Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

. 635 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorable0. C. 3aokaon county Attorwy zevalaCounty CrystalCity, Texas 3car sir: /t’ pColleotor o? !4avela County be requhed under lav to tit da the Tar Aaaeaaor- ./+toUaotorof Clyakl city Ix&dependentSohoolDintriot? Ud othm related questiona. Yo ur r eQue8t o d th elbwe fd a nc g inio m lpettera haa kx?n receivedati.Mrpfully’qo~dered. Ye quote said request as follavar \> -‘y ) 1 .I"Rkt,,Tax )L48~~8ti02104t0Pfor.Cryat Cltr :““yyy Sohool~~* 11 J “Qwat.it)s Can the tax aaaeaaor-oolleotcm loi mm14 ckullb be required umlelr Iw to rot as the tax aaaea,aor-oolleotor of CrystalCity Independ- enb,SQIyl~pbat*ct? \ *Antkerr “No. AlthoughArtiole 2792, Reriaed Civil S8atnteaof Texas, Aota 1937, prcnrideathat he @shall’sat as assaaaar-oolleotor of auoh indspend- ent aohool districtvhen a majorityo? said trusteaa of suoh dlatrlotprefer to here their taxes laaeaaed and oolleotedby the assessor-oolleotor OS the oounty, beoause such sot is in oonillotvlth the Constitution- al prwlslon which holds It unlavf%lto hold tvo of- fices of trust or emolumentin this state. Ilon. 0. c. JeokDaa, ?a@ 2 "Qwatiaaa 21 Whet hod wuld be mulud or swh eaaosaovand eolloeto ii thmtotal tax rob leo)aalvm$2o,oooT *Amver: @o,ooo, Avtlole 27gl. 3:a u th e “Qmetla Oo u B ty lu u q rod o o uo o tc ua p b er o q ulud a du lu to luu a a d oolloottb taxer tae tha ladapmdon% rahool dl8- trfot, t&mavZvt oaapumtiouorakpd4blmoa $2o,ooo Oolauam? "@MStiW 'a = tb. OOWlt~ UBU8OWO~bOt6l oaa k FaqlIal-Ddto 688088 ud oolleot the taxer foe the vt aohoaldirtriOt, thrrr era thD fJeu that he PUOOiV.8 ior auoh oo;llo&ionsoaountablefor ~g e 8 o fo fa 0l0 futtngh laM%$.WB f888 OOUOO- “tt’hO?h 8 m&D’% Ofth8bortidobtW8Of an lmapemlmntDl8 a otpretertohevetheta%uof th a w mo tr lo l uued eM o o llu to a th e t Co u nty h UUO lrd CO%hOtW, OF 8-m ‘37 couat~ Fe% collutor, um ahallba .8808*~ i!z 0011utod by uld cow* ofaum ud ttwud our to the Treaaunz,or the ImlopeMoat boboa Dutriet fCS’VhlOh8UOhtuerh~~O0&b0t8d.. . .’ Artlola 8, Seot%oal4, of the Cosutltutimof Texas, 1la as follma %a uo lb r llkll~todbytbe qualfflad eleotora ata8ahoountyattheurtLrnrabuada the use LEV regulatitqthe eleatioa of State and caunt~OICfl0~~,~ill~aua~*DdC0U toe ofTuo8, vho aball hold bia offlom,for tvo (2P mn and until his mooeDsOT 18 OlOOtOdl&l qlpllftiad~alld8UOh Aa- aeaaor end Collrotor0S 'Psxeashall paFfOXU all the ROIl.0. C. Jaokaon,Pega 3 duties vith reapeot to la a ea a lng property for the purpose of tam&ion and of oollrotlngtaxer as mar be preaoribedby the Legialeture." In the oaae of Pint Xeptlrt Churoh v* CltJ of Fort Worth, 26 3. W. (26) 196, the CammIaalon of Appeals had before it the questionof vhether m net an la a ea a a ent of plalntlffin error18 propertyfor the year for vhioh reowerj vaa lverded vaa valid, as it vaa ooateadedthat, at the tlma ruoh laaeaammt vaa made, the offloesaaaeaaing memo Ma 8ttemptUtg to hold tvo of- floes of emolumentin vlolatiouof Art1018 16, Seotlon 40, of the Conatltutlonof thla Wate, in that he vaa 8aaudng to lot sa asaaaaorand oolleotorof taxes is the City of ZrortWorth and also far the Fort Worth IndepeadentSohoolDirtriot. The faots vere thet the lev laoorporatlng the PO& Worth Independent SchoolDlstrlotprovided that;"thearaeramentand oolleotionof the taxes of the dlatriothereby