baornble Jale, E.xildry
DiTOOtOT, %tOr'hmE~X'tIItiOn Dirlda
Eailroad CoMi66lan o? Texm
dUEt,At,f6X.6
D68r sir: opinion x0 .:hl~s
Hec w 1*raog.oi oortifioate
qporti&ire~ ll6tween
inter6tate abdXktrutit4
h6imii,. we*r‘a i96
equil“to tecp& 66nt of
the oolntt ~pportlcwd to
intlu6tate yl6in666 only.
In yiur Latter of OetobEr 17, 19S9, pou subaifth6 foll~wbg
f86tEt
"Jntrutat6 Co6monCurierXotor C+wl6r
Certifio&e Ho. 2878, owned by the B.&A. Mot&
b6ight~n66 InO., ha6 b6en 16666d fio.the8un-
6et Motor Line6 for th6 put thlwe'y6ar6 for a
oon6~duatiaof)580.00 p6rwnth,ten p6r oont
of 6dd 6uxlthlymat6 being oolleoted w thii
Dep6rtmmt for orsdit to the State Hi-y Rand.
Ik new haw3 an applloation to remw raid
lea60 for a oonrideration of $6ij&oO per month,
6ettbLg out that ~)soo.~ of tb modthly?=6id-
emtim paid fob said lease ,Ehall'hSdomed to
be ps+idia 'kOZ,EidE&SiOnOf the InterEtatO I-i&t6
and #2M).OOthereof 6hall b desmsdto b6 pid
for the lntrr6tate right6; ad fh6 le66Or ad
1066eo oontend that u6 should oolleot only tin
per oent.of th6 $260.00 whioh th6y olaim i6 the
oonsideration paid for the intIXEtat6 Operating
rights.
Hmwnble J6qe6 E. I(ildy, &P 2
6%e ill6tWltappli6&,iOu itIV'O1V'66
a rSm
6xell oon6idderation,btt if the praotio6 i6
follomud, it till ultimately re6ult in tiw 1966
of6.n appmoi*bl6 ~ouutofrevenue to the W*.
Th6 cert1f1atereferredto i6 6nizItr66t6t6 eer-
tifiOat6 i66ued w th0 Ballroad QlmniSEiOn Of
Ten6, authorlrlug an operation betw66n Eou6ton
and San &tonio.
%m reque6t En opinion frwl you a6tO
whether oi not- 6hould ooll6ot t6n pero6nt of
themonthlyrent8l of#250&0, olaimed tObe +&6
~untpaidforth6intn6knte operating rlghti,
or if m 6hould 00116ot ten per oent of the en-
tire mnEider&iOn Of $66&o&"
SeOtiOll6 Of &tiOlO 9114 VOmO!l’E Anuotated %X66 Ciril Stat-
ut66. authori6es a 66l6, l66fgmwnt, lea6e, art&or ofs oertUio6te
of publio oonwnieme md a66er&y for motor oarri6r6,Qd provldm that
the 'tlUEl6fO2'66
Em1 Pg t0 the ColmniEEiOna - Of Mona bqti to ten
per ~@ of the crmauntpaid a6 a oonsideration for th6tw6fer of the
oertifi8ate, rhioh 61a often p6r 06nt 6hsll be deposited inth6 2tate
Tnuury to the oreditofth6 Highway Fund of the Gtate...."
& thi6 OpiaiO~~866U6.6 thd the WZ'tifiWte &ioned inyour
letter i6 a 06rtifiate of publio oomenienoti and neo666ity d66oribed in
6aid &-tlOlCI,and i6 not * Per6 p6XXIitto do 6l%iBt6rEtkItebuEine66 on the
hi(;hnyE Of TeU6. The State ha6 no authori* to re$aire or gr@nt a 6er-
tifi6at6 of public oonvenleno6 an3 neoerrsiw oovering intercltatawweroe,
but doe6 have the pow6r to d6ny'the u60 of its hi-6 to inter6tate motor
olfti6,'6,u 6uoh IA66"Oti 6ubj6Ot the higtiy6 t0 ex(M66lVe bWden6, Or
endanger the 66fetyorordi~ryu~sr6 of the highBSy6.
