Case Information
*1 605 OFFICE OF-THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
G~~~~~ SELLERS ,- ~,,~~NLIQENm?*L
~onortble c. a. Wild.
County Auditor ‘~ ,, ‘.
meoee county
,.
'Christi es Wi huvb reooi red your roquest
The faots appear..
of Corp~a Chr
purpose of deiter- ooome part ol .fhe OSBB or this opinion, the manner required by a are in all thing8 regular. r:or @nnoxotWa, and we as- , Se&ion %-a of the Consti- tldod for in Artiols VIII, tutlon or Te~aa: ::Thia Department bold, ,in Opinion Fro. : : O-1132, that: -he area nlthln the limlte oi'the City of Corpus Christi is not entitled to such QX- ('.
emptlon ,awng llrs or the grant nnao by Lana, 37th Chapter 138, pagb Qenbrsl ,.~ ., Legislature.? I
&norablr C. J. Wilda - page 2
you wish to ,bo a%vised whsther the persons living vithln this recently annexed territory are now antitied : the hOIUi35taOd eXeGptfO5 prOVfded for in the fWOtiOn Of tb conatitutioa or Terao above XGf8FXea to. ,,
Cheptsr 138, pa@ 270, Cbnsrsl Laws, 37th Legisln- two, prooitles, in part:
.. for a prl0d Of taentg-five years oo.z.ncnoing That wlth the finoal yesr, beeinning S6ptember 1, 1921,
there ho and hereby,. are dcnetcd and &ranted by the stats of Teraa, to the City of CorpW chriati the ‘,’ net amounts of all Btato ed veloren taxoa c0ii90t6a upon the. Droparty and rrom ~ar~ona in counties at Jim %ellsS Sin DOE& Brooks, El+erC, Willaay, and : . Duval and all tha mt aixunts or sll W&s ad va- ‘. tares OOllooted uporr the pzopartg and from loran in tho County of ;1ot heretofore persons iJuoaoa to tha city oi Coryua Christ; by Act 0r aonfietd . the Thirty-fif Ch Lagi~~lature .oi the State of Tdxaa .&nom a8 lIouse Bill No. 69f,, iholudin(: such Sate ad valoren taras as may’ba duo said oountiaa on : the railroading etogC b%longlng to railroad aoa- T peniaa nhlch shall be, smsrtalnad-ana apportioned
to eaid oountiea ‘as now provided by law.”
hrtials ,‘$fX, Il&tian’l-a, of the &&t&n OS adopted in 1933,~ reads a18 follo;n,r %XW,
nThree Thousand Dollsrs (&3,C00.00) of the ,': ‘. assamsad taxable- value of all recldutioa homedteadi,’
as now defined by law shall bc axazpt from all. for all State purposen; provldad
taxation thin, exe~1ption &all not ba applicable to thet porti6n of the Ytata ad wnloccm taxea levied for sti3ts purpouo5 rf4tt;ce v:ithin C!lONY coi?fitiae or ‘other political nubd5vicions nov: recelvinq my reniasion of Steto tnxan, until the expira-, p0ri0a ti0n 0r 0~00 0f TO~ISSIO~ . .a ~II-- phrrsie added)
From the express wordin& of thie Constitutional AnIendmant it ia apparent thRt 9 QOUnty Ox othar politiUa1 subdivision is not to ba deprivad the homestea& sxemp- tion unlem, at the tlma of the adoption of aald Amab~ent, i.e., *ucuat,26, 1933, suah oounty or politioal subdivision taxee. The city or wei3 receiving: a ramfasian of State
a. 607 ,- tlmorabls C. J. slide - page 3
corpus Christi wm co roaeioin& a rmieslon of toxas’at tba tlce of ‘the adopti% of this Ammdsent, and on tha baais of that taat this Dapartlant ruled, In Opihion No. O-1132, that tns araa within the limits ai the aity wad) not entitled the exemption.
The power or authority of the City of Corrue Christ% 586 30 ~TSX. ta ohone its boundhrlas oanaot bs quastionad.
Jpr;, ,72,’ Seotion 30, whfwe, this rule lo sat forth; ,, : ,,
.::. ’ Y-ha ‘hozne rula a~endmant and tho anabllna, aot ‘. .: ‘. transtarred to the epwiflod citlas, through ths . ,, ; a&enoy,of' their quallfiad Potms, tha same power
which the Lagislature had tharetofors posoassad : ‘~” to ohnn~s tcrrltarlol bcundarFee through the ‘I amendment or adoption oi thdlr charters.. The (r\rtlola ll75, 300. 2,~ V.A.C.S.) statute onumra-. ,:. tine; oartplln powers of bona rule cities +$ve8 tbaa ,‘.,‘. authority to fix munioipsl boundary llnee en4 the , lying adjacent ., anmxxatlon of additional ‘~ $. ,,. .::
"r to tho oity, gacaorUing to suoh rulss as may be ‘povfclad by saltl ohart@r*. This provlslon super- ‘. _
,ssQes tbd nrtiale of the”etatutae govarnln~ an- ” nexations by alties gsnaral..lY,.lneofar 8~ cities ~.
