Case Information
*1 Honorable Chas. A. Tosoh
Comty Auditor
Records Building
Dallas, Texas
Dear Mr. Tosch! opinion lie. o-6276
Rer Effective date of the conetitutional amendmeet rkmntly adoptea, and the necessity for en enabling act,
We beg to aoknowledge reoeipt of your letter requesting LLP opinion fran this department upon the above captioned subject matters a8 follows:
"At the general election Bovember 7th the amendment to Section p of &tide 8 of the Constitution, as proposed in House Joint Resolution Ho, 18,. passed by the 48th Legis- Isture, appeara to have been adapted by a majority of the votes cast tberem, and queetlon hae arisen (a) As to when saia amndmsnt will beocme effective, tib (b) Uhetber or not an Enabling Aat of the Legislature la necessary to set up the maohinsry for putting the emerdmnt in effect In the respective counties asairing to avail t?xm3elves of the privileges of the miendnmnt.a
Article XVII, Section 1, of the Conatitntion, with respeot to the mode of amerraing Constitution, provides that!
* . . . It ehallbe the aaty of the never81 returning officers of ma election, to open a poll for, ma make returns to the Secretary of State, of the nmber of legal v0tee cast at said ana winat said amendment; and if more than one be proposed, then the number of votes cast for and age&et each them; an& if it shall appear from said return, that a majority of the vote8 cast have been aast in favor of eny amendment, the said emmQment 80 receiving a majority the votes cast ahr;ll~~~~~*~WXt of~thi.m‘0a@$tuticm, amI proaleuaation shall be made by the Govenmr thatiof."
Artitde 3034 of the Revi8ed civil Statutes ie (LB follmmr
’ Honorable Chas. A. Tosoh, page 2 (O-&78)
"On thefiite~thbayaftartbeo~ati~, tkeQayof excluded, aad before, the Wont&&of Btate in the presence of the Governor cmb Attarne~ @emnl, or in case of vaoaney in either of said offiew,. wr of in- ability or failure of either of eaid offleon te sot, then in the presence of either one of thap, ehallogen -a count the retmma of the election.*
This Article aa a eequenee of Article 3033,faanlehes the amwer to your firet queetim.
The effective &ate of the awndment if oarried 6oee not bepend upon the Govellaor'a proolamation, Thie was aetezmined by Judge Will~s~n the Court of Criminal Appeals, wherein he said%
'our ocmdruotion Of this provieioll ie that it xe the ascertained majority of the vote of the peoplei 01 not the proola&sU of the Governor, which girti ioroo,raiL effect to the mendment, e . . We are of the,epirptort;therefore, that 88 80011. aa the eleoticm returna wem 0auraBw&, an& it was aeoertalned that a urjority the vet4r cast were in favor of the amendment, itbeoeam a part of the Con@titn- ticm, and was In full force and effeot frm &at date.“ -- Wilacm v. The Slate, 15 Tex. Ct. Appsr Rep, 150.
JuQeUllleon~e opinicmwae eitedwith appxwti ia~xas Water& Ga@ Co. v. City of Cleburne, 21S.Y. 393.
Your seeon& questicm involves a cowtxuutimm 6flLJ.R. Ho. I.8 pro- posing the amendment.
H.J.B. BO. 3.8 fe 88 folkuer
'seetiom 1. %at Seation 9 of Article 8 of the Coaaatitutim of the State of Tsus, be EO e&end04 that the wane wil2 hereafter read aa follow8
* 'Swtion 9. The State tax csproperty, excluafve of the tax neceeeary to w *a pabllo debt, end of the taxes provided for the benefit of the public free aohoole, ehallnever ameed thfrty-five (35) cents on the we hum&we& dnllars whation; and no oownty, oitr or taun 8hblLlevy mom than. twenty-five 0ents oity or oounty parposes, end not aroseding fifteen (15)‘ oents for roaae and bridgee, arril not exobeding fifteen (~)oente to pay ju+ewe, oathe ~ehun- *3 Honorable Chas. A. Tomb, page 3 (0-627’3)
&ed dollars valuation, exoept for tke.,&~~~~&t of debts 3mmrred prior to the adoptlcn~.of fhe Amend- ment Septemiber 25, 1883; cprb for the. ereetlcm of pnblio bulldIng, etreet.s, mwerm, watmworbs and other pemaanent irppnnnmente, not -to ~exossd twenty- five oents on the one hundred douM mAaa- tion, in any one pees, and exempt au ln In thin Conatitntian ~othemriee~provldedt proMed~,homrer, that the aaalBniannrn court .in roy:~oQlJu~~w~ re- allooate the foregolng oatmty taxer by ahenging the rates provided any af the f0rug0lng pm- pose8 by either. lnoreau~ or. deoreuing the fame, but in no event shalLt2m total oi rU.,~forego~ county taxee exoeed el@tJ (80) oentn aa,the cm0 hundrea dollara mJ.nation, In q Qle yearJ pro- vided further, that b&ore the eaid ~Qcmtlrionere Court my make euah re-allooati0nc.:~,.oh~e In aaia oounty tmes that ,the taame nhall br ru~tted.
