ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT



### The Honorable Ronald D. Hankins Somervell County Attorney September 22, 2010
Opinion No. GA-0801 204 West Elm Street Glen Rose, Texas 76043 Re: Whether an individual or company inthe business of breeding certain birds, rats, mice, hamsters and similar animals for sale to pet shops may register a vehicle or trailer used to transport the animals as a "farm vehicle" under section 502.163 of the Transportation Code (RQ-0863-GA)
Dear 

### Mr. Hankins: Under section 502.163 ofthe Transportation Code, a commercial motor vehicle may be registered for a reduced fee as a "farm vehicle" ifthe owner will use the vehicle "only" for the purposes specified in the statute. 

### TEx. TRANSP. 

### CODE ANN. § 502.163 (West 2007). You ask whetheranindividual orcompanyinthe business ofbreeding certainbirds, rats, mice, hamsters, and similar animals for sale to pet shops may register a vehicle or trailer used to transport the animals as a "farm vehicle" under section 502.163 ofthe Transportation Code.' Your question requires a construction ofsection 502.163.'

'See Request Letter at I (available at http://www.texasattomeygeneral.gov). 'Section 502.163 provides in full: (a) The registration fee for a commercial motor vehicle as a farm vehicle is 50 percent ofthe applicable fee under Section 502.162 ifthe vehicle's owner will use the vehicle for commercial purposes only to transport: (I) theperson's own poultry, dairy, livestock, livestock products, timber in its natural state, orfarm products to market oranother place for sale or processing; (2) laborers from their place ofresidence to the owner's farm or ranch; or (3) withoutcharge,materials,tools, equipment, orsupplies fromtheplace ofpurchase or storage to the owner's farm or ranch exclusively for the owner's use or for use on the fann or ranch. (continued

...)

### The Honorable Ronald D. 

### Hankins

- Page 2 (GA-0801)

The primary goal ofstatutory constructionis to ascertain and give effectto theLegislature's intent. Hernandez v. Ebrom, 289 S.W.3d 316, 318 (Tex. 2009). Courts construing a statute "look first to the plain and ordinary meaning ofthe statute's words." City of Marshall v. City of Uncertain, 206 S.W.3d 97, 105 (Tex. 2006). Statutory words and phrases must "be read in context and construed according to the rules of grammar and common usage." TEx. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 311.011(a) (West 2005). You state that the owner of a business that "breeds birds (such as parakeets), rats, mice, hamsters and other similar animals" asserts that he is authorized to register the vehicle he uses to transport the animals for sale to pet shops as a farm vehicle by virtue of section 502.163(a)(l). Request Letter at 1. Section 502.163(a)(l) allows licensing a vehicle as a farm vehicle "ifthe vehicle's owner will use the vehicle for coinmercialpurposes onlyto transport:
...theperson's own poultry, dairy, livestock, livestock products, timber in its natural state, or farm products to market or another place for sale or processing." TEx. TRANSP. 

### CODE ANN. § 502.163(a)(1) (West 2007). The Transportation Code does not define pertinent terms in the statute such as "poultry, livestock, livestockproducts," or "farm products." However, you inform us that the owner contends thatthe animals he transports meet definitions in the Agricultural Code for such terms as "exotic fowl," "livestock," or "exotic livestock" and reasons that the listing of animals in Transportation Code section 502.163(a)(1) should be similarly construed to include his animals. Request Letter at 1-2 (citingAgriculture Code sections 1.003(3)defining "livestock,"and 142.001(4)-(5)defining "exotic livestock" and "exotic fowl").

'(

...continued) (b) A conunercial motorvehicle maybe registeredunderthis section despite its use for transporting without charge the owner or a member ofthe owner's family: (1) to attend church or school; (2) to visit a doctor for medical treatment or supplies; or (3) for other necessities ofthe home or family. (c) Subsection (b) does not permit the use ofa vehicle registered under this section in connection with gainful employment other than farming or ranching. (d) The department shan provide distinguishing license plates for a vehicle registered nnder this section. (e) The owner ofa conunercial motorvehicleregistered nnder this section conunits an offense ifthe person uses or permits to be used the vehicle for a purpose other than one permitted by this section. Each use or permission for use in violation of this section is a separate offense. (f) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor pnnishable by a fine ofnot less than $25 ormore than $200. TEX. TRANsp. CODE ANN. § 502.163 (West 2007).

