OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSYIN
Eon. WI K. YraQlaln
CriminaL Dlsbriat Attorney
Nllliamaon county
Gaorgetown,Texas
Dear Sir:
Oglnion No. O-2022 n
aessaty ror a person
ed Federal liaanea'to
th the Ccuumlssloner of
ba approved by him
or $lOOOg and in this
is 5.tnaaaesary for him
e Gommlssionerthe $5.00
giatered as a PubI. Dot-
receipt of your Letter of
opinion of this department
alPan's Civil Annotated Statutea,
efining aOttOd elassera, All
6 State, who #hall hareaf'ter
T the publla, or who shall
or aause to be issued, a re-
oeipt ar tiaket for Q&ton, and plaaa on said
,thagrade of said aotton,whl&h said
tialrrat
tiokat la intendad Sor tha usa of the publfa
In being and selling said aotton, shall be
known as Publio Ootton Olassera and bafora
Aon, W. I(.MoClain, Page 2
entering upon suah duties, shall ocmply with
the provision8 of this Aot. After oomplying
with said provisions,such Claasers ahall be
known aa RegiateredPublic Cotton Glasaera.
Claaaers as herein referred to shall inolude
every peraon, or persons vrhc shall grade or
staple ootton.
"Sea. 2. Qualifioations,All Fublio Cot-
ton Olaaaera shall ~Surtiish
evidence OS their
good moral oharaoter, and, aa evidanoe of
their qualifioationsas Cotton Olasaera, they
shall be required to obtain from tne Secretary
of Agriodtur8 of the United States, a lioense
to grade or staple aotton and to oertify the
grade and staple thereof in aooordanoe with
the orfioial Gotton standards of the United
States Cotton Standards Aot, and Pile with the
Commissionerof Agrioultureof this State, hare-
after oalled the *Commissioner*a duplioato
thereof.
wSea, 3. Bond. Before any auoh licensee
shall issue a certifloats of olasSiSioationin
this State, except as provided in United States
Cotton StandardsAot, he shall tile a bond with
the Commissioner to be approved by him, in the
sum of One Thousand ($l,OOO.OO)Dollars, whioh
bond shall be ao oonditioned as to bind its nmk-
er and his sureties to guaranteeas approximately
oorreot, hia work in olasaing and stapling ootton.
It shall alao bind the maker and hia sureties to
promptly indemnify any person who may sustajn
Sinanoialloaa by reason OS any false olass or
staple he may make or by reason OS any untrue or
mialaading oertifloate issued by him or under
his authority,with intent to defraud. Suoh
bonds shall be payable to the state of Texas Sor
the use and benefit OS any person or persons who
may be dainangedby the breaoh of its oonditions,
but it shall not be neoessary to join the State
in any suit on any suoh bond, the venue OS auoh
ault on any suoh bond shall be that of the general
venue by suit or otherwise, the Commissionernmy, by
Hon. W, K. IhoClaln, Page 3
written notioe to the maker, require suoh im-
pairments to be made good. IS any suoh impair-
ment is not made good, to the satisfactionof
the Commissioner,within a reasonable time
after notioe,whiohtilte shall in no event,
exceed thirty (30) days, auoh bond shall be-
oome null and void.
wSeoI 4. Raoh Public Cotton Classer in
this State shall keep a oomplete rsoord of oot-
ton classed and for whom olaaaed, in a ,i:ell
bound book, and shall issue a oertifioateto
each person showing the olasa and other grade
of the ootton classed by him. He shall also
keep on hand, a set of the Unised States Stand-
ards or grades and staples and his books,
reoords and standards shall be open to inspeo-
tion of the public at all reasonablehours.
T3eo. 5. Berm 0s reoelpts ana reooras.
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to
presorlbe all forms of reoeipts, oertifioates
and reoords of vihateverdesoriptionneoessary,
but all suoh reoeipts, oertiiioatesand forms
shall be drawn in oomplainoewith t&is Aot.
