OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Bonorable Joe Xunaohik, Commlseioner Bureau of Labop Statistica Auetln, rPexar Dear SlPI

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to this depnrtnellt, been received

n enizrsntagemy.

for procuring employmnt. it contendsthat because it 5s~ **chnrglng** no foe Par it3 scr:‘Fces it fnlla within the **GXCOptiO,?S** cmticned in Article 5209, R, C. S., of Toxns, Q Q *.

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Xonorable Joe Kunsohlk, Page 2

Agenoy Act shall be cumulative of the Emplogment Agenoy Law.
"In otherwords, the questionmay be boiled down to this proposition; Do the exceptionsmentioned in Article 5209, R. C. 3 apply to emigrant agents or do they a$&y solely to employmentaGents transaoting an lntra-statebueineas? The "Employment

Agency Lav" is set out in Chapter 13 of Title 83 of the Revised Civil Statutesof Texae, 1925, being Articles 5208 to 5221, lnoluslve.

Article 5208 deSLnes an employment agent. Article 5209, dealingvith exoeptionsto Article 5208, ma&r

'The provlsfonaof this chapter shall not apply to agentswho charge a fee of not more than two dollars for registrationonly for procuring employmentfor school teachers; nor to any departmentor bureau maintained by this State, the United States Government, or any municipalgovernmentof this Stete, nor to any person, Slrm, pnrtnershlp,assoolation of persons or oorgorntionor any officer, or employee thereof engaged in obtain% or aolloiti~ help from him, them or it when no Sees are chargeddirectly or indirectlytine applicantfor help or the eppllcant for enployment; nor to farmers and stoc::raisers aotlng jointly or severallyti securmc laborers for their own use rrherc no See is collectedor chargeddirectly or indirectly, nor to any associationor corporationchartered under the laws.ofTexas conductinga free employmentbureau or agency.' The RJ3mlgrant

Agents Law" was enactedby Senate Bill No. 127, Aots of the 41st Legislature,1929, SecondCalled Session, Pa&e 203. It 1s Sound In Vernon's Revised Civil Statutesas Ar- IH tlole 5521-8-1.

Seotlon 1 of SenateBill Ho. 127 provldesr "Section1. The term l@.grant agent' as used in this Act means everyperson. firm, corporation or assocl8tion of persons engaged inHonorable Joe Kunschik, Page 3

the business of hiring, entlclq, or sollcitlng laborers in this state to be employed beyond the limits of this State and 1s also meant to lncludo every person, firm, partnership, corporationor sssociatlonof persons mnintnlnm an office to hire, entice, or solicit laborers to be employedbeyond the limits of this State; and 1s also moLult to include every person who, as on indcpondent contractoror otherwisethsn es zzn agent of n duly licensed eml@%nt scent ;>rocures, or undertakes to procure, or assist in procuring laborers for sn emigrantagent; and every emigrantngent shall be tozmcd end hold to be doing business es such in each and every Countywhcroin ho, in porson, or throw an ¢,hires, entices or solicits any laborer to be employedbeyond the limits of the State.”
A part of Section 2 of the above Act, reeds:
“Sec. 2. Each cmlgrsntagent shrill, before opereta ln Texas, secure a Stete lioense as such, on spplicntlontherefor to the Commlasionerof Labor Statistics of the State of Texas. l * *.’ Section 3 of the s&maAct provides:
"Sec. 3. Any person, firm, aasociktlon of persons or corporntlon who shall engaze in the business of an emigrantesent in any county in this State vlthou C having first filed with the Conmlssionerof LnSor Stctistics of the St&to of Texas, en qplication for license cs emlgrsntazont as above provided,and/or without having first pzld nil otcte end county occupation taxes end annual license fee ES providod by lav or without hevinz first sccurcd 8 ..state license as ebovo provided, or without hav1~ first filed certifiedCO~J of his stzts license with the Tcx Coilktor of such county es abovo provided, end/ordho does not file monthly reports es providedby this Act, end/or who shall engage in the business of en emigrcnt agent in any county In this State without first iBonorable Joe Kunsohik, Page 4

having designatedsuch county as one of the countiesin vhich he proposes to do such business in his original or amended appllcaI tlon to the Comlssioner of Labor Stetistlor

of Texas, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, 1 and upon conviction shall be punished by

Sine not exceeding $500.00, or by lmjrlsonment In the county jail for not exceeding

i six months, or by both such Sine and fm-.

prisonment , ’ ! Section 7 of the same Act also deals with the soope i of aald Senate Bill No. 127 but vi11 not be copied here.

Section 8 of oald Senate Blli So. 127 provides;

“sot. 8. The provisions of this Act shall bo cumulativeof the cm$oymnt np,cncy 10~3 of the Stnte of Texa3 and the err~loyncnt a-iencx Laws aioreoela. shallbe wnere consistent.aplicable to the movieions of this Act." erscoring ours} The Supreme Court of Texas In the case of State v. i Laredo Ice Co., et al, 73 3. W. 951, in construing the effect of a oumulatlve provision similar to that in Section 8, supra, raldr

“The fourteenth section of tho act of 1899 concernimz trusts and monoDolie3 la in this language!- “irne provislon3~ofthe fore.Toins sections,and tno i'ln33 3p.o ?onr.izlcc,

provided for violations0;' CXs act 329.X.

