Honorable M. 0.' Flowers 

Secretary of State 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Sir : Attention: Mr. Wallace Scott 

Opinion No. O-2513 

Re: Does the perf&tion of an.appeal 

as pi+ovided In~Sectlon..15, Article 

6573a, Vernon's Annotated Civil 

Statutes, operate to sui@erid oP 

supersede the order of dancellafion 

of a dbaler's license inade"by the 

Secretary of State at a hearing? 

.' Your letter of August 8th, requesting an opinion of 

this Department, reads as follows: 

"In thh early part of 1940 a real estate Galer's license 

was~'granted by this office to I&."; C. W. East of Amarillo, 

Texas.. 

dffice, 

Thereafter, due to cijmplaints recefvea bg"this 

the said C.W. East'was notified that a hearing 

Vith respect to such complaints would be held to determine 

whettier or not the license previously Issued him should 

be cancelled. 

"Such hearing was held on or about the 13th day of June; 

1940 and thereafter an order was entered by this division 

cancelllng such license. Thereafter,. the said C'. W. East 

under the provisions of Section 15 filed an appeal in the 

pistrict Court of Potter County, his home county. 

"Assuming that the provisions of the Real Estate Act were 

properly followed with respect to such hearing and that 

Mr. East's apPea1 has been duly perfected, this division 

would appreciate your advice as to whether or not the perfection bf such appe%il operates to suspenKor supersede 

the order of cancellatiofi cancellirig Mr:East's license 

mad& by this department at. such hearing, 6r,~ in bther words, 

1~s. the satd, Mr. Eist entitled to operate as a real estates' 

d&ler'.'under' the kuthbrity givefi hlm~'by ‘such license after' 

siiizh order of eancellatlon and after an appeal to the court 

has been perfected ." 
Honorable M, 0. Flowers, page 2 O-2513 

The question of suspension of a judgment of the distrfct court is no% before us~'in cbnnection with your request, 

but"bnljr whether under the facts as stated, thk pe?f&c%ing of 

tin appeal from~an order of the Secretary of'State suspends'the 

order-'of revocation entered tinder"the provlsions"of the statute, 

This as we see"it is solely a qtiestioh of legislative interit, 

assutifng the valfaity of'the Real Estate Lic'ense Act, Atiticl.9 

6573a, VePnon's Civil Statutes, under which act this dealer's 

license was origfnally granted. 

Article 6573, Vernon's Civil Statutes, containing 

twehty-two se&for&, provfdes for the licensing of all 'Peal 

e'state dealers engaged in such buslness'and places the administrative dutle's of enforcing the provIsIons thereof in the office 

of the SecretaPg of-'State thrbugh its administratlve office* 

created by the act and known as the AdmlnYstrator 'bf the Securlties Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. 

Sectfon 5* Subdivision (c) of the law provide3: 

"The Admfnistrator of the Securities-Division 1s~' 

hereby empowereil to examine wItnesseD and adminlstep oaths, 

and ff shall be hfs duty to investigate persons~doing 

bc,sin&ss in real estate in this State to ascertain whether 

they ape violating any of the pyovlkions of this"Act and to 

keep such yecords and minutes as shall be necessary to an 

orderly dispa%ch of business." 

Section 11, SubdivisIons (1 - 17) set forth the grounds 

upon Which t,ke license of a person within the provisions of the 

act may be suspended, revoked or the reriewal thereof refused. 

It fur',ther provides that no action, of the act shall be construe5 

to Pelieve aE.y pel:sori tire company from civfl liability or criminal 

prosecution under We 8ct or untier the laws of the State. 

., SectfoEs 12 and 1 pl-ovfde for notice and hearing oti 

charges presented t,o revoke or suspend a license, a% which hearihg witnesses may be s,ubpoenaed and a~ record is required to be 

made of tbefp swo~rt testimony and of the proceedings. l 

Section 15, APtfcle 6573a of said statutes, provides: 

"(ala Any rear'estate dealer, real estate salesman, 

owner, 'or‘ subdiH.der'aggrieved by any decision or the 

Secretary of State tiy file wi%hin thirty (30) days thereafter in the Diktrict Court iki the boun%y wherb his prfnclpal pletce of btitifness is situated, a petitlofi against the 

Secretary of"S%ate officially as defendatit, alleging Uiiereln 

Ln bbief letafl the action and detilsfon complafned 6f and 

for an order dfyec%.ing the SecPetaPg of State to license the 
Honorable M. 0. Flowers, page 3 O-2513 

a'pplicant or grant an owner or subdivider a permit, as the 

case inay be. Upbn service of the sumnibns upon the Secretary 

of State, returnable within ten (10) days from XtsKdate, the 

Secretary of Stat& shall on or before the return day file 

an answer. The case shall be tried in the District Court 

de novo, upon its' m6rlts. 

