March 16, 1959

Hcnorable Qeo. Comptroller of Austin, Texaa Dear Sir: ;;b% ara % oounts Opinion No. O-376 Re$What~is the zWaning of the word ?oheirgen as used in Artlole 1047f. R.C.S.? Ourattention is dlreated to Article 7047P (a), Revised civil Statutee, rhloh reads as fioIlora:

.~ Qvery person, firm, or corporation oondtruting a theatre, place of amusement, or any.buainess enterprise in oonneotioin rith the operation of which aprize in the form of money or eomething of value la offered or given to one or more.patrons of such theatre, place of amusement, or ~buslnesS enterprise, andnot given to all patrons~ thereof paying the same oharge ~for any aertati servioe, commodity, or entertainment, shall makea verified monthly report op the twenty-fifth day of eaoh month of the Comptroller of Public Aooounta of the State of Texas, ahonIng the’amount of maney80 given in prizes, and the value of all rieea or awards nogiven in coMection with suoh tusin~ss during the next preceding month.” iirticle 7087f (b) then provides for a 20$ tax on hoh priaes. Since, under the express terms of Article 7047f, (a), notax is due where the person reoeiving the priae ~haspaid a oharge additional to that paid by other patrons, It beoomes necessary in every instanae to asoertaln whether auah adalt,ional acharge” ha8 been paid within the meaning of the statute. - .- In order to avoid the neoeaalty of requesting our opinion on each individual oaee as it arises; you request our oplnlon as to the meaning of the word “oharge” as ueed in the foregoing Article. The word under ooneideratlon haa manydifferent meanings. There 5s the oharge of the oourt. There was Piokettre famoue oharge, and that of the Light Brigade. Amanbequeaths apieoeHon. Gee. H. Sheppard, March 16, 1939, Page 2 , O-372

of Iana to a daughter, but there is a charge against lt ln Savor of a son. &jailer has oharge of agroup of oltlzens against each of whomis a serious charge brought by the grand jury. OnemanIs charged with the duty of administering to another a charge of eleotrloity that will eliminate the vlotlm as a oharge upon society. There follows aburial charge.
.- Wequote from Reese v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 6L.R.A. 529 Pa., 8s~Sallows :

“‘Charget Is aword of very general and varied use. Vebster glves It thirteen different meanings, none OS which, however, expressee the exact aense in wblch it Is used ln this oharger. The great dictionary of the Phllologlcal Society, now ln course of publication, gives it twenty separate prLnolpal definitions, besides a nearly equal number of subordinate variations of meaning. OSthese definitions one (10 b) la: ‘The price required or demanded for servloe rendered, or (less usually) for goods supplied,’ and this expresses accurately the sense of the word in the present case. The essenoe of the meaning 1s that It la something requlred, exacted or taken from the traveler as compensation for the service rendered, and, of oourse, something taken permanently, not taken temporarily and returned.” Slnoe the above opinion, 

### Websterhas expanded his vooabularly andhis ‘HewInternational gives the word twenty three dlSferent meanings, of whloh Rumber Twelve la about the same as the definition embodied ln the above ease. In general usage the word %hargen.has one meaning which Is about the sameas soonsideratlono.(When such last mentioned word 1s used ln connection with oontraots). Wethink the word nconslderatlonn could have been uaed.ln the statute here,.lnvolved ‘without any ohange in meaning. Theword as 80used might include money, or any other artlole of value. It mlght include skilled or unskilled labor, a poem, essay~or motto. It oould be a painting or other piece of art. In short, anything of value wuld suffioe. On the other hand, the delivery of something of no value or the performanoe of merely aperi’unotory aot, such as signing a name to aregister lnvol.vlng no obligation, would not be sufl?lclent. It must be abona Side oonslderatlon passing the reoelver to the given of the prlae, a conslderatlon notc . 4 ! )

Hon. Gee. H. Sheppard, Msroh 16, 1939, Page 3, 0-3'19



### reoelvedbythe giver from 

### otherpatbansofhis business.



### Yoursvery ktwly I~~ORLWXGE?ERALOFTEXJIS a/ Glem R. kria

BY Glenn 

### R.Lewis

&sslatant
GIiL:W/cg 

### hppR6vE, a/GeraldC.Mann ATTORNEY

GBTERALOFTEXAS

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