Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0809 Page: 4 of 6
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The Honorable Paul Johnson - Page 4
the subdivision pay all or part of the cost of extending and enforcing
the traffic rules in the subdivision ....
(d) On issuance of an order under this section, the private roads in
the subdivisidn are considered to be county roads for purposes of the
application and enforcement of the specified traffic rules. The
commissioners court may place official traffic control devices on
property abutting the private roads [under certain circumstances].
TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. 542.007 (West Supp. 2010).
You are specifically concerned about the meaning of the term "private subdivision" and
whether section 542.007 could apply in the County. See Request Letter at 4. The term "private
subdivision" is found only in the title of section 542.007. TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. 542.007
(West Supp. 2010). Language in the body of section 542.007 clarifies that the section applies to a
subdivision that has "private roads." Id. 542.007(d). The phrase "private road" is defined, for
purposes of subtitle C of the Transportation Code, which includes chapter 542, as "a privately owned
way or place used for vehicular travel and used only by the owner and persons who have the owner's
express or implied permission." Id. 541.302(9) (West 1999). Thus, the phrase "private
subdivision" as used in section 542.007 refers to a subdivision that, among other things,6 has private
roads. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. 311.01 l(a)-(b) (West 2005) ("[w]ords and phrases shall be
read in context" and words that have a particular meaning because of legislative definition shall be
construed accordingly).
You tell us that the roads at issue are public roads. See, e.g., Request Letter at I (asking if
the County can adopt traffic regulations on "non-county maintained public roads"). Consequently,
because the subdivision at issue does not have private roads, we conclude that it is not a private
subdivision under section 542.007. Having determined that section 542.007 is not applicable to the
subdivision in your scenario, we find it unnecessary to consider whether section 542.007 applies to
the County. See Request Letter at 4 (prefacing question about whether the County can utilize section
542.007 until the next federal decennial census on a determination that the subdivision at issue is a
"private subdivision").
IL District Authority
As to a fresh water supply district, you ask if a district is "included within the definition of
a 'local authority' or 'other local entity,' such that [a district] has the lawful authority to adopt traffic
regulations on a non-county maintained public road located in a subdivision within" the district.
6For instance, a private subdivision under section 542.007 is also a subdivision that is located in an
unincorporated area of a county. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. 542.007(a) (West Supp. 2010). And the roads must,
at least in a situation where the property owners petition the commissioners court to extend traffic rules, be privately
maintained. See id. 542.007(b).(GA-0809)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0809, text, October 5, 2010; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275705/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.