S&h Carolina ~6. Bgrnuell Bro6., 202 0. 8. 177
&uthu66t6zTI Greyho~d wZI6 76. Railroad @66i66iOn
of %X66, 99 8.2. (2d) 263
Railmad hEEi66iOIlVEe 'Ilpp6,It10s.x (26) 1078
Railmad M66ion ~6. Loving, 128 8-m. (2d) 846
Baith~6~. Col66nn, 127 8-W. (26) 929
Hinton ~6. Tbomp~on, I22 &We (26) 961
HoDonald.6. ThornpEa, 69 &Ip. Ct. 176
Honorable Jgle6 E. itilday,Page S
If Itbe trw that the oertifioate cover6 onlyizitra-
6tate OCMDWrW, it fOllOWI that it would b6 illOgiO6l t0 'ay that
a portion of the m&al paid repre6ent6 the ralw of the bUEine66
don6 in intemtate oomnero6. 8inw the wrtifiwte gnUIt. n0
p6~M66iOn t0 do an i&6rEtat6 buSiW66, none Of th6 OOn6id&ation
pid for lea6ing the oertif%Me oan be construed to be in payment
ofth6 privileg6 of doing an itirrtat6 buSine66.
The rule would not be different, however, if the oertifi-
oata al60 oOn6titut66 a petit t0 do 6B interstate buEine66 on the
hibhrays Of T6x86. It 16 uaneoe6aary to deoide here whether the
pymant required by the 6tatute 16 an Innspeotionfee, or a tax im-
powd for the u6e of the Stat8 higm6. In either case, it I6 not
6ubjOet to attWk 011the ground that it OOnEtituteE an WloOn6titu-
Mona1 burd6n on inter6tate ocawroe. In mgardto Inspeotion fees,
6ee Inter-Island 6tim XaVigatiOn tipany ~6. Territoxy Of Hawaii,
96 Fed. (26) 401; R+aproo Gwo Co. ~6. Earth Carolina, 171 U.S.
3601 H6L8anv6,D6nw~r,205~ 8. SF38andaatort~kupo66dfor
the u6e of State highmay6, 608 Aero-Xayflowurl!nn6f6r Company v6.
Georgia Pub110 Servioe Cam6166f~, 296-U. 6. 2661 Continental Baking
Campany ~6. Ibodring, 286 U.S. 562; Interst6te Busses Corporation ~6.
Blodgett, 276 U. 8. 246.
If the EM mquimd to be paid is ooncridered6n Inspeotion
fee, the total 6um oolleoted must h6w a rational mlatiOn6hip fo th6
006t of in6potion. Red C Oil Manufacturing C+~~pany'~6.Board of
Agrioultum, 222 U. 8. 380. Ilhllewe am unaoquaint6d with the facts,
n6 a~666 that the total 6am16oolleoted do bear such a relationship
t0 the 606t Of inEp6&iOn. If thi6 be true, we oan 666 no objeotion
to the method adopted by the Legislature in determining the 6tandard
byuhiohthe a6wmt of the fe6 16 fixed. Eeither 089-e find o%jeo-
tion to thl6 method if the rrtatutorgpayment Is 6onEtXUed t+ab6 a
tax for the u6e of state highuay6. The value of the u6e of th6 oer-
tifioats is deten&ned bg the parties thsmeelveti. They should not
be heard to oamplainl&@at6x ba6ed upon a proportionate part of
the value they fix i6 invalid udle66 it i6 OOIIfiEOatOrg. Ik do not
believe that ten per o6nt of the value plaoed upon the ~66,of the
oerfifioate by the parties thtanselvesow be held in this oa6e to be
6onfiboatoly.
The State may impore a highway u6e fax or pn inapeotion fee
on rehioles operating* in inter6tate oommel'b. Aeyo-Hayflower
2!l%,Ef& i%mpanY 911. Georgia NbliO 8WViW &WiEEiOn, 6UpM~ MObWl
76. Denver, 6UpL-h If this be true, it is also truethat the State
wy levy a.tax or an ia*utIon fee ba66d parkly upon Inter6t6te
emmr6a andprtlyuponlntra6tat6 eowero6. The greater power
inolud66 the 16666r.
It 16, therefore, our opinion that you 6hould u6Llwb a
EUD equal to ten per oeat of th6 total oon6ideratIon paId for
the lea66 of the oertifipate, or in the oa6e declorilmdin your in-
quiq, ten per we of #66OdXh
YOl.W6lWytnily
kY%RHBY GBEBRALOF TX&S
By 6/VIotor we Bouldin
Piotor X Bouldin
&6i6tfllt
AFmovsD DEC. 2, 19s9
E/m-d C. h&n
MWRESYGBlpEBAtOFTXM