Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1980 )

The Attorney General of Texas
December 29, 1980
MARK WHITE
Attorney General
Honorable Henry Wade Opinion No. MN-289
Criminal District Attorney
6th Floor, Records Building Re: Time at which livestock brands
Dallas, Texas 75202 must be re-registered under article
68991, V.T.C.S.
Dear Mr. Wade:
Article 6890, V.T.C.S., requires owners of various Livestock to have
distinct marks and brands and to record them with the clerk of the county in
which their livestock are located. Article 68991, V.T.C.S., provides that:
Section 1. (a) . . . In alL . . counties each owner
of. . . livestock. . . shall within six months after this
Act takes effect have his mark and brand for such
stock recorded in the office of the county clerk of
the county. . . whether the brands and marks have
been previously recorded or not.
. . . .
(cl After. . . six months from the taking effect of
this Act all records of marks and brands now in
existence in the ccunty shall no longer have any force
or effect. . . .
. . . .
Section 3. All brands and marks registered under
the provisions of this Act shall be re-registered every
10 years in the manner prescribed in Section 1 of this
act.
This act, which became effective August 30, 1971, clearly provides that
owners who recorded their marks snd brands within six months of that date
must re-record them ten years later, i&, within six months of August 30,
1981, and at subsequent ten-year intervals; however, it is not clear whether
owners who subsequently record new marks and brands pursuant to article
6890 must re-record them at the same time. You have asked this office to
resolve this ambiguity.
p. 922
Honorable Henry Wade - Pz;a Two (Mh- 289)
Article 6899j is susceptible of at least three interpretations: (1) that marks and
brands registered within six months of August 30, 1971- but not those first recorded
after that time - must be re-registered every ten years; (2) that all owners must re-
register their marks and brands ten years from the date they originally recorded them
and at subsequent ten-year intervals; or (3) that marks and brands recorded after
August 30, i971, but prior to August 30, 1981, must be re-registered within six months of
the latter date, and that at subsequent ten-year intervals, all brands and marks then
existing must be re-registered. Our objective in construing article 6899j is to
determine which interpretation best reflects the legislature’s intent. Rogers v. First
National Bank, 448 S.W.2d 149 (Tex. Civ. App. - El Paso 1969, writ ref’d n.r.e.); A.M.
Servicing Corp. v. State, 380 S.W.2d 747 (Tex. Civ. App. - Dallas 1964, no writ).
The legislative history of article 6899j sheds little light upon what was intended.
The bill analysis merely states that section 3 requires owners to ‘Ye-register marks and
brands every ten years.” Accordingly, we must determine the meaning of the act by
considering other factors, such as “the end to be obtained, the mischief to be remedied
and the purpose to be accomplished.” City of Irving v. Dallas County Flood Control
District, 377 SW. 2d 215, 219 (Tex. Civ. App. - Tyler 1964), rev’d on other grounds, 383
S.W.2d 571 (Tex. 1964).
It seems apparent that the primary objective of article 6899j was to provide
county clerks with accurate, updated records of marks and brands that would be
revised at ten-year intervals. The act requires all brands, whether previously recorded
or not, to be registered within six months of its effective date, and states that upon
expiration of that six-month period other records of marks and brands “shall no longer
have any force or effect.” V.T.C.S. art. 6899j, §l(c). It further provides that marks
and brands registered under its provisions, including the time-frame set forth therein,
shall be re-registered every ten years. It follows that the first interpretation
suggested above, which would exclude from the re-registration requirement marks and
brands which were first recorded after that six-month period, could not have been
intended. As between the second and third alternatives, moreover, we believe the
third was most likely intended. That interpretation requires owners to re-register
their marks and brands during the same six-month period every ten years, without
regard to when they originally recorded them, thus providing a practical and efficient
means of ensuring that clerks have a revised set of records every ten years.
It is also relevant to note that article 6899h, V.T.C.S., which is concerned with
marks and brands of livestock in Fayette County, provides for re-registration “at the
end of each ten-year period from the effective date of this Act.” (Emphasis added).
V.T.C.S. art. 6899h, 52. Other statutory provisions bearing on the same subject may be
considered in ascertaining legislative intent. Trinity Universal Insurance Co. v.
McLaughlin, 373 S.W.2d 66 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1963, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
For these reasons, we conclude that article 68991 is to be construed as requiring
that all marks and brands registered prior to August 30, 1981, must be re-registered
within six months of that date, and that the re-registration process must be repeated
at subsequent ten-year intervals for then-current owners.
p. 923
Honorable Henry Wade - Page Three (NIV-289)
SUMMARY
Article 68993, V.T.C.S., requires that all marks and brands
registered prior to August 30, 1981, must be re-registered within
six months of that date, and that the Fe-registration process
must be repeated at subsequent ten-year intervals for then-
current owners.
MARK WHITE
Attorney General of Texas
JOHN W. FAINTER, JR.
First Assistant Attorney General
RICHARD E. GRAY III
Executive Assistant Attorney General
Prepared by Jon Bible
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Susan L. Garrison, Acting Chairman
Jon Bible
Rick Gilpin
Peter Nolan
Bruce Youngblood
p. 924