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
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion