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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
QROVKR SELLERS
Al-mnNmv OLNLIUL
n--sue John It. Ehook
crl8laal MBtrlat Attommy
mx8r county
8M Antoalo, hnr
Attentlonr L. s. oittlqger
Proi your CeQue8t fm-
ItCument8, ve rate the follov
ion 18 based;
lr r lty
18ro dated ?ebru-
U both deed8 were filed
nty clerk OQ krch 14, \
d tlrCt Va8 pUNbr8ed frCR the Cfty Of .
cribed c8 tract8 number8 One (1) @ad
d Elovember 2, 1915, executed jointly by w
io and 88ld Board of Trulteel, and re-
, page8 72-75, of the Deed Record8 Of Beur
0. Il. Pitshugh Secretary Of the Board of ‘haltee
of the Ualverrfty, In 8 iette? dated kroh 14, 1945, 8t8teS
that I 5ai8 property ha8 beNi W$Ubed to beCOW Wt Of tb
campu8 05 the Triait7 Vtiverrlty. Ia l letter dated April a,
1945, pitthugh reQue8t8 the comml88lau9r8’ court to exert
Honor~le John R. Woo&, page 2
the prOP8rtf dercrlbed ln th8 petltlon and "e-e1 any aad
al.1 tUe8 WiNiort @bid Property bes[iaafag Jaauu~ 1, 1925.'
‘lOU
lk the OpitiOil Oi thi8 depArtnot Whether the
propert deroribed above a8 ‘flrrt trhot’ an13 %eoond traata
18. exe-t from the wy’B8nt Of kua,
~ue8tloMbl~, the fir8t trot cannot be exempt
ire0 taxer for 1945. the
Uader Artlole
J*u ?lSl, 811 proper-
ty %eld Or ovned OR Oha firrt day of Jaa~ar2 In tb yeu Sor
vhlc~ tk property 18 FOqrrired to be 118ted or readered" rurt
be llrted for taxation betvoen Jenuuy 1 a& Apdl 30. The
ovnership of property 011 the SirIt Qay of January of luy mar
create8 b ll~blllt~ OrAthe gut of the cvner for tUe8 levied
upou ruch propert for that em. Vlnterr v. Itiepen&at
School Dlrtrict of huh, 205 8.V.574.
Slnoe thir property ~18 prlmtely
on Jan-y 1, ovard i
1945, the tU u8rUed a8 b@inat th8 caner8
date MI! on t&t
the7 ry not bc curcelled or removed from tkm tu roll8 regUd-
le88 of 8ny UIY to vhleh it Uy thereafter b8 dediarted. A8
V8 Mid in ~itiioli BO. o-49%1
-either the cOII8titUtiOn nor the 8tatUte8,
hovever, releUe or authorire the releme or cuI-
cellation OS 8d valorem tuer vhlch amWmd prior
to the date on vhiah luch propert 18, by 8UCh
polltlacl 8ubdiri8~oo, devoted to public U8e.'
It should be noted that ?rinitj OUlrer8ity Va8 C&t-
ed by a rpecl81 ChUter goUted by the 12th h.Si8kture Of the
&ate of T~XW in1870. Special ull8, 12th Xagl8%tkWe, Cal&d
&3881OIi, 1870, p. 160, ah. 83. sea tioo 13 of thir ohuter
provider:
*phb propert uvned aad held by Hid imti-
tution being 8et apart eXelU8lvel7 rar education-
al puTpO8e8, 18 herob deobred to be exe@ from
both St&te 4uLd CoUty TU4tiOk’
&otion 56 of Article XII of the Con8t~tutIo~ Of
~~-8 (1876), vhich 18 in Sub8tMti~llJ the 8- mw%e l8
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155
Boaorable John 8. 8hook, wge 3
,
8 *ail&rPmi@ioQ In the CoB8tItUtim OS 1869, vkioh vav ;a
effect V&n thi8 clnrtw va8 granted, pOvide8:
Ve therefore hold that the provl8loa 0s 8e8t:oa 15
of the URlterrit~~r ohrter i8 ineffeotual, la ltrels, to
CrWte the 8Xemptloa Of thin Droperlj rougbt v t& Va:rer8:tf
in it8 ~tit:OlL
The PollOy Of the 8tate regarding th e lurptlon ooa-
fained Ia AdiCb 7150, 8eCtiOll 1, Revlaed Civil 8t8tUte8, p8r-
taiala(l ta mho018, 18 Very OtUly 8t8tOd by Jurtlae Aobwt8on
in Ca88iaao V. Pr8ullM Academy, (1885) 65 Tex. 673, 675:
ti8 been the policy
“It of the rtate 8fnee
la9 to encourage edueatloml laterprl8m by ox-
lrptlag them from any &are of thv burtin of
government. . . . - Om8titUtior. Of 1876, 80
far fromwdlf~lrrg thlr policy, mker 8unlSloent
~ovl8lon8 for the ulntenaaae of free rohoolr.
There h a been
s ao latbgooia botveea the public
and private 8cho018, to varraat the inference that
the framers of tbo aomrtltutloa, in the we of the
vord bulldlag, fatended 8 rplteful &lrerlmlM-
tim 8gcia8t privct& 8chOOl8.