be !ZiL en2 construedto be culrr.llntive OS all lzvn no:r in force in tni3 3ix~c. Counrei fOl a::;;olloes earnestlycontend that the effect of this ;)rovision is to consolidateand to make one lav of the act of 1895 and the act of 1199, and theroby to give exerqtion Siiom proaocution under the law OS 1899 to those nersonsnho are exemptedby the-provisions bf the law 1895. The term lcrmulativc'indicatesen harmoniouscocxistcncs2lld **CJ-OZl~?~tiCXt,** mthcr -trP.n

a con3oLia3;lcnoi iz3 iXi1773 to one. An amendment to a statute is not Batlye' because it repeals and takes the plaoe of the part of the law that It OS

22Ronorable Joe Xunschlk, Page 5

amends, thereby becoming a part of the lav amended. It Is true that, In seeking the meaning of language used In a statute,it la proper to considerall of the acts of the same legislativebody vhich are in aarl materla. because 'It is supposed that there has been no change in the leglsintlveintent e.nilpurpose,' unless it Is manifestedby some crnge of language. Sutherland,Stat. Constr. ~283. But this **13** a rule of construction,merely, and does not constituteeach act a-part of every other act on the same sub<ect. Laws which are uald to be in par1 &&&a ai%- parts of a common system or polic , but are not one and the same lav. * I l* (Underscoring ours)
An examinationof Senate Bill MO. 127 shows that it vas evidentlypassed to regulateand be applicableto instances where the prospectiveemployee or emlfy-ant is hired, entticed or solicited to be employedvlthout the State of Texas. The EmploymentAgents Lau seems to have been designed to regulate and be applicableto instance s where the prospeotiveor‘ployee is to vork in the State of. Texas. There la some slmllarltyin several provisions of the two Acts.

Another rule of statutoryconstruction which we believe applicable in answer- your proposltloa is stated in the case of State v. Standard Oil Co., 130 Tex. 313, 107 S. W. (26) 550, where the oourt says:

"We **are** to interpret the languageused ln a nanncr to make all relevant laus harmonlous, if we can, and in a manner consistent with the public policy of the State, **as** vell as in the light of **thG** evila sought to be remediedby the legislationbefore ~6.~
See also 39 Texas Jurisprudence171 and cases cited.

The court in 32x-r v. aaldwln, (Dist.Ct.) 57 Fed. (2d) 252, in upholding the Zm~1oymen.t ,Qents Lnw agsinstan .unconstitutionalityattack leveled ct the provisions of Article 5209, **e3** being arbitraryexceptions,made this pertj.nent statement,which vo think la applicable%

"The farmer or stockrs:seror the free bureau make no charge. Tney seek immediateHdorablo Joe Xunechlk, Page 6

assistance. There lo every reaoonwhy there shouldbe no fraud or overreaching in their solicitations or placlsgs. The differencebetween a gratis service and a pay service Is rocognIz~ed In such CEDES as Llndsley v. Natural CarbonicGas Co., 220 U. 3. 61, 31 Sup. Ct. 33;, 55 L. Ed. 369, Annotated Cases 912C 160, (and citing many other cases) + l *. The State has a rIr,ht to confine its restrictionsto those classes which It deems need them. If the lav hits an evil vhere it Is most felt the prohlbltloa need not be all-ombraclng,”

we can find nothing In the definitionof an erd,-rant agent or ‘theotherprovIsIonsof Senate Bill ilo.127 vhich vould Indicate that tho Act was paosed to apaiy to tine type of lnstltutlonsreferredto in your inquiry. If the Instltution~s true purposes are those of a non-groflt, charItabie,religious, benevolentand educationalInstitutionthen its “business could hardly be said to come within the provisions 01’ Section 1 of the EmigrantASoncy !.ct. ThiS WC thLr& 13 true even though In carryinS out Its real and primary pmgo3o3i-3, it incidentally rendered somo servicewhich an ~iZiSr6ilt ASant mISht perform. In vlev of the history of the servicon rcndcrodby such Institutions,which the Lqlolature xdst have knovn at the time of the gassage of the Act, and the fact that the LegislatureIn the EmigrantAgentsAct,’ itself,provldcs in Section 8 that “the provisions of this Act shall be cumulativeof the Bm~lo~~ont hoency Law of the State of Texas end the 3nlo7rant A?~-~c~ Lmr a Foresaid shallho where consistent,aiz@icrbiato tna 2rovlsions of this Act,” ve do not bclkzve the Leglsleturz Intended to change its previouslydociaredpublic policy so as to Include such Institutionsstrictlywithin the 3copo of ScnatoBill Xo. 127. Uo do not balLeve the evil aimed at and soilSht to be re,ulated by the provisionsof SenateBill Bo. 127 Includedthe helpful and incidentalservicesrcnduradby a non-?rofYt,charitable, religious,educationaland benevolent Institution. Zieither CFi.rl ve say that tho provIsIonsof Article 5209 of the Emplo:mcnt Agent Act are Inconsistenti vlth the definltlonand provisionsof the Emigrant Agents Act.

We believe that with due regard given to the exceptions as contained In Artlole 5209 as being applicablet; the provisions of Senate Bill N$. 127, the “EmploymentAgents Act and the “EmI* grant Agent a Aot oan be construedharmoniouslytogetherand canEonorableJoe Kunsohik, Page 7

I be properly administered and enforced so as to regulate the evils sought to be oontrolled by the respective Acts.

For all of the foregoing reasons, it is our o2inlon, and you are so advised, in answer to yaw question, that the exceptions of Artlole 5209, Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, are applicable to and are proper exceptfonsto the provbdons of Senate Bill Ho. 127, passed by the Acts of tho &lnt Legislature, Seoond Called Session, 1923, Page 203, and the institution inquired about, Under the faots Ln your inquiry,vould **not** be **required** to obtain an “Emigrant Agento!’ license.

I Tie trust that ve have fully answered yov.r inquiry. Yours very truly ATTORNTGY

GlZNFXAL

OFTEXAS

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