided that the trailer was not carrying any load. However, a truck-tractor could not move under a facsimile of the dealer’s license number and pull a trailer or any other unit also moving under a similar facsimile: the truck-tractor would have to be registered since it is a “commercial vehicle carrying a load”

. It can also be seen that one or more trailers cannot be loaded on another trailer unless the latter, being a commercial vehicle carrying a load, is a registered vehicle. SUMMARY The amendment by House Bill 600 of Article 6686 (b), Vernon’s Civil Statutes, applies only to the movement of new house trailers, trailers, and semi-trailers. The term “commercial vehicle carrying a load’ as used in Article 6686 (a) (6), Vernon’s Civil Statutes, and as applied to Article 6686 (a) (4) [b] means

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Mr. Wilson E. Speir, page 4 (M-430)
any vehicle which is designed for commercial transportation and which is actually being used to transport persons or proper

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era1 of Texas Prepared by: James M. Mabry Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Kerns Taylor, Chairman George Kelton, Vice Chairman Rick Fisher James Quick Tom Neely Bill Allen Hawthorne Phillips Executive Assistant ..

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