Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

~cmorabls Gee. ~8 Sheppard

Goat$troller or Publlo Aoaouat8 TeXa8

AU&in,

Mr Sir: ror the

939, ybu aiubnit g question8 whleh ‘*a ‘BQpr 0r 3-r Cotmty, r-colleot~x a~ Qrd8r, IOOPY _; ~02-8 tided 0r tbir comig, aad ot c0tm tit& 8am in thlr ouLaer+ Xe oam- the ama ooaosrneb from the iligprord QUAtJ ula 6Ut8, u8tbg ba u8 ot thi8 tUWli8hip, a8m0 ot the NW Ol?iQbiOJl the prop*, ar8e888cvalu6, end the amount ot the-t-8. Pram thin roll tha ulotlnt8 will b8 carriea foxwara to the t8x r8aal t of th0~ count $8 88YB,a8thatof ThapTOOrdIUa t & 8 CQ#8Oa88hOb f* bi8triOt8 that w8 a880*8 and abllaat r8r, whU& i8 atip pWid8a ior in the 8t8tUt88. I@ thie (1888 thi8 Di8tl'i@t foot Qcder XWr8IW tO48@88 Wd Wd&?8t *S ~~OVidad br . The QIL~ thing 1. f%ad is; AH. 3.88% whish jWOOW484

Gea. Ii. rhrppard, Page 8

(i.hemver the Dlotrlct Court, having jurlsdfotion in the premiees, has or may order the asaeosmnt and oo~sotioa. or tax08 for the paymmt of the ind8btednosIh of 6uoh tcwn or city. the tax aasa88or for the County la whloh EUOh tOti Or City 16 OltLUitttd #hdi (LB80813 the taXa8 80 ordersd In like manner as taxes in rural aohool dlstriats.) X believe thin rerersncs to rural eohool dlotrlota 1e the 8hm 03 a oonanon %ohool aietrlot. This pOiat 18 what I would llkc to have stralghtened.out. Eould St be possible rOr 8 ruling OLl this C:UediiOn?

"Th<i Conmi~slonere Court 0r thla county haa ordered that WI comply with son. Bill 4C?g, and ahoW the ai8OOUUt8 1939 on county and the Yarlous oommon isohool dIIBtrlet8 for that w8 aE84PS end oolleot for. Th8 qu88tiOn 18 are W authorized to ais00unt uodtbr this order ror this tomshtp, or do we haYa to hare th& order rrom the Rscslrer of thin township or rr0m the Clstrlot Court, or oan ~0 di8OOUUt any or thlo tax et all?+'

your ri:8t que8tlon. we oannot 88~ that tho Answring

Tax Aeseseor-Collaotor or Bexer county har not proae8ded oorreotly in the aeaessment ana oollaatlon of taxer 1eYlea th8 Dlrtrlot Qottrt Of Liaxar county, apparently under the authority of Artiolo fxatuta8, anti ror the 9urpore of' dIS- 1864, Vernon*~ AGUOt8tt9d civil charging the lndebtednem or a qity or town or Bald oounty, whom corporate exlctanoe has'besn abolished tinder Tltls 88, Chaptrr 19, Y8rnoa~s Aaaotated Civil Statutm. Vie armwer your quo8tion in thi8 manner beoause both ths jub@wnt oi the Dlstrlot Court, under whIoh As8essor-collaotor is purporting to aot, ena th8 ptmtloular l rtlole of the above title the aeseement and oo~ootIon go~sming or tame under such judgment , are a0 ina0rinita and ragus a8 to turnlah pro dlreotlon or guide in euoh mat&era WhatuoeYer. 0r a oopy the judgrmnt In

73 do not have the beiierit qUe8tlon. but iron the above faObua1 etatement ,1C appeara that suoh " $&gent Ml-dy diPSOt the h8aeS#iQr-Cbl~6OtO~ Of &UW COUllty to *aIwe8s end COu8Ot es provided by &V’ the tare8 in qW8tIOn.

