Court Opinion

ID: 9778614
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 21:14:00.360919+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:12.123275
License: Public Domain

*643On Petition to Rehear
The plaintiffs in error by able counsel have filed herein a courteous, respectful petition to rehear. After a thorough consideration of this petition and reviewing the authorities therein cited, we must overrule the petition for reasons hereinafter stated.
In the first assignment on this petition the case of Florida Dry Cleaning and Laundry Board v. Economy Cash and Carry Cleaners, 143 Florida 859, 197 So. 550; and 73 C.J.S. Public Administrative Bodies and Procedure sec. 36, are cited as authority for the proposition that the statute under which these plaintiffs in error were convicted is unconstitutional because this statute improperly delegates legislative authority to a member of a board. We have no complaint with the Florida case and the statements made in C.J.S., but upon careful consideration of these authorities we do not think they are in point. The statute (sec. 39-1953, T.C.A.) merely says that the statute is not effective if the person violating it is granted permission to do the things therein condemned if these parties are authorized to do this act by the Commissioner of Safety. Under such a situation an administrative officer may exercise such authority when the authority given him is within the limits of the power dedicated to him by the Legislature. Under such a situation his acts will not be held invalid as encroaching upon the powers of the Legislature. Gatlinburg Beer Regulation Committee v. Ogle, 185 Tenn. 482, 206 S.W.2d 891. All that this Commissioner does under this statute is to give parties the right to do what the statute prohibits, if in his judgment he thinks they are properly qualified *644persons to do these things. It is reasonably necessary that such authority be given the Commissioner and when he exercises the proper discretion in granting or refusing this authority this does not encroach upon the judicial or the legislative branches of the government. The authority given the Commissioner is for the benefit of the individuals who are doing this and when they do not get this permission they are not in a position to claim the statute unconstitutional because the Commissioner has such authority, especially when they have violated the statute without procuring this permission.
Second, it is again contended that since the Charter under which these plaintiffs in error were acting was granted by the Secretary of State and that this Charter could be revoked by the Secretary of State or by a quo warranto proceeding to revoke it that this is an affirmative showing that under this Charter this organization was regulated by the Secretary of State until the Charter was revoked. This argument is based upon the first sentence in the last paragraph of sec. 39-1953, T.C.A., the major portion of which was quoted in the original opinion, which provides:
“This section shall not apply to any police, judicial or safety organization directed or regulated by any agency, department or branch of state government.”
Obviously the purpose of this Section of the statute is to negative any criminal intent when those violating the statute are members of a bonafide police, judicial or safety organization and such organizations are not those required to obtain the permission of the Commissioner *645of Safety to do the things that this statute prohibits. The sentence quoted from this statute herein certainly has no application to the factual situation as developed in this record, which is shown by our original opinion.
For reasons here the petition to rehear is denied.