Ronorable 'AL11Crow

CountyAttorney Hemphill'

County Canadian,Texas

Dear Sir: opinion No. a-6603 Res &der the faots sulmitted, is the Henphill Couuty Psws a newspaper inwhich legal notioss may be publiahsd as required by law?

Ikrars in receipt of your oomunioatioa of tioeat date requesting the' opinion of this department oa the above statedmattsr. Ik,quote from your btter a* follows:

‘As County Attorney of Hemphill County, Texas, I desire PIPopinion from your offioe'astowhether or not the.VZWRILL CWJKTI'~' published im Hamphil County, Texas, and at Canadiaa,H-phi11 County, Texas, is a legalneprapapsr in which legals oould be published, such aa citationsby publioation, on defendantswho have to be citedby puhlioation in somenewspaper.

"The fact8 are that the Hsmphill County News has beea published for the past 5 years here im Cauadiau,Texas, axd it has no geaeral paid subsoriptionoiroulatiba, aad it has no PostalMailing pennit, to be entered as second olass matter, with the U. 8. Postal Departmant, asthis paper ,is publishednSekly and goes Auto simulation on Friday of eachwsek, and ismailed to Box Holders gerienally,

save-and exbept where it has same paid subscriberswho live out of R~mphill County, Texas, aad then the regular oiroulatioapostal chargesare paid on each paper, the 883111) as an individualwould pay inmailing such paper to saneone.

“At this time ths Heuphill County Bsws is the only paper being published ia Hcmphill County asthe CanadiaaRecord is now suspeuded oa aooount of bsing unable to obtain the setioes of aa expert printer to operate its equi&amt.

"1 herswithhand you a copy of this newspaper, and also a oopy of'the opinik on, datedFebruary 6, 1945 by Mahor E* J. Cussen, Atttoney;Pt-LaPr, Canadian, Tsxas, and will appreoiateyour answering the ona questioa, to-wit: Isthis newspaper a legal papsr for publishing legal6 In; such as citationsby publication, aad notioes of final aooounts in estates,and other legal notices~now required by law to be published in the administrationsof estates of deoedeuts."-.

Honorable lsll Cruw-- page 2 (O-6603)

Also we hava carefully oonsideredMajor E. J. Cussen's exaellent brief in oonneationwiththis matter which aooampaniedyour letter.

&Mole 26a,Vernon'8 Annotated Civil Statutes, in part provides: *The followingterms ahall,unless ths oontext indicates otherwise,hava the followlag re8paotiveme8niag8,

s(1) The tams +ublioatioa* shallmean aw proolamation,notioe oitation,advertisement, or-othermatter required or authorized by law to be printed in a newspaper or newspaper8 by q institution, board, cemmi8sion,departmsnt, officer, agent, repressntatire, or anployee of the State or of any subdivisionor deprlrnent of the State, or of w oounty, politioal subdicision,or distriot ofwhatewr naturew,thin the State, whether to be paid for out of publio fund8 or oharged a8 costs or fees.

"(2) The term 'newspaper*shallmeanany newspaper devotimg .lot less than twenty-five (25) per oent of its total colxm~ lineage to fhs oarryingof itaas of gemeral~~interest, publishednot less frsquently than on08 eaohweek, entered a8 seaond-classpostalmatter in the oouatywhere published, and having been published regularly and oomtinuou8lyfor 

### not less than teelve (12)months prior to the making of any publioatioamentioned inthis 

### Aat.'

Artfole 29, B.A.C.S., in part prooids8r Rherewi any pblicaticm. apublioation is defined in Seotion 1 hereof, is authorized or required trJr ar5r law, general or speoial, to bs inserted in a newspaper, the leF rate &i.& suohnewspapar shall charge for suoh publication shall bs Two 2) Csnts p er llordfor the first insertionof suah plblioation,and One Cent per unrd for eaah subsequent insertion, or suohnewspaper shall be entitled to charge for suah publicationat a rate equal to lut not in exoess of the l&e& published word or line rate of that aewspapsr for olassifiedadvertising.

. . '.

"Rithout intended to exclude ary other publiaation towhich this Aot applies, it is speciallyprovided that this Aot shall apply to all citationsor notices which are required to be publ%shed or maybe published in aalinquonttax suits and to notioes of sale of realestate under execution, order of sale, or any othsr judicial sale provided for ia Artiolas 3603, 4203, 7276, and 73 ’72 of the Revised CL-z11

Statutes of T-8, 1925. As amendedhots 1941, 47th Leg., p. 480, oh. 303 8 1.s

Artiole 29a, V.A.C.S., in part prooides: 'After the effeotive date of this Aot, insvery case where amy law, general or special, requiras the giving of any notiae, ths making of as51 proolsuuation

or advertisement,or the serrioe of any oitatioa by amy institution, board, oonmissioa,deparhsent, offlosr, agent, representative,or employee of the state or of p9y subdivfsion or deparhnent of the State or of aw county,political subdivisi.o~,district df whatever naturewithin the state by publioatioa~ina newspaper, the giving of such notice, the maMag of suoh proclsmationor advertisement, or the servioeof suoh citation shall be by publioatioa in a newspaper, a8 defined.-,,

HonorableWI11 Crow - page 3 (04803)

in Seotion 1 of thisAot. If pn~ 8taohlaw or law8 spsoifie8the msnner Of publioation of mob notise, proolamation,advertismueat, or citation iJl a nsaspaper, 8uoh hW or &am 8h11 g8rern the 

### m&ner.of publisatfon of 8Ush BOtio8, proolamation,adv8rtir8aent,or oitation. If the manner of FUbliQfioJl Of suoh aotioe, proolamation, advertissmaf,,or oitation i8 not presorib8d by law requiring suoh not&e to be glwn, such Angolamation or adverti6amat to b8 made, or suoh citationto be 88rv8d, then publioation of 8uoh notioe, proolpaatioa, advertisement,or 

### OitatiOn shall be made in a nerspaper~ subject to the follw&&g restrlotions and requirements:

ì. . l

ìIn ewrg oa8e where the se*08 of urg oitation or notio8 in my sa8e, oontroversy, suit, 

### orprooeeding

### in Amy of the Courts of the Stat8 ia r& quirsd to be by publioationUnder the provision8 of any geaes&l or spbsiti law of thi8 State, such publioation shall 'b8publlsh8d a8 required w the general or speoial law providing for ruoh notioe by publisat1oB.s

The L8gi8lakWe has the pewer to define'uords 8mploy8d in the statutes (Sppsteinv. State, 143 8-W. 144), and in Title 1 of th8 General &misions, ktiole 28a, supra, the Legislatur8 ha8 defined the w8rd 

### “aewqxtper

." A olear and unambi~guo~s definition of aterm 

### or a word %y th8 kgislattU% is binding upon the oOUrt8 a8 an edpr888iOn of legislative intent, regardless of the meaning of theword in oo88uoBparlanod or in other OoBllaOtiOB8. (StateV. Frost, Civ.App. 18 S.W. (2d) 331; Eppstein
v. State, supra.) A statutewill k construedwith referenoe to the gent ral system ef legislation of which it form8 

### a part. (pltshallv. State, 138 S.W. 759). Ordinarily a 8tatUtOry proViSiOn Will bs given an interpretatioa in oonformanoewiththe Aubjeot matter of the code in whioh it is found. (Briggsv. Bucker, Civ.App. 19 5.X (2d) 190). Also it is resognised as a oorr8ot rule of oonsthtotionthatwhew a statutenuke8 a general provision amreatly for all case8 and a speoial prwision or exception for a partioular oa8e or OlaSS,the general provisionyfelds and the speoialprovision or 8xxoeptioa prevails in so far as the porti ular class or ease is ocnoerned. (F'erer v* Peres, 59 TBXO 322: Balfour V. ColliB~, 25 S.W. (2d) 804~ 39 Tex. Jur. Sec. 114, PO 213.).