He shall presoribe suoh rules and regulations
as he shall deem proper, not in oonfliotwith
any provisionshereof. The Oommiaaionershall
have power and authorlty and it shall be his
duty to enforce the provisionsof this Aot,
"sea, 6. Feea. Before any Pub110 Cotton
Classer is registeredunder this law, he shall
gilg;r to the Commissionera-fee of Five ($5.00)
said See shall be paia annually elong
with td renewal of his said bond,.suoh See to
be depositedin the State Treasury to the credit
of the general revenue.
"S80. 7. Risht. All Registered Public
Cotton Olassers shall have the right, at any .
time within this State, to engsge in the busi-
ness of Publio Cotton Classers and ehall be au-
thorized to olass and staple ootton generally,
and to oharge for their aervioesI A oertiSioate
Hon. W. K. MaDlain, Page 4
of alaeaifiaationof aotton issued by any per-
son or persons under authority of this Act,
shall be aaaepted in all the aourts of this
State, as prinm faoie evldenae of the facts
stated therein.
"Sec. 8, Rights to olass own cotton.
This Aot shall not affect the right of anyone
to olass his own aotton or of any ootton buyer
or other person to class cotton purchased by
him for himself, or purchased for another,
but applies to all other persons who engage
in the business of olaesing cotton for the
public or of Issuing reoeipts and tickets
thereforwith the grade thereon, for the use
of the public, a3 herein above provided,
Y5eo. 11. Collectionsand appropriat5ons.
All moneys so collected shall be paid over by
the Commissioner60 the State Troasurer and
shall be placed in the General Fun6 of the
' Stateaw
The penalty provided for the faibure to oomply
with Article 5679a, supra, is found lnthe Penal Code
as Artiale 1027a whiah reabs, in part, as fo&lows:
Wereaftei?no person shall be permitted
to engage in the businessa8 Publio Catton
Classer, classing and stapling ootton for the
publio or issuing reoeipts and tiokets there-
for, wjth.the grade thereon, for the use of the
publio, a8 herein above provided, without oom-
plying with the provisions of this Aot. Any
one violating any of the provisions of.this Act,
shall be deemed guilty of a mledemaanor and
upon oonviation,shall be punished'bya fine
in any sum not less than Twenty-Five ($25.00)
Do;p;;, and not more than Two Hundred ($200.00)
.
" . . .I,
Sections 51a, 5ib, 53 and 60 of the Cotton
Standard Aot, oh. 2, title 7, U.S.C.A., read a8 follows:
Hon. ‘iJ.
K. Raglain, Page 5
"8,51a. KX?E:X!jION
OF CLMSPIC~~TIiN FACILITIES
TO COTTON GROKERS
The Secretary of Agrioulture 18 requested
to extend to cotton growero fooilities for the
classificationof ootton authorized in this
ohapter, with such supervisionof lioensed
alansifiersas ho shall deem neaesaary under
authority of chapter 14 of Title 2.0,"
Further to carry out the purposes of this
ohapter the Secretary of Agriculture is author-
ized to issue to any qualifiedpere!on,upon presen-
tation 0r satisfactoryevidence of oompetency,a
license to sample cotton. Any suoh license may
be suspended or revoked by the Seoretary of Agri-
culture v?heneverhe is satisfiedthat such lioensee
is inoompetentor hae knowingly or carelessly
sampled cotton iproperly, or has violated any pro-
vision of said ohapter or the regulationsthereunder
so far as the same may relate to him, or has used his
license, or allowed it to be used, for any improper
purpo90, The Searetary of Agrioulture may prescribe
by regulationthe oonditions under whioh licenses
majrbe issued hereunder, and may require any licennod
sampler to give ‘bondfor the faithful performenoe
of his dukies akldfor the protection of p,ersonsaf-
fected thereby and i::.y
presaribe the oonditionsunder
which ootton shall be sampled by licensed samplers
for the purpose of olasslfic~iticnby offioers of the
Department of Agrioultufe,or by liaensed aotton alas-
sifiers.n
n8 53. LICENSING CLASSIFIXR~; REVOCATICJN ARD SW-
PKK319N OF,LZXRSE
The Searetary of Agriculturemay, upon presen-
tation of satisfaotoryevidence of competency,issue
to any person a lioenee to grade or otherwiseclaasi-
fy cotton and to oertifioatethe grade or other olass
thereof in aocordamoewith the offioial ootton standards
of the United States. any such lioense may be sus,pended
or revoked by the Setiretaryof Agrioulturewhenever he
is satisfied,after reasonable opportunityafforded to
the licensee for a hearing, that suah liC0nS6e is in-
competent orhas knowingly or oareleeslyolae8ified
ootton improperly,or has violated any provision of
this ohapter or the regulations thereunder30%~ as the
same may relate to him, or has used his liaense or al-
lowed it to be used for any improper purpose. Pending
Hon. Vi.II.McClati, Page 6
investigationthe Secretary of Agriaulture,whenever
he deems neaessary,may suspend a lioense tompornrily
wlthcut a hearinS."
