OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
~03mwble Chsrley Lo&hart
state Trefiwrer
Anatin, Teurs
Dear Sir8
you advlae w of
Pea08 8nd Morthern
lrrned under
MlQe .EturdFed
order to have tJ3e flret mort-
80 oQunt1ea in vhlah 1t ha8
reaorded, and In order to have
oment reamled in all of the mmn-
the rallvay of The Fsqos and
the mortgeeCe or the EZtewlon Agreement.
“2. If it 18 neoeararp to sttwh outh rteaps,
vhether the ahotid be abtaahed, ealaulated 00. the
baa18 of $l~,QOQ,OW3,00
5 0%' $11,984,000.90. . . r*
Honorable Harley Lockhart, Page 2
Article 70470, Seotlon (a), Vernon*8 Annotated Civil
Statutea, read8 ae followr
“meept ae herein othervlee provided there le
hereby levied and aeeereed a tax of Ten (lO#) Cente
on eaoh One Hundred ($100.00) Dollar8 or fraotlon
thereof, over the flret Two Hundred ($200.00)
Dollare, on all note8 and obligation8 eeoured by
ohattel mortgage, deed of trust, mehanle’e lien,
aontraot, vendor’e lien, oonditlonal aalee oontraot
and alllnetrumente of a rlmllar nature wh&nh are
filed or reaorde4 in the offloe of the County Clerk
under the Regletratlon Law8 of thle State; provided
that no tax ehall be levied on lnetrumente eecuM.ng
an amonut of Two Hundred (4200.00) Dollare, or leer.
After the effeotlve date of thle Aat, except ae
hereWafter provided, no lueh instrument &all be
filed or recorded by any County Clerk in We
State until there hoe been affixed to ewh lnetru-
sent rtampe in aaoordanue vlth the provlrionr of
thle seotion; providing further ,that ehould the
lnetruwnt filed ln the ctiilae of the County
Clerk be security of an obligation that bar pro-
pelrty pledged aa eeourlty in a State or Starter other
than Texas, the tsx hall be baaed upon the roamn-
able eseh value of all property pledged in Texae
in the proportion that raid property in Texau beare
to the total value of the property lecmrlng the
obligation@; and, providing further that, exoept
ae to renevsle or extension8 of merued intereet,
the provleions of this eeotion ahell not apply
to inatrumerite given in renewal op extenelonr
of lnetruments theretofore rtamped under the pro-
vlelone of this A& or the one amended hereby,
and ehall not apply to lnetrumente glren in the
refundlug of exletlng bondr OF obllgatlone them
the preceding lnetrumnt of reourlty wae stamped
in awordauee with thie Aot or the one amended
hereby8 provided further that the ter levied in
this A& ahall apply to only one instrument, the one
of the greatert denomLuatlon, vhere 8everal lzutru-
menta are aontemportmeouely exeouted to eeuure one
obligationi and provided further that vhen owe
ltamped aa provided herein, au lnetrwnent may be
gonorsble Charley Lockhart, Pege 3
raoorded in any number of oountlee In thla atate
vlthout agein being eo atamped. Thte aeotlon
ehall not appl to lnetrum4nt8, notee, or other
obligatlone t d en by or on behalf of the United
State8 or of the State of Texas, or any aorporste
agency or inatrumnt8Uty of the United gtatee,
or of the State of Texas ln carrying out a gov-
ernamntal purpose 88 upreaeed In any Aat of the
Congreee of the Untted State8 or of the Leglela-
tae of the State of Texae, nor ehall the provl-
llonn of this De&ion apply to cbllgatlans or
lnetmmente eeaured by lien8 on orope and farm
OP agriaultw?al produate , or to llveetook or farm
lmplemente, or an abetraat of judgment,
‘If the awmnt eeoured by an lnatrument la
not expreeaed therein, or If any part of the
eeourlty deeorlbed in any ruoh inetrument appearr
to be loaated without the State of Texas, the
County Clerk &all require proof by wrftten affl-
davlta of mwh faotr M may be neIusceaeary to deter-
nine the amount ofthetax due.”
Prom a reading of the above atatute it 18 aeen that
the tu ie not due until and wlera the imtrummt o fleourlty
$8 preeented for rebox-d. The A& further readr that exoept na
provided therein no mab inatruaent ehall be tiled for reoold
until it ha8 been etamped ln aoowdanae with the prov&alow of
the ht. go exeeptlon la made ee to lnetrumenta dated prior to
the effective date of the ltatute. The tax levied by thla Aot
ie laid upon the privilege of wing the reaorde of the offloe
of the Oonnty Olerk. City of Abllene 'I. Fryar, 143 8. W. (26)
654.
lienae ln mar opinion It la imaterial that the flret
lmtrument uee exeauted long prior to the effeotlve date of
Art1810 70470. If it ie nov offered to a Qounty Clerk for re-
oord it met be etampod Fn aooordanae vlth aueh etstute. If
the 1907 mortgage la properly atamped and reo8mMd, then under
the expreee terare of the etatute the extenalon agreement may
be recorded thereafter in vhstever oountiea it may be deetied
vlthout having any et-8 affixed thereto.
Honoratfle Qrbley Lwkhart, Pago 4
The origkl aor+gage did not eeoure obllgatlona amount-
- to Fifteen Mlllion Dollsre (~15,000,000.00) but mer4ly aeoured
an authorlaed bond lesue of not exoeedlng Blfteen Hllllon Doll4re
(~15,000,000.00). The fret that bonda in th4 amount of Eleven
Hllllon IlineHundred and Eighty-four -wand Dollar8 ($11,98&,000)
only were ieeued a that auoh la the amwnt etll3 unpaid ia8~rbe
ahom to ths Olerk by affidavit, md in auoh event the amount
ai rtampa to be ltta4hed should be oeloulated on the b&818 of
Eleven IU1llo.n Hf.zm #nndred and Rlghty-four Thousand Dollara
(&l,g84,ooo.oo).
Pour8 very truly
A2J!P~OE)IERALoRTExAs
By k.-.--dc
fflenn R. Zml*
Aaeletant