Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

. -- Hon. George H. 6heppard comptroller of Fublio Aooowts Austin, Texas Dear Sir: I, dm6on6tmi&inrithoutmyrroiq+ Th$6 i6 iX UEOW? to YOU? btter irrhioh-yoti 86k rhOthOr or iOt ad- 6dssion t6x66 M due oa the *xatiomti &ir Show6 6pomored bgtha.%rh krth Janion CImu?mrof Commr60 umd6rthe @zki6ion&.of Bow+6 Bill IBo.8 (660. 6, . Arb. III.thar~~f), ~rtrfoorCh~~giE~&, tbird~oalled 6666i&, 1956,' ood- ified a6 &tiOlW7047~($9), V-a'6 #tJd+ii~ Rkiidd Cid.& &RhdOE of Tausb The 6mtaiaI faots that you gav6 U6 lr6 a6 follolnr @Ix ooueotiokmi.fh.& &%r Sh&, u'idmisaiom prioe ~oi'eO#fok a&l& ud 26# for oMldre~~6 6hargd. . . .' ?!%a Natioml Air show is owed and d+rated bp'lndividkli ia Atl6xtr; Q6or- gia, and.it traml6 fromplam to flak6 wheti the~Xum Si'~t&B6 give. Tab Ehar60,"&3t6 OhEW~~~.=hibdtiW~ bi%$i%gQf PirpltiO6 ud'th6 Juniox Chwber of Ce6mmr66 obtalmd 8 arll $ortlon'of th6 pkOo66dk 6fth.6. 66.id6hOWto lu diettikzted to~ths(JoodLallowFrPdudth6 8&aP6l Rmd forth6ir afforts in sponsori~ thm &a. . '.. : ". . .'There 1116no el~e?lt of OWpetitiCn iwmlvmi Patti iir Shm NhrtSO- -r. It R6 6l6I'dy8 dsmDn6tratioa Of tbe~hradli~ Of'rii@6X66 a& adro- 8autioal d&i666 for the purpose of iaabrwtikg and eduoatirgthe pldlio a6 totha ~~66aad muipnlrfioa of 6irp1a66, primarily. The sbr show it primar- ilyinthe nature of a piature shar,oper& play or aq+h&ng oft&trature, ero6ptth6trath6rth6%~6e filmor haveth6 show ooafiaednith5.m abuild- ix& the air Show of oour6e i6 outdd6, b6oause ofth6 naoessity of Using a large area. a .~ ln Artiols 7647a (19), which is"th6 only 6t6tut6 rs6koonqm&d uith ia this diEou66iOn, zwads a6 fOllOW6: '%6X=y p6rEOX,,fiw, 666OOiatibIAOf p6rEOIl6,or 6opmmtior orairg or open-at- illgSay ph0-6 Of 666I666,6ti whiqh Char@6 P &U-i66Orfee for ad6liEEiOa;ill- oludiwg exbibiticms a theaters, mxtionrp piotur6 theat6r6, opera hells, Pd iaoluding horse raoiag, dog raoing, m6tm-6yo&6 raoing,;W1W6OoM3a, =~oi%g, and Ilke OOXt66t6 and e%hibi~iOBt,-:6*-tioludirg daW6 hpl16, night dubs, skating rink6,apd 6sy pad all oth6r.plaoer of mtusemmt not pfohi%it6d %y Hon. George H. Sheppard , page 2 (O-820) law, shall fils'uith the State Comptroller a quarterly report ou th625th day of January, April, July, aad Ootober for the quartsr emiiag on the last day of the praosding month3 said report shall show the gross smount reoeivsd 6nd the price or fee for atission2 provided, howswr, no tan shall be levied underthis &t oaan6 ad6ds6ioa oollssted for dauoes, moving piotures, operas, p.l~~, and 61uaioLlentsrtaimwmtts, all the proceeds sf rhiuh inure exolusive~ ly toth6 beaefit of Etate, religtius, educational, or oharitable institutions, 60016t166, or organidation6, - if no part oft&e net earnings thereof inure to the benefit of any private stookholder or individual6 and provided further, that theater6, motion piotur6 theaters, operas, plays, and other like 65u66- ments where the admission oharge 16 less than fifty-one (51) cents per person, and when, no tan i6~dUe herermder, 6hall ‘be rslievsd fromihe filing of a report wd the paymnt of a frx lwied under the prsvi~isms of this &&ion. &id person, firm, assooiatioa of per6on6, 6r oor@oratloaa, at the tins of Emkiagmlah lwport shallpayto thsTrea6ur6rof this State a taxinlater ud amount6 as foll.ons6 61. A t6x of owcsnt oa eaoh ten (10) o&x or each frastimal part thereof p63d