Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

HEAITORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS Hor;omble Homer Garrison, Jr., Cireotor Cepnrtment of Puolic Safety Camp Mabry Austin, Texas Dear Sir: Opinipn No. O-3328 Reg Whether or not the vehicles making up e "combination of vehicles" measured as a un!t under the Scientific Truck 3ill should be registered separately or together under Artiole 66758, Y.A.C.S. This is in reply to your request for our opinion on House Bill No. 19, known as the Scientific Truck Bill, reoently passed by tho Forty- sevsnth Legislature. Your request saysr "Inasmuch as the present registration law requires the truck tractor to be registered under one rate and the semi-trailer under another, vredo not know how to advise parties to register their combination vehicles. It appears that in this Bill a combination is considered one vehicle." Your request has reference to that part of said House Bill No. 19, which reads as follows: "Section 5. Except as otherwise provided by law, no oommarcial motor vehicle, truck-tractor, trailer, or semi-trailer, nor oombination of suoh vehicles, shall be operated over, on. or upon the public highways outside the limits of an incorporated city or tom, the total gross weight of which exoeeds that given by the following formula: "W equals C times (L plus 40). where 'W equals total gross weight, including load and vehicle. in poundsr "C equals 7001 "L equals the distance between the first and last axles of a vehicle or combination of vehicles. in feet. "Under the foregoing formula, the gross weight is ascertained by adding forty (40) to the distanoe in feet between the first and last axles of a vehicle or oombination of vehicles and multiplying this sum by seven hundred (700). Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., pege 2 O-3326 Provided, however, the gross weight shell never exceed thirty-eight thousand (36,000) pounds. "Provided, however, the gross weight permitted by the foregoing formula shell be subjeot to the following restriations and limitationsr 'No such vehicle nor combination of vehioles shall have e greater weight than six hundred (600) pounds per inch width of tire upon any wheel concentreted upon the surfaoe of the highway and using high-pressure tires, end e greater weight than six hundred end fifty (650) pounds per inch width of tire upon any wheel aoncentrated upon the surface of the highway end using low-pressure tires, end no wheel shall carry a load in excess of eight thousand (6,000) pounds on high-pressure tires end nine thousand (9,000) pounds on low- pressure tires, nor any axle a load in excess of sixteen thousand (16,000) pounds on high-pressure tires, end eighteen thousand (16,000) pounds on low-pressure tires. An axle load shell be defined es the total load on all wheels whose centers may be included between two parallel transverse vertical planes forty (40) inches apart." Said above quoted provision in said Saientifio Truck Bill is en amendment replacing Se&ion 5 of the present Article 627~1of Vernon's Annotated Penal Code of Texas. Said Article 627~1,V.A.P.C., deals primarily with the size, weight, and manner of operation of motor vehicles CD the highways in Texas. Said Article 627a was originally passed in 1929 es Senate Bill Bo. 11, Chapter 42, page 72, Forty-first Legislature, 2nd Called Session, and a- mended in 1931, by House Bill No. 336, Chapter 262, page 507, Forty- second Legislature, Regular Session. Artiale 911b of Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of Texas provides for the regulation by the Railroad Commission of Texas of motor propelled vehicles used in transporting property for compensation or hire over the highweys in this State. Said Article 911b, V.A.C.S., was originally passed in 1929 es House Bill No. 654, Chapter 314, page 696, Forty-first Legisleture, Regular Session, and amended in 1931 by House Bill No. 335, Chapter 277, page 480, Forty-second Legislature, Regular Session. Artiole 6675a of Vernon's Annotated Revised Civil Statutes of Texas provides for the registration of all motor vehicles, trailers end semi-trailers used on the State highways end fixes a soale of license fees to be paid on the various types of motor vehicles, trailers end semi- trailers. Said Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., was originally passed ia 1929 as House Bill No. 6, Chapter 66, page 172, Forty-first Legislature, Second Called Sessions, end has been amended on several ocaasions, since that time. _ .. - honorable homer Garrison, Jr., pege 3 O-3326 The Scientific Truck Bill, quoted in pert above, emending Article 827a, V.A.P.C., deals with a combination of vehioles es one unit, that is, for the purposes of said Scientific Truck Bill emending Article 627a, V.A.P.C., e combination of vehicles used together are measured and considered es one mechanism. As heretofore pointed out, the purpose of said Article 627a, V.A.P.C., is to regulate the siee, weight, end manner of operation of motor vehicles on the highways. Tieessume that you have reference to Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., when you say that "the present registration law requires the truck tractor to be registered under one rate and the semi-trailer under another ........." That statement is true. The purpose of said Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., was to provide for e method of registration of all motor vehicles, trailers end semi-trailers used on the highways. It is apparent that in providing for a method of registration in Article 6675a, V.A.C.S., the Legislature deemed it best to require thst each motor vehicle, trailer end semi-trailer be registered separately. However, it is equally apperent that in fixing limitations on the size, weight end operation of trucks, trailers end semi-trailers on the highways, in the Scientific Truck Bill, emending Article 827a, V.A.P.C., a combi- nation of vehicles is to be measured es e unit. !% see no objection to dealing with trucks end trailers separately in carrying out the terms of one law, to-wit, the registration law, end dealing with trucks end trailers collectively es one unit under the law regulating size end weight when they ere operated together es .acombination. The legislature probably considered that when the State keeps a record of all of the motor vehicles, trailers end semi-trailers in the State under the registration lews of this State all such vehicles should be registered separately even though some of them are used together in one combinetion, but in regulating the size, weight end operation of vehicles for the purposes of safety on the highways a better result could be obtained by applying the limitations end rules es to size, weight end operations to each combination of vehicles es if it was one unit. Our answer to your inquiry is thet every motor vehicle, in- cluding truck tractors, end every trailer end semi-trailer, used upon the public highways of this State, should be registered separately under the terms of Artiale 6675~~. V.A.C.S., even though two or more are used together es e combination end are aonsidered e "combination of vehicles" under the Scientific Truck Bill. In your letter requesting this opinion you asked for .a crim- inal complaint form to be used in the prosecution of cases for violations of the Scientific Truck Bill. Enolosed is such e form. - .. _ Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 4 O-3326 Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By S/Ceail C. Rotsch Cecil C. Rotsch CCR:db:wc AFTROVED MAY 26, 1941 s/Grover Sellers FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL Approved Opinion Committee By s/EW@ Chairman