NO. 3052
OFFICE OFTHE ATTORNEY GENERAL
my 23, 1939
Honorable Julian l6ontgomery
state meway mpartment
Austin, Tezae
Deer sir:
Opinion No. 0-628
Re: Are fees collected by
county tax colleotore
r0r ~SSU~CS 0r bupii-
cete license receipts
under section lea 0r
Article 6675a, Vernon's
Annotated Statutes, to
be retained L8 rees 0r
0rricw
vie ere in reoeipt 0r your letter 0r April lOth,
in which you request en opinion (IB to *ether the fees
collected by oounty tex collectors for the issusnce of
duplicate license kelpts under Section 12a of Artlole
66758, Vemon*a Aanotated Civil statutes. may be retained
by them e.8 e part 0r their reee 0r oirioe or must be re-
mitted to the State Highway Department.
Section 128 of Article 667%. mpre, provides
88 rollows:
'The owner of e vehicle, the li-
ceme receipt ror which hes been lost,
or deetroyed, may obtain e duplicate
thereof, by filing with the State Hlgb-
way Dspertment or the County ColleCtOr
who issued the original reoeipt en ei-
fidavlt that it has been loat or de-
stroyed and by paying * ree or twellty-
five cents for said duplicate. (Acts
1929, Forty-fir.& Legislature, Second
$;ed Session, p. 172, ch. 88, Section
. "
It ~111 be noted that the above eeotion or lt-
SElr COOtthIS 110 PrOViSiOD aS t0 What Ultimate diSpOSitiOn
she+ be made 0r the twenty-rive cent r08 arter it has
been collected by the Stats Highway Depertment or the
county collector. This must be eecdrteined from the len-
@age of Article 6675a .e e whole.
Seotion 11 of Article 6675a deals with 'ices or
Tax Collector". as r0ii0w.8:
w.46 cc8npenestion ror his services
under the provisions or this and other
laws relating to the registration or ve-
hlclee and chaurreure and the transrer
of rehlcles, each County Tqx Collector
shell receive e ur0m rea 0r rirty
Cents for eech ai the first one thousend
.
Honorable Juliaa Yontgcmery, May 23, 1939. Page 2
receipts issued by hti esch year pureusnt
to said laws; he shall reoeive e UniiOrm
fee or forty cents dor each of the next
nine thouesnd receipts so issued, s uni-
rorm fee or thirty cents for esoh of the
next iirteen thousand so issued and s
unirom fee or twenty cent6 ror esch of
the bslsnoe of said receipts so issued.
Said compensation shall be deducted reek-
ly by each County Tax collector Zran the
gross collections msde pursuant to tbie
Act (Article 66758-l to 6675s-14; P. C.
Article SOTS) and other laws relsting to
the registrstion of vehicles and chsut-
reurs and the transfer oi vehicles. Out
or cmpenestion so allowed County TSI
Collectore, it is hereby expressly pro-
dded and required that they shall pay
the entire expense or issuing all li-
cense receipts and number plates snd
ohsutisu~r badges Issued pursuant hereto,,
including the cost of labor pericmed in
issuing said reoeipte, number plates snd
badges and the cost of postage used in
mailing *eme to spplicsnts."
Two provisions of the above quoted section sre
eepecislly pertinent ior the purpose of answering the
question at hand:
(1) "As compensstion for his le2-
vices under the provisions of this and
other laws relating to the registretion
of rehiclss and chsutisurs and the trsns-
fer or vehicles, ssch County Tax collso-
tar shall reosive s unir0w ree, eta.*
(2) vsid compensation ehsll be de-
ducted weekly by each County Tax Collsc-
tar tram ths gross collections msde pur-
suant to this Act (Art. 6675s-1 to 6675-
14; P. C. Art. 607s) and other laws relst-
ing to the regietrstion of rehiolss and
chsurreurs and the transfer 0r vehicles."
The fact that this section expressly stipulates
definite fees ss ccmpensstion for the earvices or County
Tax Collectors under all laws relating to the registration
or vehicles end chauffeurs, and that such ccmpensstlon
shall be deducted ircm the gross collections msde under these
same lswe, leads to the inevitsble conclusion that this eeCtiO0
wse exclusive es to the fees of s tax collector in the sbsence
or erprees provision to the oontrery snd thet srter he had col-
lected his prescribed ccmpenssticn from the wgross collectionsw
weekly he wss to dispose of the balance in accordance with Sec-
tion 10 Or the Act.
section 10 0r ArtiCle 6675s provides rm an sp-
portionment of net funds collected under the provisions Of
the Act between the County Road and Bridge Fund end the
Stete HSghwsy Depsrtamnt. It reads 88 hollows:
“On Monday of each week esch C0Uty
Tax Colleotor shall deposit in the County
Depository 0r his county to the credit or
the County Road and Bridge Fund so amount
.
