Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
-c.yull AUSTIN --
Xonorablo Tor t. Hnrtler ‘.,
Crlklnrl Qirtrlot Attoqcy mlalgo county
Ed1nburg, wxar .’ ‘. ‘~‘, vhioh
otter Dirtrlot LB at presant uelng a eat da0 ior imer~0ir x0. t is contention or the Water
DiatrSot-Wd beoauso this lnnd haa to be PUr-
eharoa at tnr inctanoe or the lztati Porra ot
Yater Znglnoers, for vatrr stora t, that lt ia runotion of that 9, irtriot ana
a gooermiontal they. &oulA not bwe to pw tame upon
that mm*.*
Uorrcrable T0m.L. Partler, ‘Page e
Saotlan 2, o? Article VIII, Constltutson of Texas, QrOVlaSS In p6rt am ?ollowct
aAil aooupation taxes @hall be equal end uniform upon the sane olaea o? aubJaote tithla the limite 0r authority lavyiniq tax; but the Leaialatura may'. by aencrnl lave. ex- smot from taxrtion Dub110 orooertr.uead iar public oarooeee; . . .*
Artlole 71%0, R. C. 8. lW6, oontmiae the follov- In,- provleton:
'The rollovkng property rhall 58 oxrelpt fmm tuetlon, twit I
a . . .
'4. Fubllo property, - All propert;l, vhetner reel or psrsonll, balon@ng exolutl~el;t to thle state, or any politloal aubdlrlelon thereoi, or tat unitf3a Statre, . . .*
As we underetnnd the Saote in thla oaso thr land ln oueetlon VIW pure&add, and Is ovned exoluelvely by the. Nllr?oy County Water Contra1 XmproveEent Dietrlct No. 1. It wee htiia in Bexar-Ktdlna-ltaeooea Cowtier Water ImproVe- Rent 3letrlot so. 1 v. State (T.O.A. 1929, yrlt refuosd), 21 5. W. (!?a) 747, thnt vater laiprorrmeat dletrlota orghnitet under the authorizntlon contained ln Artlole 16, Sootloa 69, oi the Conctltutlon of Tcxam, are polltloal 8ubdlVlelOne of thle sitate, within the meaning of the above atatute, an4 the PopertJr in thst oeec vithln thr aoope the conetltut~onal provlalona.
T&e language of Chief Jurtfoe Plly, ln Bexar-Eedlna Ataecosa Counties U. I. Diat. Ho. 1 t. State, suprs, vould l P P har be ooaol~~lv~ upon thlr phase OS the qUsstlOa. W? quote In part iron the oplnloa or line oourt.
*The only iaeue In thla cauee la: Hoe Mdlnh
county power and authority to aaaeam and ool- lsot taxes, state and oounty, on the dama, retmr- vo1ra, canals, altohes, and other property neoee- eary for the conrerratton and aletrlbutloa of vatsre In the aietrlotr
Bonorablm Tom L. H*rtloj, FAga 3
*It la prorl8atl by art1018 8, i Z, OS the Conrtltutloa of Texas, the Iaglrlature may t&t by genrral liva exempt from taxation publio property uml Zor pub110 pwpoee~, and la pus auanoe oi that authority l naotsd Kiev. St. 1926, art. 71b0, in 8eotloa 4, 0r Vhloh lt Ir.prorld- rdr *All pro~wt~, vhethrr nal or p6rroaal, belonglag 8xoluaivalx to thlr clay pol- dtatlr, itloal divlrloa tbelvoi,’ #hall be execipt fro8 tuatloa. The very rtatutory rqulrmsatr for the areatloa and fommtloa of vater lmprovemsat dlttrlotr vould a0010 to atamp them ar polltloal dltlalonr of the atate. All the mao?llnery ursd to iorpl then ir through ageaol8o [02] the stat8, thr oouati judge, oommiemlonerr~ oourt, the eltotloa ~nrtrumsntalltlec, the dirtrlot oourt eatablleh the rallaitJ of the lesuanoo of bonds,-the powers of tuat%oa, nrttiotlng the we of mu& tucatloa to dlsohbrge the prlaolpal and interert of the bonda, the l leotioa di- rector*; all thee8 are goveramsatal povbr8 pro- vided ior la detail by law. The dirtrid i8 not an ordinary oorporatloa org~nltod for. pur- pores of gain to it6 8embh8, but [16] a pub110 ageaop, using the 5oney raise6 by taratloa to adranoa the ~ntexwtr of lavdovmrr vithln it a juriedlot ion. 3t i8 a polltioal eorporatloa ‘or dltlslon of the etate vhloh ho principally for lts objeot the admfnlrtratlon of the go~sra- nent, OF to vhloh the power8 of govOrmw!nt , or a part or ruoh povers, have besa delegated.’
