### HEAITORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS

Hor;omble Homer Garrison, Jr., Cireotor Cepnrtment of Puolic Safety CampMabry Austin, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinipn No. O-3328 Reg Whether or not the vehicles making up e "combinationof vehicles" measured as a un!t under the Scientific Truck 3ill should be registered separately
or together under Artiole 66758, Y.A.C.S. This is in reply to your request for our opinion on House Bill No. 19, known as the Scientific Truck Bill, reoently passed by tho Fortysevsnth Legislature. Your request saysr

"Inasmuch as the present registration law requires the truck tractor to be registeredunder one rate and the semi-trailerunder another, vredo not know how to advise parties to register their combinationvehicles. It appears that in this Bill a combination is considered one vehicle."
Your request has reference to that part of said House Bill No. 19, which reads as follows:

"Section 5. Except as otherwiseprovided by law, no oommarcialmotor vehicle, truck-tractor,trailer, or semi-trailer,nor oombination of suoh vehicles, shall be operated over, on. or upon the public highways outside the limits of an incorporated city or tom, the total gross weight of which exoeeds that given by the following formula:

"W equals C times (L plus 40). where 'W equals total grossweight, including load and vehicle. in poundsr

"C equals 7001 "L equals the distance between the first and last axles of a vehicle or combinationof vehicles. in feet.

"Under the foregoing formula, the grossweight is ascertained by adding forty (40) to the distanoe in feet between the first and last axles of a vehicle or oombination of vehicles and multiplying this sum by seven hundred (700).Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., pege 2 O-3326

Provided, however, the grossweight shell never exceed thirty-eight thousand (36,000)pounds.

"Provided,however, the grossweight permitted by the foregoing formula shellbe subjeot to the following restriationsand limitationsr

'No suchvehicle nor combinationof vehioles shall have e greaterweight than six hundred (600)pounds per inchwidth of tire upon any wheel concentretedupon the surfaoe of the highway and using high-pressuretires, end e greater weight than sixhundred end fifty (650) pounds per inchwidth of tire upon any wheel aoncentratedupon the surface of the highway end using low-pressuretires, end no wheel shall carry a load in excess of eight thousand (6,000) pounds on high-pressuretires end nine thousand (9,000)pounds on lowpressure tires, nor any axle a load in excess of sixteen thousand (16,000)pounds on high-pressure tires, end eighteen thousand (16,000)pounds on low-pressuretires. An axle load shell be defined es the total load on all wheels whose centersmay be includedbetween two parallel transverse vertical planes forty (40) inches apart." Said above quoted provision in said Saientifio Truck Bill is en amendment replacing Se&ion 5 of the presentArticle 627~1of Vernon'sAnnotated Penal Code of Texas.

Said Article 627~1, V.A.P.C., deals primarilywith the size, weight, and manner of operation ofmotor vehicles CD the highways in Texas. Said Article 627a was originallypassed in 1929 es Senate Bill Bo. 11, Chapter 42, page 72, Forty-firstLegislature, 2nd Called Session, and amended in 1931, by House BillNo. 336, Chapter 262, page 507, Fortysecond Legislature,Regular Session.

Artiale 911b of Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of Texas provides for the regulation by the Railroad Commission of Texas of motor propelledvehicles used in transporting property for compensation or hire over the highweys in this State. Said Article 911b, V.A.C.S., was originally passed in 1929 es House Bill No. 654, Chapter 314, page 696, Forty-firstLegisleture,Regular Session, and amended in 1931 by House Bill No. 335, Chapter 277, page 480, Forty-secondLegislature, Regular Session.

Artiole 6675a of Vernon'sAnnotated Revised Civil Statutes of Texas provides for the registrationof all motor vehicles, trailers end semi-trailersused on the State highways end fixes a soale of license fees to be paid on the various types ofmotor vehicles, trailers end semitrailers. Said Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., was originallypassed ia 1929 as House BillNo. 6, Chapter 66, page 172, Forty-firstLegislature, Second Called Sessions, end has been amended on several ocaasions, since that time._ .. -

honorable homer Garrison, Jr., pege 3 O-3326

The Scientific Truck Bill, quoted in pert above, emending Article 827a, V.A.P.C., dealswith a combinationof vehioles es one unit, that is, forthe purposes of said Scientific Truck Bill emending Article 627a,V.A.P.C., e combinationof vehicles used together are measured and consideredes onemechanism. As heretofore pointed out, the purpose of saidArticle 627a,V.A.P.C., is to regulate the siee,weight, end manner of operation ofmotor vehicles on the highways.

Tieessume that you have reference to Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., when you say that "the present registration law requires the truck tractor to be registeredunder one rate and the semi-trailerunder another

"

......... That statement is true. The purpose of saidArticle 6675a, V.A.C.S., was to provide for e method of registration of all motor vehicles, trailers end semi-trailersused on the highways.

It is apparent that in providing for a method of registration in Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., the Legislature deemed it best to require thst each motor vehicle, trailer end semi-trailerbe registered separately. However, it is equally apperent that in fixing limitations on the size, weight end operation of trucks, trailers end semi-trailerson the highways, in the Scientific Truck Bill, emendingArticle 827a, V.A.P.C., a combination of vehicles is to be measured es e unit. !% see no objectionto dealing with trucks end trailers separately in carrying out the terms of one law, to-wit, the registration law, end dealingwith trucks end trailers collectivelyes one unit under the law regulating size endweight when they ere operated together es .acombination. The legislatureprobably consideredthat when the State keeps a record of all of the motor vehicles, trailers end semi-trailers in the State under the registration lews of this State all such vehicles shouldbe registered separately even though some of them are used together in one combinetion,but in regulating the size,weight end operation of vehicles for the purposes of safety on the highways a better result could be obtained by applying the limitations end rules es to size, weight end operations to each combinationof vehicles es if it was one unit.

Our answer to your inquiry is thet every motor vehicle, including truck tractors, end every trailer end semi-trailer,used upon the public highways of this State, should be registered separatelyunder the terms of Artiale 6675~~. V.A.C.S., even though two ormore are used together es e combinationend are aonsiderede "combinationof vehicles" under the Scientific Truck Bill.

In your letter requestingthis opinionyou asked for .acriminal complaint form to be used in the prosecutionof cases for violations of the Scientific Truck Bill. Enolosed is such e form.- .. _

Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 4 O-3326

Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

By S/Ceail C. Rotsch Cecil C. Rotsch
CCR:db:wc

AFTROVED MAY 26, 1941 s/Grover Sellers FIRSTASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL Approved Opinion Committee By s/EW@ Chairman