Honorable Julie.0 Montgomery, k&y 23, 1939, page 3
equal to one hundred (100%) per cent or
net collectione made hereunder during
the preoeding~week until the amount
so deposited ior the current calendar
year shall have reached s total sum
Of Fifty Th0USSod ($50,000) DOllSrS.
nTheresfter, and until the smount
so deposited for the year shall have
reached s tots1 or One Wndred Seventy-
rive Thousand ($175.000) D~llsrs he
shell deposit to the credit of ssid
Fund on Monday or esch week en smount
equal to rirty (505) per cent 0r c~iiec-
tions made hereunder during the preced-
ing week.
"Theresrter, he shall make no fur-
ther deposits to the credit of said rund
during that calendar yesr. All collec-
tions made during any week under the pro-
.ViSiOnS Of this Act (Arts. 6675a-1 to
66756-14; P. C. Art. S7Os) in exoess or
the smcunts required to be deposited to
the credit of the Road and Bridget Fund
oi his county shall be remitted by each
County Tax Collector on each 8ond.y of
the succeeding week to the Stats High-
way Department together with carbon
copies cl each license receipt issued
hereunder during the preceding week.
He shall also on Monday of each week
remit to the Dspsrtment as now provid-
ed by law, all transfer isee and chsuf-
rsurs' license fees collected by him
during the preceding weak, together with
carbon coplss of 611 receipts issued for
said fees during the week.
"He shall slso sccmpsny all remit-
tances to the Higbwsy Depsrtment with s
cmplets report of such ccllectiens mede
and dispositiec made thereof, the ionn
and contents or said report to be pre-
scribed by the State Highway Depsrtment.
None or the monies so placed to the cred-
it or the Rosd end Bridge Fund Cl e county
shell be used to pay the sslsry or cmpen-
sstion of any County Judge or County Com-
missioner, but all said monies shell be
used ror the construction end msintensnOe
or later61 roads in such county under the
superrieion of th. cmnty engineer, ii
there be OILS, end ii there IS no such
engineer, then the County Cami8s1onsrsf
court shall here suthcrlty to commend
the services of the Division Engineer
0r the State Highwey Departmat ror the
purpose or supervising the ccnstmction
and surveglng or lateral roads In their
respective counties. All funds allocated
to the counties by tie provisions of this
Act (Arts. 6675scl to 66756-14; P. C. Art.
.307s) may be used by the counties in the
Honorsble Julian Montgomery, May 23, 1939, Page 4
payment or obligetions, Ii sny, isaed
and inourred in the construction or the
improvement or all rosds, including Stste
highwsys Or such counties and districts
therein; or the improvement of the
roads comprising tbe'ccunty road system.
(Acts 1929, 41st Leg., 2nd C. S., p. 172,
oh. 88, Sec. lo)."
The lsngusge of Article 6675s eepeCially in SEC-
tions 2 and 4 designstea the County Tax OOlleCt~ S8ent Or
the state Sigbvay Department ror colleCticn 0r all fees
ccllectsble pursuant to the Act.
Section 2 deals with registration:
"Every Oxasr of s motor vehicle
trailer or se@-trailer used or tobe
used upon the public highways or this
State, and esch chsurfeur shall spply
each year to the State Highway Depsrt-
ment through the County Tax COllsotOr
or the County in which he resides ior
the rsgistrstion or esch such vehicle
owned or controlled by him, or for s
chsufieur~s license, for the ensuing
or current year or tlnexpired portion
thereof; etc....."
Secticn 4 governs -registrstion dstesW:
"Each spplicstion riled hereunder
ror registrstion or for 0hsurrsur*e li-
cense during April shall be scccmpsnied
by the full amount or the annual r8.e ii
the vehicle was operated on the public
highways or streets during any pert of
April 0r that year, etc.*
In CoOley on TsxstiOn, Vol. 4. 4th Edition, p.
