OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
QRGVERSCLLCRS
GEIIW
Arroana~
Honorable Ross Doughty, Jr.
County Attorney
Uralde County
Uvalde, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion ICO.a-7320
R8: tihether~the Join
From your reques
$ollowlng facts, upon wnic
or Gollege Astrict on
lng tne Tax kssessor-
Assessor end Collector
tue Junior Lollece. At _
ed to accept tne ?LxI+~~
same appear on the rolls.
Honorable Ross Doughty, Jr., Page 2
A Joint colrntyJuaior Co110 l is lutnotfsed by
Sestioa 17 of Artials 2815h in ths foflowing tenusr
of contiguous
'Any. . . oorrbinntion
oountles in the State, having a taxable
property Yaluatlon of not less than Mine
BWl.ll~nFire.Hundred Thousaad (#9,500 OUO.00)
Dollars sod hating a scholaatiopep&ion
sf not ks than seYsn thousond (7,000) the
school year, and not fewsr than
I+OO)students in the last four
years of the classifiedhigh school or high
schools wit&in the proposed territoryduring
the nsxt preoedlugschool year, may, by Yots
of the quslifiedtoters of the proposed terri-
Wry, ostahllsh and ma1ntd.n a . . . joint
oounty Jualor Col1sge.e
Seotion .22 of this act provides t&r
"All tax88 levied for a County or.join8
County Junior 'CollegeDistrict shill be asssss-
ld and oolleoted in the mamer provided in
Sections 7a axad7b md such Sol..loator,eash
mnth shall plaae suoh funda with the Treasurer
.of such-Uounty or joint%ounty College M8triat.Y
The Sections 7a and 7b referred to oontaln ths
follouing proYl‘ionsr
*Sea. 7a. The irssesso~~
snd Oolleator of
'.sushJuafor College District shall assoss the
taxes md aolleot thesame irrths manner now
pmxidbd-by law for the aollestion of ad valerem
taxes County k8sessors and. Collsotorsand _’
wh sr e t% lre is not herein corrteinod any speoifia
proviiion or directioh as to how snything,~conucct-
ld with the assessmeAtand oolieotion of taxes
shag1 be done, then the pro~isioaa of ths General
Law shell preyail. The Board of Eduaation of
said Distriat ahall have the power, and is here-
by auti.orisad to appoint three resident citisens
Honorable Row ~Coq&ty, Jr., .?'aFe
3
of the said District to act as a bard of
Equalizationt.3equalite tne values of all
property subjeot to taxation ii.said Xstrict
and ssld Doard shall qualify in tilesaw man-
ner and shall ptrfom tna same duties as is
authorized to be performed by the Board of
Squalitetionappointed by the City Council of
Cities and touns incorporatedunder the &mare1
L‘?l‘'of this stats.
'All taxes provided for by tnis Act shall
bsaome due and payable 0.1the sme dste as the
taxes in the IndependentSchool Listriot pro-
vided the boundaries of the Junior Collage Us-
triot sre coteminus with the IndependentSahool
Distriob. Sf the boundaries of the Junior
Gollsge District are not cotsnsinusuith the
IndependentSo&o1 Dirtriot, then the taxa& of
said District ohall beooae due and payable ou
,the same date as~is Drovidod for taxes due to .'
State md County. Said taxes shall be And re-
-ia a first and prior lian upon all the lscd
and other.propetig sgainst WKIQU the 6ame were
assessed. In cawa sua$ tax mall beoom deliu-
qusnt thsra shall ba added the same penalty and
the same shall draw Interest at tne srme rate
and fm;;3the s&as date as Is provided in aase or
taxes beooming dslinquent.tqIndependectSohool
Distriots under t&a Oeneral Laws.”
'See. 7b. In lieu of the tinner of assess-
q eot,ahd collection of taxe8, as provided in
Sestion 7a@ the.Bard of Education of suah
Junior College.Di6trict map provide for ths
assessment., equaliaation,and oollection of _,_,
taxersin tne manner following, to witr
e.(a) If the boundaries of said Junior
Gollee;eDistrict shall be tm MM or substw-
tially the ssw, as that of an Indeyndent ~%~@ol
Distriat, ha+inp; an Assessor and Sollsotor of
Taxes then auah Distriot may have the taxes of
their Districtwsesaed and wllected bp the
ksseseorlandColleotor,fTaxee of such lndepen-
dent Sshool Oistriat and heve ‘UC:;ta.xescqw'lizsd
by the Bond of Zqua.Liaatio,r of suci~Independent
;iohoolDistrict.
Honorable Roes Coughty,Jr., Faea 4
“(b) iiheres city fia6ass=ned control of
ltr 8ohool.saud usea ~theAssessor and Collector
of Taxes appointed and paid by the crityle here-
by authorized to nave their texes aseemied,
equalArced, and cqllected by t14eseme Qoard
that a5sessea, equ:;li5es, and collects alty
taxw.
5(c) The board of hd;roatlohof such Junior
College Distrlatl If they prefer to cl080, may
here the taxes 01:tneir &strict assessed and
colleated bg the Aaoessor and i;ollectw of
Coua$y Taxes in tileCounty lu w.Lcn 5ald X5-
triot shall be situated, 0:'collected only by
the Assessor end Collector of County Taxes,
and in ouch event, auah tsxes shall be aaseszed
and collected by aafd county officers, as.the
case may be, and turned over to the Treaaurer
of the Junior College iH.etrict 'forwhioh such
tax68 nafe been aollected. The property oft
.suahClstricts having:their taxes aeseaaed and
aolhatrd by the Assessor and Collectorof
Couaty Taxes shall not be a55essed at a greater
Yalue than that asseesed for County and State
purposee. If aaid tsxes are.asseasedby a
Speoiel.Ahsessor of the Junior College District,
or hall be asseseed by tha special Assessor
of the IndependentSahool Xiitrict 11;the xmaer
above set out and are aollected only by the
County Tax Collector, the property of raid
District may .beassessed at a greater ot'leas
Yalue than that assessed for titeteazd Gouuty
PUQO~SS a-id Ghe As5ea5or and Collectsr'of
County Taxes in such aaseb shall acaeptthe _'
rolla prepared by the Special ksseaaorQo by
the Aeseaor of tileLdependent school District,
as the case w-y be, and approved by the Board
of Eduoatkm, a5 provided in ti1iSSection.
ilheathe Assessor F.ndGoilectur of County ‘raxeri
is required to asseas and collect the taxes of
a Junior C;ollegeGlatrict, ke snaL11receive tiie
sa:.epe,rcer,tage as for State and Zourity'Taxet;."
Honorable Ross Doughty, Jr., :'age5
Thebe seotiona per&t t&3 ass055itiF end
.oollectlngof the junior college district's t,exeoby a~
aaaeeaor and aolleotor other than its mm if:
(1) Tine boundariesof the jur.iorcollege
dlrtriot me the same or aubstmtially the eaze as :.hat
of an fixdependentsot1001dietrlct :~vin~ ah asse.s~.~:-
and
collector; or
(2) Toe district is lowted witiiina city
which has aseumed control of Its sc::ools,:.ndwJ.ic;.
XX
an asbam30r and collector of tcxea; or
(3) T.ict
district Is situat+;dentirely wttXn
one oounty.
The district you lhquire atu& does mt. z*!etand
amply with any one of the co.Gltlons ;rm.cribcd by ihc
etatute. The law does riotcontt+late~t&at such a district,
lbLU have'more than oze aa8easor and collector as would be
wc&~aary If the County Aasassor aad Ccllector of 'Jvalde
County performed those fun&Ions for tilatpart of the dis-
trict located.and lying in Uvalde County. Th6 law guarda
jealouslythe uniformity of diatributlonof the tax burdui
throughaiateaoh taxing unit, and If the propertiee,oft&is
diatrlat inquired about were aeseeeed by three different.
a8aeasorc'andequalised by three different boards of equal-
iaation poaslbly operating on-three different theoriee it
ie highly unlikely that~therevroil2.d
rasclt a'~reat,deal of
*qual%ty ia assessimnt.
fou'are advised, therefore; that it is the oi;in.lon
of this department that the County Assessor and Collector of
Uvalde County is not authorieed to act as the Assessor nnd
Collector of taxes for tne Junior College District In Uvalde
County nnd oonaequentlytaustdeullne to act In au@. capcity.
The validity of the formation of the junior college
dlatrlct ln question Is not before us and us are expressing
no opinion ther6on.
Yours very truly
,.
..