### The Honorable Ronald D. Hankins

- Page 3 (GA-080l)

For undefined terms, "courts generally accept the words used in a statute according to their ordinary meaning." Garrett 

### v. Borden, 

### 283 S.W.3d 852, 853 (Tex. 2009). Texas courts rely on dictionaries to determine the meaning ofterms not defined in statute. CenterPointEnergy Entex 

### v. R.R. Comm'n o/Tex., 

### 208 S.W.3d 608, 619 (Tex. App.-Austin 2006, pet. dism'd). Also, courts construing a word not defined in one statute may take into consideration its definitions in another act of similar nature, but "[a] word defined in one act does not necessarily determine the word's meaning in another act dealing with a different subject." Brookshire 

### v. Houston lndep. Sch. Dist., 

### 508 S.W.2d 675, 678 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1974, no writ); accord Gen. Elec. Capital Corp. 

### v. lCD, Inc., 

### 230 S.W.3d 702,707 n.2 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. denied); Travis Cent. AppraisalDist. 

### v. Signature Flight Support Corp., 

### 140 S.W.3d 833, 840 nA (Tex. App.-Austin 2004, no pet.). Wefirst considerthe owner'spositionthat section 502.163(a)(1) oftheTransportationCode shouldbeconstruedto applyto the transportation ofbirds such as parakeets, which, he asserts, meet the definition of"exotic fowl" inthe Agriculture Code. See 

### Request Letter at 2; TEx. AGRIc. CODE ANN. 

### § 142.001(5) (West 2004). Whether the owner's birds are exotic fowl under the Agriculture Code is irrelevant because the only reference to a bird ofany kind in section 502.l63(a)(1) ofthe Transportation Code is to "poultry." We must "presume the Legislature chose its words carefully and intentionally." Kappus 

### v. Kappus, 

### 284 S.W.3d 831,835 (Tex. 2009). "Poultry" commonly means "[d]omestic fowls, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, or geese, raised for meat or eggs.,,3 Several Texas statutes define "poultry" consistently with this common meaning.4 

### As one court reviewing Texas statutory definitions ofthe wordpoultryhas noted, "each definition [ofpoultry] is aimed at the state's food supply." See Hendrickson 

### v. Swyers, 

### 9 S.W.3d 298, 300 n.l (Tex. App.-SanAntonio 1999,pet. denied) (determiningthatfighting cocks arenot "poultry" ina statute concerning the application ofnuisance andotherlawto preexisting agricultural operations). Giving the word its common ordinary meaning, "poultry" in section 502.l63(a)(l) does not include birds such as parakeets that are primarily raised to be sold to pet shops. You state that the owner also contends that the other animals he transports are "livestock" under section 502.163(a)(l) ofthe Transportation Code. See 

### Request Letter at 2. The Agriculture Code defines "livestock" generally as "cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, exotic livestock, including elk and elk hybrids, and hogs, unless otherwise defined." TEx. AGRIc.

3AMERICANHERITAGE DICTIONARY 1375 (4th ed. 2000); see also THENEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY 1336 (200 I) ("domestic fowl, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese"); THERANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY OFTHE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1515 (2nd ed. 1987) ("domesticated fowl collectively, esp. those valued for their meat and eggs, as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and guineafowl"); WEBSTERS TmRDNEWINTERNATIONALDICTIONARY 1777 (2002) ("domesticated birds that serve as a source ofeggs or meat and that include among commercially important kinds [of] chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese and among kinds chiefly oflocal interest guinea fowl, peafowl, pigeons, pheasants, and others"). 'See, e.g., TEX. AGRIc. CODE ANN. § 13.034(e)(2) (West 2004) (concerning sale ofcertain food products, '"[p]oultry' includesturkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, squabs, andall otherdomesticatedfowl"); id. § 168.00I(5) (inchapterconcerningcertainanimal diseases, "'[p ]oultry' means domestic fowl, including chickens, turkeys, and game birds"); TEx. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 433.003(20) (West Supp. 2010) (defming "poultry" as "a live or dead domesticated bird" in the context ofthe Texas Meat and Poultry inspection Act); TEx. WATER CODEANN. § 26.301(1) (West 2008) ("'Poultry' means chickens or ducks being raised or kept on any premises in the state for profit.").The Honorable Ronald 

### D. Hankins

- Page 4 (GA-0801)

CODE ANN. § 1.003(3) (West Supp. 2010). The Agricultural Code defines the term "exotic livestock" in two statutes, both of which limit the term to "single-hooved or cloven-hooved mammalsthat are notindigenousto this state and are known as ungulates." 

### Id. §§ 142.001(4) (West 2004) (concerning estrays), 161.001 (a)( 4 ) (concerning disease control)

. Neitherthesenorany other definition of livestock in a Texas statute, judicial opinion, or other law ofwhich we are aware includes the animals you describe. 5 Incommon parlance, the word "livestock" pertains especially to horses, cattle, and similar farm animals, although some dictionaries also provide definitions that could include a wider range ofanimals. 6 However, the rules for giving undefined terms their ordinary meaning do not require choosing the broadest meaning inthe dictionary "ifa different, more limited, or precise definition is apparent from the term's use in the context ofthe statute." 

### In re Hall, 286 S.W.3d 925, 928-29 (Tex. 2009). Generally, words in a statutory list are given related meaning. 

### Riverside Nat '[ Bank v. 

### Lewis, 603 S.W.2d 169, 174 n.2 (Tex. 1980). Whenthewords "poultry, dairy, livestock, livestock products, timber in its natural state, or farm products" are considered together and inthe context of the statute as a whole, they suggestitems inthe nature ofan agricultural commodity or similaritems traditionallyproduced infarming, ranching, orlumbering. 

### See TEx. TRANSP. CODEANN. 

### § 502.163 (West 2007).7 Considering the common meaning of the terms used in section 502.163 of the Transportation Code and reading them in context, we conclude that the statute does not authorize the owner ofa vehicle usedto transport non-poultry birds, rats, mice, hamsters and similar animals for sale to pet shops to register the vehicle as a "farm vehicle."

'See, e.g., TEX. AGRIC. CODE ANN. § 167.001(4) (West 2004) (in the chapter concerning tick eradication, '''Livestock' means cattle, horses, mules,jacks, orjermets"); id. § 188.00I(3) (inthe chapter concerning liens for animal feed, "'Livestock' means beefcattle, dairy cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, horses, poultry, and ratites"); TEX. eIV. PRAC. & REM. CODEANN. § 87.001(6) (West 2005) (in the chapter concerning liability for equine and livestock show activities, "'Livestock animal' means: ... an animal raised for human consumption; or ... an equine animal"); TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 433.003(11) (West Supp. 2010) (for purposes ofthe Texas Meat and PoullIy Inspection Act, 'HLivestock' means cattle, bison, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, other equines, poultry, domestic rabbits, exotic animals, or domesticated game birds"); TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODEANN. § 826.002(12) (West2003) (in the chapter' concerningrabies, '''Livestock' means an animal raised forhuman consumption oran equine animal"); TEX. PENALCODE ANN. § 42.09(b)(5) (West Supp. 2010) (in the chapter concerning cruelty to animals, "'Livestock animal' means: (A) cattle, sheep, swine, goats, ratites, orpoultry commonly raised for human consumption; (B) ahorse, pony, mule, donkey, orhinny; (C) native ornormativehoof stockraisedunder agriculturepractices; or(D)native ornormative fowl commonly raised under agricultural practices"). 6See, e.g., AMERICANHERITAGEDICTIONARY 1024 (4thed. 2000) ("Domestic animals, such as cattle orhorses, raised for home use or for profit, especially on a farm."); THENEW OXFORD AMERICANDICTIONARY 998 (200I) ("farm animals regarded as an asset"); THERANDOMHOUSEDICTIONARYOFTHEENGLlSHLANGUAGE 1123 (2nded. 1987) ("the horses, cattle, sheep and otheruseful animals keptorraisedon afarm orranch");WEBSTERS THlRDNEWINTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 1324 (2002) ("animals ofany kind kept orraised for use or pleasure; esp: meat and dairy cattle and draft animals--{)pposed to deadslocR'). 'Cf TEX. AGRIC. CODE ANN. § 41.002(1) (West 2004) ("'Agricultural commodity' means an agricultural, horticultural, viticultural, or vegetable product, bees and honey, planting seed, rice, livestock or livestock product, or poultry or poullIy product, produced in this state
...."); 37 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 4. II(b)(7)(2010) (Tex. Dep't Pub. Safety, General Applicability and Defmitions) (for purposes ofcommercial vehicle transportation safety regulations, "farmvehicle means any vehicle orcombinationofvehicies controlledand/oroperatedby afarmer orrancherbeingused to transport agriculture commodities, farm machinery, and farm supplies to or from a farm or ranch").

### The Honorable Ronald D. Hankins

- Page 5 (GA-0801)



### SUMMARY Section 502.163 of the Transportation Code does not authorize the owner ofa vehicle used to transport non-poultry birds, rats, mice, hamsters, and similar animals for sale to pet shops to register the vehicle as a "farm vehicle" under the statute.

DANIEL T. HODGE First Assistant Attorney General DAVID 1. 

### SCHENCK Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel NANCY S. FULLER Chair, Opinion Committee William A. Hill Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee