Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1984 )

I
. .
The Attome)’ General of Texas
December 20, 1984
M MAllOX
I
Attorney General
``feme cewl BUllOlng Ronorable Mergeret Moore Opinion No. JH-281
P. 0. Box 12548 Travis County Attoruc!)~
‘.rrtin. TX. 7.9711.
2540 P. 0. Box 1740 Re: When a county msy charge the
W75-2501 Austin, Tex*s 7876’~ optional $5.00 vehicle reglstra-
**1*x QlolS71-1367
tion fee
Telecopier51214754l2S6
Dear Ms. Moore:
, A Jackson.Sulle 700
DalIal. lx. 75202-4x4 article 6675a-9a. V.T.C.S., with
You have asked 11s to construe
-4r742-Ss44
regard to the time 111:which the optional county vehicle registration
fee may be imposed an license plate renewals. The statutory language
4s24 Albem ha.. Suite ISO about which you IoquLre reads as follow:
-’ Paso. TX. 799052793
y53534s4 (b) A county may impose a fee under this
section onl:y to take effect beginning January 1 of
rexae. sui1a700 a year ending In a ‘5’ or a ‘0’. (Emphasis added).
>usIo”. TX. 77002.3111
7lY223-58m Section 3 of the same act, Rouse Bill No. 965. whose first section
added article 6675a-9a. provides that
* Sroedw*y. Suit9 312
Lubbwk. TX. 79401-3479
A fee imposed by s county under Section
Sw747.5238 9a . . . applies to a registration period that
begins on or after the date the fee takes effect.
(Emphasis added).
009 N. Tenth. Suite B
MeAllen.TX. 7s5o1-lw5
r2t2J32a47 Acts 1983, 68th Leg., ch. 022. st 4710. Essentially. you ask vhen it
is eppropriate for a county to begin charging the extra $5.00 fee. We
conclude that e eaunty Vhose comissloners court has adopted the
IQ) Maln flua. Suite 400 optional county vehicle registretion fee in compliance vith article
an Antonio. TX. 782052797
6675e-9a may begin ctlarging such fee only on January 1. 1985 and only
ra22Ylsl
with regard to veh:lc:les which. under the established administrative
construction, becow! eligible for registration renewal on that date or
thereafter.
The uncertainty which has led to your Inquiry appears to have
been engendered because article 6675a-9a has been imbedded in a
statutory scheme of gear-round vehicle registration. which replaced a
system that for fility years contained a uniform annual registration
running from April :I to March 31. Art. 6675a-1 et seq. You have
sugge~sted that either. the extra $5.00 fee should be assessed only on
all registration renewals purchased on or after January 1. 1985. or
gonorablr Nargsret Noore - Pagtr 2 (rn-281)
thst the extra $5.00 fee sh#xJld be assessed on all registrations
expiring on or after Dscembc’r 31, 1984, even if the renewal is
purchased during the tvu months prior to January 1. 1985. Hovever,
the well-•etablfshed rule of Lw that statutes vhfch fix fess are to
be strictly construed against allowing a fee by implication militntes
agslnst your suggested couclur~ion. Moore v. Sheppard, 192 S.W.Zd 559
(Tex. 1946); UcLennan County v, BOggsSb. 137 S.W. 346 (Tex. 1911).
Tour second suggested anrlyels , that the optloual fee is meant to
apply to all regfstratlons exl,!iring on or after December 31. 1984. Is
based on the tvo mouth time period during which you believe a renewal
may be purchased prior to its expirstion. Section 5 of article
6675a-3e provides that:
license plates may tme purchased during the month
preceding the datl? on which the registration
expires.
Article 6675a-4(a) provides t’kat:
Each registration ye.ar . . . shall . . . expire on
the last day of ,:he last calendar month in a
registration period.
As an orfgifd matter. we might conclude that the “month” referred to
in article 6675a-3s. section !i , was only the calendar month, 55 Tex.
Jur. 2d Time 13 (1964). pramding the close of business on the last
day of thzery month ia vhf,ch the registration expired. However. we
agree with you that chew is sufficient ambiguity that it is
reasouable to reach the concl.u.sion that the time period during vhich a
renaval may be purchased is the -two months preceding the date on vhich
the registration expires.
Indeed, that is the conclusiou arrived at by the Texas Department
of Highvays, es demonstrated. by the testimony of gr. Robert Townsly.
