.-T. 

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THEATITORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Honorable Davis Bailey 

County Attorney 

Panola County 

Carthage, Texas 

Dear Mr. Bailey: 

Opinion No. W-182. 

Re: Whether, Senate Bill 45, Acts 

of the ~55th Legislature,. 

Regular Session, has the effect of repealing Article 

802-d of the Penal-Code or is 

cumulative 0.f it. 

This will acknowledge your request for an opinion 

dated June 15, 1957, wherein you submit for our consideration 

the following question: 

Whether Senate Bill 45, Acts of the 55th Legislature, Regular Session, repeals Article 802-d 

of the Penal Code or is cumulative of it? 

Senate Bill 45 was enacted by the 55th Legislature, 

Regular Session, and was approved by the Governor on May 31, 

1957. 

Section 1 of said bill reads as followst 

‘IAny male minor who has passed his 14th 

birthday but has not reached his 17th birthday, 

and any female minor who has passed her 14th 

birthday but has not reached her 18th birthday, 

and who drives or operates an automobile or any 

other motor vehicle on any public road or highway in this’state or upon any street or alley 

within the limits of any city, town or village, 

or upon any beach as defined in Chapter 430, 

Acts of the 51st Legislature, 1949, while, under 

the influence of intoxicating liquor, or who 

drives or operates an automobile or any other 

motor vehicle in such way as to violate any traffic law of this state, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not 

more than ‘One Hundred Dollars ($100.00). As 

used in this section,,,the terk.‘any traffic law 

of this state’ shall include the following stattutes, as heretofore or hereafter amended: 
.- 

. - -. 

Honorable Davis Bailey, page 2 (WW-182) 

“Chapter 42, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 

Second Called Session, 1929; 

“(ihrticle*827a, Vernon’s Texas Penal Code), 

exceptSection 9a thereof; - 

“Chapter 421, Acts of the 50th Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1947 (Article 6701d, Vernon’s 

Texas Civil Statutes); Chapter 430, Acts of the 

5lst Legisl~ature Regular Session, 1949, (Articl’e 827f, Vernonjs Texas Penal Code); and Articles 795 and 801, ~Texas Tenal Code of 1925,” 

Section 2 provides that the offending minor shall 

not be committed to jail indefault of the payment of the 

fine imposed, but the Court shall have the power to suspend 

and take possession of such minor’s driver’s license and retain the same until the fine is paid. 

Section 3 makes it a misdemeanor for any such minor 

to drive or operate a motor vehicle upon any public road, etc.: 

without a valid driver’s license. 

Section 4 provides that the offenses created by the 

act shall be under the jurisdiction of the courts regularly 

empowered to try misdemeanors and not under the jurisdiction 

of the juvenile courts. 

The ca ,tion 

repeals Chapter t: 

Session, 1951. 

36, 

of Senate Bill 45 recites that the Bill 

Acts of the 52nd Legislature, Regular 

The latter act is codified as Articl,e 802d of 

Vernon’s “enal Code and deals generally with the same subject 

;is Senate Bill 45. 

pressly repeals 

Section 5 of Senate Bill 45, however, exCha ter 436, Acts of therm Legislature, 

Regular Session, 19, t: which is a local game law relating to 

the hunting of quail in Wood County. We believe that the repealing clause embodied in Section 5 of Senate Bill 45 is void 

and of no force and e,ffect whatever. It ~cannot have the effect 

of repealing the local game law cited for it is a subject not 

germane to the pur.poses of Senate Bill 45 as shown uy its caption. A bill cannot embod,y more than a single subject. Tex. 

Const .,-Art. III, Section 35. We further believe that the remainder of Senate Bill 45 stands as enacted unaffected by the 

nullity of Section- 5. This conclusion is supported by the rule 

that where a statute embraces two or more subjects, one ,of 

which is properly expr,essed in the title, the act is void onlv 

as to so much thereof as is note so expressed, if the extraneous provisions relating to matters not within the title are 

separable from the others. 39 Tex.Jur. pages 83-84; Texq- 
Honorable Davis Bailey, page 3 (~~-182) 

Louisiana Power Co. v. Farmersville, 67 S.W.2d 235 ~(Comm-App.); 

young v. Chiltop 41.S.W.2~d 505 

eaux v. Roark,:& S,W. .$68 ~(Comm,App. 

dim.); &J&,-- 

- .., 

The subje&'matter^covered by the remaining provisions of Senate Bill 45 are properly expressed in the caption 

and Section 5 is clearly separable from said provisions. 