a6 a&6ission to theaters, moficmpiotursthsater6, op6ra6, plays, and lik6 6nuasemsni~6 *hers the acha'issisn oharg6dia in ems688 of fifty-ens (61) 06nb6 per per6cQt.' "2. A for of on6 osnt on eaohtea (10) oewts or saoh fractional part thsreof pid 86 admission to horse raoing, dog raoiag, 6mt6r-syole.raoing, automoM raoing, and likemeohauical oranimaloont66tr snd 6nhlbitions. ,ki6 subreo- tion 6h6ll 36 6ffeatiV6 on D6o6&6r 1, 1938. '3. A tax of oaeoent on saohtsn (10) Cents~or a'fbwtiowl prt thereof paid CL6Irmnimmionto duoe hrll.6,sight 01~66, 6lhting rink6,and 6ayand all &her lib, ph666 Of 666I666Bnt6,OOnb+t8, a6Id6Xhi7&tiOnE lrheI.6the ad&b&on 0hUg.O iS in eXOe68 Of flfi3'4nO (51) asnt6. 64. On the amounts pid for admission ly season ti&et, subsoription, or lease for admisaioa to ugr plaae of aviuaQneart, a tan squivalert toten (10) per ssatum of the pnount paid therefor, provided a siagls l&ii.~~ionto the plaoe of amuse- ment would be subjest to taxation under the foregoing provisions. %, &I all passes or ocmplim6ntary tiokets to any plaoe of amussm6nt mhere a tan on admlssioa is lsvied under '&is Sestion of this Act a tan equivalent to one oent on ePohten (10) oeats or each fraotimal part thereof charged as ad- mission where the a&cissi~ ohargs to such plaos of Pmasemslltis in sxass6 of filty-oae (51) sent8 per persoa. 66. All the &vsnue6 derived under and by virtua of this Swtion shall 56 orsditsd by the Treasurer, one-fourth to the AvailakilsWho01 Fund, 6nd thres- fourths to the Texas Old Age Assistano6 Fund.6 As the admission ohugo ia the 0~86 &der aonsider4tion was less than fifty-one (51) cents, It is olear that sub6eofioa8 la dn 3 of said Art%010 7047a(19) do not apply. We must con6ider whether or not subseotion 2 applies tothe facts in this sale. -- Hon. George Sheppard, page 3 (G-820) Itdll be notiabd that sub-section 2 places a tax on admissions to "horse raoing, dog raaing, motorayolb racing, automobile racing, and like meohanioal or animal eontests and dbitions.* Ev6rythiagthatis mxonbd specifioally i6 a type or kind of racing. Raoing is clearly a oontest or bxhihition. The word "like" is a wurd of modifiaation or limitation a6 used here. llhbnthe phrase.wlike meohanicl or animal contests of bxhibition8" fOlloWS a list of Epeoified oOkft66t8 and exhibitionS that caaSi6t only of racing, it is our oonclusion that the phrase means only contests and exhibi- tions of the same kind, towit, racing. This theory of reasoning is known a8 bjusdbm gbnsris, which 56 stated in 39 Tbx. Jut. 292, 6s follows: 24OZ'iS (Of the 86nM kind) impOrt;sthatgbnbral Word6 2tL‘zgz:Aeh pa ioular or spbaific thing6 will be ooafined +io things'bfthe samekind. n brief, i&b genm%Il WOld8 80 used are not t0 b6 aonstrued in their widest sense, brt lrto be held as applying only to pereoas or things of the 86z6b klad and alas6 a8 those enumerated. . . .s lkdbr t&b faots givenas thb s~timal Air show," which-you a6k abut; wa6 not a raob and included no raoing. Thbrbforb,.it is not covered %y Said EUbEba'iiW 2. m%‘b :&WA M) %X68 app6llat6 0OUX-t WA666 O,A this ~tiOUhr qUbEt%Oa, and we haw been una&le to find any out-of-atate d6ui-tdeoi6ions coastrulng a statute bxaotly like this3 hut we have found'soms appellate oourt 0~806 that hrw oonstrued Ei&utb~ Similar tothi~~oae. 'I,thb ease of RX g6rtb Roquomore, 80 Tex. Grim. B. 282,~~131~6.H. 1101, ~32 L. B. A. (8.8.) 1188, the Court of &iudxal &pp.&ii of ~TbxM ~Uabdt hb 8anb kind of rsasoning m bw used herb in holding that a hasb%6ll'g6mb did notoomb within the phra8b in &t&610 "8uOh other slfltl6W6WitS' l99 of the Penal Code of 1896, and in arriving atthat ooaolusion the oourt said: "To datbxminb this oorreotly, reooursb mwtb had to artiolb 199 of the Penal Me of 1896, oa whioh rblianoe i% had by the 6tatbto hold relator. This article is as followsr *Aq merohent, grocer, or dealer in wax-68or mer~han- disb, or trader in 6ny basinbss whatsoever, or the proprietor of 6ny plaoe of publio bmu~bmbnt, orthbagbnt or %plqe of aqvSuch person, who shall sell, barter or pewit hi6 plaoe of businessor plaoe of pulilioamusement to he open for the purpose Of tZbffio or pPibli0-S@Ibnt on Sunday, Shall be fined not 108s tbra trerrty aor more thaa fiffy dollars. The ten6 'PlUOe of public a~m851bnt~ shall ba OOnStXVbd to mean alrouses, thbatbr8, mrib+q theaters and suoh other amuscrmentaas are exhibited and for whioh an a&6ission fee is charged2 ud shall also inolude dance6 at disorderly houses, low dives and plaobs of like oharaoter with or without fees for admi86ioa.* Itwill h6 noted that th%S article undertakes to n6mb and designate the place of public amuaaent, sad it is said that it shall be 60 Oonstrued a6 to mean Oireusb6, theaters, variaty thbater6,and suoh other amu66mbnts a6 are exhibited aud for which an admission fee is charged, and shall also include dances at dis- orderly houses, low divb8,and plaobs of like character with or wihout fees for admission. That lmseball is not speoifioally n@bd, of 00111‘86, is clear. Hon. Cborge Ii.Sheppard, page 4 (C-820) Hhatwe are to understand hythb general term 'and such otheramrusbmnta as are exhibited and for mhioh 66 admission fee is charged?" clearly rltt t&Ilk amusements of a like or similar character. This seem6 to have %bbn the cou- 6trQdiOn giwn to a similar datutb %y mamy courts. . . . “tithe 0660 Of kX pi-b0 Muokbufuss, 52 Tex. Cr. R. 467, 107 6.W. 1131,wb hgd occa610n to rbvibw aud cumidbr at length the rule of oonstnxtioa ap plicahle to a statute suoh as thi6. We there said: 'It is a familiar rule that, uherb gb6crralwords folly ; particular and specific words, the fonu- br must bb ccnfinbd to things of the sams kind. . . . The doctrine itself is thus well expressed in Lesis* Sutherland, Statutory Construction: men there are general Word6 following partioular aud spboifio word8,thb former must be confined to thing8 Of the Sam, kind. -This 18 kno6n a8 the rtib or dOofrin0 of bjusdbm gsneris.' Some judicial 8fpte166nt8ofthi doctrinb arb herb givbn. %b,t gWV3t-PlWord8 fOllOrra0 ~blrtiO% Of pal-ticulpYthiwgS, suohwozds mUat he hbld to include only suchmpttbrs or objects mare of the ~a616kind as those specifically OWncrirtsd.~ *Thb rulb is that where WPdS of a pbrticul6.rdbsoriptioa in P 6tatutb arb followbd ly geaeral word8 that an, not so specific 6nd limited, unless thsre bb a clear manifbstbtion of a watraq purpose, the geabral words are to be con8iSued a8 applicalilbto persons or thiag6, or cases of like kind to those designatbd hytb partioti hZ'WWd6.