Director of Motor Vehicle DQr:Lsion of the Texas Ugbway Department. at
a hearing before the Rouse Transportation Cocmittee wherein he
indicated that renewal notices would be sent out in the “month
preceding the month in vhict. the registration is due.” Bill Analysis
to House Bill No. 1924. (84th Leg., Legislative Reference Library
(1975). Llkavise, the curwut manual issued to county tax assessor-
collectors by the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transporta-
tion refers to
a tvo-month registration renewal period - the
month in
which t’,w current registration expire5
and the month immc:d.lately preceding the expiration
month.
p. 121r3
Uonotablo Narpret Moor. - Pallo 3 (JW281)
State of Texas Lava and Saguiations Relating to the gcgistration of
Vehiclea Sec. 3.(b) II (1982). See also &, 23s et seq. Mile the
interpretation* of statutea ude by lgcociea charged vith their
administration are not con``ls1~1~0~ they should be given substantiel
weight. ?!x Parte Roloff. 310 S.Y.Zd 913 (tes. 1974). Nevertheleaa.
-pi-t d mtqgp&ub -lanw~r:ufira. w. LM -&+ul ~mllbx %
vitiatea the plain meaning of’ the vordr “take effect” in section (b)
of article 667Sa-9a. Article 10. V.T.C.S.. requires that uorde
routinely be given their “ortllnary signification.” See Jones v. Del
Anderson and Aasociateo, 539 S.U.Zd 346 (fex. 1976).Webeter’r New
ColJegiate Dictionary define11 the term “tahe effect” as “to become
operative.” Therefore, the optional fee mey be chrrged only on and
after January 1. 1985.
your first suggested analyale of the timing of the implementation
of the optiooal fee accept8 this conclusion. but results in a strained
lppllcation of your construc:r,ion of the phrase “registration period”
in article 6675a-4 to section 1 in House Bill No. 965, n Therein
“regirtration period* appears to aean the rpan of tims of not more
than twelve months for vhich a regintratioa is valid. Its usage in
that provlsien seems to be the product of the fact that the Texas
Department of Highways YE,I authorized to establish different
registration years for different claeslfications of vehicles end to
prorate annual registration f,css on a monthly basia. If the phrase
“registration period” means the same thing in article 6675a-4 aa in
section 3 of llouse Bill No. 965. it produces the follcuing lnomalous
results: (1) for the firat web registration “period” to begin on or
after January 1, 1985. the two month period for the reneuel of
registretions expired on Del:emher 31, 1984; end (2) the tvo month
period for the reneual of registratloaa for the next such registration
“period” extends from Decembw 1, 1964. to January 31. 1985. and thus
reneuals of registraclonr exl~%ring on January 31 would not be rubject
to the extra $5.00 fee if Dnrchased before January l.but vould be
subject to that fee if purcha,ccd after December 31.
Ye think ic uoreasonablc to attribute an intent to create such
absurd results to the l~gisleture. especially when a simple,
strolghtfonard explanation of the plain meaning of the lna c twnt
(sections 1 and 3 of House B,L:LlNo. 965) is readily apparent. If the
phrase “registration period” .Ln section 3 is taken to mean the period
for reneual of registrations, then all tegistmtlone which are to
expire on February 28, 1965, would be subject to the extra $5.00 fee
during the entire period of t:heir eligibility for renewal (January 1
through February 26). Such an lnterpretatlon causes no lnomelous
results snd is soundly groundSed in the princlplc that the leginlaturc
kncv the established administrative construction of rrticle 667Sa-3e.
section 5.
p. 1244
Wmorablo Uaryret lIooro - PawI 4 (Jb281)
A eo unc u hyich ohl e
do p td tha opt-1 $5.00
vehicle re8iatrathw fea uy be8in cbaqin8 it
oely on Jau~ry 1, 19885,end only for the reneud
of relistratiooo which expire oo Iebnury 28.
1985.
JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas
TOI4GRN6N
pirrt Aoaiatant Attoraey Genewl
DAVID 1. RIGHARDS
Executive Assistant Attorney General
PlQ( GILpIN
t3drman. Opinion ColiCtee
Prepared by Colin Carl
Asaiatant Attonwy General
APpPsOvm:
OPINIONCGIDIITTEE
Rick Gilpin, Glmirun
Colin Gal
Suaan Garrison
Tony Guillory
JimHoelliqer
Jennifot RIGGS
Nancy Sutton