E -iTTORN-ETf GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Ausniu ax. TEXAS 

WLL WIlLSON 

ATFOWNEY GENERAL 

September 13, 1961 

Mr. Ellis A. Oualline, Jr. Opinion No. WW-1131 

County Attorney 

Montgomery County 

Conroe, Texas 

Re: 

Dear Mr. Oualline: 

Whether a truck, with a 

permanently fixed water 

tank, the only outlet for 

the water being a permanently fixed spray bar, 

used to water down road 

beds prior to paving and 

used for no other purposes, 

come within the classification of "construction 

machinery" as that is used 

in Art. 6675a, V.C.S. 

You have requested an opinion from this department on the 

following question: 

"In your opinion does a truck with 

a permanently fixed water tank, the only 

outlet for the water being a permanently 

fixed spray bar, used to water down road 

beds or other surfaces prior to paving 

and used for no other purpose come 

within the classification of 'Construction 

machinery (not designed for the transportation of persons or property on the 

public highways)' Art. 6675a-S?" 

The pertinent parts of Article 6675a, V.C.S., read as 

follows : 

"Every owner of a motor vehicle, trailer 

or semi-trailer used or to be used upon 

the public highways of this state shall 

apply each year to the State Highway 

Department through the County Tax Collector of the county in which he resides 

for the registration of each such vehicle 

owned or controlled by him for the ensuing 

or current calendar year or unexpired 

portion thereof;. . . Owners of. . .construction machinery (not designed for the 

transportation of persons or property on 

the public highways) operated or moved 
Mr. El1 is A. Oualline, Jr., Page 2 

temporarily upon the highways shall not 

be required to register such. 0 .construction machinery;. ~ 0U 

Opinion No. WW-1 131 

This amendment pertaining to construction machinery was 

added by Acts of the 55th Leg., Acts 1957, and we have been 

unable to find any Texas decisions construing this particular 

amendment. 

In an Ohio case, State ex rel. Yontz v. West, 22 N.E. 2d 

645 (1938) a similar situation arose in which a cement mixing 

motor conveyance that consisted of a truck chassis self-propelled 

by a gasoline motor with a permanently attached rotating drum or 

hopper, rotated by either the propelling motor or an auxiliary 

motor which was used for hauling ready mixed cement to construction jobs on the highway. In some instances, and other construction jobs off the highway. 

The Ohio statute exempted motor vehicles 

,! 0 . -used In construction work and 

not designed for or employed in general 

highway transportation. . *' 

Quoting from the opinion at page 648, it is said: 

11 .It is urged upon the part of 

the'respondent that the device falls 

within the exception 'used in construction WGrk and not designed for or employed 

in general highway transportation' D D 0 

II 

e 0 .It goes without arguing that, 

'there is no presumption favorable to 

the exempticn of property from taxation. 

An exemption from taxation must be clearly 

and expressly stated in the statute and 

must be such only as is authorized by the 

Constitution.'. o . 

"It has been urged that the mixing, 

motor conveyances generally are not 

designed for and can not be employed in 

general highway transportation, but are 

strictly confined to moving cement mixture 

to the place where the same is deposited 

upon the work under construction. The 
Mr. Ellis A. Oualline, Jr., Page 3 Opinion No. WW-1131 

same thing may be said of numerous specially 

construction vehicles. The highways are 

clogged with heavy trucks upon which large 

tanks are placed by means of which oil 

and gas are transported over the highway 

to the gas stations where they are delivered 

to the retail customer. There are many 

specially constructed bodies such as those 

used for hauling groceries, transporting 

cattle and horses, farm products and manufactured goods, all of which are definitely 

devoted to a single purpose and are not 

designed for or employed in general highway 

transportation, if by 'general' we mean a 

transportation without restriction as to 

the load carried. Any vehicle that is 

designed for the transportation of objects 

and adapted to general transportation of 

special freight is still a motor vehicle 

under the definition of Section 6290, General 

Code." 

The exemption in Article 6675a-2 specifies "construction 

machinery (not designed for the transportation of persons or 

property on the public highw~ays)". The truck in question is 

designed for hauling water and spreading it on the road beds in 

connection with construction of highways. It is common knowledge 

that in many instances it is necessary for the water truck to 

travel along the public road for distances up to several miles 

in order to obtain the water to be spread on the road beds where 

the construction is being done. It is our opinion that water is 

property and is being transported on the public highway. 

Trucks designed for hauling gravel and used only for hauling 

gravel on road construction jobs traveling various distances along 

the public road to secure the gravel to be used on the construction job would come within a very similar classification and we 

cannot conceive of these gravel trucks not being required to be 

registered and licensed. The same thing could be said about oil 

trucks which are designed and used only for hauling oil from a 

supply point to the construction job in which case it is necessary 

to travel over the public highways to deliver this commodity to 

the construction job. It is, therefore, our opinion that a truck 

designed for hauling water to a construction job and spreading it 

on the road bed at the construction job does not come within the 

classification of "construction machinery (not designed for the 

transportation of persons or property on the public highways)." 
. . 

Mr. Ellis A. Oualline, Jr., Page 4 Opinion No. WW-1131 

SUMMARY 

A truck with a permanently fixed 

water tank, the only outlet for the water 

being a permanently fixed spray bar, 

used to water down road beds prior to 

paving and used for no other purposes, 

does not come within the classification 

of "construction machinery (not designed 

for transportation of ersons or property 

on the public highways P ~ " 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

JHE3:cm 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE: 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Vernon Teofan 

Sam Wilson 

Dudley McCalla 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

By: Howard W. Mays