No. V-0091 (1947).

• Case Date: March 20, 1947
• Court: Texas

Texas Attorney General Opinions 1947. No. V-0091 (1947). 1March 20, 1947Hon. Homer Garrison, Jr., DirectorTexas Department of Public SafetyDriver's License DivisionCamp MabryAustin, TexasOpinion No. V-91Re: Authority of the Highway Department to require the surrender of driver's license; sufficiency of demand for such license.Dear Sir:Your opinion request is as follows:

"A licensee has been finally convicted of aggravated assault upon the person by means of a motor vehicle. Section 24 of Article 6687b, passed by the Forty-seventh Legislature, provides for the automatic suspension of the operator's, commercial operator's or chauffeur's license upon a final conviction of this offense.

"Sub-section a, Section 25, of this same Article authorizes the Court in which conviction is had to require the surrender of all operator's, commercial operator's, and chauffeur's license then held by the person so convicted.

"Our Question No. 1 is: Whether or not the Texas Department of Public Safety has the authority under Section 26 of Article 6687b, to require the licensee to surrender his license certificate when the Court of conviction fails to order the surrender of the operator's, commercial operator's or chauffeur's license. Question No. 2. Would notification made through formal suspension order to the licensee by regular U.S. mail constitute service under Section 26 and make the licensee subject to the penalty provided in paragraph 4 of Section 32, if he fails to comply?"

2The Legislature, in creating the Department of Public Safety, prescribed that it be generally responsible for the enforcement of laws protecting the public safety, for the prevention and detection of crime, and that it maintain principal office and headquarters in the City of Austin, where all of its records shall be kept. See Title 70, Ch. 5, Vernon's Civil Statutes of Texas, and in particular Article 4413. (1). The Department's duties are peculiarly designed and conceived in connection with the enforcement of our traffic safety laws of which the driver's license law is an important part. The driver's license law, Article 6687b, contemplates that the Department of Public Safety shall be generally responsible for the administration and enforcement of its provisions. Elaborate provisions are made for both the qualification of drivers and the issuance of evidence...