Oregon Advisory Opinions January 01, 1964: OP 5750

Advisory Opinion Text

A fish buyer's name must be included on the fish buyer's license issued by the State Fisheries Director under the law effective January 1, 1964.

No. 5750 December 13, 1963 Mr. Robert W. Schoning State Fisheries Director Fish Commission of Oregon You ask whether or not under the law effective January 1, 1964, a fish buyer's name must be included on the fish buyer's license issued by the State Fish­eries Director under ORS chapter 508.

Chapter 246, Oregon Laws 1963, en­acted Sec. 5 of the Act in lieu of ORS 508.020, which was repealed. Section 5 said in part:

"(1) Separate licenses are required for:

* * *

"(c) Each person acting or engaged by any person, firm or corporation as a fish buyer at each separate place of business or fixed location where such business is being con­ducted." (Emphasis supplied) Repealed by Sec. 4 of chapter 224, Ore­gon Laws 1963, is the following provi­sion of ORS 508.200:

"(3) No buyer's license shall be issued ex­cept to and in the name of the person, firm or corporation engaging the services of such buyer. * * *

"(4) A person engaged as a buyer of any such fishes means an agent or representative of a person, firm or corporation licensed as a wholesale fish dealer, a peddler, a retailer, a canner, a broker or any other dealer or processor under the laws of the state; pro­vided, that no buyer's license is required of any agent or representative of such person, firm or corporation in regard to purchase of such fish made at a regularly licensed estab­lishment, cannery, plant or station by such person, firm or corporation at a permanent site or location." (Emphasis supplied) Chapter 246, Oregon Laws 1963, re­pealed the following provision of ORS 508.020:

"(1) Separate licenses are required for:

* * *

"(e) Each person, firm or corporation, other than employes, purchasing or selling salmon, shad, sturgeon, striped bass or other anadromous, food or shellfish, whether as principal, agent or broker * * *." (Emphasis supplied) You advise that the prior practice of your agency has been to indicate only the name of the fish canner or wholesale fish dealer for whom the fish buyer would buy. Presumably this practice was based on the emphasized language of subsections (3) and (4) of ORS 508.200.

It is a well recognized rule of law that when the legislature amends a statute, it intends to change the law. Opinions of the Attorney General, 1958-1960, p. 259. In this particular instance the 1963 legislature deleted the provi­sions of ORS 508.200 which required issuance of buyers' licenses "* * * in the name of the person, firm or corpora­tion engaging the services of such buyer." Also deleted by repeal of ORS 508.020 was the exemption for employes purchasing fish for employers.

Moreover, in amending ORS 508.450 by chapter 196, Oregon Laws 1963, the legislature did not change the italicized portion of the section:

"Each license issued under ORS 508.405 shall be numbered and dated by the fisheries director or an authorized agent and contain the site or address where the appliance or business is located and the name of the person to whom the license is granted." (Emphasis supplied) ORS 174.100 provides:

"As used in the statute laws of this state, unless the context or a specially applicable definition requires otherwise:

* * *

"(3) 'Person' includes individuals, corpora­tions, associations, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies. * * *" (Emphasis supplied) In the question at issue the legislature, which is not presumed to have done a vain thing, specifically repealed the def­inition of "A person engaged as a buyer of any such fishes means an agent or representative of a person, firm or cor­poration * * *."

By such repeal and the clear and un­ambiguous language of Sec. 5 (l)(c) of chapter 246, Oregon Laws 1963, the legislature made manifest its intent that a license is required in the name of the individual buyer. See Alsos v. Kendall, (1924) 111 Or. 359, 227 P. 286.

Opinions of the Attorney General, 1952-1954, p. 21, thus held that separate licenses are required for persons operat­ing as canners, and persons purchasing or selling food fish.

Accordingly, in my opinion, under the law effective January 1, 1964, a fish buyer's name must be included on the fish buyer's license issued by the State Fisheries Director under ORS chapter 508.

ROBERT Y. THORNTON, Attorney General, By Henry Kane, Assistant.

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