"The educ~tlOa of the 8b88e8 18 WV reoog- \.
afred a8 & fuactloa of 8tbte gorerturat. Those
vho, iron charitable oon8ider8tioa8, to forvard c.
8ectmlti 7lev8, or for private profit, &are or-
pniged or oouducted 88hOol8, h&v8 888i8ted the
atate in the performuSe of 8 duty it We8 to it8
Citf8ea8, VbiOh CaaDOt be to0 tkOWhl7 perfo-#
&Ud vh:ch the 8tate b8 ua ver l88Uwd tht it had
e;thvr the me&D8 OF the rohlaery of dOW v~f-
fiolvatly veil vlthout private lvvivtmWv* Thv
m8ulim Academy 18 perforuirrg ft8 plrt 18 fhl8
branch of the public 8ervice, cad lt 8bould vatiMr
be ewowae& bz ald8, thaa -tied la lt8 U8e-
tulaa88 b y l tU UPOa it8 PitflU revenU88.
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156
.
Hoaorablc John R. Shook, mge 4
(I
. . . ,
"All the building8 and all the lmd 80-t
to be 8old by lppellaat Vera mCe88UJ and u8ed
for thb ProPer and eeoaomlcal
of the conduct
rchool. . . . The grow&d8 vu8 ured for the
recreation or the pupll8, and to 8upp17 the 8ch001
vlth v8get8bh8. Author%7 18 aot mating to ox-
tedth e lUp tfOnto bid much lerr direct17 la-
PloYct to iorvud the lnterertr of the rchool..
. . .
&ate ~iaevvil& v. beMu college, 150 Ca. 156, 103
9.B. 164, vhloh cite8 aad reliee upon the brr;ano case. the
Court, vhf18 reCOgQi8lrrg 88 rblutuy the rule tht a statute
exempting ProPertJ from tubtloa 18 to be strictly eba8trued,
88ld t \
'~8V8rth81088,bulldl.ngrerected SOP and U8bd
a8 col1.agr8, lmeorporated ~bdellel, and 8emlnarle8
0s barnlag br8 oru811~ perunent la character.
In 8 rel8tlve 8ea8e the7 8re iaov8bl8. When,
ther8fOre,89 8OleM la iit8trWOtit 88 8h@ cOn8tf-
tution SUtbOl’im8 the exemption Of 811 Such bulld-
lag8, 8ad vhea the general l88embly la lx e r a l8-
la g it8 pwer 80 corrferred upon it ex8mptr from
taxation all 8uCh bulldlQ~8, 0s a aoartructloo
the rtatute COa8ormat vlth the pUFpO80 of the ex-
emption and the 8ettled policy of th8 date, 88
reflected by the exemptlag rtatute, mU8t be adopt-
\.
ed. Bulldlagr ~111 therefore be COQ8trued to em-
br8ce the 18ad upon vhich they 8re loc8ted and the w
18nd 8d.lacent thereto aece88arv for their Dp?oDcr
U8C. occumitm~ and ealommat, provided, of coW8e*
'the property be oat Used for purpore8 Of Pitate
or corpor8te profit or Income.*' t-818 our81
Ia thi8 and many other aa8e8 it V88 held th8t reCre8-
t;oa ground8 aad campus ere Included vithia the exeaption. The
&termimtioQ 88 t0 the are8 of laud vithfn 8 tu exemtion ex-
tended to pr0pertp used for eduo8tion8lpurpa8e8 18 governed
generally by the aecer8ity, or lack of neCe88ltlr. of the land
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157
Honorable Joha R. bheok, pap 5
fa the
r rui aur~if4~ out 0sruoh purpo8er. 3% lxemptloa h88
been held to extend to land thus found to be reason-
In rffeot _
ably moerur~ to th e .r ull
lxerol8v UrU enjoymat 0s 8uCh pur-
POHIe
See 134 A.L.R. 1176~ 143 A.L.R. 274.
Our Oplaloa
lo. O-3083,approved ?ebraaq 15, 1941,
pertrlalag to brrd8 brloylry to the College Of Ramhell, 18
la keeping vfth th8 above-citedrullwr, &ad 8tate8, la part:
'&cm the above our opltIloa follovr that 'the
load on vhlah th8 8ahool plant 18 loo&ted and which
18 used exclu8lvel~for lducatfo~l pWpO808, la-
aludlag the aOve88Ur ~u-&r &ad recreatloaal *oundr,
fr exempt frdm taxation. . . .'
Therefore you are adrl8ed thbt if the Board Of tiU8t8ee
h a ve r r de l rhovia& 8uiffOf8nt 80 COavfaCe th4 001111188~oaerl'
court that there ha8 been a dedlaatloa of the property referred
t0 &I tF8Ct tV0 (If) ib OUF 8tmMIt Of f&t8 t0 the PUWO8e8
for vhloh it 188 acquired, aad IS the court 18 aoatlaced that
8Wh propart 18 r8~8CMbl~ mOe88Uf t0 the flrii lxerof8e urd
lajopeat 0s the oduaatfoaal purporer 0s the Ualterrlt~, it 18
exempt from tuatioa bad should act b8 eatered on the roll8 by
the Tax A88e88Or M&d COlle@tOr.
eUlti.Iig that thir ruii~ au8vu8 four inquiry, ve le
Yery truly your8
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ATTORRETIIalLDlBULOFTRXM