Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1970 )

EY GENERAL A%-rORN&Y OncN&RAx. February 11, 1970 Cal. Wilson E. Speir Opinion No. M- 571 Director Texas Department of Public Safety Re: Whether the operator of a P. 0. Box 4087 vehicle transporting liquid Austin. Texas 78751 asphalt is required under Article 6701c- 1, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, to file a copy of his lease with the Depart- ment of Public Safety. Dear Colonel Speir: You have requested an opinion of this office as to whether operators of vehicles transporting liquid asphalt are exempted from the lease provisions of Article 6701c-1, Vernon’s Civil Statutes. Section 2 of Article 6701c-1 provides in part that the Act shall not apply to: 7,. D motor vehicles, commercial motor vehicles and truck tractors. . _ used exclusively in the transportation of sand, gravel, dirt, shell, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt rock, aggregate, and other similar road-building substances ordinarily transported in bulk. . ,” when such substances are being transported for the various purposes and to and from the various destmations further enumerated in this provision of the Act. Since liquid asphalt is not a named substance in this provision, it must fall within the phrase “other similar road-building substances” in order that the transportation of liquid asphalt might be exempt from the lease provisions of Article 6701c- 1. Of the various commodities named in Secti,on 2 of the Act there is one commodity that has many similariti,es to liquid asphalt. That named commodity is asphalt rock. Asphalt rock is defined in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1961, to be: “rock (as sand stone or lime stone) impregnated naturally with asphalt. ” [Emphasis added. ] -2726- Cal. Wilson E. Speir, page 2 (M- 571) In addition to the similarity arising from the presence of natural asphalt in asphalt rock, the two substances, asphalt rock and liquid asphalt, are generally used as road surfacing materials. As such, liquid asphalt is a “similar road- building substance” to asphalt rock and, therefore, included in Section 2, Article 6701c-1. SUMMARY The operator of a vehicle transporting liquid asphalt is exempted from the provisions of Article 6701c-1, V. C. S., with respect to the lease provisions and filing requirements of that Act. Resfitfully yours, _ Attorne General of Texas Prepared by James M. Mabry Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Kerns Taylor, Chairman W. E. Allen, Acting Co-Chairman Dunk Sullivan Alan Minter A. J. Gallerano Bennie Bock MEADE F. GRIFFlN Staff Legal Assistant ALFRED WALKER Executive Assi,stant NOLA WHITE First Assistant -2727-