OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Eonorable 0. Xannedy
county At$ornay, Rae county
Bearil.10, Texea
Dsar Slrt aptnlon x0. a-29s
Be: ‘whether a pa en8
sohool strlob mo e!JLQloy
rlaymant 008 area
fp#m;;:ta, r t
4
fn your letter of 0, you reqtaeat an
optilon 88 to whethar or not aoh dirtriat
may lagally oontraat nlth a latter to oollaot
iti ddinp3nt t0x88, OUD or percentago of ths
taxes oolleoted. 116 aI) stloa OonoernP an
lndepeodont oaiiool ganeral J.ay! and the8
you have rsfasrmnoe d tax assessor and
oolleotor under a , ibYi88b CiYil %a-
tutes.
11 S8atutes, nedr as
ty or town in whloh auy
ooka of land, sitaaSed
ta limits of said olty or torn
dallnquent, or reported sold to
or the tare8 due thereon, the
prepam or muse to be prepared,.
te in the sam mumat aa pmvld-
and suoh llats shall bs oertlfle6
y the mayor of said alty or towu, if
any, and if said olty or town has no mayor, by thm
preafdlng offlosr of tha governing body. After said
lists have boon properly oer$lfled to, tha ,qwernin~
body of the olty ‘nay oause &3te of delinquent8 to
be published in a newspaper a8 proridrd Sor Stat*
and oounty delinquent tarea in this law. Whoa
twenty dayr from the data oi lest publ%oatlon of
said llet or 3iets of dalicqusnta her elapsed, the
governing body of the olty or tQwn may dimsat ths
713
Honorabie 0. Kennedy, page 2
oity attorney to file suite for oolleotion 01 aald
*area, or said govaraing body zaay a@loy rome other
attorney 0i tha county to illa sulta and the oity at-
tornat or other attornry mine 8aid suits ahall be
entitled to the same ieea aa allowed the ooudy at-
toraq or dlatriot attorney in lults for oollaotlon
of Btsta and oounty tame, to be taxed aa oosta in
the wit. fndependont lohool alatriota mar oolleot
their delinquent taxer aa aboro pro~lde6 for oltlea
and towna, the aahool board parlorWig tha dutlaa
above darcrfbsd ror the eoveknfng body o? oltlea,
and the prsrldent oi the aahool board performing the
&Mea above preaorlbed for the mayor or other preaI&
ing osriorr. The aohool board may, whan the delinquent
tax liata and reoorda are prOperly~preparCw3 and ready
for suite to be tiled, inatruat the oouuty attorney to
ill* said wits. IS the aohool Board lnstruot* the
oounty attorney to tile eald suits and be falls or re-
fusea to do so within afxty day8 the sahool board may
employ aoma other attorney of the oounty to Silo suit.
The oounty attorney, or other attorney, illins tax
suite for lndepandmt aohool dildriota, ehall ba en-
titled to the aam foe8 aa provided by law in lulta
for Stsk asd oounty taxcw. No, other oounty oftirar
ahall rqoaire any taer ~11088 larrloea ara aotuallf
performed, and ln that syent ha ahall only reoei~e euoh
iaer aa am now allowa him by law for aImUar aerrioea
15 olril auita. The employment oi an attorney to file
ault for taxes ior oltlaa, towna oz independend aoh&ol
dfstriofa ahall authoriza raid attorney,to file said
suita, swear to the petitiona and perform auoh other
aotr aa tee neoaasary in the oolleotlo5 of raid taxes.
*All law8 of this SSeto Sor the purposa OS oolleot-
Ing dellnquent State aod oounty tax68 are by thla law
made available for, and when Invoked shall ba applfed
to, the aolleotlon of delinquent taxer of aitlee snd
town8 and independent sohool dlrtrlota fn so far aa auoh
lawa are spplioablr,*
Ye hare exprcrs atatutoxy authority for the eppointment
of a dlstriot tsx asaeasor ana oollrotor and the psyment to him
of a peroentaga o? oolleotiona not @xoeedlng four per cant aa his
714
Eoonorabls 0. Xennedy, pcge ‘5
oompensatlon. Artiole 2791, Revised Civil Statutea. Or, the
district may require the county aaseasor and aolleotor to eat a3
suoh ror the district, rsoeivinc_ one per oect reapeotlvely ror
aaaesaing find aolleoting the toxea. Artlole 2792, Revlaed Clrll
3tetutea. And Artlolea 7332, Rerised Cl011 %atutea, and 73358,
Vernoaga Olrll Statutes, anthorlzin~ the employment o? an at-
torney to enioroe or aaalat In the enforcement o? delinquent
taxer Sot a peroentege o? oolleotlona not exoesdlng fifteen
are available to independeat aahool dlstrlota. Bell ~a. Mane-
Zield Independent Sohool ‘District, 129 5. a. (2d) 629, Supreme
court,
In view o? the provialona contained in the last para-
greph o? Article 7343, Revised Cltll Statutes, deolalona and ru-
lings oonoernln~ the power o? oouimlseloners* aourta to make eon-
trsots ior the oolleotlon o? delinquent Sate and oounty taxes
are pertinent to your inquiry. In our Opinion Ho. 04.97, we
held that a oo~lsslonera* court could not asks a valid aontraat
with a person not a lawyer embodying an oblleatlon on the part o?
such person to performs11 the servlaea oontemplatrd by Artlole
73315, the flllng and prtiiieautlon OS suite, eta., and in ow
Oonrerenoe Opinion No. 3064 we held that auoh a oontreot oould
not lawfully be made betaeen a oounty as “ifrst party” and two
persona, 05a a lloanaed attorney and the other not, a8 waeaond
psrty.* ;ie now express the tnrther view thet only a lloenaed
attorney nay be employed under the authority of krtiole 7335,
exoept a8 to obtaining abstracta. Cur reason8 are several:
(1) The statute only authorizea the oontrsat to be as&e with a
“oompetent attorney” and he la aubaequently spotin o? as “the
attorney with whom suoh oontrcot has been .:sde.” (2) The oon-
treat may be mnde only after notiae to the oounty attorney and
talluse 05 his part to take suitloiant sotion, evidenolng an
intent to authorize omploplrent o? someone to perform the aer-
ricer deollned to be given by the aounty attorney. Hottoe ia
not required to be @loen the oolleator. (3) Other than as to
having abatraota,~ade, the aervloea therein authorized to be Oon-
treated are predominantly - I? not sltoeether - legal aervIce8.
