Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-111 Page: 5 of 6
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The Honorable Jerry Patterson - Page 5
investigation company, guard company, alarm systems company, or to offer
his services in such capacities or engage in any business or business activity
required to be licensed by this Act unless he has obtained a license under the
provisions of this Act.
Id. 13(a) (emphasis added). Your request suggests that you believe the district is engaging in the
business of or performing the services of an investigation, guard or similar company by providing
and charging for the security at events held by the outside organizations without a license in
violation of the act.'
We do not believe that the licensure requirements of the act apply to the district, a political
subdivision of the state. The district is a junior college district.2 A junior college district is a
political subdivision of the state" and therefore a public entity. It is a state educational agency and
can only perform governmental functions."4 The act, however, was adopted to regulate the private
security industry." A "person" for the purposes of the act is defined to "include(] [a] individual,
firm, association, company, partnership, corporation, nonprofit organization, institution, or similar
entity." V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29bb), 2(2). A political subdivision is not specifically listed among
those comprising "person[s]." Id. Nor is a political subdivision qualitatively similar to those listed
so as to be embraced within the term "or similar entity" in the above definition."6 It is a well-
established rule of statutory construction that the express enumeration of particular persons or things
in a statute is tantamount to an express exclusion of all others.'7 If the legislature had intended the
"You do not specify how or why you believe the district is violating the act.
'2See supra note I.
'Attorney General Opinion M-707 (1970) at 3; see also Hander v. San Jacinto Junior College, 519 F.2d 273,
279 (5th Cir. 1975) (Texas junior college districts are independent political subdivisions for Eleventh Amendment
purposes).
"See Dealey v. Dawas County Junior College Dist., 434 S.W.2d 724, 726 (Tex. Civ. App.-Waco 1968, writ
ref'd n.r.e.) (Dallas County Junior College District is body politic of state and as such is state educational agency and
can only perform governmental functions) juniorr college district not answerable in tort while exercising governmental
functions).
'SGray, 940 S.W.2d at 215, 216 (statute clearly intended to regulate private security industry); see also Bates
v. State, 587 S.W.2d 121, 131 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979) (act concerned with licensing of private investigators and is
patently inapplicable to individual participating in criminal investigation as state's agent).
"See 67 TEX. JutR. 3D Stautes 108 (1989) (general words following enumeration of particular things confined
to things of the same kind as those described particularly).
"'Exparte Mclver, 586 S.W.2d 851, 856 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979) (superseded by statute on other grounds as
stated in Ex parte Johnson, 697 S.W.2d 605 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985)); see generally 67 'ITx. JuR. 3D Statutes 119
(1989).(L097-111)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO97-111, text, December 10, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth277293/m1/5/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.