. RNEY GENERAL,”
OF %-J!ZXAS

Hon. Robert W. Post County Attorney P. 0. BOX 110 Cuero, Texas 71954

Diar Mr. Post: Opinion No: M-69.7

RC?: Whether a minor defendant convicted under Art. 802&, Vernon's Penal'

Code,,automatically has his operator's license suspended under the provisions of Sec. 24(a)(21,. Art. 6687b,Vernon's Civil Statutes?

You have recently asked an opinion of this office concerningArticle 802e,Vernon.'s Penal Code. Re-phrased, ypur question is as follows:

"A **minor** defendantwas.tried under Art. 802e of the Texas Penal Code. Itwas the interpretationby the County Judge and the County Attorney that the minor could retain his dkiver's licenseby provisions of Art. 802e. However, the Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a letter asking **for** susupensionof the minor's operator's license. "Is an automatic suspension required under Art. 802e or is the interpretation reachedby the then CountyAttorney correct?"
The pertinent parts of Article 802e rehd as follows:

"Sec. 1. Any male minor who has passed his 14th birthday but has not reachedhis 17th birthday, and any femaleminor who has not reached her l8thbirthday, andwho drives
or operates an automobile **or** any other motor vehicle on any public road or highway in this state or upon any street or alleywithin the limits

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of any city, town or village, or upon any beach as defined in Chapter 430, Acts of the 51st Legislature, 1949,while under the influence of intoxicating lfquor,or who drives
or operates an automobileor any other motor vehicle in such a way as to violate any traffic law of this state, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishedby a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($lOO.OO)...."

"Sec. 2, No such minor, after conviction or plea of guilty and imposition of fine, shall be committed to any jail in default of payment **of** the fine imposed,but the court imposinq such fine shall have power to suspend and take possession of suchminor's driving license and retain the same until such finehas been paid." (Emphasis Added9 According to Section 24(a)(2),Article 6687b,Vernon's Civil Statutes, as last amended, the operator's license of any incirvasJual is susparuieci

ror 12 months automatically upon final conviction for the criminal offense of driving while intoxicated. Gilbert v. State, 212 S.W.Zd 182 (Tex. Grim., 1948)o This section makes no distinction as to the particular article of the penal code underwhich the final conviction supporting the suspensionmust be had, nor does it limit, expressly or impliedly, the class **of** persons subject to the suspension. Attorney General Opinion NO, V-1266 (1961), Significantly,the offense of drivingwhile intoxicated is prescribed~ by both Article 902 and Article 802e of the Penal Code.

Where the languageof a statute is ambiguous, the provisions thereof,may be interpretedby resort to two primary rules of construction: First, the legislative history, and secondly, the scheme or intent of the legislation
as made manifest by the similar subjectmatter sought to be controlled or regulated. Barnes v. State, 170 S.W. 548 bTex.Crim.,1941); DuvaP Corp. v. State, 407 s.w.za 493 (1966).

Statutes dealingwith the same general subject or relating to the same matters may be considered as statutes in pari materia, although they are passed at different times
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Hon. RobertW. Post, page 3 **(M-697)**

or different sessions of the legislature. Duvai v. State, supra. The goal of interpretation in utilizing thismaxim is to carry out the full legislative intent by giving effect to all laws and provisionsbearing upon the same subject. Trinity Universal Ins, Co. v. McLaughlin, 373 S.w.2d 66, (Tex.Civ.App., 1963 error ref. n.r.e.). AlthoughArticle 802e is a specific statute relating to the offense **of a**  minor drivingwhile intoxicated, and independent of the general civil provisions **of** Article 668723, Section 24(a)(2), general and special statutes should be read together and harmonized if possible, to secure the generalpurpose and scope of legislationon that same subjectmatter. Palsell v. Texas Water Commission, 3ED S.W.2d 1, (Tex.Civ.App., 1964, error ref. n.r.e.)

In reviewing the legislativehistory of Article 6687b, Article 802, and Article 802e,we find that the,object and purpose of these statuteshas been a series of repeated enactmentsby the legislatureof more stringent statutes to provide safer highway travel in the face of an increasing number of accidentsby inAiv+Aunlnwho drivewhile intoxicated. Attorney General Opinion M-673. Prior to passage of Article 802e, and its predecessor Article 8026,male juveniles under seventeenyears of agewere not subject to punishment **for** crimesbut were subject only to the provisions of Article 2338-1,Vernon's Civil~Statutes, which established juvenile courts and provideu for trial procedure in juvenile delinquency cases. The predecessor of' Article 802e,Article 802d,provided for automatic suspension of a minor's driver's licensewhen the minor received final conviction. Attorney General Opinion V-1266 (1951). Continuing the same legislativescheme,Article 802e provides for certainprocedureswhich may be utilized by the judge after conviction,where the minor fails to pay the fine imposed by the court. Although the civil ,sanctionsof Article 6687b for drivingwhile intoxicated
are generally separate and independent of the criminal penaltiesprescribed by Articles 802 and 8020, in our opinion by their **relation** to the same subjectmatter, these statutes are to be construed in pari materia. Cognizant of the legislativehistory z these statutes,we view the quoted emphasized languaqe in Section 2,Article 802e, as granting power to the judge tomsuspend the operator's **license** under **certain** limited circumstances, and not as words restricting the automatic suspensionunder Section 24(a)(2),Article 6687b.

In the following **circumstances,** for example, the judge -3370-. ,

Hon. Robert W. Post, Page 4 (M-697)

may suspend and take possession of the minor's driving license although suspension of his license also is automatic upon final conviction: First,where theminor'refuses to pay the fine imposed upon convictionby the court, the judge may insure that the minor shall not ostensiblydrive lawfullyby suspending and takingpossession of his license prior to the time the Texas Departmentof Public Safety requests the minor to physically surrender and deliver his operator's license. Secondly,where the minor continues to refusepayment oflthe fine after an automatic suspension resulting from final conviction expires, the judge may tbere~fore

suspend and take possession of the minor's driving license until the fine is paid. Other circumstances also may arise to invoke the power of the judgeprovidedby Section 2 of Article 802e.

We find no basis in reason or legislativehistory for any contention that the languageof Section 2,Article 8028
was intendedby implication to restrict automatic suspension of a minor's driving licensewhere the conviction is final. No evidence exists that the legislature intended to allow the judge to thwart the separate and independent civil penalties imposed by Section 24(a)(2B,Article 668733, where a minor is found guilty and **receives** final conviction. Any~contrary holding to allow automatic suspensionwould be tantamount to nullifyingwhat we view as legislative intent to maintain stringent regulations for highway travel by those,,,who drive while intoxfcated,and would give rise to unequal treatment of drinking driversbased upon classificationof age, Furthermore, such holding would negate the effect of Article 802e and lead to an absurd conclusion in light of the legislative history, object and purpose **of** these statutes in pari materia. The legislaturemust be presumed not to have d't;iie a useless, absurd or futile act. Brown v. MemorialVillage Water Authority, 361 S.W,Zd 453 (Tex,Civ.App,,1962, error ref. n.r.e.1; State ex rel Childress v. Shelby County, 150 Tex. 238, 239 S.W.2d 777 (1951);Trimmer v. Carlton, 116 Tex. 572, 296 S.W. lb70 (1927).

It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that Section 24(a)(21,Article 6687b,Vernon's Civil Statutes, operates to automatically suspend a minor ’s driving licensewhen the minorreceives a ffnal convictfon for drivingwhile intoxicated under Article 802e,Vernon's Penal Code.

SUMMARY
Section 24%aI(21.Article 668733, Vernon's Civil Statutes, operates to +a :li.'~. i.~: :fg~fi;q)pz~~a

zy mipc,,r 1sdric~.:,ng

;ir;c.nse
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,::,,, when the minor receives final conviction for drivingwhile intoxicated under Article 802e, Penal Co$e.

Prepared by Bennie W. Bock, II Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE

Kerns Taylor, Chariman W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman

Ben Harrison A. J. Gallerano William J. Craig James Quick

: MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Le,gal

Aseistant

**ALFRED**WALKER &xec?utive

Assistant 1

. ,. . .

NOLA WRITE First Assistant Attorney General

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