Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1352 Page: 2 of 6
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Hon. William L. Taylor, page 2 (V-1352)
Your first reason for questioning the consti-
tutionality of House Bill 584 is that the Act discrim-
inates against out-of-county hunters, limiting them to
three days' hunting during the open season while county
residents are not so limited. You feel the classifica-
tion of persons as resident and nonresident of the re-
spective counties is unreasonable in relation to the
spirit and purpose of the regulation and is arbitrary
and unjustly discriminatory. It will also be observed
that the penalty prescribed by Section 3 for violation
of the Act is more severe than the penalty provided by
the general law, Article 873, V.P.C.
Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution reads:
"All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdic-
tion thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which
shall abridge the privileges or immunities
of citizens of the United States; nor shall
any State deprive any person of life, liberty,
or property, without due process of law; nor
deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the lavs." (Emphasis
added.)
Texas Constitution, Article I, Section 3, reads:
"All free men, when they form a social
compact, have equal rights, and no man or
set of men, is entitled to exclusive separ-
ate public emoluments, or privileges, but in
consideration of public services."
The regulation of game and vild life by the Leg-
islature of Texas is a valid regulation under the police
power of the State. However, any such regulation as House
Bill 584 must not discriminate among the citizens of the
State as to their right and privilege to take and enjoy
the game and wild life of the State. This wild life or
game "is owned by the State of Texas in trust for all of
the people of the state." Att'y Gen. Op. V-22 (1947).
It is our opinion that the dividing of hunters
of deer within a county into two groups, resident and non-
resident, and limiting nonresident hunters to three days
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1352, text, November 20, 1951; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth266170/m1/2/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.