OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Honorable Joe Bailey Humphrey8 

County Attornoy 

Houllton county 

Crook&t, Texar 

II upon the following 

by virtue of Art, 

itle (known a8 the 

ommleeioner’t3 court 

he authority to 

whether horsea, 

0 run et large in said 

ubmitr the following euthorltyt 

a almost identfoel with the 

4 rxoept when the lettar wae enaotre omitted Houeton County from the 

Seotion 8 of the final title ha8 

the rtfsot of &eallng all laws not inoluded or 

oontinued in toror by rxprssr provision. 

*Therefore, oonstrulng the two hots together 

it appear8 to the writer that Art, 6954 falls to 

authorize the Commissloner~e Court or acid oounty 

to order suoh eleotlon end lt lr not authorized 

from any other legisletlon.n 
Honorable Joe Bailey Humphreya, Page 8 

Section 23, Artiolr 16 of the State Constitution 

provides thatr 

“The Legislature may pass laws for the reguletion of live stock end tha proteotion of stook 

raisers in the stook raising portion of tha Stata, 

end exempt from the operation of suoh laws other 

portions, seations, or countiesi end shell have 

power to pass general and spaoiel Laws ior the 

inspection of oettle, stook and hides end for ths 

regulation of brands; provided, that any local law 

thus passed shell be submitted to the ireoholdsrr 

of the section to Sr effeoted thereby, end approved 

by them, berore it shell go into ertrot.w 

The ooostitutionel power of tha La 

to the eneotment or looal Option laws prohib k 

ialaturr extends 

at large of stook. 

ting the running 

The Lagisletura ha8 rrom time to tima 

passed euoh laws and her euthorisad oleotions to bo L@ld-in 

counties end sub-divisions thereor. The rircrt law 

authorized sleotions to pass on propositiona prohlb P ting smell 

eseed 

livestook hoga, 

in 1899, the Legislatura provided for eleotions 88 to the%%* 

sheep and goats from running et large. 

ning et large of horses, mules, 

Taxes Jurisprudenoa, 

jeoks jennets end oettle. 

Vol. 39, page 36ii Ex Parts Coden, 168 

;;,W; 5;9;36R;bsrson va. State, 63 9, 1. 084; Bishop vs. Btats, 

. . . 

Upon written petition, the statute provides for ths 

oelling of en eleatlon for the purpose of enebling the irerk :;:;p!h::pa% ~~~&&l~e~: ~~~N~4pF~p~~taenl~~~.t~~~ 

in certain designated oounties the votars are given the right 

to datermine whether liks permissions shell pertain to horses; 

mulea, jacks, jenneto and cattle. The requisita of the petition, the formelitier to ba observed in holding the eleotion 

end the proolemetion of the result, are embraoed in the term6 

of the statute. 

Article 7238, Chapter 6, Title 124, Bevisad Civil 

Statutes oi Texas, 1911, authorlzad the Commissionerr’ Court 

of the various countlea nemsd therein to order an rlsotion 

for tha purpose or enabling the free-holders of suoh oountles 

to determine whsther horses, mulea, Jeokr, jonnetr and oettle 
Honorable Joe Bailey Humphreya, Pegs 3 

should be permitted to run et large in said oountiasr This 

statute we8 emended numerous times prior to the adoption a? 

ths Revised Civil Statutes in 1923 by the 39th Lcgisleturs. 

Houston County wss first included in en amendment 

the 38th Legislature in 1923 as shown by House Rilfe%~“&, 

Chepter 98 or the General Laws o? said Legislature. 

Ssnets Blll 84, Aots of ths 39th Legisleturs, 1928, 

was a bill sntitlea *An hot to Adopt and ICateblfsh the 

Rev1984 Civil Stetutsa or the Stats o? Texes.W Ssotion 1 

or said bill provides: 

8Bs it sneotrd by the Legisleturs o? the 

Stats o? Tsxest That the following titles, ohepters, 8ub4itisions end artioles shall hersaiter 

oonstitute ths Revised Civil Statutes of the 

Stats or Texas. . . .* 

Article 6954 o? the adopted Revieed Civil Stetutas 

o? Texas provides ror the holding o? en election ror the purpose o? enabling the free-holders o? certain oountiee or 

subdivisions to peas upon the propoeition whether horses, 

mules, jacks, 

i 

ennets end cattle ahell be parmitt to run 

at large. Art 01s 8953 0r the adopted Rsvisea Civil Stetutss o? Texas provides thatt 

“The Counties reisrred to in the preceding 

Article aret . . . Houston . . .* 

Artsr cersrull exeminin the enrolled bill (9. B. 

Bill 04, Asts of the 39t K Leg,, 19&j adopting and establishing the Revised Civil Statutes o? Texas, it is oloarly 

showh that Houston County was inoluded among those counties 

author1884 to cell an election ?or the purpose o? eneblin 

the rree-holders O? aaid 

whether horsas, mules, 

permitt to run at large. 

Senate Bill No. 382 Che ter 104, Acts o? the 39th Legislature, which was ub Ao e to provide ?or the printing, 

sale end distribution o? the Revised Civil Statutes o? 

1935, the Panel Coda and Coda o? Criminal Prooedurs o? 