orertedshall be rde by the aa- scaaorand oolleotorof the City of ?ort Uorth, vho shall make osaessmentof all the real, personalax! mixed property looated in said dietriot,'eto. In holdingthat said naaeaaor add ool- lectorvaa not holding tvo offlo~r of molument, tha oourt laid dovn the follovlngmilea of lev vhloh are lpplloablohere, "The offeot of the rot ln’queationla merely to Impose additionalduties upon the aaaeaaorand oolleotorof texea of the oity of lort Worth. It la not ahovu that thla offloerreoeivednay added oompeasatlonto that paid by the oity fur the per- fomanoe of the additionalduties thua plaoed upon hla. Xven ii ho had been allovedauah ooapeaartlon, it vould not follaa that the Legislaturevaa oreat- ing a nev offioe. Ho aouxb3re8aonulata vhythe Le~alature oould not Imposeldditloml duties upon this officer eml Lnoruae his ompenaation aaoord- InSlY l 'IThe lmpoaltlonof additionalduties,) saps corpus Jurla, vol. 46, pa 934, 2 29, haponaa ex- isting office, to be performedunder .adlfferant title,does not constitutetha oreatlonof 4 nev of- fice.@ The same autharltyfurthersays: *An offlce to vhloh the dutlea of anotherare lnne%ed remains teohnlcallga single office; it la not an off108 under its ovn name end title and anotherunder the name of the one vhoae duties are annexedto it.@ see, also, Allen v. FidelityCO., 269 Ill. 234, 109 N. E. 10351 Hatfield1. MUnga CountJ C-t, 80 w. Va. 165, 92 9. B. 2451 State V. PCWOll, 109 Ohio at. 383, 142 N. B. 401. Hon. 0. C. Jaokaon,Page 4 nPlaIntIffIn error laalata that, beaauae tha duties perioxuedby May vem those pertel.ning to aovareIgnt~,an offloe vaa neoeaaarll~oreatedfor the Fart Worth lndep ea dentlohool dlatrlot. The natura of such duties vould not be determinative of whetherarrof?108vaa orsated,88 the Laglala- ture msy, if it @loots to do so, requirean lnoua- bent in an exriating offloe to pbrfon ldditioaal dutlea lnvolvlagthe lxeralaeof auoh poverm, The aaaeaaor end oolleotol, of taxes of the olty of Fort Worth la 8 pub110 oiflobr, and, la tha absence of any oonatltutionalUmltatlcm, tha Lagialature might iapoaaUpon him the perfonsanoeof such of this oharaoterof dutieses lt dbbpledpropbr.’ Anaverlng Question2, laakbd by you, va hand Pou a oopy of our opinionHo. o-2967;vhe~n It vaa held that tha general county bond requiredby ArtfalO 7249 of V. A. C. S. leaurea the paymentof all taxba oolleotedby the aaaeaaor and oolleotol? or tares to the proper prrtiea. Thereforb, Artlole 2791, referred to by you, has no application,and the amount of taxes oolleoted by said assessorand collectorSor tha ladependantaohool dlatrlot vould not detamlne the unount of his bond. He hand you herevitha oop~ of our opinionlo. o-2152, a similarquestionvaa being oonalderedsnd In vhich the -ihereIn Pollovlngholdingvaa mado, vhlah la hen adoptbdr “Where thb Aot amsting the Independentaohool districtalso creates the offioe of aaaeaaor-oollbotor of taxes for such dlatrlotand luoh offloe la tilled br the board of truatbaa of the dirtriot, the holder thereofis inhibitedby the Conatitutlonfrom holding also, the offlob of oounty tax aaaeaaor-oolleator, or, oonveraal~,the oountp tax aaaeaaor-oolleotor la Lnn- hlblted from llkevlaaholding the oftlab of tax easeaaor- colleotorfor the schooldlatrlot. “It tha method adoptedvheraby the school dla- trlct authorizesthe county tax saaessor-collector to also aaaeaa and/or