Honorable T. M. Trimble
First Assistant State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
Austin, Texas
Opinion No. O-3175
Re: May the same three men be
appointed to comprise the
Board of Equalization for
the City of Amarillo and
for Amarillo Independent
School District?
Dear S&r:
We are in receipt of your letter in which you set out
the following facts:
"The City of Amarillo and Amarillo~Inde-
pendent School District and County of Potter,
have, through a joint arrangement, heretofore em-
ployed experts to complete an appraisal of prop-
erties within the City of Amarillo for use by the
respe;ctivemunicipalities as information which
will be available to the respective boards of
equalization in aid of more equitable equaliza-
tion of values.
"The Amarillo Independent School District
is an independent school,district created by
statute, employing its own tax assessor and
collector and includes all of the territory
within the City of Amarillo, and territory ad-
jacent to the City of Amarillo situated in both
Potter and Randall Counties, Texas."
Based on such facts you ask three questions:
"QDESTION 1. It has been thought that it
would be to the interest of the public if the City
h
Honorable T. M. Trimble, page 2
should appoint its Board of Equalization and
that the School District would appoint the
same three men to comprise its Board of~Equal-
ization, and that these men would act for both
the City and the School District, giving notice
to tax payers of hearings at which time tax payers
would be permitted to appear and protest as to
valuations applicable to both the City and
School District. Does existing law authorize
this procedure?"
Senate Bill No,.10, Chapter 8, Acts of the 3lst
Legislature, 1909, Which provided for the creation of Ama-
rillo Independent School Districts, provides in part as
follows:
"The said board of trustees shall be vested
with the full management and control of the free
schools in said district, and shall be vested with
all the powers, rights and duties that are pro-
vided by general law for boards of trustees of
towns and~villages incorporated for free school-
purposes only, including the powers and manner of
taxation. . s ."
In Opinion No. o-2687, this Department held that
Article 2791, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, applies to
the Amarillo Inde&endent School District. Such article
reads in part as follows:
"It shall be within the discretion of the board
of trustees of any independent school district to
name an ,assessor,of taxes who shall assess the tax-
able nrovertv within the limits of the IndeDendent
school district within the time and in the manner
provided by existing laws, in so far'as they are
applicable, and when said a essment has been
equalized by a board of equassization appointed
by the board of trustees for that purpose, shall
prepare the tax rolls of said district and shall
duly sign and certify same to the county tax col-
lector as provided for in the suceeding article."
Section 40 of Article 16 of the Constitut,ionof
Texas provides in part as follows;
"No person shall hold or exercise, at the
sametime, mure than 'one Civil Ofr$ce of emolu-
ment, except that of Justice of Peace, County
r
,-,
Honorable T. M. Trimble, page 3
Commissioner, Notary Public and Postmaster,
Officer of the National Guard, the National
Guard Reserve, and the officers Reserve Corps
of the United States and enlisted men of the
National Guard, the National Guard Reserve, and
the Organized Reserves of the United States, and
retired officers of the United States,A$ny, Navy,
and Marine Corps, and retired warrant officers
-afid.:retired
enlisted men of the United States
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, unless otherwise
specially provided herein."
It is the opinion of this Department in answer to
your first question that if the order of the Board of Trustees
appointing the members of the Board of Equalization for the
School District as is provided in Article 2791, supra, provides
that the members of said Board of Equalization shall serve
without c,ompensation,then we believe that the individuals
appointed as the Board of Equalization of the Amarillo Inde-
pendent School District could be the same individuals who are
serving as the Board of Equalization of the City of Amarillo.
'However, unless such order provided that the Members of the
Board of Equalization of the Amarillo Independent School Dis-
trict so appointed should serve without compensation, the
constitutional provision above quoted would prohibit the pro-
cedure inquired about.
~"QUESTION 2. Under existing law, would it be
legal:,forthe .City of Amarillo to appoint its Board
of Equalization and the School District to appoint its
Board of Equalization, both boards composed of different
individuals, and have joint sittings of said two boards
but reserving the right to make separate decisions as
to any matter coming before said respective boards
sitting at the same time and at the same place. This
would be of great accommodation to the public, but a
question has been raised as to the legality of such
procedure.
"QUESTION 3. Would it be legal for the
two Boards ofEqual%zation, comprised of different
men, to hold joint sessions with the experts em-
ployed to appraise property and then after such
conferences hold separate and distilnctmeetings
for the purpose of affording tax payers adequate
opportunity to appear in protest of any action pro-
posed by such respective boards. Under this ques-
tion it is assumed that the only purpose of the
..
Honorable T. M. Trimble, page 4
gehkal meetings&$ the two ,b@aeds ~1 ik,prop'~:'
~“‘~
the experts'is to f%miliarize them wi
erties and values and would not be intended
to amount to any agreement onthe part 5f the
boards to arrive at certain valuations and re-
main steadfabt thereon, but it would be the
idea that these boards would have complete
freedom of action and thought in the performance
of their respective duties."
The rule is stated in 37 ~Tex. Juris. 1013 as follows:
"In the absence of any law directing when the
assessment shall be made, or when the Board of
equalization shall meet, or when the rolls shall
be prepared and approved, those matters are under
the control of the local authorities."
We are unable to find anything in the law that
would prohibit the Board of Equalization of the Amarillo
Independent School District from sitting at the time and
place and in the manner you inquire about in your questions
numbers 2 and 3, if 'suchmeetings are ordered by the Board
of Trustees of the Amarillo Independent School District.
We trust that the foregoing fully answers your
inquiry.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
BY s/ Billy Goldberg
Assistant
APPROVED May 14, 1941
Grover Sellers
First Assistant Attorney
General
Approved Opinion Committee
GRL
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