THE AITTBRNEY GENEECAL 

OP a’lEXAS 

Col. Wilson E. Speir, Director Opinion No..M~~07 

Texas Department of Public Safety 

5805 North Lamar Rc: Construction pf S.Bb 

Austin, Texas 78751 No. 743, Act6 616t 

WT. I R.S. 1969, relating to hours of 

operation under &i 

occupational drivers' 

Dear Colonel Speir: ..- license. 

You have requested an opinion from this office concerning 

occupational drivers' licenses under the provision6 of' 

Senate Bill No. 743, Acts 616t Leg., R.S. ,1969, Chapter 

612, page 1821, and particularly ask whether *the actual 

hours to be driven during each specific period of time 

must be definitely set out so that an enforcement officer 

examining the license, which must contain the restrictions., 

wi.11 know by looking at his watch whether the driver is 

violating the terms of the order and license." 

your letter states that the department ha6 received 

some orders wherein the restricted hours of vehicle operation 

are Stated as "Any Ten (10) hour period between sunrise 

alId SUIlSet,' and "Any Ten (10) hour period between 7:30 

a.m. and 6:00 ~.rn.~* and that you can imagine other terms 

which would tend to allow flexible use of the permit by 

not stating definite hours. 

Senate Bill 743 amends Article 668713, Vernon's .Civil 

Statutes, by adding Section 23A, pertinent ~portione-of. 

which read a6 follows: 

"(a) Any person whose license has been 

suspended for other than physical or mental 

disability or impairment may file'with the 

judge of the district ~court having jurisdiction with the.county of hi6 residence, 

a verified petitiqn setting forth in detail 

an essential need for'operatinq a motor 

vehicle in the performance of his occupation or trade, o 0 o In the event the judge 

enters the order findinq,an easentiql~need,' 

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COl. Wilson E. Speir, Page 2, (U-97 ) 

a6 set out herein, he Shall also, as part 

of such finding, determine the actual need 

of the petitioner in operating a motor 

vehicle in his occupation or trade and 

shall restrict the use of the motor vehicle 

to the petitioner06 actual occupation or 

trade and the right to drive to-and from 

the olace of emolovment of the oetitioner. 

0 . '. Such res&i&ions Shall b: definite 

as to the hOUr6 of the day0 days of the 

week, type of occupation and areas or 

routes of travel to be permitted, except 

that in any event the petitioner shall 

not be allowed to operate a motor vehicle 

more than ten (10) hOUr6 in any twentyfour (24) consecutive hours. o o o A 

certified copy of the petition and the 

court order setting out the judge's finding and the restrictions Shall ,be forwarded to the Department. 

"(b) Upon receipt of the court order 

set out in (a) above o o . , the Departmant 

shall issue an occupational~licen6e~ showing on its face the restrictions set ZiFin 

the order of the court. 

"(c) Any person who violates the restrictions on his OCcUpatiOnal license shall 

be.quilty of a misdemeanor and upon wnviction~thereof shall be punished in the 

same manner a6 one convicted of driving 

a motor vehicle while lioense is suspended,. 

and 6uCh occupational license Shall be 

automatically cancelled." (Emphasis added..); 

By enactment of Senate Bill 743 the Legislature created 

a new right or privilege which is an exception to the general 

laws relating to the operation of a motor vehicle after. 

the suspension of a drivers' license. 

It is an established mle of wnstruction that a' 

statute constituting an exception to a qeneral,law 

will be strictly construed and not extended by judicial 

construction. 53 Tex. Jur.:Zd 309, Statutes, Sec. ,201. 

Moreover, when a right i6 solely and exclu6ively of 

Legislative creation, and does,not derive existence'. ftbm 
Cal. Wilson E. Speir, Page 3, (u-507 ) 

the common law or principles of equity, and create6 a new 

riqht by statute, the wurts will not extend the application 

of the statute, but will limit it6 application to the .exact 

words of the act, Johnson v, Darr, 114 Tex. 516, 272 S.W.' 

1098 (1925); 

._ 

Senate Bill 743 requires that upon finding an essential 

need for an occupational drivers' license the court "shall 

restrict the use of the motor vehicle,. and that '[sluch 'restrictions shall be definite as to the hours of the day,- o a. .? 

Webster'6 Third New International Dictionary define6 

definite as having distinct or certain limits: determinat6 

1n extent or character: limited, fixed: marked by absence 

of the ambiguous, obscure, doubtful, or tentative ana by 

certain clear statement or expression by means of flat 

positive assertion, careful statement of limitation. 

two : 

& is defined as one indifferently out of more than 

one or scune indiscriminately or whatever kind; we 

or another: this, that or the other. 

Rence , an order restricting the use of a motor vehicle 

to "any ten (10) hour period" between sunrise and sunset, 

etc., 16 indefinite and does not comply with the Act which 

require6 that Such restrictions "shall be definite" a6'to 

the hOUr6 of the day. 

In view of our analysis above, it is our opinion 

that the order of a court finding an essential need for 

an occupational drivers' license under the provisions of 

Senate Bill 143 must set forth the actual hour6 to be 

driven during each specific period of time with such definiteness and certainty that violations of the restrictions 

may be determined by reference to a timepiece. Therefore, 

we answer your question in the affirmative. 

SUMMARY 

A court order finding an essential need ~for 

an occupational drivers' license under the provisions of S,B, 743, Acts 61st Leg,, R.S. l9fi9, 

Ch, 612, pa 1821 (Art. 6687b, Set, 23A, V.C.S.) 

must set forth the'actual hours a motor vehicle 

may be driven'durinq each specific period with 

such definiteness and certainty that violations 

of the restrictions may be determined by reference 

to a timepiece. 

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Cal. Wilson E. Speir, Page 4, (M-507 ) 

AttorBey General of Texas 

Prepared by Monroe Clayton 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Kelton, Vice-Chairman 

Thomas Sedberry 

Jack Sparks 

Malcom Smith 

Alan Minter 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

staff Legal Assistant 

NOLA WRITE 

First AsSiStant 

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