Case Information
*1 TIEXE&~~~FCNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS Honorable Albert J. Hutson, Jr.
County Attoriiiy, Trinity County
Groveton, Texas
Dear Sir:
opinion Ho. O-683 Re: Mayreal estate 'be sold by sumria~ wile for tilinquent taxes without foreclosure suit?
We bag to acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 20th from which we quote the following questions:
%der the laws of our state, does a Tax Assessor-Collector have the authority to levy on and sell real estate for delinquent taxes without the necessity of a suit in court? "If the Tax Assessor-Collector has the authority to levy on ax&sell real estate for delinquent taxes without the necessity of a suit, does a person employed by the commission- er's court to collect delinquent taxes have this aut&ity?*
Article VIII, Section 13 of the Constitution of Texas, as amended by election held November 8, 1932, reads as follows:
"Provision shall be made by the first Legislaturefor thespeedy sale, without the necessity of a suit in Court, of a sufficient portion of all lands and other property for the taxes due thereon, and every year thereafter for the sale in like manner of all lands and other pronerty n-jon which the taxes have not been paid; a*tbe deed of conveyance to the purchaser for all lands and other property thus sold shall be held to vest a good and perfect title in the purchaser thereof, subject to be impeached only for actual fraud; provided, that the former owner shall within two years from date of the filing, for record of the Purchaser's Deed have the ri&t to redeem the land on the following basis: "(1) Within the first year of the redemption period upon the payment of the amount of money paid for the land, including One ($1.00) Dollar Tax Deed Recording Fee and all taxes, penalties, interest and costs paid plus not exceeding twenty-five (2%) percent cftheaggregate total; *2 Honorable Albert J. Hutsan, Jr. , May 4 1939 Page 2 O-~683
- ._ - ..- "(2) Within the last year of the redemption period upon, the-payment of the amount of money paid for the land, including One ($1.00) Dollar Tax peed Recording Fee and all taxes, penalties, interest and costs paid plus not exceedjng fifty (H) percent of the aggregate total. (Sec.13, Art. 8, adopted election Nov. 8, 1932.)"
This provision authorizes the Legislature to enact laws providing for summary sales of lands for delinquent taxes; butthe constitutional provision is clearly not self-executory. We have been unable to find any statute, now effective, which authorizes summary sales of real estate. In fact, Article 732&k, R. C. S. (Acts 1929, 4lst. Lag., .pi 103, ch. 48,i 1) expressly prohibits such sales.~ This statute reads as follows:
"That all sales of real estate nmde for the collectiom~of delinquent taxes due thereon shallbemsdeonlyafter the ~. foreclosure o? tax lien s,ecuring sane has been,ha$?-in a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with existing laws governing the foreclosure of tax liens in delinquent tax suits .*
This statute, passed in 1929, would not be repealed by the 193.2, Constitutional amendment. It has hot been repealed or amended by the legislature, and is therefore still controlling In the mattar of sales or real property fordelinquent taxes. ~. \ Pe accordingly advise you that we agree with~~your':~~~~ghgB~o~~~~t k neither the ~Tax Assessor-Collector nor any one Cl.&‘has~&~~~~~ or authority to levy on and sell real estate for delinquent taxes except after foreclosure of the tax lien by a court, as provided .by Article 7328~1, R. C. S.
Yours.vbry truly, A!mmNExowERhLoFTEx4s s/Walter R. Koch ~ m
Walter R. Koch, . Assistant URyr
APPROVED:
s/ Oerald~C. Mann
ATTORNEY GENERuoFTFm8