OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Honorable Joe Bailey Humphrey8
County Attornoy
Houllton county
Crook&t, Texar
II upon the following
by virtue of Art,
itle (known a8 the
ommleeioner’t3 court
he authority to
whether horsea,
0 run et large in said
ubmitr the following euthorltyt
a almost identfoel with the
4 rxoept when the lettar wae enaot-
re omitted Houeton County from the
Seotion 8 of the final title ha8
the rtfsot of &eallng all laws not inoluded or
oontinued in toror by rxprssr provision.
*Therefore, oonstrulng the two hots together
it appear8 to the writer that Art, 6954 falls to
authorize the Commissloner~e Court or acid oounty
to order suoh eleotlon end lt lr not authorized
from any other legisletlon.n
Honorable Joe Bailey Humphreya, Page 8
Section 23, Artiolr 16 of the State Constitution
provides thatr
“The Legislature may pass laws for the regule-
tion of live stock end tha proteotion of stook
raisers in the stook raising portion of tha Stata,
end exempt from the operation of suoh laws other
portions, seations, or countiesi end shell have
power to pass general and spaoiel Laws ior the
inspection of oettle, stook and hides end for ths
regulation of brands; provided, that any local law
thus passed shell be submitted to the ireoholdsrr
of the section to Sr effeoted thereby, end approved
by them, berore it shell go into ertrot.w
The ooostitutionel power of tha La ialaturr extends
to the eneotment or looal Option laws prohib kting the running
at large of stook. The Lagisletura ha8 rrom time to tima
passed euoh laws and her euthorisad oleotions to bo L@ld-in
counties end sub-divisions thereor. The rircrt law eseed
authorized sleotions to pass on propositiona prohlb Pting smell
livestook hoga, sheep and goats from running et large.
in 1899, the Legislatura provided for eleotions 88 to the%%*
ning et large of horses, mules, jeoks jennets end oettle.
Taxes Jurisprudenoa, Vol. 39, page 36ii Ex Parts Coden, 168
;;,W; 5;9;36R;bsrson va. State, 63 9, 1. 084; Bishop vs. Btats,
. . .
Upon written petition, the statute provides for ths
oelling of en eleatlon for the purpose of enebling the irer-
k :;:;p!h::pa% ~~~&&l~e~: ~~~N~4pF~p~~taenl~~~.t~~~
in certain designated oounties the votars are given the right
to datermine whether liks permissions shell pertain to horses;
mulea, jacks, jenneto and cattle. The requisita of the peti-
tion, the formelitier to ba observed in holding the eleotion
end the proolemetion of the result, are embraoed in the term6
of the statute.
Article 7238, Chapter 6, Title 124, Bevisad Civil
Statutes oi Texas, 1911, authorlzad the Commissionerr’ Court
of the various countlea nemsd therein to order an rlsotion
for tha purpose or enabling the free-holders of suoh oountles
to determine whsther horses, mulea, Jeokr, jonnetr and oettle
Honorable Joe Bailey Humphreya, Pegs 3
should be permitted to run et large in said oountiasr This
statute we8 emended numerous times prior to the adoption a?
ths Revised Civil Statutes in 1923 by the 39th Lcgisleturs.
Houston County wss first included in en amendment
the 38th Legislature in 1923 as shown by House Rilfe%~“&,
Chepter 98 or the General Laws o? said Legislature.
Ssnets Blll 84, Aots of ths 39th Legisleturs, 1928,
was a bill sntitlea *An hot to Adopt and ICateblfsh the
Rev1984 Civil Stetutsa or the Stats o? Texes.W Ssotion 1
or said bill provides:
8Bs it sneotrd by the Legisleturs o? the
Stats o? Tsxest That the following titles, ohep-
ters, 8ub4itisions end artioles shall hersaiter
oonstitute ths Revised Civil Statutes of the
Stats or Texas. . . .*
Article 6954 o? the adopted Revieed Civil Stetutas
o? Texas provides ror the holding o? en election ror the pur-
pose o? enabling the free-holders o? certain oountiee or
subdivisions to peas upon the propoeition whether horses,
mules, jacks, ennets end cattle ahell be parmitt to run
at large. Art i 01s 8953 0r the adopted Rsvisea Civil Ste-
tutss o? Texas provides thatt
“The Counties reisrred to in the preceding
Article aret . . . Houston . . .*
Artsr cersrull exeminin the enrolled bill (9. B.
Bill 04, Asts of the 39t K Leg,, 19&j adopting and estab-
lishing the Revised Civil Statutes o? Texas, it is oloarly
showh that Houston County was inoluded among those counties
author1884 to cell an election ?or the purpose o? eneblin
the rree-holders O? aaid
whether horsas, mules,
permitt to run at large.
Senate Bill No. 382 Che ter 104, Acts o? the 39th Legis-
lature, which was ub Aoe to provide ?or the printing,
sale end distribution o? the Revised Civil Statutes o?
1935, the Panel Coda and Coda o? Criminal Prooedurs o?
1925, as passed et the Regular Session o? the 39th Lsgis-
laturs providing tar the ep ointment a? an axperisnoed
and eb i e lawyer end one ass Petant to prepare the Volumas
Honorable Jo8 Bailey Humphreys, Page 4
ror publioetion~ provlain for ruii end aoourats indexing
thereof; provldlng ror omf eeiona of laws rapeeled by the
Rsguler Session of the 39th Lsgisletursi providing for the
substitution of Articles of law emen484, mo4lrisd or re-
enacted at the Regular Session o? the 39th Legisleture, In
lieu 0r such t3menae8,3loairiea or rse5eatsa ertio. 8; pro-
viding ror inserting therein of Aots seed at th Regular
Session of the 39th Legislature, prov r ding for proo?r read-
ing and oorrsotion of t pogrephioal errors and lneoourecies
r0u54 in said Revised 9g atutss end oo4e~providlng for
oompensetlon 0r supervisor end assistant proviai5g ror
prsssrvatlon of ths plates with whloh #a i 8 statutes end
00408 are printeat proridin ror printing 8 000 copies
or each of the Rsvissd Ci~i f Statutesi Penal Gods and
cods of Criminel Prooedursj providing for ths printing
or aaaitio5el oopiss when nsosseery; providing for an ep-
proprietlon end 4eolerlng en amargbnoyrw
Saotlon 2 or tha final title rererrbd to in your
inquiry read8 a9 r0u0w8~
wSsction 2. Repealing Clause, --
YPhet all Civil Statutes 0r a general 5eture,
in roroe whan tha Revised Statutsa take effect,
end which era not inclu4%d herein, or whloh ers
not hereby axpreasly continued in foroa, era
hereby repeale4.v
The above quote4 repeal1
to all Civil Statutes which were no“& n,l~~~a,~~na~g~‘~a,~~~a
Revised Civil Statutes or whioh were not express1 oonti5ued
in roros when ths Rsyised Statutes took e??sot. f nd as above
inaloataa Houstoh County was lnoludsd among those o~ountise
authorized to call en election for ths purpoee of enabling
the rreep.holders of said oounty to pass upon the proposition
of whether horses, etc. shell be permitted to run at large
end the above mentioned re saling clause does repeal said
statutee as they apply to ff ouston County es sat iorth in ths
adopted and establishad Revised Civil Statutes o? tha State
0r Texas.
As itra ards the omission o? aneotments from the
Revised Statutes, f t is axpreesly proviasa *that all 01v1.l
statutes of a general nature, in rorce when the Revised
Statutes take effect, end whloh are not inoludsd herein,
or wbloh ara not hereby expresely contained lh for08 are here-
907
Honorable Joe Bailey lhimphreye, Page 5
by repealed.” A similar provision is contained in the Acts
or 1925, adopting the Psnel co44 end the cod4 or Criminal
Procedure. Under these provisions, a general act or section
or en aot omitted from the provision or code is repealed, es
is also any word or phrase that is purposely omitted unless
it is oonteined in roroe or saved by some other provision.
Thus, en article3 of the General Statutes contained in the
revision or 1911 is repealed by being omitted trom the revision
or 1926, or being brought romra in a ohanged rorm. American
Indemnity Company vs. City or Austin 840 9. W. 1019; Jennings
vs. Texes Farm Mortgage Company, 80 5. W. (24) 931 Southern
Salea end Finenoe Company vs. Wetterson, 34 9. W. t 28) 3311
Briggs vs. Buekner, 19 8. W. (28) 190; Taylor vs. State, 221
S. W. Bllt Birow vs. Broyle6, 21 9. 1. (28) 716.
Here we do not have an omission o? any word or
phrase or the adopted and established Revised Civil Statute6
of Texas es adopts8 by the 39th Legislature, but on the other
hand, have en o.misslon o? the word 8’Houstonw Count by the
Legislature eneoting these various emen4ments whit 3: are not
pert or the adopted Revised Civil Statutes.
we have been unable to rind any statute that repeals
the ado ted itevi644 civil statutes 0r T4x49 which it30iua44
end epp f lea to Houston County with reference to the above
mentioned matter. Aiter considering the various amendments
whose captions give no notice o? excluding Houston County;
but on the other hand,, it is e parent thet it was the inten-
tion o? the Legislature to lnc P ude another count or counties
not heretofore lnolude4 in Article 6934, when t Ke various
amenim ents were enacted.
Therero e , you are res~aot~~~le,~~~ft~n~~~ &t,,i,e
the opinion o? thfs de ertzant t at
o? Houston County has e he euthorit to hold an election to
determfne whether horses, mules, ef c, shall be permitted to
run et large Under the terms embraced in tha statute6 per-
taining to suoh aleCtiOn.
Trusting that the rosegoing iully answers your in-
quiry, we are
Your6 very truly
ATTORRXYGEW%ALOF TvZAS
Ardell Williem6
Assistant