OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Wm. J. Tucker, Executive Becretaxy 

Oeme, Fish and Oyster Corm31eeloa 

Austin, Texas 

Bear S:Lrr Opinion lo. O-38 

We are pleased to Q 

opiaion from thle department 

of House Bill No. 186 of 

betveen the 

the south boundary 

tate fIighvay 4 to 

t of ray boundary 

of the city 1imltr 

amoron oountyt 

ta or the 01ty 

ore oanm laterde as a neotlng end propagatdng 

Its-vlnged dover, ehaahalata aad 

other @me vithln vhloh am It &all be unlsv-’ 

Pul at any time to hunt, teke, shoot OF kilX 

any kind or epeclaas of vild fovl herelnebove 

mant loned. ' 

You ask if the boundaries of the b.lqI s@.neW~ attqwted to be oreated by this hot are suf'flaient in viev of the Pollovlng Paots. 
Honorable Wm. J. Tuoker, Page 2 

Prior to the passage by the State Highway Commission 

of Minute No. 16701 on September 26, 1939, Texas State Highway 

No. 4 was designated as follows: 

-From Texas-Oklahoma state.line near Perryton via Perryton, Canadian, Wheeler, Shamrock, 

Wellington, Childress, Paducah, Guthrie, Aspermont; Hamlin, Anson, Abllene, Tusoola, Ballinger, 

:Eden, and Menard to Junotion and rrom a oonneotion. 

with State Highway No. 41 via Lula, Leakey, Uvalde, 

ICarrizo Springs to a-oonnection with State Highway 

No. 2 near Webb Oity, and then follow State High- 

'ray Nor 2 to Laredo and from Laredo~via Roma, Rio 

Orande, Mission, LaFeria, Rarllngen and Brownsville 

to Booa Chioa." 

Berore 

2 

is date, the State Highway Gommission had 

ordered thatjall: tate Highways over whloh are routed United 

States Highways were to be numbered and reoorded aooording to 

the United S~tt%%@%lghway numbers. In the order entered September 26, 1939,:alI.prior orders designating State Hlghways.were 

stiperseded~and canoelled. State Highway No; ~4 was deslgnated 

as being fro@ Brownsville to Booa Ohica. U&3. Highway No. 83 

was reoogaized as, being as follows: ..,. ,. 

wBromtho Tezas&klahoiua State Line near 

Perryton, via Pdrryton, Canadian, Wheeler, Shamrook, Welllngton,~~Childress, Paduoah, Guthrie, 

Aspermont; Ramlin; Anson, Ablldne,~~soo~a,~Ballinger;.Eden, Menard, Junotion, Leakey, Uvalde, Orystal 

City, Carrleb Springs;Webb City, Laredo, Rama, Rio 

IGrande, Ylesion, Pharr, and Rarlingen t,o Brownsvllle.w 

We are advised oifioially that prior to the passage 0r 

these orders by the Highway Oonunission,~therw existed highway 

signs displaying both the United estates Highway numbers and the 

State numbera. #ollowln8 these orders the,Sta$e number signs 

were disoontinued ~oh Highways in Texas which had been designated 

as United States highways; 

Regarding former State Highway No. 4, It appears that 

that portion with.whioh we are ooneerned was oolnoldent with U, 

S. Highway No. 83. 'In oonsequenoe, by the passage of the order 

referred to, State Highway No. 4 from the Texas-Oklahoma line to 

Brownsville was changed from State Highway of State Highway No. 4 

from Brownsville to Boca Chioa was not a designated United States 

Highway, It remained State Higbwag No. 4. 
Honorable Wm. J. Tuokbr, Page 3 

: .~: 

,. All of the foregalng trampbrad prior to the enaot- 

-m&nt af House~Blll No. 186 by.the Fortr-seventh Lenielatum. 

.’ At the time of the enaotment; State Higbray:No. 4 ran from 

Brownsville to BomOhloa. It does so at this time. The 

boundary line described by Seotion 3’01 House Bill No; ,186 

isnot marked as State Highway No. 4; it $a-marked only as 

U. S. HighwayWo.,l%i If the highway now laarksdas State 

lilghway No. C,,asid which is now the offluial Stats Highway 

No. 4, if oonsidered as thqbouadaryline referred to.&n Seation 5 of the Act; obviously the -Pgso~iption of the boundaries * 

035ths’game sauotuary will ml. 

.~@$ .$a the highway now marked as’.State Elghway No. 

4 whioh ‘extends from Brownsville to Ema’Chioa to be oonsidered as the bo*dary llde referred to by.tha Legislature in enaoting House Bill No.“l86? Obviously~nst. Suoh intent la 

oompletely rebut&ad by ,the other language employed In the statute . Note-the ~allusion to. “the o-on ,boundary.llne.of Za’tia 

and Stam C.ounties to, the South boundary Llnq,of Stats sd=F 

SfcL’7L”;bo whare ‘said riShtiofeisap,‘bodndary:~.rinterseota the 

We& bountlary bi ~the oity limits of theraltryi.~t~Brownsvi~e,~ 

z%z ‘~*pliasls~ 0ur.s)~. .%/ 

lIefieenb~‘~td.‘~siny :aeauxatr hlgbyia$&ap ,ill& disolose 

Only ~bne-hQhwq~as iiiterseoting or o~e~*lnp:bh~%he mnamon 

:.

boundary lirre~ of Zapata an6 Starr Ooanti~sir:.,:~~ferenoe to the ‘-(

eabmmap will further dlsolose that the presentState ~Illghway 

No. 4 does not;intereect tha West ~boqn&arp#%he -olty llsit8. 

