No. C-700 (1966).

• Case Date: June 01, 1966
• Court: Texas

Texas Attorney General Opinions 1966. No. C-700 (1966). 3373June 1, 1966General Thomas S. BishopAdjutant GeneralAdjutant General's Dept.Austin, TexasOpinion No. C-700Re: Constitutionality of Section 5 of Article 5766 as amended by House Bill 410, Acts of the 59th Legislature, Regular Session, Chapter 690, page 1601, at page 1604.Dear General Bishop:You have requested our opinion on the validity of Section 5 of Article 5766, Vernon's Civil Statutes, as amended, which reads as follows:

"Section 5. (a) Any member of the State Military Forces going to and returning from any parade, encampment, drill or other meeting which he may be required by law to attend, shall, together with his conveyance and military property, be allowed to pass through all toll roads, bridges and ferries, free of charge, if he is in uniform and if he presents an order for duty or such identification as the Adjutant General shall prescribe.

"(b) Any member of the State Military Forces who claims the privilege conferred in Subsection (a) when he is not in truth and in fact in the status therein mentioned shall upon conviction thereof be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200)."

The question raised in your request is whether the above-quoted provisions impair the obligation of the contract entered into by the Texas Turnpike Authority pursuant to the provisions of Article 6674v, dated April 1, 1965, the same being a trust agreement pursuant to Section 11 of Article 6674v, Vernon's Civil Statutes. Section 502 of the trust agreement reads as follows:

"Section 502. The Authority covenants that tolls will be classified in a reasonable way to cover all traffic, so that the tolls may be uniform in application to all traffic falling within any reasonable class regard-

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less of the status or character of any person, firm or corporation participating in the traffic; that no reduced rate of toll will be allowed within any such class except through the use of commutation or other tickets or privileges based upon frequency or volume and that no free vehicular passage will be permitted over the (Tollway) (Turnpike) other than its approaches and service roads, except to members, officers, employees, agents and representatives of the Authority and the State Highway Department, police officers of the United States, of the State of Texas and of its political subdivisions, but only when any of them is acting in the discharge of their official duties."

Section 16 of Article I of the Constitution of Texas prohibits the enactment of any law impairing the obligation...