OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable T. D. Sansing 

County Attorney 

Hansford.County 

s* zuman, Texas 

Dear Sir': 

Opinion No. O-7415 

Are trucks o 

Xe are in receipt of your 

wherein you request an opinion 0 

to tho above captioned questi 

“The Federal Gove 

trucks to tha t; 

vation District 

and for its ex 

district mad 

vehicles as 

ment has tak 

not come und 

ion Consert will entitle 

e letter from 

and the applithe district. 

You have not stated in your oninion request whether the 

vehicles in question.sre to be operated upon the public highways 

of Texas or not, but, for the purpose of this opinion, we are presuming that they are to be so used. 

Article 6675a-2, V.A.C.S., provides in Dart as fol101.s: 

"Every owner of a motor vehicle, trailer or 

oeni-trailer used or to be used upon the public 
highmyo of thio :Itate sh:ill n:;,:,J.y each -year to the 

SQlLe Hi&way I~epurtnlcn.~ i;!umr,h the Cw1ty Tax 

Collector of the county in which he rosidos for the 

IW&tI'ation Of CclCh SUCh VC?hiCle OwlCd a* controZ].cd 

by kdm for the ensuing or current calendar year or I:nerpirod portion ti?oreof;. . .!I 

Article G675a-3, v.i..c.i)., providea in part ns follows: 

'1. . + .Owners of notor vehicles, triloro and 

se:~L-trai1ers which are the property of, snd used 

osclusivoly in the service of the i'nited States goverment, State of Tems, or cny comty , city or school 

district thereof, shall ap$.y annual.l.y to register all 

such vehicles but shall not be required to pay the 

registration 1 eos herein presoribcd. . .n 

The Iiansford County Yind Erosion Conservation District was 

orgmieed under Article l&a-2, V.A.CL?., an'd. such Article pmti&s 

that districts created under the i.ct shall be go-vwmontal ngoncies 

and bodies politic and wm prcsum that the eppliccitlon for c:&npt 

re~;istration submitted by such di.st.ri.ct is bacod on the proposition 

that bcinz a ::ovcrmental agency, it is e;ieapt from taxation. HOWever, the fee provided Sor in the re$stration statute is not a tz0z 

but is a license fee for the -privilege of ol>eruting motor vehicles 

upon the public highways of this Stato. Atkins v. state IIi&ray 

Depmtment, 201 3, ;i4 226.(mik of error refused.) 

Article 6675~2, eupra, is FLU. inclusive orid does cot n&e 

any Tovision to exenpt vehicles owned by political subdivisions 

of the state. Article 6675a-3, suprn exeqts from the pqment of 

re;;istration Sees certain ~;ov*rrment~ a&encios specifically therein 

mentioned. It is cla.ar from the wording of the two above mentioned 

statutes tk&t t&o Logielature han provided that all. o-err; of motor 

vehicle5 which are operated upon tho public highways of this state 

shall pay the,lPcense foes provided except those which are epecifitally enumertied in Article 6675~1-3, and the rules of statutory construction will not perm4.t us to ez&end the exenptione to political 

subdivisions of this FItato ~!hich are not specifically mentioned in 

saiti Article 6675a-3. 

;;a k.vc previously held in 0~in.3.0~1 80. 0-26Cl9 'that tihe 

Doxar-i.;edina-Ataocosa Counties Xater knrovement District Do. 1 is 

not exempt, fmn the paymnt of motor voki,clc fees,enc? we erc enclosing a copy of such opinion for your irGcormation. 

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