Texas Attorney General Opinion: WW-1043 Page: 1 of 5
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F
THE ArTORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
AUSTIN is, TEXAS
WfIA WILASON
ATTORNEY GENERAL
May 1, 1961
Hon. Bill Hollowell, Chairman Opinion No. WW- 1043
State Affairs Committee
House of Repres entatives Re: Constitutionality of House
Austin, Texas Bill No. 47 Known as the
Sales Limitation Act.
Dear Mr. Hollowell:
With respect to your request for an opinion on the constitution-
ality of the proposed "Sales Limitation Act" incorporated in House Bill
No. 47, we submit the following.
In essence this bill prohibits the sale of merchandise below the
cost thereof when such sale is made with the purpose or intent to injure
competitors or destroy competition. It contains paragraphs providing
a definition of "cost basis" of merchandise sold and provides that proof
of one or more acts of selling any article or produce at less than the
cost thereof to such vendor together with proof that the person so selling
failed or refused to sell all or any part of his entire stock of said article
or produce at the advertised price thereof to any willing purchaser in
any quantity requested and for which payment in cash is tendered, is pre-
sumptive evidence of the purpose or intent to injure competitors or des-
troy competition.
The stated purpose of the bill is "to safeguard the public against
the creation or perpetuation of monopolies and to foster and encourage
competition by prohibiting unfair, dishonest, deceptive, destructive and
fraudulent practices by which fair and honest competition is destroyed and
prevented," Such a purpose is a legitimate object for the exercise of the
police power of the state. See cases collected in annotations at 118 ALR
506 and 128 ALR 1126.
The history of legislative enactments in Texas, similar to the
one under consideration, has been wrought with adverse decisions. One
of the first such bills limited its effect to grocery stores, and such a
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: WW-1043, text, May 1, 1961; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth267655/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.