. . ,aThs next rubdlvfalon ot thm seotloa (Art. 16, Seo. 69b, Constitution) PrOViab6 of dietrim rssential to pumo6er foraatlon or the arnsndnsnt ‘vhloh blrtrlots shall be gov- ernumtal agtnctee aad bodies polltlo anb oor- poratkvlth ruoh power8 of government and vlth the authority to exerolte ruoh rlgbtr, pr%tll- sgcs rend funotlon6 oonoerning tha 6ubJeot matter of thle~amenament ao map be oonferr6cI by lav.' . It 18 a’gotsrnmental agenoy an& boa7 polltlA La ooxvorate ( vblob le a clear deflnl- tlon of a tpolltloel ~lvlsloat of the state,
93 Ronarable TORI L Rartley, P&e 4
clothed with go*ernmantal powara, and funotlone and exempt fmm tuatIon.* The property to vNoh you refer I8 therefore ex-
empt undar..th.e term0 of Seotlon 4, HIole 7150, R. C. 8. 1920, unleaa tli* ‘exemptIon th e l tatute, aa l ppllad in this oeae la broader--than--tie-.euthorIaatIon grated to the Leglaiatun Ia &-Mole $, Se&Ion 2 of th,, ConatItutIon .~. quoted above..~ . .~’ :m-.-;
In order to fall within the &ovkiona of ArtIole 3, Seotion 2, the property must not o,nly ba publio property, but aleo l m fop publio purpoaea”. ~Reaervolr No. 3 has not yet bean constructed on the aaqulred rsaeno:r rite and the land Ia not now being used resenolr purpoaaa but is ussd es a pasture. whether by the dlatrlct by leaea to third partIe doer not appear from letter of reqisst.
A thorough rerlev of rarlous conat.itutlonal pro- visions, and e construction of the phrase *USE& Sor public pur-osea*, aa employed In SaotLon 2, of hrtlcle 8, uaa given by the Zaatland Court of 0~~11 Appeal8 In City of AbIlfze v. Stete (1937, vrlt dlaalaaad), 113 8. W. (26) 631.
that case the City of Abllene had aoqulred land In Jones County ror the purpose of e resenolr alte for Impounding water for the uae of the olty. The oity had procured from the proper authority the aeoeaaary epproprlatIon of uater, done englneerlng work, and euthorlzed the laouence of bonda, but hed been unable aoqulre all the lana neoeaaary and bad net done a4 construction work.or actually used any of the land Sor reservoir purpoeea. e:or iiV6 years prior to the cult the olty had been leaalng the land for agrioultural purpoaee for aggregate annual rentala or approximately b2SOO.
The land was un3cr lease at the time of the suit. All leaaea had been aubjeot to the rIght6f: city to bu,ulld th@ dnm ana reservoir at any time, the olty not having abandoned its Intention to aooompllsh the purpose for whioh the landa were @oqulred. The oourt dlecuaaed the qu6atlon at length and ex- Pressed Itr oonolueion In,the following languager
*It is, thebefore, our vlew thk when the iaats of a given case establish the ownerehip of pooperty by a mu~loipal corporation, vhloh &a baen acquired for an authorlzed pub110 PUT- poee, and the purpoee for whioh It la owned *5 .
‘
Bonoreole Tom L. Hartley, Page 6
nnd held haa not hewn abandoned, suah groparty 1st b* rctgarded au used Sor pub116 purposes, and the LagIalature has the pover to provide by peneml l@u iti6 exeaptlon froa t8XBtiOA.
The court &ther held that elthough *rtIole 7100 la more oompr6heaaI+e than the power whloh the &glalature possessed It WV be oporatlvo a6 an l xerolme of all the pover the L6gIalature had, and therefore ralld to extent of deolarlng an exemption or publIo property used for pub110 purporea .
Be6 also City of Dallea ir’: State, (T.O.A., 1950 &It refused), %?9 8. V. fS?dl 937, epplylng exemption 40 e reaenolr rite, cad furthsr holding that applloable, although the reaerrolr rite to ba uaod ior pub- exemption lo 110 purpoaea I6 rltueted In another oounty.
It la our opinion th&t rour Interprotatlon end ep- plloetlon of the law la oorr86t, 6Aa that Under the feet8 pre- sented, the land aaqulred end held for the purpoee of oon- struotlng Raaervolr No. 3, by the Wlllaoy County Ueter Coa- trol and fmprotsaent Dlstrlot No. 1, la exempt Srom taxation.
We enoloae her&with a oopy of ~~IA~oA Ho. O-2037 passing upon a rslnted quartlon with referanos to the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Yourd tart truly ATTORKEY GENERAL OF TZXAS AlTROi’ED~ 12, 1981