‘~a

of Brownsville’; but that ,U. ‘S.Highway Be:, 83 .d6ee 1 .State ‘Uigh- ~~ !r

way No. 4 intersoots the boundary of Browncgllle. 

It is ,argued that.sinob House.~B~ll~I&. ‘i86’ia a pan& 

statute, it must be striotly,oanstllred,.that there ie insuffio- r. ,

lent notiae to the public to.,~meet ,he,req~rernentrr ‘of,Oertainty 

eesent+l to valid~ity of ,suoh ~pena.1 enaotment, .- ~. :’ ,’ 

From T&a&i Jurisprudenoe we quota-The fsl&awlngt ‘?; 

“The intention of tha Legislature in enaoting a ‘law is the law Itself, .tha’e,s&no6’of 

the law,*,and, *the psirlt whj.oh glves’Ibf.a* to 

the enactment; Henoe. the aim and ablest of 

oonstruotion is to.asaertain and enforce ,%ha 

legislative Intent, and not to defeat,, nullify 

or thwart it: 
Honorable Wm. J. Tucker, Page 4 , 

"when the intent ie.plainly expressed In - . . . a. . . . the language or a statue, xc must be given erf;;tl;ithout attempting to oonstrue or interpret 

. On the'other hand, when it is neoessary 

to oonatrue an aot in order to determine Its proper meaning., it is settled by a host of deolsions 

.tha'the court should first endeavor'to aaoertain 

the legislative intent, from a general view of 

the whole enactment. Suoh intent having b&m 

aaoertained, the court will then seek to construe 

the statute so as to give effect to the purpose 

,of the Legislature, as to the whole and each 

material part of the law, even though this may 

%uvolve a ~departure from the atrlot letter of 

the law as written by the Legislature. 

*This is the fundamental oauon and the 

oardiual;primary and paramount rule of aonstruotion, whioh~ should always be oloaely ob- 

-sened.aud to whldh all other rules must yield. 

mdeed; luthe oonatruotion of olvll enaatmenta, 

the, courts are expressly oomanded to *l&ok dlllgently for the intention 0r the Legislature, kesp- 

.:&ng in vler.at'all times the old law, the evil, 

~dnd'the~~remedy~'*:~ 'And,Chis rule is ~equallY-auuli- 

:oable In the ,oonstruotien of penal~statutea. 

,- 

.-Intent tobe given effeot.--Uudel' the foregoing rules, when the leglalatlve intentis aaoertalned, oris pla,inly manifest, it is binding upou 

the eourte and must begIven effeot if it is legally poasible'to bo so. To ignore the legislative 

Intent and gi+e a~statute a oonstxuotion obviously 

oontrary thereto, or to xefussto enforoe a statute aooording to ve Intent, when 

asoertained, Is-. pieme Court to be 

van inexcusable dloial,~duty' and 'au 

unwarranteh lnt the exeroise of lawful le~slative authority.'* (Undarsooring ours). 

39 Tex. Jur. 166, i90; 

See also'Artlole'7, Vernon*8 Annotated Penal Code and 

easee alted thereunder. 

Prom~MoQuillin os Munloipal Corporations; Vol 1, 28 

a., Revised, (281, P. 769 at p. '770, we quote: 
? *‘, 

‘. 

‘L. 

Honorable Wm. J. ticker/Page 5 

n*** If the deeoriptioe or the boundaries . 

in a statute*oannot be literally applied on aooount 

of inaoouraoy, the statute must reoelve a reaeonable oonetruotlon ,ln order to oarryinto effeot 

the intent of the legielature. A desorlption that 

gzvea a definite looation or that le~au$f$o.$e~t 

for identilioatiim till be sustained. 

In support of the statement- in the te8t,~oltatlon ia 

made to the oases of P*Pool v. State;93 Blai 378, 112.80. 59; 

Douglass v. Harriavills, 9 W. Va. 162, 27 AL Rep. 548. 

-0oupled wit&the fact that until the order of September 

26, 1939, the hl@may crosslug the oomnon boundary line OS Starr 

and 2a:pata~Countles was ofiloially designated and known as State 

Highway No. 4, and the further faot that ref'erbnoe to the 8tate 

Highway Department:~filolal map will diaolose no other publio 

highway oroselng said county line, and Is oerttilnly the buly h&hwap from auoh lnterseotlon leadin& to the City,of ~Brownaville,w,e 

think the language of the statute is no2 so~~~xiu@mta$.n as to make 

It impossible t@~dstexml.ne the territory lnt&&ed~t? bb lnoluded. 

In tile sanotuary, and that this oonetruotion~'~&nporte with the 

manirest Intent 'of the statute. Thereior‘e, lt'~is our opinion that 'I

the motion oi..the4ot.:undor oonsideration LsY~sUd; that the 

bonndarle#. o$.thqL:b3.x$ sanotuary ars dsfinit@$ asoertalnable am ~' 

the Ao’r, 8houJ.d bti:qqmstrued as though ths,Le@~lature,had written ?:

wfitsd Statea &&#kay 83" in akl plaees where:by mistake the 

words *State Highway 4* were actually used. 

Youa very trtily 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY 

BWZRS 

A#Lltant 

APPROVED AU0 22, 1941 

s/ Gerald G. h@nn 

ATl!ORNlUGENERAL OFTEXKi 

APPROVED OPINIONCOMMITl?EE~WB CHAIRMAN