Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Ronorable,R. C. glagle, Jr. Criminal histrict Attorney Grayson County Sherman, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No., 0-2065-A Re: Registration of motor vehicles brought into State by non-residents for the purpose of sale or tyade. We have had before us for reconsideration our Opinion No. 0-2065, approved April 1, 1940, .dfrected to You in reply to your letterof iltarch5, 3.940.~Your let- -ter of requestread in part as ~follows: “I ::&&I /anx,ionS~' 'to have 'you submit ‘~OUI’ opinion on tirticle 14134, Chapter ~8, Title 17 of the Penal Code. of .Texas, 192.5,as amended by Chapter 77, ,Acta of th8 First Called Ge.sSion of the Fortieth Legislature. This article ~presents a serious situation .to the.Tax Collector of this County. Be- ing a'bordeallne county, numberous automo-" biles are brought into Grayson County, sold, and many times taken again out of the state for Pe-Sale. We have an automo- bile dealer .t&,thec$?~&&tythat operate@ agencies in (&J$homa. Whenthis concern makes a:trade for: an .Oklahoma car here in Texas and then immediately removes the car out of this St6’te for m-sale in Oklahoma, must the car in question be registered in, Texas? On the other hand, if an Oklahoma car is bought in Texas, is the endorsed Certlfi- cate of Title from Oklahoma, alone, sufficient evidence of sale and transfer of ownership? If the T 3QrSed :',., certificate is sufficient, may the ax Collector legally acknowledge . . Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., page 2 0-2065~ change of ownership by registering automo- bile in buyer's name without the prescribed bill of sale properly executed.5 Your request presents two questions: First, whether or not Texas registration of a car is necess.ary 5heiB p,.Texas automobile dealer who also operates agencies in Ohahoma makes a trade for an bklshoma car in this State, and immediately thereafter removes the car to Oklahoma for the purpose of re-sale. We assume that the car in question will be brought into Texas by its non-resident owner a Second, whether or not an endorsed Oklahoma Certi- ficate of Title is alone sufficient evidence of sale and transfer of ownership in order that a county tax collector may legally acknowledge such change for the purpose of Texas registration of the automobile in the buyer's name withbut the necessity of a properly executed bill of sale. Article 667sa-2, Vernon's Annotated ~dvil Statutes, provides for the registration of each motor vehicle used or to be ussd upon the public highways of this State. Applica- tion for registration is to be made to the County Tax Col- lector of the County.in which the applicant resides. To this requirement of r#$$5tration are appended certainexdeptions. .One such exemption-from registration is that owners of certain farm tractors, farm trailers, farmsemi-trailers, and imple- ments of husbandry, operated or moved temtiorarily upon .the highways are not required to register such vehicles. Another exemptionfrom registration m,ay'be found in Article 827b, Vernon's Annotated Renal Code, which contains provisions with respect to the registration of motor vehicles owned by non- residents and operated upon the highways of this State. Sec- tion 5 of this Article~oontains this significant sentence: "And provided, further, that any non- resident owner of a privately owned motcr vehicle may be permitted to make an occasional tr~ip into this State with suoh vehicle under the privileges of this Act without obtaiging such temporary registration certificate. An "occasional trip' is defined in Section 1 of Article 827b to mesn "not to exceed five trips into this Honorable R. C. “lagle, Jr., page.3 0- 206.5~ state during py calender month, nor to’ exceed five days’ on any one trip. In other words, regardless of purpose, a non-resident of this State may make an “occasional trip” into this State in hismotor vehicle without obtaining Tex- as registration of such vehicle, Re .m~y..,lawfully bring his car into the, State for the purpodd af ‘S’alS while on an aoc- casianal trip,!’ without the necessity-of registgring it in thisstate. yee &merican Lloyds of Dallas v. crengo (CCA, 19261,282.5. W. 9.57 writ tiefused. ae call to your atten- tion, however, that gectioli 15 .df Article 82j’b, Penal Code, requires that there be displayed at all times upon such automobile the re@stratlon number plates assigned to such vehicle for the current year by the St&te of the owner’s .. residence. A decidedly different question is presented when the new dealer-owner of the automobilb, a resident of Texas, drives the car over the highways of the State after the sale to him for the purpose of re,-sale .fn the 8tBte of Oklahoma. In Opinion No. ,O-‘891 this department held that when a motor vehicle la upon the public highways for any purpose or any length of time, unless there be.an express exemption it muat be registered as required by law. We have found no exeplptlons applicable to a re~sident automobile dealer or his agents driving a used automobile into another State for the purppss of re-sale. In further answer to your first question, it ‘is our opinion and you are advised that when unbar the facts described in your letter the new dealer-owner of the used automobile decides to drive it to Oklahoma over the highways of this State for the purpose of re-sale t,,he au omobile must be re istered in this State. Article 667Sa-l-15, t ernonts