AYSTIN ~~.'l%xas
September 28, 1964
Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion INo. C- 316
County Attorney
Harris County Re: Construction of Article
Houston, Texas 4477-2, V.C.S., relating
to,the levying of a tax
Dear Mr. Resweber: for mosquito control,
Your request for an opinion reads as follows:
"The Commissioners Court has requested
that this,office obtain an opinion from you
on the follow~ingquestions.
:i
"1. Does Article 4477-2 V.C.S. author-
ize the C.ommissionersCourt to levy a tax
not to exceed'twenty-five cents on each One
Hundred Dollar Tax valuation in the county
(assuming that tihesame is authorized by an
election pursuant to Section 2 of said Arti-
cle) in addition to the constitutional limit
laced on the Commissj.onersCourt by Article
8 , Section 9, of the Texas Constitution?
,"2. In the event your answer to the first
question is in the negative, is there any other
authority for the Commissioners Court to levy a
tax above the 804 limit prescribed by Article 8,
Section 9, of the Texas Constitution, for the
purpose of Mosquito Control?
"The local health authorities are of the
opinion that Harris County has an epidemic of
encephalitis, commonly known as 'sleeping sick-
ness.' These health authorities are further of
the opinion that the said disease is spread by
the female Culex mosquito. In view of the said
epidemic, the Commissioners Court feels that it
is necessary to undertake a program of mosquito
control within the county. However,.Harris County
now has a tax rate of eighty cents (804) on the
One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) valuation, none of
-1512-
Hon. Joe Resweber, page 2 (c-316)
which funds is presently available for mos-
quito control.
"The Commissioners Court.is familiar
with Opinion of the Attorney General No.
v-1116, dated November 6, 1950. However,
in view of the importance of the’ma,tter,,. they
desire you to determine'whe,ther"o~not the
amendments ~(subsequent'to the date of sa&d
opinion) to Article 8; Section,g,,of the Texas
Constitution and Article 4477-2 V.C.S., 'would
have theneffect of permitting a tax for mos-
quito control over and above the 804 limit
provided.,
in Article 8, Section 9, of the Texas
Constitution. ,?
"In our opinion, the amendment of Article
8, Section 9, of the TexasConstitution did,not
in any way modify the 804 limit.
."The amendment of Section 1 of Article 4477-
2 V.C.S. only made the act applicable to all
counties and portions.of'counties instead of
'only entire'counti,es~bordering on the Gulf, as
0riginaUy ~enacted. The~amendments of Sections
2 and 4 oftArticle 4477-2 V.C.S. merely increas-
ed the maximum amount the county could expend
for mosquito control under said article from,54
to 25# on each'$lOO.OO~tax valuation. Further-
more, even if the amendmentsto Article 4477-2
V.C.S. did~purport to author~izea tax over and,
above the 80# constitutional limit, the amepd-
ment would be unconstitutional and of no force
and effect.
"Passing to the second question, it will be
noted-thatby Article 4418 f, V.C.S., the Commis-
sioners Court is authorized to appropriate and
expend money from the general~revenues oftits
County for and in'behalf of public health and
,sanitationwithin its County. However, we find
no authority for a tax over and above the 804
constitutional limit for such~'purposes.
"CONquSION,
"Harris County.is authorized to expend county
funds for mosquito control. ,However, the,lev of
taxes for such 'purposemust be a part of t,he5O$
-1513-
Hon. Joe Resweber, page 3 '(c-316)
constitutional limit prescribed by Article
8,Section 9, of the Texas'Constitution.
In order to create a~mosquito control dis-
trict with the power 'to levy taxes over
and above the 804 constitutional limit or
to authorize the county to ,levytaxes over
and above said limit, a constitutional amend-
ment would be necessary."
Article 4477-2, Vernon's Civil Statutes, as amended by
House Bill 721 'Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Sess+on
1961, chapter 4?8, Rage 1105, provides in part as follows:
"Sett&on 1 . In all counties ofthis
State, the Commissioners.Court may call an
election within sixty ‘(60) days after the
effective date of this Act, and at subse-
quent elections when called by the County
Judge upon his being'petitioned.by two hun-.
dred (200) qualified voters to call such elec-
tion to,dstermine.if the qualified v,oters'of
such county,desire the establishment of a,Mos-
quito ,ControlDistrict to embrace all Or a por-
tion of the territory within said county, for
the purpose of'eradicating mosquitoes in 'sa'id
area ."'The form of'the ballot shall be as fol-
lows:.
