Hon. E. P. Jennings

CountyAuditor Harding

County Kountze, Texas
Dear Sir: OpinionNo. O-1023
Re: Automible reglstration
We have receivedyour request for an opinion of this departmentas to whether a person visiting and being employed in this state and having a vIsitor's license is required to register his automobile in this atate. Article 82713, Section 3 of the Penal Code ofTexas provides:

"Thenon-resident owner or operator of any passenger car shallwithin twenty-five days after commencing to operate such vehicle, or causing or permlttlng it to be operated within this State apply to the Department, through any County Tax C,ollector, for the temporaryre!istration thereof u form stating Ron the appropriate of icial erein the name and home address of the owner and the temporary address, if any, operatorwhile within this Article 827b, Section in part, as follows:

"Anon-resident owner of the owner of State, * + * ' 2 of the Penal Code reads,

of a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailerwhich has been duly registered for the currentyear in the State or country of which the owner is a resident and in accordancewith the laws thereof,may, in lieu of registering such vehicle as otherwise required by law, apply to the State High-Hon. E. P. Jennings,page 2 (o-1023)

wayDepartment through a CountyTax Collector ::w thz fe$atration thereof as providedby

.Article 827b, of our Penal Code defines "nonresident" as follows:

"Meansevery resident of a stateor country other than the State of Texas whose sojourn in this State, or whose occupation or place of abode, or business in this State, If any, covers a total period ofnot more than one hundred and twenty days in the calendar year." Article 827b, Section 4 of the Penal Code reads as follows:

The CountyTax Collector shall file each applicationreceived, and issue to the owner a temporaryregistration certificate of distinctive form to be furnishedby the Department containingthe date it is issued, a brief description of the vehicle and a statement that the owner has procured temporary registration of such vehicle as a nonresident. Said certificate shall entitle the own&.- oroperator of said vehicle to operate it in this state for a period not exceeding one hundred and twenty days from date of iasuance of said certificate."
We understand fromyour letter that the party you inquireabout is a visitor in Texas and has purchased and paid for the one hundred and twenty day non-resident's license. We think the definition quoted fromArticle 827b of "non-resident'answers the situationthat you inquire about. However, this privilege is limitedby section 4, article 827b in requiring that the one hundred and twenty daysmust date from the time of issuance.

You also ask:Hon. E. P. Jennings,page 3 (o-1023

"Whatapplicationapplies to establishing realdence of singleperson and marrled personrelative to the question of reaiatering automobile in the above question? Article 6675a-2 provides: "Every owner of a motor vehicle, traller or semi-trailerused or to be used upon the public highways of this State, and each chauffeur,shall apply eachyear to the State Highway Department through the CountyTax Collector of the County in which he resides for the registration of each such vehicle owned or controlledby him, * * *' The above article fixes situs of registration as the county in whichhe resides. s

Residence as used in the statuteshas been consideredas synonymouswith domicile. 19 C.J. p. 397.

In volumn 54, p. 708 CorpusJuris, we find the followingdefinition:

"Thebest definition is that to be deducted from theRoman Law; that a man's residence is the place where his family dwells or which he makes the chief seat ofhis affairs and interest. Residence is the favorite term employed in the statutesto express the connectionbetween person and place. The meaning when employed in a statute is often provocativeof dispute, oftenmaking Ft difficultto give an exact definition of what la meant by residence as used in particular statutes, for when used in statutes it has differentmeanings in different connections,and may be used with different meanings in different statutes,and also, it sometimeshas different shades of meaning in the statutes and even in the conatruc-Hon. E. P. Jennings,page 4 (O-1023)

tion. An examination of the authorities discloses that it has received different -___._ _ . __ deflnltlona ln VarlOuS cases,prlnclpallg Involving franchise,taxation, and jurisdiction. As its statutory definitiondepends upon the legislativepurpose as well as the oontext of the statute itmust be construed in every case In accordancewith the object and intent of the statute in which it occurs;hence its meaning Is to be determLned from the facts and circumstances taken together in each particular case. However, It is said that when used in the statutes, or actions, or suits relating to taxation,rights of suffrage, divorce, limitationof actions, and the like, it is used in the sense of legal residence, that is to say,place of domicile orpermanent abode."
We believe the intention of the legislature in the use of the term "resides"was legalresidence.

We trust that this constructionwill enable you to determine from your facts the residence of a single and a married person. Yours very truly ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS

MH:omb:mjs By /a/ Morris Hodges Morris Hodges Assistant
APPROVED JUL 10, 1939 &-A&$%$ ATTORNEYGENERAL APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE E!Y/s/RWF CHAIRMAN