The Attorney’ General of Texas
JIM MATTOX
March lg.'1986
Attorney General
Supreme Court Building Bowsable Guy Jarm?oGray opinion No. JM-453
P. 0. BOX 12548 Criminal District Attorney
Austin. TX. 78711. 2548 P. 0. Box 1329 Re: Applicability of article 2351a-6,
51214752501
Jasper, Texas 7!i951 V.T.C.S., to the withdrawal of a city
Telex 9101874-1387
Telecopier 5W475-0288
from a rural fire prevention district
Dear Mr. Gray:
714 Jackson, Sulle 700
Dallas, TX. 7520245M
You ask for the opinion of this office concerning the right of a
214l742.8944
city within a nmal fire prevention district to withdraw from the
district. You a&r:tseus that the Jasper County Rural Fire Prevention
4824 Alberta Ave., Suite 180 District Ho. 4. composed of a portion of Jasper County. was created
El Paso, TX. 799052793 under the provisf(ms of article III. section 48-d, of the Texas
9151533-3484 Constitution and a.rticle 2351a-6, V.T.C.S. The city of Jasper was
included in the original boundaries of the district. In 1983, the
100, Texas, Suite 700 voters of the proposed district, including the voters of the city of
Houston, TX. 77002-3111 Jasper, voted in xcordance with the provisions of article 2351a-6 to
71312235888 confirm the organ:Lz:ation of the district and to authorize the levy of
a tax not to exceed three cants on the $100 valuation of property.
V.T.C.S. art. 235l.er6,$12.
WE Broadway. Suite 312
Lubbock, TX. 79401-3479
8OW47.5238 Except for the issuance of bonds or notes which are authorized by
sections 12A-12G of article 2351a-6, a rural fire prevention district
may not contract :Eor an indebtedness in any one year in excess of
4309 N. Tenth, Suite B
funds then on hand or in excess of an amount which may be satisfied
McAllen, TX. 78501-1685
51216824547
out of current rrrenues for the year. V.T.C.S. art. 2351a-6, 512. A
fire prevention di:strictis authorized to issue bonds and notes that
are payable from and secured by liens on and pledges of ad valorem
200 Main Plaza, Suite 400
taxes, or revenueiI,income, or receipts of the district, or a combina-
San Antonio, TX. 78205-2797
51212254191
tion of taxes, revenues, incoma, and receipts. V.T.C.S. art. 2351a-6,
512A(a). The sta!:uteprovides that if bonds or notes are payable from
ad valorem texes, the Board of Fire Commissioners, at the time of the
An Equal OppOrtunityI authorization of the bonds or notes, shall levy a tax sufficient to
Affirmative Action Employer pay the principal of and interest on the bonds or notes and to provide
reserve funds. Sets. 12A(j), (k). Bonds or notes secured by taxes
may not be authorbred until approved by the voters of the district at
an election for that purpose. Seci 12B. Section 14a of the act
provides for expansion of the area of a district. Effective September
1. 1985, section 14b was added to the act to authorize the exclusion
of a city from a Eire prevention district's territory. Section 14b
provides that
p. 2057
Honorable Guy Jamas Gray - P,age2 (JM-453)
(a) The governing body of a city that has an
area within its corporate or extraterritorial
jurisdiction included within a rural fire preven-
tion district my, on agreeing to provide fire
protection to the area as provided by Section 8B
of this Act, or if the area is designated au
industrial distrLct under Section 5, Municipal
Annexation Act (Article 970a. Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes), notif!, the secretary of the board of
fire commissione:rs in writing that the area is
excluded fromthe district's territory.
(b) On receipt of the notice under Subsection
(a) of this section. the board shall cease to
provide further :rarviceto the area, exclude the
area by order from the district, and redefine the
district's boundaries.
Subsequently, on October 28, 1985, the city of Jasper notified
the Jasper County Rural Fire District No. 4 that the city had adopted
a resolution to exclude the arca within its corporate and extra-
territorial jurisdiction from the fire prevention district's
territory.
You first inquire whether section 14b of article 2351a-6 applies
only to rural fire prevent:Lon districts created after September 1,
1985. We believe that whwl section 14b became law on September 1,
1985, it became applicable on that date to all rural fire prevention
districts created and then existing under article 23518-6.
Where the legislature makes no exceptions to the provisions of a
statute, it is presumed that the legislature intends no exceptions.
It is well settled that ~zxceptions in statutes are not ordinarily
implied. See Spears v. City of San Antonio, 223 S.W. 166, 169 (Tex.
1920); Stubxv. Lowrey's II:&, 253 S.W.2d 312, 313 (Tex. Civ. App. -
Eastland 1952, writ ref'd n.r.e.). We find nothing in the act to
indicate that the legislature intended section 14b to apply only in
the case of rural fire prevention districts created after September 1,
1985.
Your second question