"(b) . The District Court may, upon Bpplicatloti'of 

either party and upon due notice given, advance the c&se 

tin the socket. Frbm the decision of the District-'Court, 

an appeal may be taken to the Court of Civil Appeals by 

either party, as in other cases; and no bond shall b@' 

required by the Secretary of; Sttite. A judginent in ftivor '.' 

of the plaintiff shall,not'~bar after one gear a'new application"'by the plaintiff for a license, nor shall a judgiiient 

in favor of the plaintiff prevent the Secreta+g of State 

from"thereafter revoking or refusing to lidensezsuch person 

for any proper cause which may thereafter accrue or be dfscovered. The court'shall have full power to dispose of all 

costs #" 

Section 21, Article 6573a of the statutes, provides: 

"(a) Any pers'bn,?.'or agent,',officGr, or employee bf 

any coinpany, acting as a real estate dealer or real estate 

sixlesman within the meaning of this AEt, without first 

having been licensed by the Admlnisttiator of the-securities 

DlvIsion 6f the office of the Secretary" of,State, and every 

officer, agent, or employee of any company, and every other 

person~who knbwlngly'authorizes, directs, or aids ih the 

publication, aclvertisement, alstribution, or circulatlbn of 

any false statement or repre&entation~conc&rnlng any land 

OF subdivision offered,for sale or lease, Andy every person 

who, with knowledge that any .adver%lsement, pamphlet, 

prospectus, or letter concerning tiny land or subdivision 

contains any written statement that Is false or fraudulent 

issues, circulates, publishes, OF distributes the same, or 

shall cause the same to be issued, circulated, published, 

or distributed, or who, in any other respect, wilfully 

violates OP fails to comply with any provisions of this 

Act, or:who in any other respect wllfully violates 01" 

fails, omits OP neglects to obey, observe or comply with 

any order, permit, decision, demand, or requirement of 

the Admlnistrtitor of the Securities Division of the office 

of~the Secretary of State under this Act as herein provided, 

shall upon conVIction therefor be bentenced to pay a fine 

df'not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500) or .Fmprisontiefit ln'the county jail for not more than one year or both 

such fine and imprisonment." 
- . 

Bonorable M. 0. Flowers, page 4 O-2513 

It is provided in Section 17 of the act that'all 

licenses issued shall 'expire December 31 of each year at mldt-iight, and that applications for renewal of licenses may be 

made between November 15 and December 31. 

Actssimilar %o that of the Real Estate DealersAct 

under consideration, granting to State Boardsor Departments 

jurisdiction of violationsof its provisions.'for the purpose 

of enforcing the publ.ic health and welfare have been upheld 

by the courts. :If the Legislature in its wisdom finds evils 

prevalent and existing in the business of those engaged in 

real estate transactions in theirdealings with the publicto 

the extent of enacting such Iaws~as may be necessary to proper 

regulation and con%r01,~ It can hardly be questibned that It is 

a valid exercise of the police powers of the State, 

1% is generally conceded that the right and power to 

grant a license to exercise a particular vocation implies-and 

includes the authority to suspend or revoke It, And i%"has 

been held that a person accepting a license from the State -' 

lmpliedlg agrees to scbmi,s to ,%he tribunals created by the State 

todetermine his fitness %o continue enjoying the privilege 

granted o See Marx v. Matthews, 270 S-W. 586. 

Proceedings of this nature, 

coutits as not being "judicial" 

have been held by our 

but quasi-judicial as applied to 

an act of an executive officer who, in the exercise of his functions, is required to pass upon facts, and'to determine his 

action by the facts found. I% is also apparent that a license 

issued to a dealer on %he' payment of the sum required under the 

provisions of the Real Es&'i:e Dealers Act is in the nature of a 

special privilege required as a condition precedent to the" 

right to carry on his busin~ess, and was not either a contract or 

a vested ~igbt to do business. See 17 R. C, L, page 476, par. 5; 

Prater et al, v, Storey, 249 S.W. 871; Baldacchi v. Goodlet, 1% 

SOW. 325. 

Ttie province OP Section 15 of the act Is to afford an 

aggrieved dealer or person who has had his license ,revoked, a 

remedy for judicially dete:rmlningthe correctness. of the order 

finding him guil%,y of having violated the law.' If he is permitted 

to pursue the occupation until the case is finally determined 

upon Its merits, it would amount to a nullification af the duly 

authorized and exercised func%lons of the Secretary of State. 

The true purpose and effectiveness of the law could easily be 

defeated by one who has had his license revoked, by filing his 

petition within the thirty day period and thereafter fail to 

prosecute his appeal. 

After a person's license has been duly revoked under 
Honorable M. 0. Flowers, page 5 O-2513 

this law, it Is clear that the law : places e burden upon the 

petitibner to brtng the matter up for review endnot upon the 

Secretary of State. It will be seen that the statute makes it 

possible for him to file hiss petitlon'the next day; it authorizes summons upon the"Secretarg of'State;'returnable within 

ten days thereafter~; end he may further, at the"'tlme of fllri'ig 

his petition, make eppllcetlon to advance the case in the Dls-. 

trict C'ourt. Such procedure specifically authorized by Sec. 15 

of the act, with other provisions thereof"'expressly denying 

relief from criminal prosecution for any acts committed thereunder, evidences an intent on the~pert of the.'Legislature to " 

deny petitioner the' right to operate pending a.'judicial review. 

We are convinced"~'that the.remedy accorded the aggrieved dealer 

was so intended ana should not operate unjustly to delay the '. 

hearing of his case provided he pursues the remedy with diligence. _. 

It 1.9, therefore, the opinion of this Department that 

the timely filing of a petition against the Secretary of State under the provisions of Section 15, Article 6573a, by en aggrieved 

dealer to"revlew the facts upon which an order revoking his 

license has been duly made, does notof Itself operate to suspend or supersede the order of revocation. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/wm. J. R. KMg 

Wm. J. 'R. King 

Assistant 

WJRK:AMM:wc 

APPROVED AUG 27, 1940 

s/Grover Sellers 

FIRST ASSISTANT 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/BWB Chairman