*,8 60. PENALTILS FOR VIOLATICiN
(a) Any person who shall knowinglyviolate any
rovisix of seotionn 52 or 59 of this ehapts;, or
Pb) any person licensed uner this ahapter who, for
the purposes of or in acnneation with any transaation
or shipment in aommeroe, shall knovringly olassify cotion
improperly,or shall knowingly falsify or force any
oertifioateof classifioztion,or shall aooept money
or other consideration,either directly OS Indireo~Lly,
for any neglect or improper performanacof duty as such
licensee,or (c) any person who shall k~owi:zSly influence
improperlyor attempt to influence improperlyany person
licensed under this chapter inths performx~oeof his
dutlea as suoh liosnseo relating to any transaatlon
or shipment in commeraa, or ((I):Inyperson who shall
foroibly assault, resiSt, iP?pQ,de,
or interfere with or
influenceimproperlyor attempt to influsnoe improperly
any person employed under this chapter inthe performanusof
his duties, shall, upon conviotion thereof, be deemed
guilty o? a misdemeanorand shall be fined not exoeed-
ing $1 000, or imprisonednot exceeding six months, or
both, in the disaretiQn of the oourt."
The penalty set out in 8 60, supra, applies to vio-
lation under the Federal Cotton Standard Aot and has no appli-
aation to offenses o'ommittedunder the State Aat regulating
publio ootton classers. Likewise, the penalty provided for
the failure to o.mply with Artiole 5679a, supra, does not ap-
ply to offenses aommittedunder the Federal CoLton Standards
Aot, but applies only to offenses oommittadunder the State Act.
Section 2 of Article 5679a, supra, speoifioally
provides:
*All Public Cotton Classers shall furnish
evidenoe of their good moral character, and, as
evidenae of their qualific;ltiuna as Cotton Classors,
thoy shall be required to obtain from the Secretsry
of Agriaulture of the United StatQs, a liosnse to
grade or staple ootton and to oertify the grade and
staple thereof in aooordanoe with the official cot-
ton standards of the United~StatesCotton Standards
Act, . . .,"
Hon. W. K. MoClain, Page 7
therefore, your first questivn is respectfullyanswered in
the affirmative.
aeotion 3 of ArLPIUfCle 5G79a, supra, SpeCifiOSlly
providesa
"Before any suoh lioensee shall issue a cer-
tificate of claaoifia~tionin this State, except as
provided in United States Cotton StandardsAct, he
shall fils a bond xiih the Commissionerto be ap-
prov;:d8y him, inthe sum of One Thousand ($l,OOO.OO)
Dollars, . . . n
Seotisn G of the above mentioned Aat specifiaally
provides, that:
"Defore any Publio Cotton Claa33r is ro@s-
tored under this Law, he nhail pay over to the
Commissiznera fee of Five (@.OC) Dollars, said
fee shall be paid annually alone with the renewal
of his said bend, suoh fee to be deposited in the
State Treasury to the credit of the general revenue."
In view of the foregoing statutes you are respeat-
fully advised that it is the opinion of thls department that
your seoond question should be answered in the affirmative
and is so answered,
Trusting that we have adequately answered your in-
quiries, we remain
Youra very truly
ATTORhTEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
By (S) Ardell Williams
Ardell Williams
Assistant
APPROVED MAR 9, 1940
(S) Gerald C. Mann
ATTORXEY G&NMAL OF Ti!XAS APEROVED
Opinion Committee
By BiiIB
Chairman