ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

GREG ABBOTT 

September 12, 2012 

The Honorable Jeri Yenne Opinion No. GA-0966 

Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney 

111 East Locust, Suite 408A Re: Authority to operate a golf cart under section 

Angleton, Texas 77515 551.403 of the Transportation Code (RQ-1052-GA) 

Dear Ms. Yenne: 

You ask about section 551.403(a) of the Transportation Code, which permits limited 

operation of a golf cart in specified locations.! Section 551.403(a) provides: 

(a) An operator may operate a golf cart: 

(1) in a master planned community: 

(A) that has in place a uniform set of restrictive 

covenants' and 

(B) for which a county or municipality has approved a 

plat; 

(2) on a public or private beach; or 

(3) on a public highway for which the posted speed limit is 

not more than 35 miles per hour, if the golf cart is operated: 

(A) during the daytime; and 

(B) not more than two miles from the location where the 

golf cart is usually parked and for transportation to or from a golf 

course. 

ISee Letter from Honorable Jeri Yenne, Brazoria Cnty. Criminal Dist. Att'y, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Tex. 

Att'y Gen. at 2-3 (Apr. 5, 2012), http://www.texasattorneygeneral.goy/opin ("Request Letter"). 
The Honorable Jeri Yenne - Page 2 (GA-0966) 

TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 551.403(a) (West 2011).2 You ask first how "master planned 

community" should be construed for purposes of the statute. Request Letter at 2. No Texas statute 

or rule defines the term "master planned community." Nor has any judicial opinion construed 

section 551.403. In the only Texas court decision we have located that discusses the meaning of the 

term, the Supreme Court of Texas observed that "'[m]aster planned community' and 'planned 

community' are terms of art, specifying a particular form of common ownership." Parkway Co. v. 

Woodruff, 901 S.W.2d 434, 440 (Tex. 1995) (concerning the Deceptive Trade Practices Act). The 

court further stated: 

Master planned communities are typically residential developments 

zoned as planned unit developments with a homeowners' association 

to maintain common area improvements and to enforce other 

covenants and restrictions after the initial development stage. The 

owners of the individual units hold title to the unit, but the association 

holds title to the common amenities. Membership in the association 

is mandatory for all owners of individual units. 

Id. at 440 n.8 (citations omitted). The court's description of a master planned community is 

consistent with the requirements of section 551.403(a)(1) that the community have "a uniform set 

of restrictive covenants" and that the community's plat has been approved by the pertinent county 

or municipality. TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 551.403(a)(1)(A)-(B) (West 2011). Without further 

guidance from the Legislature or the courts, however, we are unable to provide a more precise 

definition of the term for section 551.403(a)'s purposes. 

Your second question asks whether a person operating a golf cart in a master planned 

community under subsection (a)(I) of section 551.403 is also subject to the time-of-day, speed-limit, 

and other limitations in subsection (a)(3). Request Letter at 3. Subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) 

describe different locations, separated by the disjunctive word "or." Ordinarily, the word "or" is 

"used to express an alternative or to give a choice of one among two or more things." City Of 

Lubbockv. Adams, 149 S.W.3d 820, 827 (Tex. App.-Amarillo 2004, pet. denied) (noting dictionary 

definitions); see also In re Brookshire Grocery Co., 250 S.W.3d 66, 69 (Tex. 2008) (stating general 

distinction between the words "or" and "and"). Under the statute, a person is operating a golf cart 

legally if the person is operating a golf cart within the parameters of subsection (a)(I), (a)(2), or 

(a)(3) of that section. Thus, a person operating a golf cart under subsection (a)(l) need not also 

satisfy the requirements of subsection (a)(3). 

Finally, you ask about subsection 551.403(a)(3)(B), which allows a person to operate a golf 

cart on certain public highways only if, among other things, the cart is operated "not more than two 

2For purposes of subchapter F of chapter 551, a "'Public Highway' includes a road, street, way, thoroughfare, 

or bridge: (A) that is in this state; (B) that is for the use of vehicles; (C) that is not privately owned or controlled; and 

(D) over which the state has legislative jurisdiction under its police power." TEx. TRANSP. CODEANN. §§ 502.001(35), 

551.401(1) (West 2011). 
The Honorable Jeri Yenne - Page 3 (GA-0966) 

miles from the location where the golf car is usually parked and for transportation to or from a golf 

course." TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 551.403(a)(3)(B) (West 2011); Request Letter at 3. You ask 

whether, under section 551.403(a)(3)(B), a person who operates a golf cart on a public highway 

during the daytime not more than two miles from where the golf cart is usually parked is limited to 

operating the golf cart only for the purpose of transportation to or from a golf course. Request Letter 

at 3. The distance limitation and the purpose requirement in subsection 551.403(a)(3)(B) are 

separated by the conjunctive word "and." Thus, the provision sets forth cumulative rather than 

alternative limitations. See In re Brookshire Grocery Co., 250 S.W.3d at 69. Accordingly, section 

551.403(a)(3) allows operation of a golf cart on certain public highways only if, among other 

requirements, the golf cart is operated not more than two miles from where the golf cart is usually 

parked and is operated only for the purpose of transportation to or from a golf course. 
The Honorable Jeri Yenne - Page 4 (GA-0966) 

SUMMARY 

A person is operating a golf cart legally for purposes of 

section 551.403 of the Texas Transportation Code if a person is 

operating a golf cart within the parameters of subsection (a)( 1), (a)(2), 

or (a)(3) of that section. 

Subsection 551.403(a)(3) of the Transportation Code allows 

operation of a golf cart on a public highway only if, among other 

requirements, the golf cart is operated not more than two miles from 

the location where the golf cart is usually parked and is operated only 

for the purpose of transportation to or from a golf course. 

DANIEL T. HODGE 

First Assistant Attorney General 

JAMES D. BLACKLOCK 

Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel 

JASON BOATRIGHT 

Chairman, Opinion Committee 

William A. Hill 

Very truly yours, 

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee