Mr. R. L. "Bob" Lattimore OpinionNo. c-61

CriminalDistrict Attorney Hidalgo County Re: Whether a Tax Assessor and Edinburg, Texas Collector is authorized to issue a 30 day temporary registrationpermit to a nonresident trucker,under the stated conditions and related Dear Mr. Lattimore: question.

You have asked this office the following questions:

"1. Is the Tax Assessor and Collector of Hldalgo County authorized to issue a thirtyday temporary registrationpermit under Section 2A of Article %27b, P.C., to a nonresident truckerwho complieswith every requirement of said Section 2A for the issuance of such permit but does not disclosewhether or not he is
a motor carrier or contract carrier, as those terms are defined in Article glib of the Texas Penal Code, (sic) so as to fully inform such Tax Assessor and Collector as to whether such applicant is entitled to operate in the State of Texas under such permit as issued?

"2

. If your answer to QuestionNO. 1 is In the affirmative, then Is it your opinion that the State Highway Department of Texas, under the present law, could require such lnformation to be disclosedbefore such a temporary permitwould Issue?"

The pertinent parts of Section 2A of Article 82713ofVernon's Penal Code are as follows:

"To expedite and facilitate,during the harvesting season, the harvesting and marketing of wheat, oats, rye,barley, grain sorghums, flax, rice;vegetables in bulk, field crates,
or bags, produced In this State, the Department Is authorized to Issue to a nonresident owner a thirty (30) day temporary registrationpermit

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for any truck, truck-tractor,trailer or semitrailer to be used in themovement of such commodities from the place of production to market, stora e or railhead,not more than seventy-five775) miles distant from such place of production.

"To expedite and facilitate,during the harvesting season, the harvestingand movement of farm productsproduced outside of'Texas but marketed or processed In Texas ormoved to points in Texas for shipment, the Department is authorized to issue to a nonresident owner a thirty (30) day temporary registrationpermit for any truck, truck-tractor, traileror semi-trailer to be used in the movement of such farm commodities from the point of entry Into Texas tomarket, storage,processing plant, railhead or seaportnot more than eighty (80)miles distant from such point of entry into Texas. All mileages and distances referred to herein are State Highwaymileages. Before such temporary registrationprovided for In this paragraphmay be issued, the applicantmust present satisfactoryevidence that suchmotor vehicle is protectedby such Insuranceand in such amounts as may be described In Section 5 of the Texas Motor Vehicle Safety-ResponsibilityAct (Article670lh, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) as it is now written or as It may hereafterbe amended,, and such policiesmust be issuedby an Insurance company or surety company authorized to write Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance in this State; and that suchvehicle has been inspected as requiredunder theUniform Act Regulating Traffic on Highways in Texas (ArticleXV of Article 6701d,Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)
as it is now written OP as itmay hereafter be amended.

"The Department is authorized to prescribe the form of the application and the information to be furnished therein for such temporary registrationpermits. If the appllcation is granted, the Department shall issue
a special distinguishing insigniawhich must be attached to suchvehicle in lieu of the regular Texas Highway registrationplates.

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Such special insignia shall show Its expiration date. The temporary registrationpermit fee shall be one-twelfth (l/12)of the annual Texas registration fee for the vehicle for which the specialpermit is secured.

"The temporarypermits herein authorized shall be issued only when the vehicle for which said permit is Issued Is legally registered in the nonresident owner'shome State or Country for the current registrationyear; and said permit will remainvalid only so long as the home State or Country registration is valid; but in any event the Texas temporary registration permit will expire thirty (30)days from the date of issuance. Not more than three (3) such temporary registrationpermitsmay be issued to a nonresident owner during any one (1) vehicle registrationyear in the State of Texas. A vehicle registeredunder the terms of this Act may not be operated in Texas after the expiration of the temporarypermitunless the nonresident owner secures a second temporarypermit
as provided above, OP unless the nonresident
owner registers the vehicle under the approprlate Texas vehicular registration statutes, applicable to residents, for the remainder of the registrationyear. No suchvehiclemay be registeredwith a Texas farm truck license.

"Nothing in this Act shallbe construed to authorize such nonresident owner or operator to operate or cause to be operated any of suchvehicles in this State in violation of Acts, 1929, Forty-first Legislature,, Chapter 314, as amended (Articleglib,Vernon's Civil Statutes) or any of the other laws of this State."

Section 3 of Article %27b,Vernon's Penal Code, provides in ,partas follows:

"This Act applies to registrationof vehlcles only, and nothing herein shallbe construed to authorize the operation ormovement of any vehic:Lein this State in ViolatLon of any other

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your held laws of this State."

We can find no cases interpreting the statutes insofar as questions are concerned. In 1947 in OpinionNo. V-66 we that:

"Trailersand semi-trailersas defined In Article %27b, Section 1,V. A. P. C., that
are owned by nonresidentsand used in transportation for compensation or hire over the public highways of Texas cannot obtain a 'ternporary registrationcertificate' as provided for in Article %27b, supra,but in order for their operation to be lawful, such trailers and semi-trailersmust be registered in accordance with Texas Laws regarding the registration of commercialvehicles."

The language of the statutehas been changed since then and the conclusion in that opinion does not apply under the present law. For this reasonwe overrule that opinion insofar as the above language is concerned. Section 2a authorizes the issuance of thirty (30)day temporary registrationpermitswhen; (1) satisfactory evidence that suchmotor vehicle Is protected by insurance as set out in the statute, and (2) suchmotor vehicle has been inspectedas requiredby theuniform act regulating traffic on highways in Texas. The Act furtherprovides that the temporarypermit "shallbe issued onlywhen the vehicle for which said permit Is issued is legally registered In the nonresident owner's home State or Country for the current registration year." We can find no requirement In the statute that the State Highway Department or the Tax Assessor and Collector of the county is authorized or permitted to add any additional requirementsas a prerequisite to the Issuance of these certificates nor can we find any place in the statutewhere the duty is placedupon the Tax Assessor and Collector to see that
no certificatesare issued except to thosewho disclosewhether
or not they are motor carriers or contract carriers as defined in Article glib,Vernon's Civil Statutes. Article 82713is a registration statute only and does not affect the regulation of motor carriers for hire. The enforcementof Article glib, Vernon's AnnotatedCivil Statutes, ismade a duty of the Railroad Commission of Texas and the Department of Public Safety of Texas by Articles glib,Vernon's Civil Statutes, and 169Ob, Vernon's Penal Code, and not the duty of the Tax Assessor and Collector or the State Highway Department. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the Tax Assessor and Collectormust issue the certificatesprovided the conditions stated in the statute
as set out above are compliedwith.

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According to the terms of Article %27b, Section 2a, as quoted above, the form of the application and the Information to be required of the applicant is placed within the discretion of the State Highway Department. The State Highway Departmentmay, under the present law, require the applicant to statewhether or not he Is a motor carrier or contract carrier as defined in Article glib; however,whether or not they require such information is entirelywithin their dlscretion.

SUMMARY

The Tax Assessor and Collector of Hidalgo Countymust issue a thirty (30)day temporary registrationpermit under the provisions of Section 2a of Article %27b, Vernon's Penal Code, to nonresident truckerswho comply with the requirements set out in that section.

The State Highway Departmentmay require the applicant to statewhether or not he is a motor carrier or contract carrier as defined in Article glib,Vernon's Civil Statutes, however,whether or not such information is required rests entirelywithin the discretion of the State Highway Department.

Yours very truly,

Assistant Attorny Genera NVS:nss

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Scott Garrison Edward R. Moffett Malcolm Quick

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Stanton Stone

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