oolleot the h%ea of tha school dlstrlct,effeots the abolishmentof the office of t8x assessor-oolleotor of the school dietriot,the result Is merely the ImpoaItlonOS additionalduties upon the office OS county t8x aaaesaor-collector,and the holder thereofdoes not therebybecome the holder of tvo olvil officer of emolumentas prohibitedby the Constitution. By the same token,cormbpondIng 642 Hon. 0. C. Jaokaan,PSgb 5 sotloa by an iaoorporstbdOltr, In the aunner nboeaae~ to aoocmpllaha linlla~ result,vould llkevlaebe pemla- provlalonunder dlacuaalon. sible under the oonatltutIonal "It la therefonmanifeatthat to obviate the prohibitian InSea. 40 of Art. 16 of thb ConatItutIon,thb OfflOe OS lohool districtand olty tat raabaaor-oollbotor mat be abollahadbe- fore the txunafbr of the duties thbrbofto thb oount7 tax assessor-oollaatar, otherwiretvo 0i011 offloeaof emolument vi11 be held and exerOIabdrt the aeme tlae. Aeoordlngl~, the mbthod adoptedrhbrabr the school dlatrlotand o1t.r&u- thorlcea ‘by ordlnanoeor by proper rbaolutIon~,ln the 18nguagOof Art. lOk?b, SupFa, thb OOntbUpl8tbd obmgb, nboea- sarll~must mean auoh proobdure as IS required undbr the ap- plloable lsva, the City Oharter, 8nd organ%0 lav of thb agency, to legallyaccomplishthe 8bollahmentof the reapeotlve o??lcea of dietriotand olty tax araeaaor-oolleotor. ‘I? and when auoh o??Ioeabrb so abolished,it la the opinionof thla Dbpartment,In a na verlpeoI?Ioall~to your question,that an Inoorporatbdolty and an independent lohool districtamy properlyauthorlabthe county tax eaaeaaor-oolleotor to aaaeaa and/or oolleotall laxer dua to auoh oltr and lohool dlstrlota,and the county tax aaaesaor-oolleotor MJ legally act for such other taxingauthorities.* In vlev of the rules of lav above set out and referred to, It Is our opinion that the tax aaaeaaor and oolleotorof Zsvala County can be requiredunder the lov to 8SSbS8 Snd Oolleot the taxes of the CrystalCity IndbpendentSahool DirtrIot. Ewever, ve are Purtherof the opinionthat the oS?loe of Aaaeraor and Collectorof Taxes for a8ld school dlatrlot,I? such offloe b%XiStS, shouldbe abolishedbefore thb duties of aaaasaIngand OOllOOtlog thb taxes o f luoh’achooldlatrIatare h4Mfbrrbd t0 the County !faxAssessor and Collbotor,as he cannot hold any offloialposition as Tar Aaaeaaorand Collectorof meld dlatrIot,but vmld be only performingaddltlonalduties lmpoaedupon him by thb &glaleture, See also the holding of the Supreme Court in lloholaat al v. CalvestonCouuty,228 9. Y. 547. In 19%. the Lagialatura aaad Haure Bill Eo. 1032, pages 652-654,Generallawn o? the r6th Legislature,vhloh v&a carried into Vernon’sAnnotatedCivil Statutesas Artlole 1042b. his statuteprovidedthat any incorporatedolty, tovn or village, independentschool dlstrlot,and other ruuneddiatrlota,could pmvlda ?or the oounty 8aseasorand tax oolleotorto Bases8 Snd collect their taxer. Provlalonvaa also made thereinSor ccispenaa- tlon for such servicesas ?OllCVS~ 643 fion0. C. Jackaoa,Rga 6 *Sea. 5. whea the county ~a~aaor and county Collaotorare nquired to assess and oolloot the taxes in any * . . ladepmdent aohool dlatrlot . . . they ah811 reapsotlralynoolve for auoh awvlo~a z amuut to be qraed upon by thr govemlrq body . lndependont school dlatrlota and the &&iaaion.ra Court of tha county ii ;h.ioh suck , , . Independentaohool diatrlota. . . d t to lxooed one pmr oent of tho a r a a itua to no tares so colleoted.’ At the time this l8v vaa passed, Artiole 2792 vaa in full Some and effectand Oontainedthe Sollovingprovialom “When the CountyAaaeaaor and Collaotocla requiredto a88688 and oollecttha taxes of Inde- pendent Sohool Dlatrlotahe ahall reapeotlvslpre- oelve one per omit (l$) for aaaoaalag,and 08x1 per Cent (l$) for 0olleotIngame.” Artlole 10422, vaa amended In 1941, and lndspmdent school dlstrlotavere isit out Sntw.31~. Acts 1941, 47th LsgIalature, page 404. An being applicableto the situationthat sxlatedafter Article 1042b was passed while Article 2792 was In full foroe and effectsad after Article1042b vaa amended in 1941 so as not to apply to Independentaohooldietriots , ve here quote and adopt the ~OllOvingholding Of OUC OpiniOnHO. O-5426 vhloh deals vlth the same situation,though from a dIfferwitltandpointt ‘The.legal effeot OS said hot of 1939 (AHIole 1042b,Vernon’sAnnotated Cl011 Statutesof Toxaa) so iar as i& pertlnsnt to the questionunder dlacuaalon, was to repeal by Impllcatlonall that portion of Article 2792, which by Its terms had theretofore emitted the property OS Independentsohool dIrtrIot L vl.ngtheir propertiesaassasedand collectedby the Oountyaaaeaaor and colleotorto be assessedat a greater ValUS them tbat aaaesaedfor countyand State purposes. The said Aot of 1939, hovever,did not repeal by implloationor othervisethat portion of ArtLcle 2792 vhlch permitted independentSOhOol dlatrlotrto have their PrOpSrtiSS assessed and aolleot@dby the oounty aasesaorand collectorr rather, the Act OS 1939 vaa cwnulatlveof 644 Hon. 0. C. Jaokaoa, Page 7 the pertinentprovisionaof Artlole2792 so tar as this pwor of lndopondentaohooldlatrlotawas oon- cernod. “As has boon said by an omlnontauthority: “8...A statute ttit aovora the aubjootaattor OS fomor l8v and is lvidmtly Intended 8s a aubatl- tuto for it, althoughcontainingno express vomla to that ofieot, operatesas a repwl of the toraw lav to the extent that Its provlalonaarm revised and its flrld apootr1l.yoovered,...* (39 Tax. Jur., Sea. 80, pagoa 148-149) ‘In 1 41 the Legislatureoi Texas amended la ld Artlolo 10!2b by cinlttlngthenfrom any reforenoo to Independentaahool dlatriotaand common aohool dla- trlcta. The legal effect of said amondmontvaa to leave artlole 1042b nov appllcablronly to incorporated cities, tovna or villagas,dralnagodistricts,vater controlsnd improvement dlatrlota,vater improvements dlatrlotaend navigationdlatriatain the St8t.oof Texas. ‘Said amendmentlast mentioneddid not, however, operateto vithdrav fraa independentaahool dlatrieta the povor of tholr sleotion to have their tamJ8 8SBeSSOd and collaotodior them by the oounty tar assessorand oollootor,but said privilegeawmalnedln said lndo- pondont aohool dlatricta, “We may here obaemr that the lndopendentaohool dlatrlotahave only auoh povera vlth reference to tax- ation as have been graated to auoh dlatrlotain olear terms of lav. ‘The granting or taxing power by the Legislatureto any county or districtshould be con- struedvlth atrlctaoaa~the presumptionbeing th8t the Leglslatu~ has granted in clear terms all it intended (3~ State V. Houston& T. Ry. Co., 209 9. Y. %o 7lsat* “We desire to how point out that the omlaalono? Independentschool dlatrlotafrom the Act of 1939 by the amendmentof 1941 did not have the legal of’fectof 645 Bon. 0. C. Jaokaoa,Page 8 restoringor reviving those parts of Art1010 279:: which bed been repealedby the Act of 1939. 