* *It is a principle of 8tatutoay co66truotion bvwiywhbre rboog- nicbdawd actbdU~,not~tlylith'respe~to peti Statutb6,buttOthO60 affectirg 6614 civil right6 aad dutib6, that tieI-3 w0rdS partioulpr4 dbsig- nattiug 6pbCifiO.acf6 or tw6gS QMf followbd % b6d a68OQiatbd wlthwords of geaer6l impel-t,eoWprbhbW6~Vb~db8i~tiugabt6 OrthiWgs,thb 1attbral-b generally to be regarded a8 comprehending only~wattbn of thb 8nmb kimd or olrss asthose prtricularly stat6d. lhey are to be deemed to have been used, not iathe hoard 6ewe whichthbymlght hear, if standing d-0, tit 88 relet- bdtoth6 16~36 of morb dbfimlfb ubpPrticulsr616a~~imgWithWhioh thbyarb a6sooiatbd.~* . . ." The same t&e of rea8oming was used bythb 6upremb Court of l&nub- SOti it,thb 0960 Of 8kdO V. t%6lSb6~~a~, 112 Ibian.62, 127 B; we 444, 21 Ann. Gas. 670, inlbich it saidt 6. ; . That part of section 4981 nbcbssai$ to sbtcnt herb reads* Ull hunt- ing, shotting, fishing, playing; horse racing, gsmfng and other public sports, exercises pad sti.~* 6Dobs thb s&d 'show8' as u8ed in section 4Q8l inoludb a tiving pio- turb show, or similar bntbrtaim6bnt,whbm conducted in a building where the omly fbatur6 of publicity oonsists in the fact that the public i8 invitbd t0 attemdamd an-the laxildimgbgmams of ambS+ramcb opeming oaa pu%lio street? Xumtiag, shottimg, fishing,playimg, hoisb racing, pad gawimimg undoubtedly refer to outdoor life. The words~ 'other publio sports, exeroisb, amd shows,' by rbasom of their association lith what precbdbsthbm, refer to the 6-e aharacter of sports or brbroises, via., those conduoted out of doors. !&is is thb proper applioatiom of the malo ejusd& genbrisr Geaeral words, following am bmxwwration of particulars, are limitbd %y r6fereacs fo the prb- ceding particular Qumeration, andan, to %e con&rued as inoludiag only all Hon. George H. Sheppard, Rage 5 (O-620) other like things. . . . n. . . We have reaohed the -1usion that the exhibition as conducted by appellant is not within the provisions ofthe statute. . . ." Similar reasoning was used lythe Supreme Court of Illinois in the *se of CSty of Cliaton Vt.3ilso0, 257 Ill. 580, 101 N. E. 192, which see. Iu the oase under consideration,the contests and exhibitions sp,c- ifioally emmarated are all raoiug events, and under the rule of ejusdm eneris we do not think that the lards "like msohanioal or animal oontests Eiima Idtioass inolude or refer to axuair show," which consists of outdoor aeronautical demonstrations without racing of any kind. Other oases that support our &molusio~ a.re'State'v.Flather, 79 Kau. 513, 100 Pao. 57, 21 L.R.A. 23, 131-m. St. Rep. 3393 Ex parte Nset.167 lb. 527, 57 S.H. 1025, 80 &a. St. Rep. 6363 and Crute V. Mate, 21 Ala. App. 530, 109 Sou. 617r We do net believe our muolusina is in oonfliot with the oases of Rx parte klngerfelter, 64 Tex. Grim. Il.30, 142 S.X. 5552 3uooaro V. State. 02 Tea C&a. R. i, 197 8. lf. 9821 and He@saa V. State, 60 T&x. Crdm. R. 548, 227 S.U. 954; because those oases only held that a mbPiag $oture show was the ssme kindand &araeterof amusement as a theater and was imlndeddthin the phrace "theaters and suoh other amusements.* Our answer to your question isthat under the fasts suhmittad to us fbr consideration, there sre not admission texes due On the "Rational Air Shows sponsomd by the Fork Worth Junior Chamber of Commeroe.uader the terms of Article 7047~ (19). Very truly yours AlTo.RNJZY ~GEIWAL OF TEXAS By /s/ Cecil c. Ro-tsah Ceoil C. Rots& Assistant ~FJR~ti;~.3#&939 Opinion Wittee ByRYiF A'l!TOI?REYGERER6LOFTEXAS chairman (Note: For a prior opinion, see Vol. 380, p. 272 of letters of the Attoraey General which relatesto Fat Stock Shows)