OFF!CE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Hsnoreble S. J. 18aaoka 

Chsirmsn, JudlolarJ Ccwalttaa 

House of Repreaentatlrar 

49th Leglol&.lra 

Austin, Texas 

Door Judge ISaaOkS: 

i ! ? 

.-a_ I . '1 

'-1.. i 

~. 1. 'i. 

o&a" no. o-6442 *. 

A\rthorlty OS City 

/' / 

..<Cou~lls of the smaller 

,' I" altlss of the state -- 

ncn-home ml. oltler -- 

to mnaot valid ordlnanoes 

pawhlbltlng tent ahovs, 

:-5. >. akatlng rinks, oarnivals, 

',. -: ahd the like, within tha 

.c. 

/ ,>- /' '\ "h,, *.yl*, llmlts. 

4 

I \. I..,' 

You ask‘thliB.depart&nt~for an opinion aa to whether 

the City Counolls of th& smalla~ aitlaa of the Stata, that 16, 

the non-has@ xwle olties, may eneot valid ordinances like or 

similar cdtho one atteohedto your Inquiry. The attaohed ordlanoe belng.‘a.y follavs 1'*.,~-,~./*' i 

"TRE STATE CF TEXAS 

"COUNTY OF TROMPSOR D 

An ORDImmE i' 

TO BE ENTITLED 

"AN ORDINANCE prohlblting all Tent Shws, 

Skating Rinks or Carnivals from shoving 

within the City Limits tor the duration 

of the War. 
Hon. Y. J . Isaaoks, Pago 2 

“BE IT ORDAIHISD BY THE CITP CWNCIL C? TEE CITY 08 

CORINTH, TKXAS a 

“3ECfIOri 1. That no tent show, skating rinks 

05 carnival8 be allowed to operated lnaldo the CltT 

LLmits. 

“SRCTICR 2. Any perron or pereom vlolatlng 

the toregoLng s.otiOn rhall ha fined not loaa than 

tventr-floe dollam ($25.00). 

“3ECTIm 3. All ruler requlrlng an ordinance 

to bo read more than onoe sro hereby ruapended and 

this ordinance ahall kooae effeotlve from and aster 

its passago, approval and publloatlon.' 

Artlole 1011 of the Revised Civil Statutea, dealing 

vith such oltLeo a8 are nnntloned by you, oontalns the iolloring: 

"The City Council ahall hare piwor to pas8 

all ordlaanow, rules aad pollee regulationa, 

A04 imtrary to the Oonrtitution o? thir State, ?or 

the good government, peaoe and order of the olt7 

md the trade and omtser@o thereof, that my ba 

neoessary or proper to oarry Into effect tha pworr 

vested by this tltle.in tha oorporatlon, the OltP 

government a? ln any department OF offiob theranoii 

to enforoe ahA observance of all ruoh rulo8, ordlnames and poll08 rogulatlona, and to punish ?lolatlona thereof. HO fin4 Or p.Mltjr shall OXOQQd OM 

Hundmd Dollars .” 

Artlole 1315 of the Statutea, further declares: 

"The gcvernlngbodJ shall alaohnve p0U.r: . . . 

"11. To abate and remove nulsanoos and to 

punish the authors thereof w fine, and to define 

and deolam what shall ha nuleancea, and authorize 

and direct the summery abatwtent thereoit and tc 

abate all nuisances vhioh may Injure or afiect public health or oomfort in any manner they may deem 

expedient. . . . 
Eon. 3. J. faaaoks, Page 3 

"37. To llOQMe* tax and rQgulSt@ or sup r~aa 

and prQvant h&n&era, peddlora, pavn brokers a a8 

keepers, m otbr sxhlbltlona, ahwa and amusements. 

"38. To llornae, tax = rQgulat.0 thQatn5, 

clrousea, thQ exhibitlana of oaumon ahomen, ahwa 

of any l&xl, and ths l xhlbltlon of natuz-al and actlfloial. ourloaltlea, oarntana, menageadoa and muaioal exhlbltloaa end performmoe*. 

'39. To SuthOri85 thQ pWper offlioer of the 

cltytn grant and issue lIo~naea, and to dlreot the 

38nne~ of laauIng and regiaterlng thereof. and the 

Pees to be paid therefor. FJo lloenae shall be iszued for a longar period than one year, aad ahall 

not be asalgneble exoept by permlaalon of tha city 

oouno11.” 

APt%oh 7047, hOtlOIh 22 (S), ~Ql'!lOti'S Annotated Clvi,l 

Statutes, levy8 a State oooupatlon tax QLI teat ahwa and authorizes counties and oitlos to levy ona-half of the amount of tax 

levied by the State. Subaeotlcm (b), SQotlon 25 o? Artiole 7009 

in?oses an annual or quarterly oaoupatlon tax on oarnlvala. Seotlon 34 of Artlole 7047, when mad In oonneotlon vith the first 

paragraph of said Artiole, levy8 a n l nnuel ooouation tax on aketine rinks. Count&Q8 and oltlea au7 5150 levy an oo0~01tion tex 

on both carnivals and akz&lng rlnka. (tie Art. 7Ob8, V. A. C. 9. 

Also sQe Art. 7047a-19 vhloh relates to skating pinka.) 