Buoh general dllsotlon 1s oi no aseI8tanae to the,tax authoritierr Or Bexur County end we turn to th8 rt@+ak upon .whIch ouoh judgkaent waa renderetl,for gtalaanoo, tiith the ruls,of law in mind that euoh otatute would be, in oontemplatlon of law, looorporated In such Judgment. This statute 18 Artlolo 1?285), Vernon*8 Annotat8d~ClYll statutea, whloh read8 a8 rOliOW8t

son. oso. E. Shsppard, Pave 3

*Y;hnnever tke district oourt, havinE jurlediotlon In the prexIne6, h66 or may order the acsessm6nt 6nd ool- leatlon 0:' taxes ior th6 payment of the indebtednees of euah ts'n, or oity, the tax essessor for the county In WkiCh 6~Oh town or city is 6itusted, ehall a66e6s the taXe6 6o’Ordered In like manner as taxee In rural 6ohocl a6XC6, ir L e own y 6UO county she OolleOt 6uch taxe& In like manner a6 tax66 In rural zl iflstrlots. This article ahali not repeal any part ai lZ45 to 1260 lnclu6lve. For the servloee randered Artiolee under thie article, the aBsc66or imd oollnctor shall re- oelve the 6M:6 compensation as rcr like 66rvloe6 Sor the a6SeSOmant nnd collsotIon of taxes In rural eohool districts; and 6aId collector shall pay 6UOh taxes when oolleeted, to th6 reoelver of 6UOh city or town." (VnderscorlnC ours) .

The etatutory directions to the Tax h66e66Or-COll6OtOr of BexarCounty are embodied Hithin the underlined portions of the above '+lCle, but we 6ubnlt that they shad no light upon this qU66tiOn. 's6.kiXld6 and claesifloetfons or sohool di6triOtb oUr’OonfU6- q#,ahd ccnfualn(t School Law6 are varioue and div6rs, but the typ6 .WtentIoned in the statute, I. e. "rural echo01 dI6trIOt," I6 UnknOMl @jthe rrlter and to the school laws; To cay that the Lee;Irleture ni referring to rural hi&h school di6trlcts would be the Perieat Ii ;iurmlse, nor would it a66i6t in the proper d6tell6InatIOn of your flrat

~h6~6tIOn, bsoauee g~&lanoo at the etatuter gOVerIlIng rural high ;tbhool districts; particularly Artlale ~%%?L., VeXnOn' Annotated

raveals that 6uoh district6 a66686 their taXe6 tax ause66or and board of equalization, and although %be oounty tax oollcator OOlleOt6 such taX68, wa find no 8peOiiiO 'statutory direction in ooraeotlon therevilth.

Co the othsr hand, the h86666or-ColleOtOr OOIiStrUe6 "rural ‘*aboo dlatrfotsw described In ths artiole under oonaideration as baaing *oommon school districts." This construotlon 16 more praotloal *'the other beoause Artiole Z795, Vernon'6 annotated Civil Statutes,

#JQ6Zning oommon sahool district taxe6, provides that the county tax &6666iOr *shall a6se66 ,6aId taxes as other taxes are a66eSBed'l and ~~6’oourty tax collector shall "OOlleOt 66id taxes a6 other taxes 6re ‘OOlleoted .* But we must 6ay that this Interpretation I6 not justified .$) the term *rural eohool dietriot" nor by the context of the AddOle h'whloh It aipeare.

We are not at liberty to snter Into the iI6l.d of speoula- !%n a6 to what the Legislature lntsnded by the u6e or the term sohool district” In Artiole lZS8, Vernon*6 Annotated Civil %ral and the statutory dlreatlon therein given to OoUnty tax %tUt66, *4 ;m. Ceo. E. shepgt%rd, Page 4

666e660r6-aollaator8 16 60 V6glo 6nd indefinite a8 t0 be Ul6Wlin~~666. I* suoh oa8e we thin6 t&la Tax h66666ODCOllOOtOX 0r fiexar County pro- *ceded oorreotly to a66e6a end oolleot the taxe6 in ~uaetion in the pode and manner followed by such offlolel ir the collection of :'tata, ooaty and common sohool district taxes.

