THE A-RNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

AUSTIS. TFZXAR 7s.711 

October 25, 1972 

Chairman Byron Tunnel1 

Railroad Commission of Texas 

P. 0. Box 12967, Capitol Station 

Austin, Texas 78711 

Dear Mr. Tunnel]: 

Opinion No. M- 1248 

Re: Under Arti~cle 911b, V. C. S., 

is a common carrier required 

to register, under its authority, 

vehicles used solely for pickup 

and delivery within a zone 

designated by the Rai,lroad Commission as a “commercial zone” 

where’such vehicles connect 

with and form an integral part 

of the carrier’s total regulated 

movements into and out of the 

“commercial zone”? 

In relation to your question, you provide us with the following facts: 

A Railroad Commi,ssion certificated regular route, regular schedule motor 

common carri,er, is authorized to conduct regulated fo:r.-hi,re transportation 

originating at or rermi,nating a,t a point within a commercial zone designated 

by the Railroad Commi~ssi,on under t:he author&y confer-red upon it by 

Article 911b, Secti,on 1 (g), Vernon’s Civil Statutes. The carrier possesses, 

in addition to its over-the-road, or line-haul, vehi,cles, certain other pi,ckup and delivery equipment which i,s employed entirely wi,thin t:he commercial 

zone. The two types of equipment are used together in this manner: The 

carrier’s over-the-road vehicles load and disc,harge freight at the c,arri.er’s 

terminal within the commerci,al zone, while the carri.er’s Eghter vehicles 

pick up and deliver the freight from shippers or to consignees within the zone. 

You ask us whether the pick-up and deljvery equipment whi,ch moves 

freight in conjunction wi,th regulated transportation by the same ca’rr ier, i,s 

operated under r.he certificate under whic,h t/he carrier operates and is thus 

subject to the reporting requirement a~nd annual payment apeci,fi,ed by Motor 

Transpo-rt:ation Regulati,ons of rhe Railroad Cornmi,ssion of Texas? Section 

9. 1 (Apr. 29, 1970), issued pursua,nt to Article 91,lb, or whether ir:s employment falls wi~thi,n the statutory cri,terion of oper,acion wirhin a, co:mmercial 

-6108- 
Chairman Byron Tunnell, page 2 (M-1248) 

zone and is thus not operated under the c,ertificate under which the carrier 

operates and need not be reported upon. It is our opini,on that such equipment 

is not operated under the carrier’s certi~ficate and need not be reported upon. 

The Motor Transportation Regulati.ons, supra, Secti.on 9. 1 (a), requires 

that “each motor ca,rrier . . . shall fi,le withRailroad Commission, 

separately for each ce:rti,fi,ca,te or permit under which it operates. . . an 

equipment report. 1 D accompani~ed by a cashier’s check or certified check 

or money order payable to th,e State Treasurer covering the payments~prescribed in subsections (b) and (c) of t:his Section.” Subsection (b) sets out 

the schedule for such annual payments by motor carriers. The term “motor 

carrier” is defined to include: 

11 

. any person, firm, corporati,on, company, copartnership, associ,ati,on or joint stock association, and their lessees, receivers, or trustees appointed by any court whatsoever owni,ng, controlling, managing, operating, or causing 

to be operated any motor-propelled vehicle used in transporting propercy for compensation or hire over any public 

highway in this state, where in the course of such transportation a highway between two or more incorporated cltles, 

towns or villages 1~s traversed. ” Art. Y lib, Section 1 (g). 

Ihmphasis added. J 

However, Article 911b, Secti,on 1 (g), a~lso authorizes the Rai.lroa,d Commission 

to: 

“define and prescribe, . . commercial zones adja~cent 

to and commerc,ially a part of any specified incorporated 

muni,cipality and wi,thin whi~ch operations as a motor 

carrier may be performed with,out a certi,fi.cate or permit 

authorizing same and within whi,ch strictly local service 

wholly withi.n such commercial zon,e may be performed a,t 

rates a,nd charges orher than t:hose prescribed by the 

[ Rai,lroad] Comm,issi,on. ‘” 

It is our opi,ni,on r.hat: the Legi,slature intended to grant t,he widest possible freedom from ,regula,ti,on to those car.riers who perform “strictly 

local service wh,olly wi~thin [a] commercia,l zone, ” (Art. 91,lb, Sec. 1 (g)), 

and that Secci,on ‘1 (g) looks to rhe geographic employment: of the equipment,. 

-6109- 
Chairman Byron Tunnell, page 3 (M-1248) 

Therefore, equipment which is employed both within and without the commercia.1 zone is operated under the carrier’s certifi,cate and must be 

reported upon, while equipment employed enti~rely within the zone meets 

the statutory criteri,on, is not operated under the carrier’s certificate and 

t:hus need not be reported, upon. In the present situation, the carrier need 

not either report upon or make annual payments for his pick-up and delivery 

equipment as long as it is employed entirely within the commercial zone 

designated by the Railroad Commission, even though thi,s equipment is 

employed in conjunction with the delivery of shipments whi,ch ori~ginated in 

the commercial zone but: were desti~ned to a point beyond the commercial 

zone as well as shipments moving i,n the opposite direction. 

SUMMARY 

Motor ca,rrier equipment operated entirely within 

the boundaries of a commercial zone established by 

the Rai,lroad Commission is not operated under a 

certi~fied carrie~r’s certificate and need not be reported 

upon although i.t i,s employed in conjunction with regulated transportati,on by equipment owned by the same 

regula,.r route, regular schedule motor common carri,er. 

Very&y yours, 

D C. MARTIN 

Prepared by Rex H. Whi,te, Jr. 

Assistant Attorney Genera,1 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Cha~i-rman 

W. E Allen, Co-Chai.rm,an 

-6110- 
. 

‘I 

Chai-rman Byron Tunnel& page 4 (M-1248) 

Jack Spa,rks 

James Maxwell 

Bill F lanary 

R. D. Green 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NO’LA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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