Ithaa bQen stated by our bupr~me Court in thQ oaae OS 

Iu53ourI, x. i3 T. Rt. Co. 0. Rookvall County Levee Improvement 

Matriot no. 3, 297 3. w. 206: 

" it la nw thoroughly Well SQttlQd by 

the de&&a of the highest OOUI%S In thQ land 

that munioipal ordlnanaea, and even leglalstlve 

enaotmenta, undertaking to regulate useful bualnQaa 

enterprises, are subjeot to lnveatlgation in thQ 

courts, vlth the &v of determInIng vhether or not 

the ordlnenoe or act la the lavfti exerolaa of the 

pollee power; for no leglslatlve body, oz ether trlbunal as to that, oan, under the guise Of QtiarOlng 

police regulations, arbitrarily interfere vlth the 

constitutlonel property rights of a single lndlvidual. The Legislature may, in the exercise or a 
Han. S. J. Iaeaoka, Page 4 

reasonablQ dlaoretioa far thQ proPlOt1~ of thQ 

pub110 VQlfere, 5Iako law that OpQPOtO t0 thQ 

lndlvldual hurt, but th is right l lva7a la aubjeot to judloial reviw, and the lay itaQl? Is 

void if it ooatravenea the superior right o? an 

lndlvidual wham it InjurQa. . . .” 

With F5iOX’QMQ t0 tha QXtQnt O? Sad lLarit5tim on 

;;lce parer, It is stated ln Texas Jurlaprudenoo, Vol. 30, p. 

: 

Y3enerell7 apQeklng, munloipal oorporetiona 

have tha right, under the pollo~ pouer, to aa?+ 

guard thQ health, OoJnfort, and general vel?arQ 

of their oitlzans b7 auah rQaaonablQ re#ulatlona 

33 are neoeaaarJ for that purpose. 

9%~ pollee poser la not en arbi?xaly otm; 

it has its lf0ltationa. Thus It la aubjeot to 

the llmltatlona IlppOSed b7 t&Q Conatitutiar upon 

every power of gowmmnt, and vi11 not bQ perctlitted to invade or Unpalr thQ ?UndS!d5z&Sl llbertlea o? the oltlzen. Also it 18. founded In 

pub110 neoeaalty and onl7 pub110 aeoQaalt7 oan 

justlf7 Its exer5l.m. It la oomaaaurate with, 

but does not QxaQed, tha dut7 to providQ for thQ 

real needs o? tha p~crpl~ In their health, aafQt7, 

comfort and oonvenienae as oonaiatently as 1557 be 

with private prop&i7 right5. . . .' 

A lav?ul buaiobae or oooupatlon vhloh I8 not a 

nuisanoe per se, but is of auah a nature that It ~7 bQma@ 

a nuisance eooordlng to thQ mammr or plaoe a? Itb pursuit, 

La subjeot to rQaaonable zwgulatlon, but ma7 not by abaolutely prohlbItQd by 8 orlmlnal cnYllneao~ under the 

7 

OYera to 

abate nuisenoea. (Ex partQ Harris, 261 3. W. 1050 . 

Tent shows, skating rinks end oarnirala are all 

taxed and their right to operate la reoogulted b7 State 13VS. 

Fe; may be rQaaonably regulated, but the7 oannot by prohlb- 

. {See Mpnphy v. Wright, 115 9. U. (26) 448). Tedtsbp, 

sksting rinks and oernlvsls are not nulsonoea per se. 

stated in the oase of Ex part@ Brewer, 152 3. W. 1068: 
. 185 

Hon. 3. J. gaeaoka, Page 5 

"The quoatioa of tb right of a olt7 to 

adopt reeaonablQ regulatiau lo regard to all 

matters aubjmot to tha polio~ power has Men so 

frequently kfor~ thla oourt and so QxhauatIvQly 

dlaouaaed ve do not deQa It naoeaaa~ to do so 

hex-Q, but men17 oito l aaa af the deoialona, 

vher~inItI8 Qxpreaaly held that8 rIghto?thQ 

city euthoritlQ8 to adopt awh regulations, ao 

longaathayara roaaonablo,eri uphald,Snd 

vherein it 15 hQld that, I? auah OrdlaanoQo do 

not amount to virtual prohlbltloa, they l rQ not 

in oonfllot with the l.?ya o? the state lIoenalng 

suoh oooupatlon. . . . . 

It is stated in thQ 

3. w. 386% 

II . . . Thsre are a 

oaae of Bx part@ Ooldberg, 200 

tlons vhloh SeQm to by ~~11 UndQrotood as thQ law, 

whlah may by stated as ?ollouar A buaineaa vhloh 

is outhorlred by the state lav oamot by proh.ibitQd 

by city ordlnana~ dIrQotly or 1ndIrQotly. A business vhiah Is regulated by thQ state oannot be prohibited by the olty either by exp r ess l naotsunt or 

by prohlbltory reguletlon. A bua+Iluaa regulated 

by the state oamot be Fegulakd b7 the oft7, otherwise then by grant O? parer to auoh Oity In the 

oherter pasaQd Irj the LQglSlatWQ SC@ the purpoaQ 

of auoh regulation. Bar oen auoh regulation be 

otherwise than In aooord vlth the state 1aV. . . .* 

There are ran7 oases holding that a buaLnQa8 vhIoh 

la authorized by state lav oannot by prohibited W' olty ordinanoe dlreotly or Indireotly. For the purpoa~a of this oplnloa 

VQ do not deem it neoQaae~ to oite addltlonal authoritIQa. 

In vlev of the foregoing authorltlea 7ou era reapeotfully advised that It is the apInion of this dQpertmQnt that 

city oounclla of the smaller oltiee of Texas, that la, the 

non-home rule oltlaa, oennot enaot a valid OrdIMMQ like or 

similar to the one sttaohed to your lnqui~y. Stated differ- 
mu. s. J. fsaaoks, ~rga 6 

ently the oity 00u~l1s of suoh olt%es oannot ensot a valid 

ordim~e vhloh vi11 prohibit a burinasr that lo 8uthoriud 

by State lav. 

AW:Pb