Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-11

Opinion No. 11 Licenses-Butcher's amI Peddler's License. HELD: In order to give effect to the intention of the legislature, a reason- ably strict construction should be given the word "breeding" in clause exempt- ing persons from paying peddler's li- cense. .January 12, 1933. You have requested my opinion re- garding the construction of the second paragraph of Section 2 of Chapter 172 of the 1931 session laws, which reads as follows: "This section shall not apply to the slaughter of meat by any person, firm, corporation, or association who may slaughter or cause to be slaughtered any neat cattle of his or its own breed- ing, nor to the sale of slaughtered eattle of his or Its own breeding; pro- vided 'finy person who shall sell the equivalent of more than twenty-five (25) carcasses, beef and/or veal, in anyone (1) year shall take out a li- cense as herein prO\ided for." You have asked whether the word ;'breeding" should be construed strictly, or whether a wide latitude should be allowea in its eonstruction. The Standard Dietionary defines "breeding" as follows: "'rhe process or act of generating, producing or bear- ing," also "the systp.matic raising or crOSsing of domestic animals .. • • for impro\'ement of the stock, for profit, or fOI' scientific experiment." In the construction of the statute the intention of the le&islature is to be 26 OPINIONS OF THE ATTonXEY GEXERAL pursued, if possible. (Section 10520, R. C. M. 1921). Section 3348, R. C. M. 1921, exempted from the payment of a license fee the following: "The provisions of this sec- tion shall not apply to any person who shall kill beef in good faith for his own use." Chapter 75, Laws of 1923, made no change in the wording of the exemp- tion. In 1927, however, in repealing said Chapter 75, the exemption was worded to read as follows: "This sec- tion shall not apply to the sale of meat by any person, firm, corporation or as- sociation who may slaughter or cause to be slaughtered any neat cattle of his own raising " * *" (Sec. 2, Chap. 121, r~'lWS of 1927). In 1!)29 the legislature again changed the law to read: "Any person who kills beef or veal in good faith for his own use or for the use of himself and three neighbors shall not be required to have such meat inspected or stamped, nor shall he be required to procure any li- cense provided for in this act." (Sec. 3, Chapter 69, Laws of 1929). In 1931 the statute was amended to read as above set forth. (Chapter 172, Laws of 1931). It will be noted that the word "breeding" was used instead of the word "raiSing." The use of this word was not inadvertent as it was used twice. It is a general rule of construc- tion that: "'Words in common use are to be given thier natural, plain, ordi- nary and commonly understood mean- ing, in the absence of any statutory or well established technical meaning, un- less it is plain from the statute that a different meaning w'as intended or un- less such construction would defeat the manifest intention of the legislature." 59 C. J. p. 974, section 577. Keeping in mind this rule, the defini- tion of the word "breeding" as above set forth, and having in mind the his- tory of this exemption, it evidently was the purpose of the legislature to permit the breeder or raiser of neat cattle oc- casionally to slaughter and sell an ani- mal or animals in the natural course of his business as such breeder, without being required to pay a peddler's li- cense. On the other hand, it is evident that the legislature did not intend to permit all peddlers to enter the door of exemption under the pretext that they were ~laughtering and selling their own animals. The high peddler's . license no doubt was intended to reduce to a minimum the edls of general peddling of meat. If a person acquired the animal or animals slaughtered and sold in good faith in the natural course of business as such breeder or raiser of cattle, and not for peddling purposes, such person should be within tbe exemption. In other words, the intention and not the time of acquisition should determine. It is our opinion, therefore, that the word "breeding" as above used should be giY(m a reasonably strict construc- tion in order to give effect to the inten- tion of the legislature. You will realize, of course, that it is difficult to lay down a general rule in adl·ance, to fit all cases but that the facts of each case must be considered and the law applied thereto.