Annotated f 1~5.1 gtatu- tes; Article 807b, Penal Code. Your second question is oonoerned with what muniment of title will be sufficient to wldenue snle ‘and transfer of ownership; and whether an endorsed Oklahoma Certificate of Title would alone be sufficient without a properly executed bill of sale. In this connection you, call our attention to Articles 1434 and 1435 of the Penal Code, vinich have required the execution of a bill of sale by the transferor tc the trans- feree when the latter makes application for registration in Texas. . - Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., Page 4 o-2065-~ In Opinion No. O-1491, this department held that the Certificate of Tit.16 Act, Article 1436-1, Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, supercedes Articles 1434 and 1435 of Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, lnrsmch as the Certificate .of Title Act covers the same general subject matter. Con- sequently, we must lbok to the Certificate of Title Act and other pertinent statutes. Section 60 of the Certificate of Title Act, Ar- ticle 1436-1, Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code, reads as fol- lows : “The’ movieions of this Act sha’ll awlv to motor vehicles not reauired ‘to be tered OF licensed the laws thUsState then effective, not to motor vehicles owner or opqrated by the Federal Government or any of its agencies, the State of Texas, or any municipal government unless such motor vtihlple- 1s sold to a person re- quired under this Act to procure a certlfi- cate of title, in which even the provisions hereof shall be fully operative as to such motor vehicle, ” (Underscoring ours) Ia the wed motor vehiole in question when being sold to the Texas dealer “required to be registered or licensed?” We have determined in answer to your firat question that it is not so require& to be nlloenaed or reglatersd.” As a result the literal lan ua&e of Seotion 60 oi the CsrtWoate of Title Hot la 8atirfle iI Inmolar 88 ths #ale or trade by’the Oklahoma resident to the ‘hxrr dealer lb oonoernsd; that la, the vshiolo iu not required to br rrglrterrd or llomsed In this State and the Certifloate of Title Aot in 4&B,,:Wbl&~%g: has no application to this tranaaq$ion. Other 8sotloncr of the CIrtlfioate of Title Aot bear out this oonolurlon, Section 27 haa no applioatlon. This aeo- tion 1s direoted on1 to automobilor.kqulred to be registered or liosns’ed in this &a, ‘I and the prohibition la only againat the “oyner” aa that term is defined n tho ‘Oortifioate of Tltlo Aot. ICa bslievo the Certifloote of i! itle Aot’r definition of an “importer,” nrmely, ‘ Iany person rxoept a manufacturer, who brings any wed motor vehftole into this State for the purpose of sale within this &ate is more nearly applicable to the non- resident In question, Honorable R. C. hlagle, Jr., Page 5 0-2065-A For similar and other reasons Sections 28, 29, 33, 51 and 52 will not apply. However we believe Article 667.5a-3, Vernon’s Anno- tated Civil Statutes, is applicable and expressly covers your second question. This Article provides in part as fol- lows : “4t 4t Q. It is expressly provided that the owner OF a vehicle previously registered in any State for the preceding or curent year may, in lieu of filing an application as thereinbefore directed, present the license receipt and trans- fer receipts, If any, issued for the registra- tion or ‘transfer of the vehicle for the preceding calendar year, and said receipt or receipts shall be accepted by the County Tax Collector as an ap- plication for the renewal of the registration of the vehicle, provided said receipt or receipts shall be accepted by the County Tax Collector as an ap- plication for the renewal of the registration of the vehicle, provided said receipts show that the applicant is the rlghtfuly owner thereof. Provided, however, that shou,ld an owner or a claimed owner of A motor vehlole or automobile offer to register same, but has lost or misplaced the registration receipt or transfer, then upon his Surnlehlng satlafactory evidence to the TPX Collector by affidavit or otheo?wSaa,, that he 1s the real owner of same, then shall it become the duty of the Tax Colloctor~ to date each registration rooslpt Ineuod for the vehicle the same date that application Is made for regietrat&on of such ve- hicle. W4b 3k.” Your seaand question is therefore anawered In aocord- anco with Article 6675a-3 to the offoot that the new dea;ler- owner of the used autbmoblle in queatlon should present to the County !f!w Go~eotor upon making rpplioatian for Texas regiatra- tion of the same and IlOonse and tranaSar rscaipta from the foreign State oevering the automabile in question, together with any ether evldenccr (ruah aa the endorsed Certificate of Title from tha foreip @ato) aufflciant to satf,sSy the Tax Collector of lagal own@rahip of the automobile, You are further advised that under thq aircumstsncos described in your letter presentctlcn ta thQ Iax kollectOr of a properly crxeauted bill OS aale for the automobil-a in @es- tian will not be neodsaary pravldad the foreign license and . . . Honorable R. C. Slagle, Jr., page 6 0-2065~ transfer receipts and such other evidence the appl ic ant may produce show him to be the rightful owner of the auto- mobile. Yours very truly ATTORNEYGENDRALOF TEXAS : qr '~ James D. Smullen Assistant JDS:RS--pam APPROVEDFEB 3, 1941 CIROVERSELLERS FIRST ASSISTANT ATTORNEYCIENERAL APPROVEDOPINION BY BWB, CHAIRMAN