to the qnaiifiea property tax wiry ~rotezv amh oomty at a general or speoi~l rlsotion, and ehall be approved by a majority ,of the qued.iil~b~ prop¶rty tax pByln& rotErB, ~votjgg .h euoh BlBotl~j anb, poriaed further, 3h~t if e+d whun ewh M- alboaticms and ah-6 in the aiOrW*id 00rmtq twee have been appromd by the qt~llz,be4 property tax pegins vat~rn of MJ ommty, u ,horeb pm~ldnb, euah re4lloo8tfaM ,ti ah-r uhal romafn is forae and effeot for a period of osx (6):y&~~ frm the date of the eleoticm at whioh the ICED, shall be approvea, unleslr the mme again shalLban been ‘~ ohmaged by a majority rote oi fhe quallfiorb. pro~~rtf tax paylug Toter9 of suoh oouutg, rot~'m the propoeitlon, sPter enbmlnalorr by fAm Ocmlrelonera Court at a general or epeolal ebotian ior’tkat pur- poet aa the ~egi~lst~~ mfby 8ai0 ~nthsrrzu0 an ab- ditlonal cumual ad vdlorcaa tax to be lovied and ool- leoted for the f’nrther malntan~~e OS %ho pub110 roads; protidaa, that B msjarit7 0f thy a\arluiua iax gcyw Yatnre of thu 00ludy TatbAg rrt proprty an eleotlon to be held for that .pnrpwr &all vote euoh tax, im exoeed fifteen (53) oentm cp the oue hundred dallmm ratitlon oi the poQorty subjeot to tsxatien in rnoh oounw~ && th* Legislature may paw load lawn for t&3 abintenanoe publio roada aa6 hiehwaya, witboot the looal notice required for epeaial or local. kwr. TM6 aeotlcm ehallnot be oonatrued aa o UmltMloxk of *4 -.._ Haoreble Chaa. A. Toosoh, page 4 (O-6278)
powers delegated to counties, eftlee or tihls by any other sectian or sections of.%ie Ccm- etitution. ' "
You are respectfully advised *at it is the opinion of this depart- ment the foregoing smendment is self-executing, and there is no necessity for an enabling act by the Legielature to put it into effect according to ite tenus.
The mended aec$.i,on itself specifically sets forth the method for making the amendment effective In the following language:
I, . . .j providea Wther, that before the said Com- missionerd Court may make auch.re-allocations end changes in said oounty,t+es'that the same &all be submitted to the qualified property tax paying voters of such county at a gene+ c'r special elwtior.l,,and shall be approved by e. majority of,&e qu&lified,propertg tax paying voters, voting in such e&ection;,sn&, provided Further, that if and. when swhre-alJ.ooations aa Ghangee ,$n the aforesaid count? +axeu have.,peen approved by the qualified property tax paying voters of eny ootity, as herein provided, such re-allocatfontl and changes shall remain in force and effect for a period of six (6) years from the date of the election ant which the same shall be approved,uuLeea the same again shall have been changed by a maj-prity vote of the qualifies property tax payir+g votera of such county, voting on the proposition, after submission by the Cammissioners Court at a general 0.: special election for that purpose; . . ." Therq is e, prwiaim t%e, t ,tb* Legislature may also authorize an aadi- tional ad valorem tax be levied and coLlected ?or the'fur+&er maintenance of the public roads, but this is beyond the matter :ou inquire about.
Yours very truly ATlW.XEYGIlXERALOFTEXAS BY Oeie Speer Aesiatant os:mr:jm
APPROVED BOV 21, 1944
/e/Carlo8 C. Ashley APPRiNED
Opinion Committee FlRSTASSIS!EMT BY m AlTORNEYGENEBAL Chairman