The Attorney General of Texas 

December 31, 1982 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P. 0. BOX 12546 

Austin. TX. 76711. 2546 

5121475.2501 

Telex 9101674-1367 

Telecopier 512/475-0266 

1607 Main St.. Suite 1400 

Dallas. TX. 75201.4709 

2141742-6944 

4624 Alberta Ave., Suite 160 

EI paso. TX. 79905.2783 

915,533.3464 

1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 

Houston, TX. 77002.6866 

7131650.0666 

606 Broadway, Suite 312 

Lubbock, TX. 79401-3479 

606/747~i238 

4309 N. Tenth. Suite B 

McAllen. TX. 76501-1665 

5121662-4547 

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 

San Antonio, TX. 76205-2797 

512,225.4181 

An Equal OpportunitYI 

Affirmative Action Employer 

Honorable David G. Lewis 

Sherman County Attorney 

P. 0. Box 986 

Stratford, Texas 79084 

opinion No. MN-577 

Re: Enforcement of the compulsory liability insurance 

provisions of article 6701h, 

V.T.C.S. 

Dear Mr. Lewis: 

You have posed questions about sections 1A through 1G of article 

6701h, V.T.C.S., new provisions of the Safety Responsibility Law which 

were enacted by the legislature in 1981. See Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 

ch. 800, at 3053. In pertinent part, your letter reads: 

My specific questions are: 

(1) Does article 6701h, section 1B. V.T.C.S.. 

require that evidence of financial 

responsibility, via... automobile liability 

insurance, be in the possession of an 

owner/operator of a vehicle while operating 

that vehicle upon public roads and highways ii 

the state of Texas? 

(7.1 upon subsequent proof at trial of 

financial responsibility by an owner/operator 

of a vehicle, is the presumption created in 

article 6701h, section ID, V.T.C.S., rebutted? 

In answer to your first inquiry, we observe that section 1B does 

not require the owner or operator of a vehicle to furnish evidence of 

financial responsibility upon request; it requires only that 

"information concerning evidence" be furnished. 

Section 1B of the act reads: 

On and after January 1, 1982, every owner 

and/or operator in the State of Texas shall be 

required, as a condition of driving, to furnish, 

upon request, information concerning evidence of 

financial responsibility to a law enforcement 

p. 2133 
- - 

Honorable David G. Lewis - Page 2 (FwIw-577) 

officer of the State of Texas or any subdivision 

thereof, or agent of the Department, or to another 

person involved in an accident. 

Thus, section 1B does not require that evidence of financial 

responsibility, such as an insurance policy or a card from the 

insurance company confirming coverage, must be in the possession of an 

owner or operator of a vehicle at the time and place the vehicle is 

being operated. Assuming without deciding that proof of financial 

responsibility can be satisfied only by a liability insurance policy, 

the statutory provision is satisfied if the owner or operator 

furnishes adequate information about the evidence of his financial 

responsibility when requested to do so, wherever the evidence itself 

might be physically located. See Attorney General Opinion MW-467 

(1982) (no particular type of evidence required). We answer your 

first question in the negative. 

Section D is of relevance to your second question; section 1D of 

the statute reads: 

Failure to give information as required in 

Section lB, or the giving of information which is 

false, will raise a rebuttable presumption of 

failure to maintain financial responsibility. 

Section 2.05 of the Penal Code governs the evidentiary effect of 

statutory presumptions. The provision, which only covers the 

operation of statutory presumptions as rules of evidence in criminal 

trials, see 1 R. Ray, Texas Law of Evidence §58 (Texas Practice 3d ed. 

1980), and does not restrict the use of statutory presumptions for 

other purposes, reads in part: 

When this code or another penal law establishes 

a presumption with respect to any fact, it has the 

following consequences: 

(1) if there is sufficient evidence of the 

facts that give rise to the presumption, the 

issue of the existence of the presumed fact 

must be submitted to the jury, unless the court 

is satisfied that the evidence as a whole 

clearly precludes a finding beyond a reasonable 

doubt of the presumed fact; and 

(2) if the existence of the presumed fact is 

submitted to the jury, the court shall charge 

the jury, in terms of the presumption and the 

specific element to which it applies.... 

(Emphasis added). 

p. 2134 
. - 

Honorable David G. Lewis - Page 3 (MW-577) 

We first note that the constitutions of this state and of the 

United States require that all persons be presumed innocent, and that 

no person may be convicted of an offense unless each element of the 

offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. U.S. Const. amends. V, 

XIV; Tex. Const. art. I, 019; Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975); 

In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970); Cracker v. State, 573 S.W.2d 190 

(Tex. Grim. App. 1978). See also Penal Code 52.01; Code Grim. Proc. 

art. 38.03. We need not consider here, however, whether the Safety 

Responsibility Law provision at issue establishes a valid rule of 

evidence for a criminal trial. See Skinner v. State, No. 

Ol-81-0672-CR (Tex. Civ. App. - Houston [lst Dist.] Aug. 12, 1982, 

Rev. pet. pending) (not yet reported). In any case, upon proof that 

the defendant was adequately insured or was otherwise financially 

responsible at the time of the alleged offense the presumption would 

stand rebutted. The evidence as a whole would clearly preclude a 

finding that the "presumed" fact existed beyond a reasonable doubt 

based on the presumption. It would then be error, we believe, to 

charge the jury in terms of the presumption. 

The "presumed fact" in such a situation is the failure of the 

defendant at the time of the alleged offense to "maintain financial 

responsibility." Failure to carry, produce, or furnish information 

concerning evidence of financial responsibility is not a crime or 

offense under the act. 

- 

SUMMARY 

Article 6701h, section 1B. V.T.C.S., does not 

require that evidence of financial responsibility 

be in the possession of an owner or operator of a 

vehicle while it is being operated upon public 

roads and highways; proof that the defendant 

maintained financial responsibility at the time of 

the alleged offense rebuts any presumption the 

statute might create. The failure to carry, 

produce, or furnish information concerning 

evidence of financial responsibility is not a 

crime or offense under the new provisions of the 

Safety Responsibility Law. 

Very truly yours, 

M A R-K W HI T E 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

p. 2135 
. . 

Honorable David G. Lewis - Page 4 (Mw-577) 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Bruce Youngblood 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Rick Gilpin 

Jim Moellinger 

Bruce Youngblood 

p. 2136