1925, as passed et the Regular Session o? the 39th Lsgislaturs 

i 

providing tar the ep 

and eb e lawyer end one ass P 

ointment a? an axperisnoed 

etant to prepare the Volumas 
Honorable Jo8 Bailey Humphreys, Page 4 

ror publioetion~ provlain for ruii end aoourats indexing 

thereof; provldlng ror omf eeiona of laws rapeeled by the 

Rsguler Session of the 39th Lsgisletursi providing for the 

substitution of Articles of law emen484, mo4lrisd or reenacted at the Regular Session o? the 39th Legisleture, In 

lieu 0r such t3menae8, 3loairiea or rse5eatsa ertio. 8; providing ror inserting therein of Aots 

r r 

seed at th Regular 

Session of the 39th Legislature, prov ding for proo? reading and oorrsotion of t r0u54 in said Revised 9 g 

pogrephioal errors and lneoourecies 

atutss end oo4e~providlng for 

oompensetlon 0r supervisor end assistant 

prsssrvatlon of ths plates with whloh #a i 

proviai5g ror 

8 statutes end 

00408 are printeat proridin 

or each of the Rsvissd Ci~i f 

ror printing 8 000 copies 

Statutesi Penal Gods and 

cods of Criminel Prooedursj providing for ths printing 

or aaaitio5el oopiss when nsosseery; providing for an epproprietlon end 4eolerlng en amargbnoyrw 

Saotlon 2 or tha final title rererrbd to in your 

inquiry read8 a9 r0u0w8~ 

wSsction 2. Repealing Clause, -- 

YPhet all Civil Statutes 0r a general 5eture, 

in roroe whan tha Revised Statutsa take effect, 

end which era not inclu4%d herein, or whloh ers 

not hereby axpreasly continued in foroa, era 

hereby repeale4.v 

The above quote4 repeal1 

to all Civil Statutes which were no “& n,l~~~a,~~na~g~‘~a,~~~a 

Revised Civil Statutes or whioh were not express1 oonti5ued 

in roros when ths Rsyised Statutes took e??sot. f nd as above 

inaloataa Houstoh County was lnoludsd among those o~ountise 

authorized to call en election for ths purpoee of enabling 

the rreep.holders of said oounty to pass upon the proposition 

of whether horses, etc. shell be permitted to run at large 

end the above mentioned re saling clause does repeal said 

statutee as they apply to ff ouston County es sat iorth in ths 

adopted and establishad Revised Civil Statutes o? tha State 

0r Texas. 

As it ra ards the omission o? aneotments from the 

Revised Statutes, f t is axpreesly proviasa *that all 01v1.l 

statutes of a general nature, in rorce when the Revised 

Statutes take effect, end whloh are not inoludsd herein, 

or wbloh ara not hereby expresely contained lh for08 are here- 
907 

Honorable Joe Bailey lhimphreye, Page 5 

by repealed.” A similar provision is contained in the Acts 

or 1925, adopting the Psnel co44 end the cod4 or Criminal 

Procedure. Under these provisions, a general act or section 

or en aot omitted from the provision or code is repealed, es 

is also any word or phrase that is purposely omitted unless 

it is oonteined in roroe or saved by some other provision. 

Thus, en article3 of the General Statutes contained in the 

revision or 1911 is repealed by being omitted trom the revision 

or 1926, or being brought romra in a ohanged rorm. American 

Indemnity Company vs. City or Austin 840 9. W. 1019; Jennings 

vs. Texes Farm Mortgage Company, 80 5. W. (24) 931 Southern 

Salea end Finenoe Company vs. Wetterson, 34 9. W. t 28) 3311 

Briggs vs. Buekner, 19 8. W. (28) 190; Taylor vs. State, 221 

S. W. Bllt Birow vs. Broyle6, 21 9. 1. (28) 716. 

Here we do not have an omission o? any word or 

phrase or the adopted and established Revised Civil Statute6 

of Texas es adopts8 by the 39th Legislature, but on the other 

hand, have en o.misslon o? the word 8’Houstonw Count 

3: 

by the 

Legislature eneoting these various emen4ments whit are not 

pert or the adopted Revised Civil Statutes. 

we have been unable to rind any statute that repeals 

the ado 

end epp f 

ted itevi644 civil statutes 0r T4x49 which it30iua44 

lea to Houston County with reference to the above 

mentioned matter. Aiter considering the various amendments 

whose captions give no notice o? excluding Houston County; 

but on the other hand,, it is e parent thet it was the intention o? the Legislature to lnc P ude another count 

not heretofore lnolude4 in Article 6934, when t e various 

im 

K 

or counties 

amen ents were enacted. 

Therero e 

the opinion o? thfs 

, you are res~aot~~~le,~~~ft~n~~~ &t,,i,e 

de ertzant 

e 

t at 

o? Houston County has he euthorit 

determfne whether horses, mules, e f 

to hold an election to 

c, shall be permitted to 

run et large Under the terms embraced in tha statute6 pertaining to suoh aleCtiOn. 

Trusting that the rosegoing iully answers your inquiry, we are 

Your6 very truly 

ATTORRXY GEW%AL OF TvZAS 

Ardell Williem6 

Assistant