~Afoh hsQe adopted or anendec¶ their. oharters
under the .hom rules amendment ‘am donoerneb.a .. The.ohRrtar of ,the. Clt$ of Corpus Chrlati’ (Speoial Rogulm S%sslon, Chapter 33; page 304, Lwss, Jlet Laeialature, III amendad April’ 30, 1926,~anU Aovembar 1939) .proqidef, Artlola I, Section 2: ,.
*. . . Any territory adnittad into the City’~’ shall boor its roportioniita part of nil tnxsa~ levied by the C ty and its Inhabitants f shall the prlvllewaa and he subSact to of1
have all ,~ ‘: duties or othsr lnhsbitants of tha Cit.&” 2,' Oi ZlSfd OhQl'tW ~l’OVfd%Sl ArtiOle n, 86CtiOll x1; addition to tho ‘powers harein L other& the city shall have all powars. ” &mtta, enlr;lerat8,d in Artlala 1175, Raoieoc! Statutes or Texae, 1925, aa her&ofora amended, as thou&h “’ ~.; suoh statute were sat forth harain.*’ .” ‘~~,.~ *4 flaarabl% C. J., ‘iriM% - page I R.B. ~provlhes thst the
Saotlon 2 of Artiole eltlee gcvarned thereby e&all haQ@, aeon5 othar poWer%t 0r ‘said
vho poaor to iii the. bowdar: lmta ,,. to provfue ror tha exter.slm 0r aal4 boundary city, lizits an4 the am%x%tlon of additional
adjadant to noid oity aoaordlq to ouch rules es nay bs ,7ro?lSecI by es d 1 c!!sWir.”
The ~roQielon% of Section 2, of Artlole 1175, a54 0r &icl% I, Seotlcn 2 of the Charter of tha City~ of CorFua Qlrieti, rsr,ufre that, in addition to having all pl~llages of fnhnbi- tmts of the olty, the inhabitants of territory t+mxeC shall” thy Guties or othoz Inhabitant5 0r tihe~ City. be 5ubjcCt to all ~~1~454 in those 4utl55 taxes on the oalua of 6he r55~45no5 hoxeotoe4 without enp ia the duty to yap State ad vcloran OXt?QtiOit.
Thin fa lh confornity with the eaneral rule 0P law that the m%r.@r %ff%Ott?4 by mnexstloa is ooayletai TJ.Y. the ‘. absenoe of nom5 lsglslattve or ohavtor reatrlotioe, annnoxstiou a&es the ncw~ ttrrltovg a part ,of the City ror all purposes; the annexed torrltoxy ion%% all .idaatitp it may hAv5 had sepa- - rate ah4 apart Zrosl the city ti-Whloh it Is attached. 30 Tax. ~, Jar. 80, SBO. .36~ !dtIdrey V. Cax! 73 ,Tex. 538, ll St 5&l. Cor-
At page 862 of Voluine I, tio~~uillln, Mtiiotpal (24 Edltlon, Ebatloh 31,1, It in saia: ” poratlons, W.. . Existing dabto of this oorporetim am-. tha liceits wera axtend&, unleos otJW!-
traotad bafore wise pxo~i4o4 by law, are chargeable upon tha c&de4 torrltory a5 Well 5% that o~~pr%h%;or4ad by tha boun- daries before thoy uer6 altered or %xten4%4.”
The liability owner8 of proporty In terrltopy nawlg lnalu454 Within 0 tiualo,lpal corporatloe to =ay taxen for ths pur~oee of paying pre-exiatlng l:~d%bte4n%se of the corporation arlaaa fro= the benefits of lsoal ~ovormaht obtained, .and 5s usually nupports4 by the ecloltnblc aocsl- derotfon that populn*aoh ah4 taxable valua ol the pro- pcrty has boon inoraaacd by prexlruity to the munlalp%llty) and by reason that thel peraoas EO brought In at once %OQufr% en lntortnt ln all the publio property b%lo@n& to the @ublolpallty, whether paid for Out Of pr%VlOut3 taxes With prrvlous bond!, wbloh have been satisfied CJT with the ~prooaede
,- I ”
nonoreble C. J. Wilde - paaa 5
of bonds still. due. Tonep v. Maoon, 119 Ca. 83, 46 SE 80. the- merger of tha smexea
Tharafore, klth me City Of Corpus Christ1 is complete, and suoh territory la now a pert oi that pOlitiOa1 eubdlvlsion whlah was recelvlng 8 r~ia~lon at the time the ndoptlon of Section l-a ot uticle VIIX oft the Constitution , .md ooffioa within the exoopt- ‘~ 1~ to the erenrptlon oontained tharein.
In eddlt’Ion to the reason8 above stated, we feel that property owners in ‘the annexed tarrJ.tory hove lost the to ths exaqtlon by rao6on of havlnp, wolvod It. This right torrltory wes adaitted tba City OI' Coqus ChrIstI upon LIA sleotlon. Under theae olruumstenoes, the inhsbitants, o? the annexed territory voluntarily assumed tiie obligatlons’ot oltizens of Corpus Christ&, one 61 which Ia the obligation t.o pap State nd valorem taxes on the value of a residenoe honrestea~ ylthout an0 exemption. Trustlig the foregoing fully an8wers youp ,~ ., ‘-
inquiry, we are; .
'Yours very truly