The Attorney General of Texas 

February 6, 1976 

Honorable Edward L. Poole 

County Attorney pro tempore 

County of Potter 

Amarillo, Texas 79101 

Opinion No. H- ll24 

Re: Disposition of fines levied 

for failure to appear in court for 

an alleged violation of a game, 

fish, or park law. 

Dear Mr. Poole: 

Your office inquires about the disposition of a fine collected under 

section 12.106 of the Parks and Wildlife Code, which reads as follows: 

(a) Any peace officer of this state or a political 

subdivision of this state or an authorized employee of 

the department who arrests a person for a violation of 

a game, fish, or park law of this state or of a 

regulation of the commission may deliver to the 

alleged violator a written notice to appear before the 

justice court having jurisdiction of the offense not 

later than 15 days after the date of the alleged 

violation. 

fb) On signing the written notice to appear and 

thereby promising to appear as provided in the notice, 

the alleged violator shall be released. 

fc) Failure to appear within the time specified in 

the written notice is a misdemeanor punishable by a 

fine of not less than $10 nor more than $200, and a 

warrant for the arrest of the alleged violator may be 

issued. 

Section 12.107(a) of the Code Provides for remission to the Parks and Wildlife 

Department of 80 or 85 percent of a fine imposed “for a violation of any law 

relating to the protection and conservation of wild birds, wild fowl, wild 

animals, fish, oysters, and other wildlife. . . . ” You wish to know whether 

that portion of a fine collected by a justice court under section 12.106 for 

failure to appear should be remitted to the Department. 

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Honorable Edward L. Poole - Page 2 (~~~24) 

The answer to your question depends whether section 12.106 is a “law relating 

to the protection and conservation of . . . wildlife” within the terms of section 

12.107. The question is a close one. Section 12.106 can be said to relate at least 

indirectly to the protection and conservation of wildlife because it increases the 

chance that someone arrested for violation of fish and game laws will appear for 

disposition of the charges and will incur a penalty if he in fact violated those laws. 

In addition, section 12.106 was enacted to affect only citations issued for an alleged 

violation of fish and game laws, and this is reflected in its caption. Acts 1973, 63rd 

Leg., ch. 132, at 282. 

However, after examining other provisions of the Code, we have concluded 

that section 12.106 is not a law relating to the protection and conservation of 

wildlife, and fines collected thereunder are not subject to the provisions of section 

12.107. There is a similar provision regarding notice to appear for violations of the 

water safety laws. gee Parks & Wild. Code SS 31.125, 31.127. lhe provision 

regarding disposition o?%es states that an officer receiving “any fine imposed by 

a court for violation of this cha ter shall send the fine to the department. . . .” 

Parks & Wild. Code S 3 dmphasis .l added). The legislature has clearly 

subjected fines collected for failure to appear in connection with water safety 

violations to the disposition provision. See also Parks 5( Wild. Code Sg 13.107, 

13.109, 13.M. If the legislature had intendeadisposition provision to apply to 

section 12.106, it could have used the language found in section 31.128(a). 

The original version of section 12.107 dates from 1907, while section 12.106 was 

enacted in 1973. See Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., ch. 132, at 282; Acts 1907, 30th Leg., ch. 

137, at 256. Thetime lapse between the enactment of the two provisions may 

explain why their terms are not as precisely coordinated as those of the Water 

Safety Act, adopted as a single piece of legislation. See Acts 1959, 56th Leg., ch. 

179, at 369. We do not believe the language of section 12.107 mandates the 

remission to Parks and Wildlife of a percentage of fines collected under section 

12.106. 

SUMMARY 

Section 12.106 of the Parks and Wildlife Code which 

authorizes the imposition of a fife of alleged violators of 

fish, game, and park laws who fail to appear in court, is not 

a law relating to the protection and conservation of . . . 

wildlife.” Hence, fines collected under it are not subject to 

section 12.107, providing for remission of a percentage of 

certain fines to the Parks and Wildlife Department. 

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Honorable Edward L. Poole - Page 3 (H-U.241 

APPROVED: 

/ / JOtiN L. HlLL 

/ 

/ 

J’ 

Attorney General of Texas 

U 

Opinion Committee ’ 

p. 4595