39 Tex. Jur., Sootloaa 63, 85, pages 125, 154I” Applyingthese rules of law to the questionhere being considered,vo find tbrt, vhllo Artlole 2W2 originallyallowed componaatlonof one per oat woh to the Tar Assessor and Collectorfo rlaaeaaing aad oollootingtexea for indopondont schooldlatrlota, this pMvlaIon was repeeledby the passago of Artlcla 1042b,providingtht luoh oompeaaetlonshould be en amount to ba agreed upon by the govembg body of auoh lndo- pendentschooldlatrlotand the oowIaaloaera.r oourt of the county ln which awh Independentaahool dlatrlotwas situated not to exceedone per coat of the Wxea so oolleoted. When Article 1042b vea amended In 1941 so as to amtltindependent schooldistrictstraa Its provlalona , auoh dlatrlotawore left vith the povar under Artlale 2792 to requirefieaaaaoaaoraend collootorato asremand aolloottheir texea,but no provision has been made to ooatpenaatosuch tex aaaeaaora end oolloctora for auoh aemloea. in 1935, reads Artlalo3891 of V. A. C. S., as fbmonded ia pert aa follovar “The oompoasatlon,llmltatlonaand msrlnruna herein ftiod shall also apply to all fees end WEI- poaastioavhetaooveroolleotedby aeld offloors in their offlolaloapeolty,whetheraaoountebloas foes of officeunder the present law, end my lav, general or epoolal,to the contraryis hereby expressly ro- pealed. The only kind cad ohereoterof oce@onaatloa exempt fro81the provlalonao? this Aot shall be re- wards reoolved by Sherlffafor apprehonalonof c&u- laela or fugltlvoafraa just100and for the re0oVory of atoleaproperty, end moneys receivedby County Judgesend Juatlooa of the Peace for performingmar- riage aoremotioa,which sum shell not be aooountablo for and not required to be reported as fees of office.” In the case of Taylor,et al. v, BrewsterCounty, 144 3. W. (26) 314, suit was broughtend judgmentrecoveredagalnat the tar collectorof BrewsterCountyand the surety on hle bond for excess offlolalfoes for vhloh aald tar oolloatorhad not accounted,a large portion of vhloh vaa foes or commlsaloaare- ceivedby him for aaaosalngand oollootingschool taxes for an IndependentSchool Dietrlctunder Article 2792 of V. A. C. S. The Court afflmod said judgmentand held such fees or commla- sloua officialfoes for which he was requiredto eCCOunt to the 646 Hon. 0. C. Jackson,Pago 9 countyunder the fee bill. Aooordlngly, your quoatlonfour (4) is anavorodin the afrbmative. We hand you herowitha copy of our opinionlo. o-5426 and dlreot yaw attentionto the faot that it la hold thereinthat “therenow exists In Texas no statutoryauthorityempovoring an independentlohool district to ham taxablepropertythoreln situate, vhioh Is aaaeaaed for taxes by the oouaty tar oolleotor and aaaoaaor, assessedat a value other tbaa the value used In the aaaoaamsntof taxes by that OfflC@rfor oouaty and state purpoeoa.’ Thla hold- would be applloabloto the dlatrlotyou inquireabout ln the went It requires the oounty tax assessor and collectorto assess and oolleot Its taxes. Our opinionsHumbera o-1821and 0-3632 are hereby over- ruled Insofaras they oonfllotherewithas to the compensation providedfor a oounty tax assessorend oollootorfor aaar8alng and collectingthe taxes of en lndrpendontaohool district. Trusting that this aatlafaotorIly answersyour Inquiry, we remain, Yours very truly, AWORICEP(IEHERAL OF TWAS Assistant JWB/JCP WCS. 3