Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
GROVER SELLERS H. L. Robarson
Xonorable
County Attorney, Minkler County
Kermit, Texas .t’\ \ i Attention: W. T. Ralr Dear Sir: n-J\ \ Opinion No. 04175 \ i. Re: In a -bond eleotion in ‘a~oUnty voting lacilidB..,wheraby a li*n f9 created 09 thu. real dstate”@erein situdted, are bhe voters in such county,,quali.fleb to vote under Revised Civil Hrticlei2855a, Statutes fhaprender any kind oi ,,..e.lgroperag fy taxation? / ‘\ i , ‘r, ‘x. ‘-.
We are, 1;’ r&ipt Ot an o$inl.m~ request signed by if. T. H&iri~: imsisbant Honorable County’httorney of Winkler County, reading as ~10wa{~,‘,, ) js
, “In .a bond’sle&foa J!l a county voting bonds whamby-a lien is OTeatsWon the real estate therein eltuated;‘are.~the votwr21 in suah oounty qualified to under rrt’hcls 2955a, R. S. that render any kind vote of property r~or ‘taxtition, or does Article 2955b oon- trol a&d’ in ordei to be qualified to vote such voters znusb, OWP, and.* render real estate tor taxation before they aan .vbte tn such election? ‘i
%bdII ( 2) page 1186, Border et al. Y. Abel1 County Attorney.
nSee;ns to lean to Article 2955a, R. 9. and disregard the validity of Artiole 2955b, R.S. How- ever, since the validity of said ,rti’cle is not there definitely passed on and I cannot find any mse where the supreme Court h;ls ruled on sdd ‘zticle, and it appearing that there is some confllct between .\rti- cle 2955b, and section 3a, of isticle 6 of the oonstl- tutional provision adopted November 0th 1932, such section Ja, of .zticle 6, not specifying real estate, I am seeking an opinion from ofrice.
,779 Honorsble H. L. iloberson, puge 2
“Can Winkler County, Texas, vote bonds in the sum of Fifty thousand dollars, and with the proceeds derived from the sale of said bonds right only to one hundred P”’ s xty chase the surfaos aores of land and thereon establish a oounty park; the mineral riRhts o? said on8 hundred sixty aorss of laid being oested in an oil oompany who has the egress and regress to the surface right of ingress, of said one hundred sixty aores of land and who ha8 the right to thereupon drill as many 011 wells as the epaoing rules will permit and by so doing destroy the oounty park Wlnkler County her established? Or is It not a hot that Winkler County must purohase the mineral rights as well as the surfaoe right be- rore Winkler County through its Commlsslonera Court can legally expend any tax or bond monlee oollected for the purpose of establishing or maintaining suoh county park? In other words will Winkler County have to own the one hundred sixty aores of land in fee simple from surfaoe to oenter of the earth in order to spend the tax money of Wlnkler County legally on suoh a pub110 venture?
“This request Is very hurriedly made up as Hon. J. B. Salmon, County Judge of Winkler County, 18 now in Austin and hss requested that we get an opinion from your office as soon as possible and he in te$szz will call at your oftiae for suoh opin- ion.
Replying to your first question, you are advised that * this departzuant has ruled several tlaes thet HTticle 2955b is un- vot~era Zn
constitutional, for the reason that it limits qualified %?m -wn7~ hrioa bu’ry renberea roperty for taxation, contrary to the express language in $0 3e, of srtlcle 6 of the Constitu- tion. In the case of Texas Publia Utilities Corporation v. Zolland, the Fort Worth Count of civil Appeals held that all persons who had paid their poll
tax and who owned taxable property, either real or personal, were qualified to vote if their property was rendered by them personally or throuRh an agent or VISS assessed by the Tax As- sessor if the property owner h:ad railed to render the property.
;:e have been unable to find any case wherein the courte have passed upon second question, but it is our opinion that *3 ;Ionor;rbre ii. L. noburson, page
the County should have a fee simple title to the land. Qticle 6078, as a .?ended by the 47th Legislature, Chapter 270, page 437, conta ins the t ollowlng language :
“Said oourt shall have power and control full over any and all such parks and may levy an annual tsx in their judgment to properly maintain euoh eufrloient parks and build and oonstruot pavilions and suoh other buildings as they may deem neoessary, lay out and open driveways and walks, pave the same or any part thereof, oonstruot ditohen or lakes, set out trees and shrubbery, and make such other improvements as they may deem proper. Suoh parks shall remain open for the free use of the pub- 110 under suoh reascnable rules and regulations as said court nay presoribe.W
The foregoing ie inconsistent with the right of an oil company to enter the park and OOnStrUOt suoh roads as it may find oonvenient and to drill as the spacing 88 many 011 wells rules will permit. The County should own all the rights pertaining to the land before It expends any tax money in providing a oounty park otherwise it could not exeroise Vu11 power and oontrol” over it.
Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS C. F. Gibson ASSi St&ant