(4) During the period o? tke, 1906 to 1915, the statute, Art.
7707, Revised Civil Stetutsa o? 1911, provided for a oontraot
to be made with *any peraonn to oolleot dell:lquent State and
county tares ror a maxLmum ooinpena~tion o? tea per aant ‘exoept
715
prorid r0r tt0 00li008:0n of aaia0u0nC: tow
e:i& to rix the oGBp3nsrtl:ll to tr paid for mob
BWVlQO8. It is ulro true 8h8t tte oanalno~onrr~*
a o ur ta
Cno t~o tb lr rplr
o werta lxoouta oontruo81 +ith
ra6gi:at to Qhe oolleoti~o. of do~io0ruottou8 Ox-
alurivoly tr the ltEOU848. lZsIter wOv* o 4 Ilea der -
0o a*aounty, "4!OX*COB*k g g ., wa a ,-6.( 84 )6%” .~
7i6
There being no expross :tuthorlty to make the oontreat
under aonelderstlon with s non-sttornay, md there being stntutoa
er,7rsssly FroriJlnp r0r oollectors a2& oolleoting attoraeys, we
Co not beliove there Is rooza ior mother by iznpllcatlon. i.:*
h.lre aonsl3erod thu eases of Sllqzi VS. .:lse sounty, 96 ;i. is. (Ed)
637, end ?usk County vs. Zsloney, 38 3. ii. (2d) 868, writs of
error refused, dud i;'e nro mvnrs OS SOTO aonfllat between our
2oldlng end sozm of the lzq~~~.igo in those aasas. Sut, is both
0r the5 there ware elr.-,snta Or eetoppel mitering: into the oourt*a
oonelUerrtlon. The oourt in the Sllznp osoe guotod at length
tram and rellatl lzrzely an the Xaloney as: 8. And the oplnlon
in the latter ease in turn r+llaa strongly on Bsilry ~8. Aranaca
County* roe Si. 2. 1159, end Rm l ~osenbcrg ~a. Lorott, 173 S. 4.
508. Eowsrar , ths Bailey 0~50 arose during the llfo of the abavo
~eotloned .Grtiols 77C7 Clril Statutes of 1911 (tj.0. 6, 0. 130,
p. 319, .iotr 39th Leg.1 aidoh lxprss@ly suthor 1 xod the lIsplopclent.
And, the Van Rosenberg 0050 inlrolrsd the authority 0r the oa+
nissloneral aourt to ezaplop persons to dlsoovsr and plaoa on the
sssessr:ee.lt rolls oslttsd personal proparty. xhe aourt expressed
the opinion that It Was, not tho rtuty oi the a8aeasor
such aer*lco, but thet If he WISEuadrr ruah duty then
mlselonerr' oourt hsd express authority to Ike the OOatrOOt --
by virtue of .Artiale 7560, R. Se, rheroln the oan!nls8loner8~
courts sre authorized, in the arent the aseeasor falls to per-
r0m nny Or the duties required 0r hin& by law, to eniploy 8ome
other person to perform .vuct dutida."
!ourt of Ci~ll kg-
sf. (.?a) &34, wa
"(5) iihlle the Cozir~ionora* :ourb nay ~olldly
e,nploy 'akilled experta' to ralue for tsxatlon pur-
poeer Fro2srty in 8pealal lnet6noe8, where teahalcal
equlpzmt is requirud, slnoe tl;hs oontraot - by ft.8
oxpress telma - embrsoem a valuation of the antiro
tsxobie~ proprty 3r Borrls L’ounty, 3s rarleotea by
its tcx rnoords, it neosemrlly supersedea tb* powers,
dutlca, and Pwaotims of t.le tcx asse83or and oollso-
tar, and slnor those duties.sre derolred by law upon
hia, auoh an attsnpted snployzead by that body of
other persons to, in the rlret lnatjznoe, gerrom
auoh dutlee lnatesd, ir an expendit:? +~f pub110
iunda ror sn umuthorlxed purp080~
. . . 7*7
Honorable 0. Kennedy, pap* 6
The ease or Stringer 76. FranUin County, 123 S. W.
1168, by_ths . Texarkana Court of Civil Appeala, olosely aupporta
our 00n01ut310n. '?a base our opinion upon it, and the Merquart,
MoOIll and Liaetemoodoases, aupra, and what appeala to ~8 an
baiw the better masorting. Suoh oontraote must rind authority
ln the Statute@. Artiolo 7335 authorlaa8 a oontraot for the
oollaotion or delinquent taxer ror a per oant to bo sada with
only an attorney. Henoe, there la no authorltr to makr suah
a oontraot with any other. Our answer to four question
therefore ir a negatfte on%
YOur# rsrf truly
ATSORBEYfJ&lERALOF T-a
B+--&‘--'
mma 8. LOW18
Amlntant