born the fact8 statedby you, it is apparent that the "Hsmphill cotiy m~8” does not oonfonn to the 8tafatory requimmsnt of a."newspapsr" a8 defined in the General Pro~i~i0~8,Title 1, lrtiole 28a, supr8, aad in

_ rier of th8 foregoing authoritieswith referenoe tu the rules of statutory construction, it is our opinion thatwhenev8r a statuts or a rule of oivilprocedurs, adopted aBd promulgated in oonf8ti~ with,and in obsdienoe to a Legislativeenaotrment,(H.B. 108, oh* 25, pp. 201-203,dot8 Reg. Session 46th Lsg., 1939)makes provisionswith referenc8 to pUVlioatioZi in 8ny %wspaper, " suoh narrspaper must oonfolm!

to thedefinition of a "Bcnrspapers

as set forth in Article 26a, unless the 1anguagQ of the statute
or rule SX~S8~lUthOriaeS suoh publioation ia a *new8pap8rwwhich do88 BOt oonfolnl

to ths foregoing deftiitione The question submittedby you-.. . ._

Hon. Wiil Crow - page 4 (o-6603)

with reference to legal publication is very broad and general. To determine whether the printing of any partioularkind of publication in the newspaper in questionwould meet the requiraaentsof law rould be dependent upon the language of the particularrule or statute requiring or authcrizing that particularkind of notice or publication,

### andwe shall not herain attempt to discuss each of the statutes 

### or ruleswith reference,tc the puUioation of legal notices, etc. Rowever, in view of the foregoing, it is our opinion that the statutorydefinition of a "newspaper"would be applicable in connection with eny statute or rule requiring or authoriringpublicationof legal notices about which you may have any question, unless there is a clear excep tion indicated in the language of such statuteor rule.

Although the Legislature has the power to define a term or word employed in the statutea, and it has defined the lord "nmpapr" inArticle 26a, yet such term or word as used in the Constitution is not necessarily limited by the legislative definition. We note that Article 17, Section 1, Constitution of Texas, provides for the publicationof proposed constitutionalamendmentB inthefollewlngl=@ager

'TheUgislatul), at aw biennial session,by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, to bs entered by yeas and nays on the journals, may propose ammubaautsto the Constitution,to bevoted upoa by the qualified electors for me&are of the Legislature,which proposed amendments shall be duly published once a nsek for four weeks, caamencingat least threemonths before om election, the time of which shall Im specifiedby the Legislature, in one weekly newspaper of each county, invhich suoh a newspapermay be publsfhed:

. . ."

The foregoing constitutionalprovisionms originally adopted in 1845 and carried forward in the present constitution,while Article 26a, V.A.C.S., was effective in 1941. Also, we note that the foregoing constitutionalprevision ~8 adopted prior tc the Act of Congress of 1679 authorizing second clue mailing permits for nemspapers,while the statutorydefinition of a newspaper, which includesthe requirerment that a newspaper hppre a second classmailing penait,was enaoted subsequentto saidAct of Congress of 1879. mth reference to the meaning of words as used in a constitutionalprovision,words must be understood to have been used in their ordinary significationunless the context indicates a differentmeaning. (Er Parte Rart, 56 S.W. 341; Sugg V. Smith, (Civ.App.) 205 S.W. 363). Rae unable to find any indication in aw oonstitutional provisionwherein the term "newspapere is limited in the precise
manner that said term is limited or defined in the statutesithus, a "newspaper" ccmplyingwith the ordinary,sig$aifioation of the tens would meet the requireme&s of the foregoing oonstitutionalprovision. Inviewof this, it is our opinion that the publicationof proposed constitutionalamamdments in a newspaper of the characterof,the "Hemphill County News" muldbe in ccmplianoewith Article 17, Gection 1, of the Constitution. JAE~ddtrsgw Yours VerytFuly APPROVED JDNR 6, 1946 /*I Grover Selliwrs ATTORRW GENRRAL OFTEXAS ATTORREY GEN6RAL OPBXAS

By /a/ J. A. Ellis

Assistant