Can a Texas parent teach their teen driver education without a driving-school license?

Plain-English summary

In 1995 the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 964, a broad overhaul of driver safety and education. A floor amendment by Representative Horn added section 7A to article 6687b, V.T.C.S., creating a new option: a parent or legal guardian could teach a state-approved driver education course directly to their own child instead of sending the child to a commercial driving school or a school course. The Department of Public Safety, which had to set up the approval system, asked the Attorney General four questions about how the new section worked.

First, does a parent who teaches under section 7A have to get a commercial driver training school license under article 4413(29c)? The office said no. That licensing statute (administered by what is now the Texas Education Agency) regulates "driver education schools," defined as enterprises that maintain a place of business or solicit business for the education and training of persons. A parent teaching one child at home is not that kind of enterprise, and many of the licensing requirements (adequate staff, a published tuition and refund schedule, being "financially sound and capable of fulfilling its commitments for training") make no sense applied to a parent. So a parent or guardian teaching an approved section 7A course is not required to be licensed as a commercial driver training school. The parent still has to meet section 7A's own conditions for the course to be approved.

Second, does the parent have to be home-schooling the child? The office said no. Representative Horn, introducing the amendment, had described it as letting home-schoolers be taught by their parents, and some people understood it that way. But the text of section 7A is not limited to home-schooled children; it applies to "the parent or legal guardian of a person who is required to complete successfully a driver training course to obtain a class C license," which means any Texan aged sixteen to under eighteen who needs a course to get licensed. The office applied the rule that when a statute's words are clear, courts follow the plain meaning and do not use legislative history to rewrite it, and concluded section 7A reaches all parents, not just home-schooling ones.

Third, may the Texas Education Agency give the Department of Public Safety the completion certificates for students who finish a section 7A course? The office said yes. Section 9A of article 4413(29c) has the agency print and supply serially numbered driver education certificates, and section 7A(d) says completing a parent-taught course has "the same effect" as completing an agency-approved course. Read together, the statutes contemplate that these certificates reach DPS, and some cooperation between the agency and the department is needed to make the system work.

Fourth, may the department, by rule, set the minimum curriculum a parent-taught course must cover? The office said yes. Section 7A(a) directs the department to provide "by rule" for approval of these courses, and section 7A(b) lets the department approve a course only if the materials are "at least equal to" those in an agency-approved course. To apply that standard the department has to be able to identify the minimum required materials, so it may adopt a rule listing them, as long as the rule stays consistent with section 7A. The office added that no parent could teach a course until the department's rules were in place and it had approved the particular course.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

This opinion interpreted Senate Bill 964 from the 1995 legislative session and section 7A of former article 6687b, V.T.C.S., which the same legislature was recodifying into chapter 521 of the Transportation Code. The old V.T.C.S. article and statute numbers in this opinion have since been replaced by Transportation Code and Education Code provisions, and the parent-taught driver education program has been amended over the years. Read this page for the office's 1996 reading of the new statute, and check the current Transportation Code and Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation rules before relying on any specific requirement.

What the opinion meant at the time

For parents and guardians: The opinion meant a parent or guardian could teach a state-approved driver education course to their own child without becoming a licensed commercial driving school, and that this option was open to any eligible teen's parent, not only families that home-schooled. The course still had to be approved by DPS under section 7A.

For the Department of Public Safety: The opinion meant DPS had authority to write rules setting the minimum curriculum for parent-taught courses, and that no parent could begin teaching until those rules existed and the specific course was approved.

For the Texas Education Agency: The opinion meant the agency could supply DPS with the course-completion certificates for students who finished section 7A courses, and that the two agencies needed to coordinate to carry out the program.

For lawyers: The office resolved the home-school question on plain-meaning grounds (Boykin v. State; Sorokolit v. Rhodes), declined to narrow the text using floor remarks, read section 9A and section 7A(d) in harmony (Barr v. Bernhard; Black v. American Bankers Ins. Co.), and noted that complaints about the policy of section 7A belonged with the legislature.