",FORthe establishment of a Mosquito Con-
trol,Distriet in County.
/
"AGAINST,the establishment of a Mosquito
Control District in County.
"Sec. 2. The Commissioners Court in each
county governed by the provisionsof this Act
may call an election within~sixty.(60) days
afte,r.theeffective date of this Act and at sub-
sequent ekctions when called by the County
Judge upon his being petitioned by two hundred
(200) qualified,voters to call such election to
determine if the qualified real property taxpay-
ing voters of said county'or portion of said
county desire a levy of a tax not to exceed
twenty-five cents (25#) oneach one hundred dol-
lar tax valuation to finance the program provided
in this Act. The form of the ballot shall be as
follow's:
-1514-
Hon. Joe Resweber,,page,~4 (c-316)
"FOR the levy ,ofa tax of cents on
each one hundred'dollar tax-valmn
. .to f.i-
nance the Mosquito'Control DUtrict wltnln
County.
"AGAINST the levy of a tax of cents
,on each one hundred dollar'tax valus to fi-
nance the Mosquito Control District within
County.
"Sec. 4. If the elections provided in Sec-
tion 1 and Section 2 of this Act are in favor of
the establishment of a Mosquito Control ,District
and the levy~of a tax not to exceed ~twenty-five
cents (254) on each one hundred dollar tax valua-
tion, the Commissioners Court is authorized to
levy a tax not to exceed the amount fixed by the
election; provided, however, that the Commissioners
Court is authorized .tolower the tax to any desig-
nated sum it may determine, should the approximate
revenue be in excess of the needed revenue to carry
out the'provisions o,fthis Act. The taxes so levied
shall be collected by the County Tax Assessor and
Collector and shall be deposited in a separate fund
and be used for the purposes of carrying,,outthe
provisions of this Act and for no,other purposes."
,In Attorney General's Opinion ~-111.6 (1950), this office
held:
"In view of the foregoing authorities, you are
advised in answer to your second question that the
tax levy authorized by Sections 2 and 4 of Article
4477-P is not in addition to the constituti,onal
limitation fixed by Section 9, Article VIII of the
Constitution.
"In answer to your third question, it is our
opinion that the cost of operating a Mosquito Con-
trol District created for public health purposes
of the county must be paid out of the general fund.
Attly Gen. Op. v-567 (1948).”
The than es to Article 44~7-2, Vernon's Civil Statutes, pro-
vided in the 19t1 amendment, made the,provisions of the Act appli-
cable to all counties of the State rather than to the counties of
the State which border on the Gulf of>Mexic'o,,andraised the au-
thorized levy from not to exce'edfive cents eon each $100.00 valu-
ation, to an authorization of a,levy not to exceed twenty-five
cents on each $100.00 valuation. Therefore, the 1961 amendment
d&d not affect the condlusions reached in Attorney'General's Opinion
v-1116. -i5is-
^. -
Hon. Joe Resweber, page 5 (c-316)
In view of the,foregoing, we agree with your contilusion
that Harris County is authorized to expend county funds for
mosquito control; however, the levy of taxes for such purpose
must be a part of the 804 constitutional limit prescribed in
Secti,on9 of Article VIII of,the Constitution of Taxas. In
order to create~a mosquito control district with the powerto
~'levytaxes over .and above the constitutional limit prescribed
in Section 9 of Article VI.11of the Constitution of‘Texas,,a
constitutional amendment would be necessary.
SUMMARY
A county 1s au,thorizedto expend county
funds for mosquito control; however, the
levy of taxes for such purpose.must be a
part of,the 8054constitutional limit pre-
scribed by Section 9 of Article VIII of the
Constitution of Texas.
Yours very truly,
WAGGONER CARR
Attorney General
John Reeves
Assistant
JR:ms
APPROVED:
OPINIdN COMMITTEE
W. V. Geppert, Chairman
PatBailey
Ivan Williams
Brady Coleman
Rob Richards
APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: Roger Tyler
-1516-
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion