Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GERALS C. MANN ATTORNEY GENERAL
Henerable George H. Sheppard Comptroller of Public Accounts Austin, Texas
Dear Sir:
Opinion No. 6-1403 Re: Disposition of foes collected by county tax collector under the provisions of Section 57, House Bill 407, Acts Regular Session, 46th Legislature.
By your letter of September 28th, you ask the opinion of this department upon several questions relating to Section 57 of House Bill 407, Ache of the 46th Legislature, entitled, "Certificate of Title 46th" Although three questions are put by your letter, the basis inquiry is as follows:
"That disposition should be made of the 10s foe which is paid the Tax Collector as Agent for the state on each certificate of title issued by the Department of Public Safety, under the provisions of House Bill 407, Acts of the 46th Legislature, and particularly Section 57 thereof?"
You state that the argument has been made that this is a specific duty placed upon the tax collector by statute, and that ak Agent of the state he is entitled to use such funds as the statute, has required to be paid to him as such Agent as are necessary for compliance with the provisions of the Act, including the hiring of such additional help as might be necessary to properly collect the fee.
Section 57 of House Bill 407 reads as follows:
"Each applicant for a certificate of title or relesuance thereof shall pay to the designated agent the sum of 25s which shall be forwarded to the Department together with the application for certificate of title within twenty-four hours after same has been received by him, and the Department shall return to the designated agent each month
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10s for each application to which a certificate of title has been issued, and the balance shall be paid over to the treasurer of this state to be credited to the General Revenue Fund of this State."
House Bill 407 defines the term "designated agent" as having reference to the Assessor and Collector of Taxes of the particular county, and provides/that he may act in such matters through any of his regular deputies.
Article 2912a, Vernon's Revised Civil Statutes, provides in part as follows:
"Section 1. No district officer shall be paid by the State of Taxes any fees or commissions for any service performed by him; nor shall the State or any county pay to any county officer in any county containing a population of twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants or more according to the last preceding Federal Census any fee or commission for any service performed by him as such officer; provided, however, that the Assessor and Collector of Taxes shall continue to collect and retain for the benefit of the officers Salary Fund or funds hereinafter provided for, all fees and commissions which he is authorized under law to collect; and it shall be his duty to account for and to pay all such monies received by him into the fund or funds created and provided for under the provisions of this Act; ... "
Section 2 of such Article provides for the determination by the Commissioners' Court, in counties of less than 20,000 inhabitants, as to whether such preclint officers and officers of the county shall be compensated on a salary basis.
Section 3 of such Article provides in part as follows:
"In all cases where the Commissioners' Court shall have determined that county officers or preclint officers in such county shall be compensated for their services by the payment of an annual salary, neither the State of Taxes nor any county shall be charged with or pay to any of the officers
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so compensated, any fee or commission for the performance of any or all of the duties of their offices but such officers shall receive said salary in lieu of all other fees, commissions or compensation which they would otherwise be authorized to retain; provided, however, that the assessor and collector of taxes shall continue to collect and retain for the benefit of the officers' salary fund or funds hereinafter provided for all fees and commissions which he is authorized under law to collect; and it shall be his duty to account for and to pay all such monies received by him into the fund created and provided for under the provisions of this Act; ...*
Section 8 of the Article provides in part as follows:
"It shall be the duty of all officers to charge and collect in the manner authorized by law all fees and commissions which are permitted by law to be assessed and collected for all official service performed by them. As and when such fees are collected they shall be deposited in the officers' salary fund, or funds provided in this Act. ...*
The effect of House Bill 407 of the 46th Legislature is to impose upon the office of Assessor and Collector of Taxes the duty of issuing certificates of title under the provisions of such Act. There is nothing in the Act which reflects the intention of the Legislature to amend in any particular the provisions of Article 3912e, and to provide that the Assessor and Collector of Taxes shall receive the 10% fee provided for by Section 39 of House Bill 407, in addition to the salary or compensation provided by law for the office of Assessor and Collector of Taxes. That House Bill 407 does not contemplate that the Assessor and Collector of Taxes shall use the 10% fee, personally, for hiring additional help is made the more apparent by the observation that House Bill 407 provides that he may act, in issuing such certificates of title, through his regular deputies.
Under the provisions of Article 3912e, above referred to, it is entirely clear that the Assessor and Collector
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102. Osorge H. Sheppard, Page 4
of Taxes is required to collect this 10 g fee provided for by House Bill 407 as one of the foes of office which, under the fee system, be would have been permitted to retain, and that as and when such fees are collected by him, he shall deposit them in the offloors' Salary Fund, in accordance with the terms and provisions of Article 29180.
Yours very truly APPROVED SEPT. 14, 1939 AITORNEY ORNGRAL OF TEXAS /a/ Gerald C. Mann By . Fairchild Assistant
RVF: PQP
APPROVED OPINION COGNITTEE BY ENC CHAIRMAN