Common questions

Can a Texas parent teach their own teenager driver education?
Under Senate Bill 964 and section 7A, yes, if the course is approved by the Department of Public Safety. The opinion confirmed a parent or legal guardian could teach an approved driver education course to their child to satisfy the requirement for a Class C license.

Does the parent need a driving-school license?
No. The office concluded a parent teaching an approved section 7A course is not a "driver education school" and does not have to be licensed under article 4413(29c). The licensing rules target enterprises that maintain or solicit business, not a parent teaching one child.

Is parent-taught driver education only for home-schooled kids?
No. Although the amendment was discussed in terms of home-schoolers, the office held the plain text of section 7A covers the parent or guardian of any teen who needs a driver training course to get a Class C license, so it is not limited to home-schooled children.

Who tracks that the course was completed?
The Texas Education Agency prints serially numbered driver education certificates, and the office concluded the agency may provide those completion certificates to the Department of Public Safety for students who finish a section 7A course.

Could a parent start teaching as soon as the law passed?
No. The office said a parent could not teach a course until the department's rules implementing section 7A were in place and the department had approved the particular course to be given.

Background and statutory framework

Two layers of statute had to be read together. Article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S., the Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act, makes the Texas Education Agency license and regulate "driver training schools" and instructors. Section 10 bars operating a "driver training school" without a license, and the defined terms (section 3) reach "driver education schools" and "driving safety schools," described as enterprises that maintain a place of business or solicit business for the education and training of persons. Section 13 lists what such a school must show to be licensed, including adequate instructors, a published tuition and refund schedule, and financial soundness. The office read these definitions and requirements as aimed at commercial enterprises, not at a parent teaching a single child, so a parent-taught section 7A course falls outside them.

The other layer was the new section 7A of article 6687b, added by Senate Bill 964 (the legislature was simultaneously recodifying article 6687b into chapter 521 of the Transportation Code without substantive change, so the office referred to "former article 6687b"). Section 7A directs DPS to provide "by rule" for approval of a parent-taught or guardian-taught driver training course, sets conditions (the adult must be a licensed driver, not convicted of criminally negligent homicide or DWI, and not disabled by mental illness; the student must get minimum classroom and behind-the-wheel hours), and provides in subsection (d) that completing such a course has "the same effect" as completing an agency-approved course. Amended section 7(a) of article 6687b made a completion certificate one of the conditions for a Class C license for a person aged sixteen to under eighteen.

On the home-school question, the office applied the Texas rule of statutory construction: when the words are unambiguous, courts follow their plain and common meaning and look to the collective intent expressed in the text, "because the text of the statute is the law" (Boykin v. State; Sorokolit v. Rhodes). Although Government Code section 311.023 lets courts consider legislative history whether or not a statute is ambiguous, courts should not use it to change an unambiguous statute. Section 7A's text covers the parent or guardian of any teen who needs the course, so it is not confined to home-schooled children. (In a footnote the office noted that a home school can qualify as a private school under the compulsory-attendance exception, citing Texas Education Agency v. Leeper and Education Code section 25.086(a).) On the certificate question, the office harmonized section 9A (the agency prints and supplies the certificates) with section 7A(d) (equal effect) to allow the agency to provide completion certificates to DPS (Barr v. Bernhard; Black v. American Bankers Ins. Co.). Finally, having received public letters questioning the wisdom of section 7A, the office observed that, subject to constitutional limits, the legislature declares public policy, and arguments to change section 7A belonged there (Scarborough v. Payne; McCain v. Yost; McGregor v. Clawson).

