Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1972 )

THE A-RNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
AUSTIS. TFZXAR 7s.711
October 25, 1972
Chairman Byron Tunnel1 Opinion No. M- 1248
Railroad Commission of Texas
P. 0. Box 12967, Capitol Station Re: Under Arti~cle 911b, V. C. S.,
Austin, Texas 78711 is a common carrier required
to register, under its authority,
vehicles used solely for pickup
and delivery within a zone
designated by the Rai,lroad Com-
mission as a “commercial zone”
where’such vehicles connect
with and form an integral part
of the carrier’s total regulated
movements into and out of the
Dear Mr. Tunnel]: “commercial zone”?
In relation to your question, you provide us with the following facts:
A Railroad Commi,ssion certificated regular route, regular schedule motor
common carri,er, is authorized to conduct regulated fo:r.-hi,re transportation
originating at or rermi,nating a,t a point within a commercial zone designated
by the Railroad Commi~ssi,on under t:he author&y confer-red upon it by
Article 911b, Secti,on 1 (g), Vernon’s Civil Statutes. The carrier possesses,
in addition to its over-the-road, or line-haul, vehi,cles, certain other pi,ck-
up and delivery equipment which i,s employed entirely wi,thin t:he commercial
zone. The two types of equipment are used together in this manner: The
carrier’s over-the-road vehicles load and disc,harge freight at the c,arri.er’s
terminal within the commerci,al zone, while the carri.er’s Eghter vehicles
pick up and deliver the freight from shippers or to consignees within the zone.
You ask us whether the pick-up and deljvery equipment whi,ch moves
freight in conjunction wi,th regulated transportation by the same ca’rr ier, i,s
operated under r.he certificate under whic,h t/he carrier operates and is thus
subject to the reporting requirement a~nd annual payment apeci,fi,ed by Motor
Transpo-rt:ation Regulati,ons of rhe Railroad Cornmi,ssion of Texas? Section
9. 1 (Apr. 29, 1970), issued pursua,nt to Article 91,lb, or whether ir:s employ-
ment falls wi~thi,n the statutory cri,terion of oper,acion wirhin a, co:mmercial
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Chairman Byron Tunnell, page 2 (M-1248)
zone and is thus not operated under the c,ertificate under which the carrier
operates and need not be reported upon. It is our opini,on that such equipment
is not operated under the carrier’s certi~ficate and need not be reported upon.
The Motor Transportation Regulati.ons, supra, Secti.on 9. 1 (a), requires
that “each motor ca,rrier . . . shall fi,le withRailroad Commission,
separately for each ce:rti,fi,ca,te or permit under which it operates. . . an
equipment report. 1 D accompani~ed by a cashier’s check or certified check
or money order payable to th,e State Treasurer covering the payments~pre-
scribed in subsections (b) and (c) of t:his Section.” Subsection (b) sets out
the schedule for such annual payments by motor carriers. The term “motor
carrier” is defined to include:
11
any person,
. firm, corporati,on, company, copartner-
ship, associ,ati,on or joint stock association, and their les-
sees, receivers, or trustees appointed by any court what-
soever owni,ng, controlling, managing, operating, or causing
to be operated any motor-propelled vehicle used in trans-
porting propercy for compensation or hire over any public
highway in this state, where in the course of such transpor-
tation a highway between two or more incorporated cltles,
towns or villages 1~s traversed. ” Art. Ylib, Section 1 (g).
Ihmphasis added. J
However, Article 911b, Secti,on 1 (g), a~lso authorizes the Rai.lroa,d Commission
to:
“define and prescribe, . . commercial zones adja~cent
to and commerc,ially a part of any specified incorporated
muni,cipality and wi,thin whi~ch operations as a motor
carrier may be performed with,out a certi,fi.cate or permit
authorizing same and within whi,ch strictly local service
wholly withi.n such commercial zon,e may be performed a,t
rates a,nd charges orher than t:hose prescribed by the
[ Rai,lroad] Comm,issi,on. ‘”
It is our opi,ni,on r.hat: the Legi,slature intended to grant t,he widest pos-
sible freedom from ,regula,ti,on to those car.riers who perform “strictly
local service wh,olly wi~thin [a] commercia,l zone, ” (Art. 91,lb, Sec. 1 (g)),
and that Secci,on ‘1(g) looks to rhe geographic employment: of the equipment,.
-6109-
Chairman Byron Tunnell, page 3 (M-1248)
Therefore, equipment which is employed both within and without the com-
mercia.1 zone is operated under the carrier’s certifi,cate and must be
reported upon, while equipment employed enti~rely within the zone meets
the statutory criteri,on, is not operated under the carrier’s certificate and
t:hus need not be reported, upon. In the present situation, the carrier need
not either report upon or make annual payments for his pick-up and delivery
equipment as long as it is employed entirely within the commercial zone
designated by the Railroad Commission, even though thi,s equipment is
employed in conjunction with the delivery of shipments whi,ch ori~ginated in
the commercial zone but: were desti~ned to a point beyond the commercial
zone as well as shipments moving i,n the opposite direction.
SUMMARY
Motor ca,rrier equipment operated entirely within
the boundaries of a commercial zone established by
the Rai,lroad Commission is not operated under a
certi~fied carrie~r’s certificate and need not be reported
upon although i.t i,s employed in conjunction with regu-
lated transportati,on by equipment owned by the same
regula,.r route, regular schedule motor common carri,er.
Very&y yours,
D C. MARTIN
Prepared by Rex H. Whi,te, Jr.
Assistant Attorney Genera,1
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Kerns Taylor, Cha~i-rman
W. E Allen, Co-Chai.rm,an
-6110-
.
‘I
Chai-rman Byron Tunnel& page 4 (M-1248)
Jack Spa,rks
James Maxwell
Bill F lanary
R. D. Green
SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL
Staff Legal Assistant
ALFRED WALKER
Executive Assistant
NO’LA WHITE
First Assistant
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