This leads us to the consideration of the effect of 

Senate Bill 45 upon Chapter 436, Acts of the 52nd Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1951 (codified as Article 802d of Vernon's 

Penal Code), which reads in part asfollows: 

"Section 1. 

;"c 

minor who has reached his 

or her fourteenth (1 th) birthday but has not 

reached his or her.seventeenth (17th) birthday 

and .who drives or operates an automobile or any 

other motor vehicle upon any public road or highway in this State, or upon any street or alley 

within the limits of an incorporated city, town 

or village, in a reckless manner, at an excessive rate of speed, or while under the influence 

of intoxicating liquors, as hereinafter defined 

in this Act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor 

and upon-conviction shall be' 

of not less than One Dollar ( ii 

unished by a fine 

1) nor more than 

Fifty Dollars ($503. 

IlSec. 2. (a) Any minor who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard of the rights 

or safety of others or without due caution or 

circumspection, and at a speed or in a manner so 

as to endanger or be likely to endanger a person 

or property shall be guilty of reckless driving. 

"(b) Any minor who operates a motor vehicle 

at a speed in excess of the maximum speed allowable under existing law shall be guilty of speeding. 

II(c) Any minor who drives or operates an 

automobile or any other vehicle while such person 

is intoxicated or under the influence of intoxicating liquors shall be guilty of driving or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of 

intoxicating liquors. 

"Sec. 3. Provided that for good cause shown, 

and when it shall appear to the satisfaction of 
Honorable Davis Bailey, page 4 (w-182) 

the court that the ends of justice and the best 

interest of the public as well as the defendant 

will be subserved thereby, the courts of the. 

State of Texas having original jurisdiction of 

such criminal actions shall have the power after 

conviction or plea of guilty to suspend the imposition of such fine and may place the defendant on probation for a period of ninety (90) 

days. r, 

“Any such minor placed on probation shall 

be under the supervision of such court.” 

implied. 

Repeals of statutes are of two kinds, express and 

Hence in the absence of an express declaration, an 

act is not to be regarded as repealed unless this has been 

done by implication. The auestion of.,apeal. whether exoress 

or imolied. is one of lesislative intent. 39 Tex.Jur. pages 

~%2k 127. 

First National Bank v. Lee County Cotton Oil CQ., 

Although the caption of Senate Bill 45 declares that 

it is the purpose of said bill to repeal Chapter 436, Acts of 

the 52nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1951 (codified as Article 802d,. Vernon’s Penal Code), such recitatl.on cannot constitute an express repeal of said Act, for the caption cannot 

declare substantive law but merely announces the subject or 

scope of the proposed legislation. We do believe, however, 

that since the question before us is one of legislative intent 

that the caption can be looked to in order to ascertain such 

intent . The foregoing recitation in the caption, together with 

the recitation in the emergency clause to the effect that “the 

present law is inadequate to assure observance ol traffic laws 

by minors who are subject to this Act” evidences a clear legislative intent that Senate Bill 45 should repeal Chapter 436, 

Acts of the 52nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1951 (codified 

as Article 802d of Vernon’s Penal Code). Without detailing 

the -points of conflict, we further believe that the provisions 

of Senate Bill 45 are so in conflict with the provisions of 

Article 802d that the two acts cannot be harmonized, and hence 

the last expression of the Legislature upon the subject, same 

being Senate Bill 45, must prevail. 

Senate Bill 45, Acts of the 55th Legislature, 

Regular Session, repeals by implication Chapter 436, 
- --., 

Honorable Davis Bailey, page 5 (WW-182) 

Acts of the 52nd Legislature, Regular Session, 195'1 

(same being tiodified as Article 802d of Vernon's 

Penal Code.). 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

LP:pf:wb 

.&PROVED: 

Leonard Passmore 

Assistant 

I-1. Grady Chandler, Chairman 

Marietta McGregor Payne 

Roger I. Daily 

Wayland C. Rivers, Jr. 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Geo. P. Blackburn