The Attorney General of Texas 

December 29, 1980 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

Honorable Henry Wade Opinion No. MN- 289 

Criminal District Attorney 

6th Floor, Records Building Re: Time at which livestock brands 

Dallas, Texas 75202 must be re-registered under article 

68991, V.T.C.S. 

Dear Mr. Wade: 

Article 6890, V.T.C.S., requires owners of various Livestock to have 

distinct marks and brands and to record them with the clerk of the county in 

which their livestock are located. Article 68991, V.T.C.S., provides that: 

Section 1. (a) . . . In alL . . counties each owner 

of. . . livestock. . . shall within six months after this 

Act takes effect have his mark and brand for such 

stock recorded in the office of the county clerk of 

the county. . . whether the brands and marks have 

been previously recorded or not. 

. . . . 

(cl After. . . six months from the taking effect of 

this Act all records of marks and brands now in 

existence in the ccunty shall no longer have any force 

or effect. . . . 

. . . . 

Section 3. All brands and marks registered under 

the provisions of this Act shall be re-registered every 

10 years in the manner prescribed in Section 1 of this 

act. 

This act, which became effective August 30, 1971, clearly provides that 

owners who recorded their marks snd brands within six months of that date 

must re-record them ten years later, i&, within six months of August 30, 

1981, and at subsequent ten-year intervals; however, it is not clear whether 

owners who subsequently record new marks and brands pursuant to article 

6890 must re-record them at the same time. You have asked this office to 

resolve this ambiguity. 

p. 922 
Honorable Henry Wade - Pz;a Two (Mh- 289) 

Article 6899j is susceptible of at least three interpretations: (1) that marks and 

brands registered within six months of August 30, 1971- but not those first recorded 

after that time - must be re-registered every ten years; (2) that all owners must reregister their marks and brands ten years from the date they originally recorded them 

and at subsequent ten-year intervals; or (3) that marks and brands recorded after 

August 30, i971, but prior to August 30, 1981, must be re-registered within six months of 

the latter date, and that at subsequent ten-year intervals, all brands and marks then 

existing must be re-registered. Our objective in construing article 6899j is to 

determine which interpretation best reflects the legislature’s intent. Rogers v. First 

National Bank, 448 S.W. 2d 149 (Tex. Civ. App. - El Paso 1969, writ ref’d n.r.e.); A.M. 

Servicing Corp. v. State, 380 S.W. 2d 747 (Tex. Civ. App. - Dallas 1964, no writ). 

The legislative history of article 6899j sheds little light upon what was intended. 

The bill analysis merely states that section 3 requires owners to ‘Ye-register marks and 

brands every ten years.” Accordingly, we must determine the meaning of the act by 

considering other factors, such as “the end to be obtained, the mischief to be remedied 

and the purpose to be accomplished.” City of Irving v. Dallas County Flood Control 

District, 377 SW. 2d 215, 219 (Tex. Civ. App. - Tyler 1964), rev’d on other grounds, 383 

S.W. 2d 571 (Tex. 1964). 

It seems apparent that the primary objective of article 6899j was to provide 

county clerks with accurate, updated records of marks and brands that would be 

revised at ten-year intervals. The act requires all brands, whether previously recorded 

or not, to be registered within six months of its effective date, and states that upon 

expiration of that six-month period other records of marks and brands “shall no longer 

have any force or effect.” V.T.C.S. art. 6899j, §l(c). It further provides that marks 

and brands registered under its provisions, including the time-frame set forth therein, 

shall be re-registered every ten years. It follows that the first interpretation 

suggested above, which would exclude from the re-registration requirement marks and 

brands which were first recorded after that six-month period, could not have been 

intended. As between the second and third alternatives, moreover, we believe the 

third was most likely intended. That interpretation requires owners to re-register 

their marks and brands during the same six-month period every ten years, without 

regard to when they originally recorded them, thus providing a practical and efficient 

means of ensuring that clerks have a revised set of records every ten years. 

It is also relevant to note that article 6899h, V.T.C.S., which is concerned with 

marks and brands of livestock in Fayette County, provides for re-registration “at the 

end of each ten-year period from the effective date of this Act.” (Emphasis added). 

V.T.C.S. art. 6899h, 52. Other statutory provisions bearing on the same subject may be 

considered in ascertaining legislative intent. Trinity Universal Insurance Co. v. 

McLaughlin, 373 S.W. 2d 66 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1963, writ ref’d n.r.e.). 

For these reasons, we conclude that article 68991 is to be construed as requiring 

that all marks and brands registered prior to August 30, 1981, must be re-registered 

within six months of that date, and that the re-registration process must be repeated 

at subsequent ten-year intervals for then-current owners. 

p. 923 
Honorable Henry Wade - Page Three (NIV-289) 

SUMMARY 

Article 68993, V.T.C.S., requires that all marks and brands 

registered prior to August 30, 1981, must be re-registered within 

six months of that date, and that the Fe-registration process 

must be repeated at subsequent ten-year intervals for thencurrent owners. 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Jon Bible 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Acting Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Rick Gilpin 

Peter Nolan 

Bruce Youngblood 

p. 924