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 551.403 ofthe Transportation Code (RQ-1052-GA) Angleton, Texas 77515 Dear Ms. Yenne: You ask about section 551.403(a) of the Transportation Code, which permits limited operation of a golfcart in specified locations.! Section 551.403(a) provides: (a) An operator may operate a golfcart: (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, ifthe golfcart is operated: (A) during the daytime; and (B) notmorethan two miles from the locationwherethe 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

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TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 551.403(a) (West 2011).2 You ask first how "master planned community" should be construedfor purposes ofthe 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 locatedthat discusses the meaning ofthe term, the Supreme Court of Texas observed that "'[m]aster planned community' and 'planned community' are terms ofart, specifying aparticular form ofcommon 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 plannedunitdevelopments with ahomeowners' association to maintain common area improvements and to enforce other covenants and restrictions after the initial development stage. The owners oftheindividualunits holdtitleto theunit,butthe association holds title to the common amenities. Membership in the association is mandatory for all owners ofindividual units. Id. at 440 n.8 (citations omitted). The court's description of a master planned community is consistent with the requirements ofsection 551.403(a)(1) that the community have "auniform set ofrestrictive 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 ofthe term for section 551.403(a)'s purposes. Your second question asks whether a person operating a golf cart in a master planned communityundersubsection (a)(I) ofsection 551.403 is also subjectto thetime-of-day, speed-limit, and otherlimitations in subsection (a)(3). RequestLetter 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.-Amarillo2004,pet. denied) (notingdictionary 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 golfcart legally ifthe person is operating a golf cart within the parameters of subsection (a)(I), (a)(2), or (a)(3) ofthat 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 aperson to operate a golf cart on certain public highways only if, among other things, the cart is operated "notmore than two

2For purposes of subchapter F ofchapter 551, a "'Public Highway' includes a road, street, way, thoroughfare, or bridge: (A) that is in this state; (B) that is for the use ofvehicles; (C) that is not privately owned or controlled; and (D) over which the state has legislativejurisdiction under its police power." TEx
.TRANSP. CODEANN. §§ 502.001(35), 551.401(1) (West 2011).The Honorable Jeri Yenne

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miles from the location where the golfcaris usually parked and for transportation to orfrom a golf course." TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 551.403(a)(3)(B) (West 2011); RequestLetter 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 golfcart is usually parked is limited to operatingthe golfcartonlyfor the purpose oftransportation to orfrom a golfcourse. RequestLetter 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 golfcart is operated not more than two miles from where the golfcart is usually parked and is operated only for the purpose oftransportation to or from a golfcourse.The Honorable Jeri Yenne

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### SUMMARY A person is operating a golf cart legally for purposes of section 551.403 of the Texas Transportation Code if a person is operatingagolfcartwithintheparameters ofsubsection (a)( 1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) ofthat section. Subsection 551.403(a)(3) ofthe Transportation Code allows operation of a golf cart on a public highway only if, among other requirements, the golfcart is operated not more than two miles from the location where the golfcartis usuallyparked andis operated only for the purpose oftransportation to or from a golfcourse.

DANIELT. 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