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### NEY GENERAL

Hon. Bowlen Bond opinion NO. 0-3936 Crimilial District Re: Licensing of apassenger motor vehiAttorney cle as such with a;“farm license” regardFairfieldi Texas less of the use to be made of the passenger vehicle, under the provisions of kticle 6675a-6a and the licensing of drivers and operators of such vehicle under the drivers’ license law, being ktiDear Sir: cle 6687b.

Wehave your letter of November 10, 1941, requesting the opinion of this department on the above matters. Your letter reads as follows:

“Many farmers in this County and adj,oilllng counties are registering their commercial motor vehicles; and in some instances passenger motor vehicles, under Article 6675a-6a, Vernon’s Annotated Statutes 43, Chapter 116,which comes from Senate Bill. No.
Laws of the 4’7th Eage 144, General and Special egislature.

“It is the commonpractice for persons owning passenger motor vehicles .aud registered as such, to occasionally use trailers, attached to such vehicles for the transportation of various commodities belonging to them with such passenger moi and,especially Sor farmers or vehicles and registered as such, to attach. trailers to such vehicles and transport hogs and’cattle to the Dallas and Fort Worth market. In the instant cases, the hogs and cattle are rai,sed on the farm ‘bythe person transporting the same. tfWlllyou kindly give me an opinion onthe following questions relative to the licensing and operation of motor vehicles, and the licensing of the drivers and operators of such vehicles under I+ DrIversI License Law? a(l) ‘Does Art. 6675a-6a, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, authorize the licensing of apassenger motor vehicle as such:with a ‘Farm License!, regardless of the us’eTaobe made of the passenger vehicle?Hon. Bowlen Bond, page 2 (O-3936)

“(2) Is the operator of apassenger motor vehicle registered and use prtmarlly as such, when such passenger motor vehicle is being used to pull a’trailer in which property is being transported, required to have a license as a ‘Commercial Cperatort? “Under myconstruction of the statutes and the definition of ‘Passenger Car’ and lCommerclal Motor Vehicle r, under Senate Bill No. 43, as carried in Art. 667%1, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, and the various definitions and provisions of Article 6687b, Vernon’s Annotated Statutes, as enacted by House I3111No. 20, Acts 47th Legislature, both of the above questions should be answered in the negative. “However, the opinion of theAttorney General has more weight with the local authorities who are demanding an opinion on these questions.e Upon the facts contained in your letter you propound to us two questions which questions wewill discuss in the order presented. Question No. 1: Does Article 6675a-6a, Vernonls Annotated Civil Statutes, authorize the llcensing of~apassenger motor vehicle as such with a
“Farm Licenselt, regardless of the use to be made of the passenger vehicle? Article 6675a-6a of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, reads in part as followsr

“Whena commercial motor vehicle sought tb be registered and used by the owner thereor Q&J in t&g

orodwts. timber in its mural state. to market. or J;_o ~ruminb or the treor 0r -era from wolace 0f rew I

,m or raa, ree, the registration license for the weight classifications herein mentioned, shall

‘befifty (50%) per cent of the registration fee prescribed for weight classifications in Section 6 of the kct hereby amended, as amended in this Act;

. . . provided, 

### however, that all 

### commercial motor vehicles, truck tractors’, ,road tractors, trailers and seml-Hon. Bowlen Bond; page 3 (0-3936)

t,railers as defined In Section 1 of Chapter 23 of the General Laws of the Fifth Called.Se,ssion of the 41st Legislature, not coming within the provisions of this hctshall be required to pay all registration and license f,ees prescribed by the other provisions of, Chapter 88, General Laws of the 41s.t Legislature, Second Called Session as amended by this Act.,” Hrticle.6675a-1 (1) of Vernon’s &nnotated Civil Statutes of 1925 reads as follows:

lt’Commerclal Mo.torVehicles’ means any motor vehicle (other than a mot~orcycle or .passenger car) designed or used primarily for. the, transportation of property, including any passenger car which has been reconstructed so as to be used, and which is being used, primarily for ,deli.very purposes, with the except on of passenger cars used in the delivery

i of the United States mailsi”
bticle 6675a-1 (j) of Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes of 1925, reads as follows:

N’Passenger Car’ means any motor vehicle other than amotor cycle or a~bus, as defined in this Act, designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons.”
It can readily be seen that the distinction between

“passenger cars” and “commercial motor vehiclesI’ under the definitions above quoted rests upon the primary use to which such veh.icle is put. Commercial vehicles b,ei.ng those “designed or used primarily for transportation ,of pr,operty” and passenger oars being those “designed or used, primarily for transportation of.persons”

. Applying these definitions to the fact situation presented in paragraph 2 of your letter wherein you say, “it is the commonpra,ct,ice for persons owning passenger motor vehicles and registered as such, to occasi,onally: ruse trailers attached ,to such vehioles forkthe t~ransportatioa of various commodities belonging to them, and especially for farmers with such passenger motor vehicles and registered-as such, to attach trailers to such vehicles and transport hog,s and cattle to the Dallas and Fort Worth market,” it ,isclear that the primary use, of the vehicles in question would bring them under the definition above quoted of “passenger cars.”

Wedo not :believe that under the facts presented in your letter the vehicles tin :question n,ould be entitled to be litensed with a farm license for two reasons.Hon. Bowlen Bond, page 4 

### (O-3936)

(a) It will be noted that Article 6675a-6a, above quoted, provides for the registrationof only “comWrcia1 motor vehicles” coming withinthe ~provisions of such statute and does not prov*,.de for such’registration ~6’.passenger’cars. -Therefore the vehioles ‘in”question coming within the above .definition of passenger cars would not be entitled to registration under Article 6675a-6a.

(b) It will be ‘noted that Article 6675a-6a provides “when a commercial ‘mot~orvehicle sought to be‘registered’and’~ used by the owner thereof. only in the transportation .of his ‘own poultry, dairy, livestock, livestock products; timber in its natural state, and farm products to market; or to~other points for sale. or processing, or the ~transportation by the ow~nerthereof of laborers from their place’ of residence,, and materials, tools, equipment ‘and’supplies, without charge, ‘from the place ofpurchase or storage; to his own‘farm or ranch, exclusively for his ownuse or use on such farm or.ranch.

. . .I( Weare of the opinion <hat the word ‘Ionly”’ as used in Article 

### 6675a62 above means that the vehicles sought to be registered under the provisions of such Wticle shall be used only for the purposes therein expresely~provided and for no other to entitle it to registration under the reduced rate provided in such statute.

It is the opinion of this department and you are therefore advised that Article 6675a-6a does not authorize the licensing of a passenger motor vehicle as such with a U1farmlicense,” regardless of the use to be made of the passenger vehicle.

The second question presented in your letter is as follows: Question No. 21 Is the operator of apassenger motor vehicle registered and used primarily as such, when such passenger motor vehicle is being used to pull a trailer in which property is being transported required to have a lioenee as a cCommercial Operator 4
We have heretofore held in Opinion No. O-3560, copy of whloh is enaloeed herewith, that the definition of %ommercial operatortt in Houao Bill No. 20 being Article 6687b-l-(n), contains no speoifio exemption of a farmer who is hauling his own produce to 

### market. Andthat therefore such farmer would be ineluded withln the legislative definition 

### of a l~oommercial operator” set out in said House Bill No. 20, Article I, Section 1, paragraph (n).

In passing onthe question ,preeented by you we are confronted with a somewhat dirfsrent fact situation than that presented in Opinion No. 0-3560 in that under the present factualHon. Bowlen Bond, page 

### 5 (o-3936)

situation the farmer in question does not haul the property in the vehicle it self, but attaches a trailer thereto in which certain farm products are hauled to market.

The.definition’ of “commercial op~erator” contained in House Bill 20, kticle I, Section 1, paragraph (n); being Article 6687b-l-(n) .of Vernon’s Civil Statutes of 1925, is as follows:
l’(n) ‘Commercial Operator. I Every person who is the driver of amotor vehicle designed or used for the transportation of property, including all vehicles used for delivery purposes, while said vehicles are beine: u d for c mmercial or delivery puroose&.l’ (lJndersc%ng our:)
Youwill note that this definition provides, Chile said vehicles are being used for commercial or delivery purposes.” Webelieve that the test to be applied under the above quoted portion of the definition is the use to which the vehicle is being put and in the case in question the vehicle is being used for commercial purposes in pulling the trailer for the purpose of hauling property. Weare of the opinion, therefore, and you are so advised that your second question should be answered in the affirmative

.

Trusting that this fully answers the questions presented by you, we are Yours very truly ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS By /s/ Douglas E. Bergman Douglas E. Bergman, Assistant
APPROVED

DEC19, 1941 /s/ Grover Sellers FIRST ASSISTANTATTORNEY GENERAL
APPROVED:&INIWCI”l”lTTEE BY: I DEBrdb:wb