Citations

Statutory provisions discussed:

• V.T.C.S. art. 6687b, § 7A (parent or guardian driver training course; subsections (a)-(d)), § 7(a) (Class C license conditions), and § 10 (driver's license examination, recodified as Transportation Code §§ 521.161, 521.163-.166)
• V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29c) (Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act), §§ 3 (definitions of driver education school and driving safety school), 9A (serially numbered driver education certificates), 10 (driver training school license required), and 13 (licensing criteria)
• Transportation Code §§ 521.161, 521.204 (recodified provisions)
• Government Code § 311.023 (legislative history) and § 311.031 (effect of recodification on amendments)
• Education Code § 25.086(a) (compulsory-attendance exception)
• Senate Bill 964, Act of May 29, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 1009

Cases cited:

• Boykin v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (text of statute is the law; plain meaning)
• Sorokolit v. Rhodes, 889 S.W.2d 239 (Tex. 1994) (plain and common meaning of unambiguous statute)
• Texas Education Agency v. Leeper, 893 S.W.2d 432 (Tex. 1994) (home school as private school under compulsory-attendance exception)
• Barr v. Bernhard, 562 S.W.2d 844 (Tex. 1978) (statutes read in harmony)
• Black v. American Bankers Ins. Co., 478 S.W.2d 434 (Tex. 1972)
• Scarborough v. Payne, 198 S.W.2d 917 (Tex. Civ. App.-San Antonio 1947, writ ref'd) (legislature declares public policy)
• McCain v. Yost, 284 S.W.2d 898 (Tex. 1955)
• McGregor v. Clawson, 506 S.W.2d 922 (Tex. Civ. App.-Waco 1974, no writ)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0400
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1996/dm0400.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 13, 1996

Mr. James R. Wilson
Director
Texas Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 4087
Austin, Texas 78773-0001

Opinion No. DM-400

Re: Whether a parent or guardian who teaches a driver education course under section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., must be licensed under article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S., and related questions (RQ-866)

Dear Mr. Wilson:

On behalf of the Texas Department of Public Safety ("department") you ask several questions about Senate Bill 964 of the Seventy-fourth Legislature, which regulates the teaching of driver education. Act of May 29, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 1009, § 1, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5047. You first ask whether a parent or legal guardian who teaches a driver education course approved by the Department of Public Safety under section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S.,[1] must be licensed as a commercial driver training school and otherwise meet the requirements of V.T.C.S. article 4413(29c), section 10. Section 7A, adopted by Senate Bill 964, provides as follows:

(a) The Department by rule shall provide for approval of a driver training course given by the parent or legal guardian of a person who is required to complete successfully a driver training course to obtain a Class C license. The rules must provide that:

(1) the parent or guardian be a licensed driver;

(2) the student driver spend a minimum number of hours in:

(A) classroom instruction; and

(B) behind-the-wheel instruction;

(3) the parent or guardian not be convicted of:

(A) criminally negligent homicide; or

(B) driving while intoxicated; and

(4) the parent or guardian not be disabled because of mental illness.

(b) The Department may not approve a course unless it determines that the course materials are at least equal to those required in a course approved by the Central Education Agency, except that the Department may not require that:

(1) the classroom instruction be provided in a room having particular characteristics or equipment; or

(2) the vehicle used for the behind-the-wheel instruction have equipment other than the equipment otherwise required by law for operation of the vehicle on a highway while the vehicle is not being used for driver training.

(c) The rules must provide a method by which:

(1) approval of a course is obtained, and

(2) an applicant submits proof of completion of the course.

(d) Completion of a driver training course approved under this section has the same effect under this Act as completion of a driver training course approved by the Central Education Agency.[2]

Act of May 29, 1995, R.S., ch. 1009, § 30, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5047, 5064.

Persons who must successfully complete a driver training course to obtain a class C license are described in the following provision:

(a) The Department may license a person as a Class C driver who is under the age of eighteen (18) years, provided the person:

(1) is sixteen (16) years of age or older;

(2) has submitted to the Department a driver education certificate provided for by Section 9A, Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), indicating that the person has completed and passed a driver education course approved by the Department under Section 7A of this Act or by the Central Education Agency;[3]

(3) has obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent or is a student enrolled in a public, home, or private school who attended school for at least 80 days in the fall or spring semester preceding the date of application, or has been enrolled for at least 45 days, and is currently enrolled, in a program to prepare persons to pass the high school equivalency exam; and

