ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT
May 7, 2014

The HonorableJoe C. Pickett OpinionNo. GA-l056 Chair, Committee onHomeland Security & Public Safety Texas House ofRepresentatives PostOffice Box 2910 Re: Whether section 720.002 of the Transportation Code prohibits a political subdivision or state agency from requiring peace officers to issue a certain number of warning citations (RQ-1164-GA) Austin, Texas 78768-2910
DearRepresentative Pickett: You ask whether section 720.002 of the Transportation Code prohibits a political subdivision or state agency from requiring peace officers to issue a certain number ofwarning citations. 1 Section720.002, inrelevantpart,providesthat (a) A political subdivision or an agency of this state may not establish or maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate,ordiscipline: (1) a peace officer according to the officer's issuance ofa predetermined or specified number of any type or combinationoftypes oftraffic citations;
(b) A political subdivision or an agency of this state may not require or suggestto apeaceofficer,
... : (1) that the peace officer is required or expected to issue a predetermined number or specified number ofany type or

1 See Letter from Hon. Joe C. Pickett, House Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Pub. Safety, Tex. to Hon. Greg Abbott, Tex
.Att'y Gen
. at 2 (Nov
. 8,2013), http://www
.texasattomeygeneral.gov/opin ("Request Letter").

### The Honorable Joe C. Pickett

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combination oftypes oftraffic citations within a specified period;

TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 720.002(a), (b) (West 2011). Your two questions seek a determination about whether subsections (a)(l) and (b)(l) are violated when a political subdivision or state agency requires or suggests that its peace officers issue a predetermined number oftraffic warnings or establishes a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate or discipline its peace officers according to the officers' issuance of a predetermined number of traffic warnings. Request Letter at 2. The answer to your questions is dependent on the scope ofthe term "traffic citations" in section 720.002. Legislative intent is best drawn from the plain meaning of the words chosen by the Legislature. Entergy GulfStates, Inc. 

### v. Summers, 

### 282 S.W.3d 433, 437 (Tex. 2009). When statutoryterms are undefined, the Code ConstructionAct directs that words and phrases are to be read in context and construed according to the rules of grammar and common usage. TEX. Gov'TCODE ANN.§ 311.011(a) (West 2013). Moreover, "[w]henthe Legislature defines aterm in one statute and uses the same term in relation to the same subject matter in a later statute, it will be presumed that the latter use ofthe term is in the same sense as previously defined." Brookshire v. Houston lndep
. Sch. Dist., 

### 508 S.W.2d 675, 677-78 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1974, no writ). Though section 720.002 does not define the term "traffic citation," the Transportation Code defines the term "citation" in another, previously adopted, section that directly relates to traffic violations. In chapter 703 ofthe Transportation Code, also known as the Nonresident Violator Compact of 1977, a citation is "any summons, ticket, or other official document issued by a police officer for a traffic violation containing an order which requires the motorist to respond." TEX. TRANSP. CODEANN. §703.002, art. II, § (b)(l) (West 2011); see also Burrage v. Hunt Prod. Co., 

### 114 S.W.2d 1228, 1239 (Tex. Civ. App.-Dallas 1938, writ dism'd) (defining the term "citation" in a general legal sense to mean "the summons by which a defendant is notifiedto appearin the action")
. Acourt asked to construethe term "traffic citations" in section 720.002 could decide to adopt the chapter 703 definition of "citation," which requires three elements: (1) a "summons, ticket or other official document," (2) a traffic violation, and (3) an orderrequiring the motoristto respond. You do not indicate the precise nature ofthe warnings about which you ask. We are advised that it is not uncommon for warnings to be given verbally.2 

### And even awritten warning

2Brieffrom Alyssa Perez, StaffAtt'y, Combined Law Enforcement Ass'ns ofTex. at I (Dec. 4, 2013) (on file with the Op. Comm.).The Honorable Joe C. Pickett

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is unlikelyto containan orderforthe motoristto respond. Thus, a traffic warning likelydoes not include all three elements ofthe chapter 703 definition of "citation." A court employing that definition would conclude that a traffic warning does not amount to a traffic citation and is therefore not subjectto the prohibitionin section 720.002. While a court construing section 720.002 could adopt the chapter 703 definition of "citation," a court could also adopt a more expansive interpretation of section 720.002's prohibitions. Section 720.002's prohibitions broadly encompass "any" type or combination of types oftraffic citations. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN.§ 720.002(a)(1), (b)(1) (West2011). The unqualified breadth ofthe word "any" could be understood to suggest that the prohibition must include traffic warnings as well as traditional citations. See AM. HERITAGE COLL. DICTIONARY 64 (4th ed. 2002) (defining "any"to mean "One, some, every, or all without specification"); City ofWaco v. Kelly, 309 S.W.3d 536, 542 (Tex. 2010) (stating that statutory construction involves examination of the Legislature's words in the context of the statute as a whole and not in isolation). Moreover, one apparent purpose of section 720.002 is to prohibit political subdivisions from using quotas or similar means to require or encourage police officers to take action in response to traffic violations. Interpreting section 720.002 to permit political subdivisions to imposetraffic warning quotas orto evaluate apolice officerbased onthe number oftraffic warnings the officer issues would undermine that statutory purpose. See In re Allen, 366 S.W.3d 696, 708 (Tex. 2012) (orig. proceeding) (noting that a court's task is to "effectuate the Legislature's intent" and adopt the interpretation that is most faithful to the statute's plain text). On this basis, a court could decline to adopt the narrow construction ofthe term "traffic citation" discussed above, instead concludingthat the term mustbe broadly construed to include traffic warnings. If interpreted along these lines, section 720.002 would prohibit political subdivisions from taking the actions describedinyour questions. While we cannot determine definitively the scope of section 720.002, under any interpretation ofthe statute, a quota on warnings that is effectively used to suggest or implement aquota ontraffic citations is in violation ofsection 720.002.The HonorableJoe C. Pickett

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SUMMARY A court could conclude that only a warning that consists of a summons, ticket or other official document, a traffic violation, and an order requiring the motorist to respond is likely to be considered a traffic citation subject to the prohibition in section 720.002 ofthe Transportation Code. A court could also conclude that the text and purpose of section 720.002 require the term "traffic citation" to be construed broadly to include traffic warnings. We cannot definitively determine whether the prohibitions ofsection720.002 encompasstraffic warnings.

DANIELT. HODGE FirstAssistant Attorney General JAMES D. BLACKLOCK DeputyAttorney General for Legal Counsel VIRGINIAK. HOELSCHER Chair, OpinionCommittee CharlotteM. Harper Very truly yours,

EG ABBOTT Attorney General ofTexas

AssistantAttorney General, Opinion Committee