Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

. . -1. . ;: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Ginger SELLERS *mlHIv GLNLlUIl. . Bonorabla L. W. Vanoe ~.~‘~ County Attorney :.~ Titus County ..~ Mt. Plaweat , Texao barged with mk in Eopb ,Arkanmm, ad retails. Be oome6 8 and eauetlmoa de- .' r without having in his storage tank. Be states that the produoto go through his storage. have 4 truoks hauling aerohendlae to end two truoks that deliver to the He sells products both in Arkansas aod i does not haul any one elw m~rohmdlse but always buys the gaasoline at the refinery and aella \t vhcrever ha may desire. “Thei question arlaee a8 to uhether or not hs 1s required to have a Motor Carrler’a Permit to pperato hle trucks as stated above.* i . . c . Hon.’L. 1. Yanoo, page 2 .~ .: The question presented Is whether or not the transportation of petroleum produota under the olroumstanoea &,ated in your letter la exempted iraa regulation under the Pexas Motor Carrier Aot by that part of House Bill Jo. 25, Chapter 290, Aote of the 47th Legislature, page 463 (Sea. la (1) I Sea. la (1) (C) and Sea. lb of Art, glib, Vernon’s Annotated 01~11 Statutes), whloh roads as follower *Sea. la (1) Provided, however, that the term *Motor Carrier’ and the tsrm ‘Contraot Carrier’ a8 defined in the preoedlng seotlon ehell not be held to lnolude: . . . e(o) Rhere merely incidental to a regular. separate, fixed, and established business, other than a transpiaKon buithensmlon of employees, petroleum produots, end incidental sup- plleo used or sold in oonneotion with the wholesale or retoll sale of euoh petroleum produote_from the refinery or plaoe 0r produotion or place oistor3Pe t th 0 place ofF@ra~e r plaoe or sale andiZ& 60 conaumG~ n a motor3ei owned ana use mexolusively-by-thsmimrefiner or ofned in whole or in pa? and used t~xoluslvely Ii-y the bona fide oonalgnee or agent of kuoh single. mar- ~ketar or refiner; a8 well a(1 where merely lnoldsntel to a regular, separate, fixed and, establlahed businea~ other than a transportation buaineas, the transporta- tion 0r etroleum, employeea, meterlal,supplles, and eGiiil@&r or use in the departments of the petroleum business by the bona fide owner thcreor in a .vehlcle of which h-he bona tide owner: bona ride oonir@er or agent as used herein being hereby derlned and oon- &rued, ior the purpose or thla Aot, to mean e person under oontraot with a alnglo prlnolpal to dietribute petroleum produots in a limited territory and only ror suoh elngle prlnolpal; . . . . Sea. lb. Any pereon who transport8 gooda, wares, w mtrohandlae under the olroumatanoes set forth in the foregoing Saotlon la 80 as to be exoluded by the terms of said Section from tba deilnltion of ‘motor carrier’ or ‘oontraot oarrier’ ehall be deemed to be a private R motor &hiole owner; and euoh use or the hlu>wapr by such private motor vehicle Owners, as herein detincd, shell be oonstrued (IS wo of the hlgbwags ror the general publlo and not tiie use af euoh highways for the oarrylng on the buelaeaa of trana- porting property for oompenziatlon or hire.” The oaption 0r thI# not Mada aa r0umfat @An Aot amending Chapter 277, Aota of the Regular Session of the Forty-second Leglalature aa heretofore amended, by adding %otione la end lb thereto; excepting from the definition of ‘Motor Carrier’ and ‘Oontraot Carrier’ oertela persona, rirms, and oorporatione,; exempting certain peraon8, rlrms, and corporations transporting under oertain olrcumetanoee and oondltlons their own ewloyees, property or property In whloh they have an lntererrt as oonelgnee or agent; deilaing a private motor vehiole owner ‘, exempting private motor vehlole owners rrom said AOti providing f QT the repeal of all laws end parts of laws in oonfllot with this AOti providing that ii any eeotion, olauee or pro- vielone or thla Aot be held unoonatitutlonal or invalid, it ,&all not affeot the remainlog portion68 and, deolarlng an Omerg~O~~’ The oapilon matie It oleir that the purpose Or this Aot was tc exempt certain persona transporting under oertaln conditions their own property irae the provielona ot the Motor Carrier Act. The peram mehtloned 3n your letter ;waa trans- porting *petroleum” ee en lnoldont “to a regular, separate, fixed and established bualnese.” He Is not engaged in the “tranepor*atlon buelneae* a8 suoh and the “petroleuma whloh he ii transporting belongs to hlm. Aleb, he is the bona tide owner or the vehloles in which the petroleum 1s being trans- ported. The word npetroleum* includes gasoline, United !?tatee va, Fletqhcr, B?F. !3pp. 238. Thea? raote would acem to be eurrlolent to bring the persaa oharged witbin the seoond pert oi the exemption as set out in subdlvlaion (0) .quoted above. 611 Hon.-L. W. Vanoo, pago 4 Tho person ohargod is also a %arketer* rfthin the meaning oi that term as used in the iirst part of the exemption as set out In eubdlvielon (o), quoted above. The term *marketer* hoe been ooneldered by tile department in one of our ptilor opinions, being Opinion No. o-5851. It was there said: Webster defines ‘Marketer’ a8 one who ettende a market to buy or sell; one who oarrles goods to. market. We ‘do not reel that WIL)would ‘bo juatlrled in aooedlng to the view that *marketer* .as here used la synonymous with ‘carrier.’ First, because the Legislature throughout this Aot repeatedly says that tb~e transportation must ba incidental to a business other than a transportation tiuslnass. And in the aeocnd plaoo ‘marketing’ la ordinary usage OOMOteB more than tranSQOrtatiOn, For BXSmple, in ,- its latest oataloguo the Sohool ot Business Admln- lstratlon of the University of Texea divides its subjeots under thirteen major haads, lnoludlfig Warketlng* and *Traneportatlon and Induatry’i nn- der ‘Marketing’ it lists a dozen oourees dealing with consumer purohaelng, ealesmanahlp, retailing, wholesali.ng, chain store systems, oooperatlve ohalne but not with trensportatlon. Under *frana- portatlon and Industry’ ere listed transportation ooursea ln air, potor and water tranaportetlon. From the Columbia Enoyolopedla*s colependlum on marketing we quote the following: lYerketlog la .promoted by saleamanshlp and by advertising. Mall-order houses sol1 by o~ataloguo at retail, eapeoially the rural buyers. Some products ere m*zketed by houso to house canvassing. ~Chain stores ollmlnato some of the expense of marketing by oambln- lug retall ~eales with wholecaelo purohasos or with manufaoturlng. Cooperative organiza- tions of ooneumers end of produoere as rar- mere’, seek el&o to dlmlnleh the spread ln market lng. ’ “The term %mrketlng* sssumea the exlstenoe of tredo so buying and selling era neoeaeary lnoldents to ‘marketing’. 38 CL J. 1254, 1259, , iI 6d2 . &Xl. L, w. blO0, DOg* 5 *'TO market* has been defined ~udlola~fi~ and by lerioogrsphrrr aa ‘to buy or sell; to sell in II mrket*. Bardina 0. 3x1 Ssba National Bank, 13 5. W. (2d) 121,. 122.” You em tbsreforo advised that ia our opinion the perion oharged,untler the taots eet cut in your letter, is not required to have a permit Prom the Texeb RaIlroad Con+ nie5ion. . 7% are not here pasdng on the question of whether the person charged might be proseouted under Federal Law. The Federal JTotor Carrier Aot of 1935 (49 U. F. 0. A. So. 306) require8 6 oert~floete oS convenience en4 neoessitg for Bornon eerrler r.otor rehlolos engaged in Interstate oomeroa. This certificate Is lssuad bg the Interetate Comeror Comnlssioa in Wwhlngton, D. 0. Twitting that the f&going a&err your inquiry, we are, Tours very truly, A!ITORNET OWERAL OF TEXAS Fagaa Diokaoa Assistant. PD:rt