Case Information
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OFFICE OF THE A’TTORNEY BENERAL OF TEXA6 AUSTIN A f
GCRAW c. MINN ~no.Imv O~“~UL
Uonorable Calvin C. WiYman
Aoting C?lohnan Committee
Appropriations mouse or wpreoentutives
Austin, Texas
ernlng the oonstltu- is ua. The Bill SUWI Of TIl@BQy herein- ereof as may be neees- out of the i3eneral of paying taxea due by t eohool dietriot naae& endent School Metriot for the Dollars and ed ana Seventy $270.74)) sad for the year lace, y Dollars and ltlmty Cente e total for the two (2) years renty-one Dollars and Slrty-four cents ($6521.64).
*8lPCTLOlY 2. The fact that Article 2764l3 Of the m3tissd Civil Statutes Texas, 1926, and Article 7~0, Section 2-A and Section 3-8, Acts of the Forty- first Legislature, Fifth Called tiession, Chapter 4T and Chapter 48, pages 190 azd 191, Saotion 1 of es& *2 Honorable Calvin C. lifufmn - page 2
chapter, provides that the State shaX1 pay tuea oreatea an canergeney aad aa tmpemttte publio necessity that the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read cm threto l weral days in eaoh House be suepemled, and said Rule is hereby me- pended, and this Act shall bake effeat and In force from asxl after its passage, and it is so enaotell.*
It ie the opinion of thin department that the Bill if enaoted into lor will be oonetitutional.
Article 27&&b oited by you is ae follewrt "860. 1. That friia and after the sfmge oi this Aot, all laud in absrokee Oounty, exam, owned c by the state of Texas ord PIson Qozarad~6iao of Tex- as, except the la& htietofore set aside fog the Rusk State Uospital, but focl~ the Iani% hereto- fore set aside to the Agrioultural t Ymhanioti Oel- lege for re-f'oreotration purposem, shall be #ubjeQt to taxation for who01 pnrpoeea where any euah land Is embraced within the mete8 and bounds of any inde- pendent or Go1111pOl8 och001 diatriet.
*sec. 8. mO8'0 ooj SUOh hlld if8 0SX?Jl'~Gsd W&th- in them&es anabounds of any Independent or -11 sohool dletrict, the l'ruoteee of the Indegenhnt Sohool M&riot, of the Comi8sioners* Court for a aoIl SehOOl MSttiGt, u-6 hereby authorlsed levy and oawmto be aaeemsed and ool~eutad tuem fdr rohool purporres for the amount and in the man-= ner JWGaGribsd by the BenOral Lars for thG levy of eGhoO1 taX80.*
Artiole 7160, Vernon*8 i&wlsed Civil Statutee, deals vith the eubjeat of exemptiOna from taxation. Secrtions $a and 3s of that Artiole oontain prorio that are pertine&. l'hsy are a8 foll4m38
*Sea. 2-s. prwided that any territory tlurt has been aotpA.r& may,hceafter be Mqul~Bd, by the State et Texas, a8 a t of any State prison @arm or property, sh sir 1 not hereafter be exempt from the payment of Its pro rata part of any bead tax of publio who01 dtatriot Of+ +hpoh *3 nonorable Calvin C. Huffman -.page S
the said territory was a part at the time bonds of the said district which are now outstanding were issued, or which is a part or said district at the time of the issuance of bonds which may hereafter be voted; and the pro rata part of said tax that shall be paid by eaid territory &all be the propor- tionate part that the aeeewmd valuation of such territory for county prposes is of the total assessed valuation of the school die- trict for the year in which such taxes are asseseed. Provided, aleo, that the said bond tax shall be paidby the gwernlng board of management of the State Prison Sys- ten out of any Putis appropriated therefor by the Legislature. It is hereby apeclfioal- ly prorid& that the said bond tax shall be paid for eaoh year that has elapsed einoe aq such territory of a sohool dietrict was ao- q#red by the State and as part of said prison ayatem, if any bonds were then outstand- -kc*
'Sea. 3-a. Provided that any territoq that has been acquired or may hereafter be ao- quired, by the State of Texas, ae a put af any State Prison Farm property, shall not hereafter be exempt .from the payment of its
ro rata part of any maintenance tax of a pub- E e school district of which the said terri- tory was a part at the time tvai% maintenance tax of the said district whioh are now out- standing was voted, or which is a part of eald diotriet at the time any maintenance tax may hereafter voted by sala district 5 and the pro rata part of said tax that shall be paid said territory shall be the proportionate part that the asseeeecl valuation of suob terri- tory for county purposes i63 of t&e total atv- se88ed valuation of the school diptriet for the year in wbieh i,euah taxes are aivseeeed.
Prwlded, also, that the aatd maintenance tax shall be paid by the gwernfng Board or hanage- ment. of the State rrfson System out of any funde appropriated thereby by the Legkslature.
It is hereby epeoifioally proolded that the said maintenance tax &all be paid for eaeh *4 Ifouorable Calvin Cr Buffmau - page 4
year that has elapsed eince any euch terri- tory of a school dietriot was aoqufred by the State and as a part of said prieon syetem.~
The queetion of the right of the Leglelature to subject the State to the payment of taxes &as ogler been dwided by our Supreole Court eo.far as re hare bean able to dhumrer + The subjeot, however, has been dimuseed by the greatest oonstitutional writer perhaps, Judge Cooley. At page lwt, Vol. 2, of his Constitutional Llmitationo (8th edition) he sayer
"A etate may, if it sees tit, tax the property orned, held, srd uwd by ltoelf or ite nunioipalities r0r public purposes but this would 60 obviously be umise and inpoll- tia that the intent ta do EO is ILBIBC aa- uuaed, but public property ie always, ia- pl&aatlou of law, exempt from the operation of the general term af tax lam.*
Ia Opiulon 20. C-11161, by this department, under date December 14, 1229, it was held that preparty aom8yed to the Board of Regents of the State Uxlveiwity by 8eorgs Daggs and Mike Hogg was the pro erty of the State, and 6u8h, wan exempt from all taxat f on, under the Constitution and lam of the Nate.
It faa noted in that opinion, however, thatr "If Se our opiuion that land beloggiag -the State a? Texas io'exempt from taxatjion un- leas there is an 4n3dua- &Qk.” tB;slphaais
It msy be added that there is nothip& fx our Con- ~t;itution forbidding the Legislature to make the State lia8le for taxes upon Its own proparty. T&at being true, re are~of the opknion that the Le@elature io the %erOise af ite broad power of ensating laws has the authority, if it eeea fit to exercise it, thus to tax the wmreign itself. Very truly yours
y AFx:,:;=;~.a'm 9, lD& ATTOR85X f.+ItHEfUL OB TEXAS / /, I $52 d / ~A &?w -