Your second quaetlon relates to the applloablllty of geoate Bill NO, 402, Aots, liegular Ze66lon, 46th legislature, brought Cl~ll Ftatutee as krtlole 70676, to forward in Vernon*6 &notated the t-e6 inVolQ6d here. The cited atatute, in order to enoourage prapt papent of taxes, allows ths taxpayer a gradu6ted diecount upon payment o? hi6 taxed within speoified date6 before delinguenop, but do66 not 6pply to the various politiCa 6UbdiVi6iOn6 kad taxing dlrtrictr of the State, inoluding counties ard mUiiOipa1 corporations, ~a1066 and until the governing body thereof order8 the adoption of it6 provillionsi It appear6 that the Comi66loners* Court of Berar County ha6 adopt6d tha provietone of this discount statute, but tbi6 y?uld be Of no aV6il t0 a taXpayer of Oity taxes, ,a6 6UOh order, in it?6 operation, k.Otid be limited to county t6XSBi The fact that tbe.Uounty Tax A66e66Or-cOll6OtOX of Bexar County in Oh6rg6d UtId6r Artiiile 1856, Ve1?1011'6 Annotated Civil EtatUt66,'With the ae6666lcent and oolleotlbn of taxes levied by the ~letrlat Court in the manner 66d under the authority above diSoU66ed, would not .IE~(IP that auoh t6XO6 would be plaoed in the same category wlth.oounty taxe6 In TegSXd to the di6OOUlIt ordered by the Comi66ioner6* Court of Bexar The taxe6 in question a- lavisd in oonnaotion with a di6- county. 6olved municipal corporation, end if dlaoouutab~e at all, .the order avowing 6aw3 mU6t emanate from the Oietrioti Court or from the re- orlver appointed by said oourt, and obargod with the winding up of affair6 of aaid oity or town. But We,6re of the opinion that tha'disoount statute, Artlo OOWd, Vernon'6 AnnotaIied Civil Statutes, ha6 no applloitlon to the instsnt case, because suoh statute was Intended to relate to taxerr dUa the State and it6 V6riOU6 pOlitiO61 6UbdiVi6fOn6, taxing di6tXlCtS sad munlolpal corporations, the.gsneral tax law& governing suoh r~6Q0OtiQa tsXing Wlit6. Ke do not belleiw sudh general disoouut 6tatute w66 n;aant to epply to tha speofal case. or oontingenop provided -. bY the Leglelature Artlolee l&41-lW!i, Vernon'6 '&nnotated Civil The Article6 referred to ootiprlaa Chapter 19, Title 28, Statutes. 0r ‘iaxas , and oonaern only the rindine up or R6Vi666 CiVil Statute6 the aiialrs of altl66 and town6 voting to abolish their aorporata axistenoa. More apeolfiaally, statute.6 provide that at the ~n~hnoe of a creditor of auoh city or town, a reealvor say be duly aPpOtit6d by the dfstrlot oourt to administer the aessts of auoh OitY or towzi'for the benefit of Oredltore. In thle oonneotion Art- 1616 1264, veXnOn' hhUot6tad CiVil,Ft6tUta6, $0X levy pXOQid66 *? the taxe6 in gusrtioq 66 follow6:

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421 Boll. 000. 8. Ghepperd, PaSe 6

"The dietrIOt court of the county in vhloh suoh tovm or city is eltuated, atd In which such reoeiver8hlp 18 pendlnq, &a11 provide for payrrent of all claims legally established against suoh olty or towA, and dater- nine the priority ot any olalras and order the sale of all property In the hendr of the reoeiver subject to sale for suoh purpose, and dfreot swh reoelver to pay auoh olalnm. If the money nAd prOOOe6e Of property are iA- SUrriOieAt to pay swh lndebtedAese, then said oourt, at the request or any orsdltor, at the firat regular tsrm of said oourt in eeoh year, shall levy a tax upon all the property al;d real and personal estate altuated WlthlA the llrrite of bald olty or tonn, as previously IAoorporated, 011 rirrrt day or the prsoeding January not exempt rroA taxation uader the CoAstltutlon and iavis or thI8 State, 8UfiiOleAt to discharge Indebtedness, but .AOt to exoeed the.rate allowed existlAg law for such purpose8 iA incorporated OitioB and tOUAS.”

To our SLiAb, taxer bYid under the eondltioA8 outlined iA thi roregolng artlole.and ror the ep60iri0 purpoeo dlsoharglAg a osrtaln lndebtednene, rather than for the ueual and general pur- poses for whloh taxes are levied the Conatitutlon and statutes, are aot such tame aa nould be brought within bhe purview and croope MA;;lole 70876, Vernong~ Annotate& Civil Statutes, alloulng dla-

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TrustIn& that the roregolnS rully aAfauars your IAqUlry, we are

Yours vary truly ATTORNEY GEh%RALOBTKVB APPROmBoV 2, lg3'

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