Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

. -c- F ? ! OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS I AUSTIN , GDuLDc.m- A-am- Honorable L. A. BOO&~ Stat0 Superintonodootof Publia Xnstruotion Aurtin, Toxar In your httrr of o&nlon aa to whethor a aer8 pendent Sohool Diotxiot ia e that oapaoity# ha ha&z kon tho oat& aa4 asruamd 80 serve. you ark seed not b6 notloe4 in YiSW oi our ~oiul aat ot the Le&i8l&urO~ Ibus oe 28, page 43, Spcolal -Luw8, $9 Ho. 3 thereof readr; said Freaoh in a boar6 of mated for the purposr r5.n porsone who #hall ns un(Iqualiried property raid.cohool df#trloti. wt8e6 or raid 60h00i and,rxemior and 18 all the rights, power8 ln@osed bp the General hW8 of the State OS Texas upon trwteor and board8 of trurt- oea OS lndepenb6nt sohool dhttrlQt8." ~8 we undrretand your letter, the zrwtre’r father snA mthsr owned a piece of lend in this DIrtriot at thr tkPl Ebaorabl~ I+.A. Wooti, Pago a of tho wthU’8 death IO=0 ton year8 ago. 'II8 pthor that it Wa8 ooBmuBlty property. tlonor,the trustee lnhoritsd 8~ UB- divided one-fourth iRttil8t in the land, therm being om othor ohl1.bOS the wrriagr 8UnitiB& Tha rather ha8 not liveI on tho land tar w year8 but it has aontinuad to be listed on tbr urtnder86 tax roll8 aad on Other rooorda in the naaa of tho fatlwr. It is our undorataading, hme?er, that the wn 8tI.U 0wn8 tk0 undivided Latrreat iahWitc?bfrom hi13mothor. 'fh4tl'U8tM OOOU~ia8 the Pl'OpOrtyl 8 hi8 hOW. All tax@8 ae- aruing t&no0 1931 oa the land are Qelinqoent and there ir l su it p o mling lyinat the rather of thr trustos for ths oolloo- tloa or oha urtnI The trustee has not eotuallp paid a4 prop- lrtjr taxer. vihl1.0 you do aot 8psofffoaUy w d&e, we under- rtan~ thatthetrustsa harpai(lhirpell tax& 18 in au thinga qualiiied ii under tha facts a8 8teted abora b) 18 a property taxpayer. The qwrtion thus prueated is whether l rcipmay bo 4 pro&mrty tax$mpin(r voter until be aRt?talq Paf8 tuea on his property. For, as the edus 18 eubmftted to aa, it is Udi8pUtOd t&t he Ow UL un6ivid.d interest in land lying within the Dlstriot. From the opinion OS Judge Xiolmui in the oam OS Barron V8. Matthews, a 8. 11. (ta) 461, bQJfOFsthe ydi8tkiltd court or Cltil Appeal, we qootr as followa; "The facts disolose that the VOtOr8'who .were ohallanged by this proposition lotUally owned praputy, subbjiotto hratiOB, within the diatrist. Tholr propfly had bati arseoeed for taxer for the year lBZ9. They were othsr- Wire qualified tOteP8, ~2ndthe QPl8tbB Oi hW prerontsd Is, ware they property tax pa ing votere under the pro~isl~n~oofthe COn8titution OS TBXBE, art. 7, 8 31 %%ith oommendablr irunkness appellants aonoodothat v8rious QOrVt8 0r 0its.lappealr have heI& oorrtraryto their coatmtlon a8 to the meaning of 'property tax paying voters,* but iwlat that them deeieions iiaproerly in- terpret t ha langaagm of the Constitat !on. With this view wo oannot ager. The owmr- ship of property subjeot to taxation rm%ers one liable for tha pvnt OS tares, and the .-, fact of &sllnqurnoy doe8 not 0-y with it the penalty of being deprive6 0r 8 tote at an rleotlon for the purpose of taxing gho prop- arty. This question has b6.n deter&nod, Ud Eenorablo L. A. Woods, Page 3, .;, we think ootreotly, In th0 fOiiOWiB& 0%308: Rhoaibrrgv. UoLuenn, 81Tex. CiV. AQP~ 391, al S. W. 5711 iUli3m3n v. Falson, Zb Tex. Ci?. App. 398, S7 3. W. 920; KOIIQWvr Brunt3 (Tax. Cir, A>>.) 195 5. 3. 643; winters v. IndepcJndant2ohool Dirtri6t of Erant (Tax. Civ. AQg.) 208 8. Y. 574. Wpontho authority of those aasea, md becmiaewe bellan they announoo a oorrect lnterpretatien of tha oonatltutiaaal requirr- xmnt, w8 o*urulo proposition 100. 8, and hold that the fotua thurbln name4 were Is&ally qualltlebto rote at thm bead eleetIoa.* The @as00 eited in the above quotation Su8tab the opiBlon. We quote troo. Judge Jonkim ophloa in ~fI¶ter8 vs. Ew;endent Sahool Di8triot of Emnt, ES8 3. 1. 574, 4s fol- I* l + A taxpayingvoter, do la other- wler quallriad, does not man that his pop- erty met hare beea lssaasrd for taxes, but only that he Is liable for the payment of suoh t8Xb8, This llabillty is oreated br assesmlent of taxes by ths BO3waisaioIIers' court. If the owner of property baa not render the saxa for taxation,it should be put on the unren4ored roll. If this is not don8 for any year or mulea Of y8arl3, baOk tarea may be oollaotad on suoh unre&demd progorty for such time as the sam 18 not barred bg limitation." Tha term ~qual~fied property tax yin& vot*r,a a8 uaa4 in .Irtlcle7, Seotloa 3, 0r the ConstFtutlon, Wa8 uuder oousiderntIon in the Barron ~8. Matthews aase, and PE the eurot tarn is used In the Xot creating the ?renoh Independent Sohool Distriot and pr68OribiAIUthe qusalIfioatlonooi its trUsti- ees, wo think the ~ltlningasoribed to It slmuld be tho sam. Our answer to your quertlon, therefore 1s that so tar aa the iaota am dlsolosod the trustee 1s quallf~ed to oontinuo servloe. Your8vorytruly APPROVEDJUN 7, 1940 ATTORNEY GENERAL O%'!SGXAW