(4) has passed the examination required by Section 10 of this Act.[4]

Act of May 29, 1995, R.S., ch. 1009, § 25(a)(2), 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5047, 5061-62 (amending section 7 of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., now codified as section 521.204 of the Transportation Code).[5]

Article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S., requires the Texas Education Agency to license and regulate driver training schools and driver training instructors. V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29c), § 2. Section 10 of article 4413(29c) provides that "[a] person may not operate a driver training school unless a driver training school license for the school has been secured." The term "driver training school" in section 10 includes "driver education school" and "driving safety school" as defined in section 3 of article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S. Id. § 3(4), (5), (7), (18), (21). A "driver education school" is defined as

an enterprise that maintains a place of business or solicits business in this state, that is operated by an individual, association, partnership, or corporation for the education and training of persons at a primary or branch location

Id. § 3(18). A "driving safety school" is defined in similar terms. Id. § 3(21). Section 13 of article 4413(29c) states the criteria that a driver education school must meet to be licensed by the Texas Education Agency. A "driver training course" given pursuant to section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., by the parent or legal guardian to a child or ward does not fit the above definition of "driver education school." Some of the requirements that a driver education school must meet to secure a license would be irrelevant to "a driver training course" given by a parent or legal guardian. For example, a driver education school must have "adequate . . . instructors to provide training of good quality," V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29c), § 13(a)(2), provide "a copy of the schedule of tuition, fees, refund policy, and other charges," id. § 13(a)(4), and be "financially sound and capable of fulfilling its commitments for training," id. § 13(a)(8). A parent or legal guardian who teaches a "driver training course" approved by the Department of Public Safety under section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., is not required to be licensed as a commercial driver training school and otherwise meet the requirements of section 10, article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S. Of course, the "driver training course" taught by a parent or legal guardian must meet the requirements set out in section 7A in order to be approved by the department.

You next ask whether the parent or legal guardian who teaches such a driver training course must be involved in "home school" instruction of the person to be taught.[6] This question arises because of remarks by Representative Horn who proposed the amendment to Senate Bill 964 that added section 7A.[7] Senate Bill 964 was introduced as a comprehensive bill to reform and overhaul driver safety and education. Representative Horn stated that his amendment "allows for home schoolers to be able to have their parents teach them or to attend their public school that offers this course."[8] He did not say that his amendment would allow only home-schooled children to be taught to drive by their parent or guardian, but information submitted to us in connection with this opinion request indicates that the amendment was understood to apply only to home-schooled children.

Nothing in the wording of section 7A limits its effect to the parent or legal guardian of a home-schooled child. It applies to "the parent or legal guardian of a person who is required to complete successfully a driver training course to obtain a class C license." Act of May 29, 1995, R.S., ch. 1009, § 30, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5047, 5064. Any person who is at least sixteen years of age but under the age of eighteen must submit a certificate indicating successful completion of a driver education course to obtain a class C driver's license. See Transp. Code § 521.204 as amended by Act of May 29, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 1009, § 25(2), 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5061-62. The language of section 7A includes the parents or guardians of all such persons.

If the language of a statute is unambiguous, the intent of the legislature must be sought in the plain and common meaning of the words and terms used. Sorokolit v. Rhodes, 889 S.W.2d 239 (Tex. 1994). When interpreting a statute, a court seeks to effectuate the "collective" intent or purpose of the legislators who enacted the legislation. Boykin v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782, 785 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). To accomplish this, it necessarily focuses its attention on the literal text of the statute, "because the text of the statute is the law in the sense that it is the only thing actually adopted by the legislators, probably through compromise." Id. (emphasis in original).[9] If the meaning of the provision should have been plain to the legislators who voted on it, the courts ordinarily give effect to that plain meaning. Id. Although section 311.023 of the Government Code authorizes the courts to consider legislative history, whether or not the statute is ambiguous on its face, when the statute is not ambiguous, the courts should not rely on that authority to change the provisions of the statute. Id. at 789, n.4. Accordingly, giving effect to the plain language of section 7A, we conclude that it does not require the parent or legal guardian who teaches a driver training course to be involved in "home school" instruction of the person to be taught.[10]

You next ask whether the Texas Education Agency may provide to the Department of Public Safety the certificates of course completion for those persons who have successfully completed courses under section 7A of article 6687b. Section 9A of article 4413(29c), enacted by Senate Bill 964, provides in part:

The agency shall print and supply to licensed and exempt driver education schools serially numbered driver education certificates to be used for certifying completion of an approved driver education course for the purposes of Section 7(a), Chapter 173, Acts of the 47th Legislature, Regular Session, 1941 (Article 6687b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) [now codified as section 521.204 of the Transportation Code].

Id. § 9A (adopted by Act of May 29, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 1009, § 9, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5050). Former section 7(a) of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., was amended by Senate Bill 964 to provide as follows:

(a) The Department may license a person as a Class C driver who is under the age of eighteen (18) years, provided the person:

(1) is sixteen (16) years of age or older;

(2) has submitted to the Department a driver education certificate provided for by Section 9A, Texas Driver and Traffic Safety Education Act (Article 4413(29c), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), indicating that the person has completed and passed a driver education course approved by the Department under Section 7A of this Act or by the Central Education Agency;[11] . . . [has obtained high school diploma or is enrolled in program to obtain it and has passed examination required by driver's license law].

Act of May 29, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 1009, § 25(2), 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5047, 5061-62 (amending section 7 of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., now codified as section 521.204 of the Transportation Code). Former section 7(a) of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., as amended by Senate Bill 964, shows that the legislature intended a person to receive a driver education certificate provided for by section 9A of article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S., if the person has completed and passed a driver education course approved by the department under section 7A. Moreover, section 7A(d) provides that completion of a driver training course approved under that section "has the same effect . . . as completion of a driver training course approved" by the Texas Education Agency. Section 9A must be read in harmony with the other provisions of Senate Bill 964. Barr v. Bernhard, 562 S.W.2d 844 (Tex. 1978); Black v. American Bankers Ins. Co., 478 S.W.2d 434 (Tex. 1972). Senate Bill 964 contemplates that certificates of course completion will be made available to persons who have successfully completed courses under section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S. Act of May 29, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 1009, § 30, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 5047, 5064. Some cooperation between Texas Education Agency and the department will be necessary to carry out this legislative purpose. We believe that the Texas Education Agency may provide to the Department of Public Safety the certificates of course completion for those persons who have successfully completed courses under section 7A of article 6687b.

You finally ask whether the department may, by rule, set out the minimum course curriculum elements required for approval of a course of driver education by a parent or legal guardian under section 7A of article 6687b. In our opinion, section 7A authorizes the department to adopt a rule stating the minimum course curriculum elements required of a driver training course under section 7A.

Section 7A(a) provides that the department "by rule shall provide for approval of a driver training course given by the parent or legal guardian," setting out certain provisions that the rules must include, and section 7A(c) requires the department's rules to provide a method by which approval of a course is obtained. Section 7A(b) states that the department "may not approve a course unless it determines that the course materials are at least equal to those required in a course approved by the . . . [Texas] Education Agency," stating certain provisions that the rules may not include. To implement section 7A(b), the department must be able to identify the minimum course materials that meet the statutory standard, and we believe that it may adopt a rule listing and/or describing these materials. Accordingly, the department's rule-making authority under section 7A authorizes it to adopt a rule setting out the minimum course curriculum elements required for approval of a course of driver education by a parent or legal guardian pursuant to that section. The department's rules must be consistent with the express provisions of section 7A. A parent or legal guardian will not be authorized to teach a driver education course to a child until the department's rules are in place and the department has approved the particular course to be given by the parent or guardian.

SUMMARY

The Seventy-fourth Legislature enacted Senate Bill 964, which added section 7A to former article 6687b, V.T.C.S., now codified as Transportation Code, chapter 521. Section 7A requires the Department of Public Safety to provide by rule "for approval of a driver training course given by the parent or legal guardian" of a person who must complete a driver training course to obtain a class C license. The parent or legal guardian who teaches such a driver training course is not required to be licensed as a commercial driver training school pursuant to article 4413(29c), V.T.C.S., nor must the parent or legal guardian be involved in the "home school" instruction of the person to be taught a driver training course. The Texas Education Agency may provide to the Department of Public Safety certificates of course completion for those persons who have successfully completed courses under section 7A of article 6687b. The department may, by rule, set out the minimum course curriculum elements required for approval of a course of driver education to be taught by a parent or legal guardian under section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S. A parent or legal guardian will not be authorized to teach a driver education course to a child until the department's rules are in place and the department has approved the particular course to be given by the parent or guardian.

DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas

JORGE VEGA
First Assistant Attorney General

SARAH J. SHIRLEY
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Susan L. Garrison
Assistant Attorney General

Footnotes:

[1] The Seventy-fourth Legislature repealed article 6687b, V.T.C.S., and enacted its provisions in chapter 521 of the Transportation Code, as part of the ongoing revision of the state's general statutes without substantive change. Act of May 1, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 165, §§ 1, 24, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 1025, 1870. The repeal of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., by the Transportation Code does not affect amendments to article 6687b by the Seventy-fourth Legislature. Gov't Code § 311.031. The amendments are preserved and given effect as part of the code provision that revised the amended statute. In this opinion, we will refer to the provision you inquire about as section 7A of former article 6687b, V.T.C.S.

[2] A reference in law to the Central Education Agency means the Texas Education Agency. Act of May 27, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 260, § 50, 1995 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 2207, 2504.

[3] See note 2.

[4] Section 10 of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., has been recodified as Transportation Code sections 521.161 and 521.163 through .166. See note 1. Section 521.161 of the Transportation Code requires the Department of Public Safety to examine each applicant for a driver's license. Transp. Code § 521.161(a). The examination must include a test of the applicant's vision, ability to identify and understand highway signs, and knowledge of the traffic laws of the state; a demonstration of the individual's ability to operate the motor vehicle; and any additional examination the department finds necessary to determine the applicant's fitness to operate a motor vehicle safely. Id. § 521.161(b).

[5] See note 1.

[6] The Texas Supreme Court has held that a home school can be a private school within the statutory exception to the compulsory attendance law, so long as children are taught in a bona fide manner from curriculum designed to meet basic education goals. Texas Education Agency v. Leeper, 893 S.W.2d 432 (Tex. 1994); see Educ. Code § 25.086(a) (exempting a child from requirements of compulsory school attendance if the child attends a private or parochial school that includes in its course a study of good citizenship).

[7] Representative Horn proposed a floor amendment to Senate Bill 964 consisting of section 7A of article 6687b, V.T.C.S., and conforming amendments to other sections of the bill. The proposed amendment was adopted by the House of Representatives without objection. H.J. of Tex., 74th Leg., at 3064-65 (1995).

[8] Debate on S.B. 964 on the Floor of the House, 74th Leg., R.S. (May 19, 1995) (tape available from the House Video/Audio Services Office).

[9] The conference committee appointed to adjust the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives on Senate Bill 964 approved the adoption of section 7A. Bill File, S.B. 964, 74th Leg., R.S. (1995) (filed in Legislative Reference Library).

[10] We have received a number of letters from members of the public who raise serious questions about the wisdom of section 7A. Subject to constitutional limitations, the legislature has power to declare the public policy of the state. Scarborough v. Payne, 198 S.W.2d 917 (Tex. Civ. App.-San Antonio 1947, writ ref'd); see McCain v. Yost, 284 S.W.2d 898 (Tex. 1955); McGregor v. Clawson, 506 S.W.2d 922 (Tex. Civ. App.-Waco 1974, no writ). Arguments about changing the policy reflected in section 7A should be addressed to the legislature.

[11] See note 2.