Case Information
*1 , . . Ronorable F.d Gunn
Criminal District Attorney
Kilam County
Cameron, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. 0-4F15
Re: Legality issuance of tax on Sunday, and related receipts matters.
Your letter of January 1, 1943, requesting the opinion reads as follows: "You will note the questions in writing from the Tax Collector of Milan County, and my answer in writing, giving my opinion on same.
“Please give me your opinion on the questions for the benefit of the Tax Collector."
The letter of the Tax Assessor-Collector presenting questions on which you desire our opinion reads in part as follows
"The law gives Tax-payers up to, and including January 3lst of the following year for which taxes are assessed, to pay their State, County, and Voting Poll Tax Receipts, without penalty.
"January 31st, 1943 falls In this in your opinion, will,it be legal to issue Tax case, receipts and voting Poll Tax receipts on Sunday, January 31st, or will it be legal issue 1942 Tax receipts without penalty and 1942 Voting Poll Tax receipts on Feb. lst, 1943?
If Under our statutes, taxes paid on or before January 31st of the next succeeding year, for which they were assessed are not delinquent. taxes do not become delin- the 31st day of January following the year in *2 5onorabI.e Ed Gunn, 0 -4315 ::?Lch they are due. (Houston Oil Company of Texas v. Eoward, 255 s .w. 340 .)
Chapter 2, Title of Vernon’s Annotated Penal Code con- ta.ins the statutes commonly referred to as the Sunday laws.
Under these statutes certain labor done on Sunday is a. criminal After carefully considering these statutes is our offense. opinion that they do not prohibit an officer from performing his ,official duties
We quote from Texas Jurisprudence, Volume 39, page 877 as follows :
“At common law, Sunday is dies non jurid icus (a non juridical day); and it was stated in an early case that no judicial function can lawfully on Sunday. The statute ,declares be exercised no civil suit shall be commenced nor process issued or served on Sunday except in cases of in- junction, attachment, garnishment, sequestration, or distress proceedings. The act formerly con- tsined the same prohibition with respect to legal holidays.
” . . .
“Neither the Constitution nor’ the civil statutes lay any restrictions upon the Governor nor upon any ‘of the heads of the state departments with respect Sundays or legal holidays; all public officers may keep their offices open on Sundays and holida,ys, and perform all ministerial duties; but it 1s their pri- vilege to refuse to function on those days, if they elect.”
We quote from the case of Stephens v., Porter, 69 S.W. 423, as follows
11 . There is no law in Texas prohibiting commissioner of the general from holding his office open on Sunday or any legal holiday, or from performing official acts on those days. Neither our constitution nor our civil lay any such restrictions upon the governor nor upon any of the heads of the state departments, probably because Ft might sometimes be necessa,ry them to perform their official functions on those days. Cur criminal (Pen. Code 1895, art. 196) provides that any person who shall ‘labor on Sunday’ shall be fined,
O-4915 ,c.+, c Is defined as follows: 'To exert ‘Labor ’ G.sEular strength; to exert one's strength with ;oainful effort, particularly in servile occupations, to work; to toil,' Webst. Int. Dlct. 821. The term as used In the criminal does not apply t0 an Officer 8ng8,ged in the performance his official duties. The common law did not ;z?ohibit officers from doing ministerial acts on Sunday nor on holi.days. It declared that Sundae was dies non not a judicial or court day, but our jurldicus, (Rev. St. 1895, art. 1180) has modifl& common law by simply declaring that 'no clvll suit shall be comeaced., nor stf111 any civil i>rocess be issued or served on Sunday, or any legal holiday, except ln cases of injunction, attachment or seques- tration'. This exce:?tlon operates as moS:if'ication of that law, according to a wellknown rule uf' con- struction. Under this statute It has been held that a sale under execution and sheriff's deed made on a legal holiday was valld~. Crabtree v.
Whlteselle, 65 Tex. 111. See, also, Railway Co. v.
Rardlng, 63 Tex. where it was held ;>ro:Jer and valid for a district court totry a cause on a legal holiday. In Insurance Co. V. Shrader, 89 Tex.
32 S.W. 872, 33 S.W. 112, 30 L.R.A. 492, 59 Am.
St. Rep. 25, it was held by our supreme court an application for writ of error received by the clerk of this court on Sunday, and so lndorsed, but not filed until Monday, must be considered as filed on Sunday and valid. The reasoning of our supreme court in the three cases cited leaves no doubt in our minds that the application of lorter to purchase section in this case was not void by reason of its being received and filed in the general on Sunday, but was as valid ln all respects as if received and filed on any other clay In the week."
Under the Texas statutes every person subject to pay a poll tax must pay said poll tax before the 1st day of February Art ic li? next ;,recedlng the election In which they desire 2963, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes places a mandatory duty to stamp on the face of any ‘solI. unon the Tax Assessor-Collector to:: receipt Issued after Janua~ry 31st of any year the ?,i?rde '%ldsr Certainly this provision would be violated I!;2t Sntitled To Vote". w!,er12 the Tax Assessor-Collector Issued a poll
.TG:XGGY~ 31st without the notation thereon as prescribed by said statute.
Honorable Ed Gunn, o-4815
In view of the foregoing you are respectfully advised is the opinion that a poll tax receipt bearing the date of January 31, 1943, would entitle the holder thereof to vote, if not otherwise disqualified, even though it was issued on Sunday. You are further advis& that a poll issued on Monday, February 1, 1943, must be stamped by the Tax Assessor-Collector "Holder Not Entitled To Vote", and that the holder thereof is not entitled
With reference to property tax receipts you are advised that the Tax Assessor-Collector can legally collect property tax on or before January 31st, 1943, and issue his receipt therefor without penalty. taxes are not delin- after January 1943, that is property taxes year. On February 1, 1943, property taxes that are the preceding unpaid become delinquent and the Assessor-Collector of taxes is not authorized to collect said taxes and issue a receipt there- for without the penalties, etc., as prescribed by statute.
Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry, we are
Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By s/ Ardell Williams Ardell Williams Assistant AW:mp:wc
APPROVED JAN. 9, 1.943
s/ Gerald C. Mann
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Approved Opinion Committee By s/GWB Chairman