3562, it is ststed:
WA county oo11ects certain tsxes
es the representative of bbe state and
also sometimes es the representative
end ror the purpose or s city or tonm
or other tax district within its bor-
ders. and other tax districts sate-
AS en agent or the ststs the compensetion of
~the County Tax collector will be limited strictly to the
statutory fees prescribed, and such compensetlon will not
be enlarged unless by express legislstive grant. It is
sn elementary law of agency that if there Is s sp~ciS1
sgreement ifring the smount 0r compsnssticn to which the
sgent is entitled he cannot, ot course, recover any amount
Honorable Julisn Montgomery, May 23, 1939,,Psge 5
in excess or that stipulated.
2 Tex. Jur., p. 610
2 C. J., 782
Seotions 2, 4, 10 end 11, when ccnstrutd to-
gether. not to mention other eections or Article 66756,
clearly indicate that the purpose of the'genersl law wss
to rsise moneys for etste end county highway end bridge
construction; to apportion the rsvenues between the
Stste Highway Department end the County Road and Bridge
Fund; end to provide compensation ior the County Tar
Collector es sgent of the Bighwsy Depsrtment, irm which
cclllpensetionnecesssry expenses oould be paid.
A ccnsiderstion ci the caption of H. B. NO. 6,
chapter 88, Acts 1929, Forty-first L#gislstum, Second
Called Session, p. 172. substsntistss this construction
We quote it ln pert:
"An Act providing rcr the construction
malntensnce. regulation, and eupenision
of the public highwsys of this State, by
providing revenue therefor, by regulating,
supervising, and licensing of motor ve-
~1018s used on esms. and the payment cl
1icenseYees on such motor vehicles, end
the distribution and apportionment or
euoh license fees; regulsting the duties
and ccapenssticn or Tax Collectors in
connection with the oo11sction oi said
lioense isea....; providing for the sp-
propristion end use of ttb revenues ool-
lected hereunder...."
Seation 10 relating to apportionment or funds,
section 11 relating to the fees or TSX Collector end section
12s relating to duplicate license reoeipts, of Artiole
66758, 611 stand es originslly enacted by the Forty-first
Legislature, second Called session. AH.8 1029, Chapter 88,
p. 172, H. B. DO. 6.
Construing the sections together, YB reach the
opinion that it ws the Latention or the Legislature that
all revenues raised la the Aot in the form of fees were to
go into the gross oo11ections fund ior weekly apportionment
sitar the deduction of the fees sllocsted to the County Tax
Collector "se ccapsnsstion for his services"; and that 611
net funds (grose Nods minus Tax Collector18 ieee) raised pur-
susnt to the statutes which were not speciiicslly apportioned
to the County Road and Bridge Fund under Seotion 10 of the Act
be remitted to the State Eighwsy Department.
The ancant of the County Tax Collector ie to receive
is plainly etipulsted in Section 11. It is a delinite, certain.
easily determined amount, deductible weekly rrcm the gross ccl-
lections meads pureusnt. to the Act.
Seotion 12s dealing with duplicate lioense rs-
ceipte provides for pawent or s fee of twenty-five oents
for the duplicate to the State Highway Department or the
cant* Colleotor. The duplicate license fees paid to the
i
Bonorsble Julian Yontgmery, May 23, 1939, Page 6
County Tax Collector, become s pert of the gross ccllec-
tions fund unless it can be definitely shown that they sre
to be paid to the County Tax COlleotcr es sdditioml ocm-
penration to that reaelved by himunder Section 11.
But it has been revealed that under 8eot1oa.11
the lees of s TSX Collector sre expressly defined and ere
to be deduoted rrca the gross collections under the Act.
It is our opinion that all bee collected by the
County Tax
Collector under Article 6675s srs psysble to the
ccmmron gross oollections fund to be apportioned weekly un-
der Section 10, and that fees collected by the County Tsx
Collector tar the issusnce of duplicate license receipts
le included. The dupliaste lioense receipt fees sre not
to be retained by him in the ebsenoe oi epeeitic etstutory
sutherizstlon lepeoislly since the amount or his fees is
limited by Section 11. The etetutory fees provided for
the Tax Collector under Section 11, however, 61% deduct-
ible weekly Iran the ~camon gross collaotions fund.
The csse 0r Bowie county v. bfcmrrie, et 61,
(1937) 103 S. W. (2) 1062, is authority for our contention
that the County Tar Collector does not retain the twenty-
rive cent ice in the preesnt instance.
In thie csee it wss held that the county was not
entitled to any portion of e registrstion fee of three dol-
1srS payable to s County Tax Collector or any motor vehicle
being driven under its own power, towed, or transported by
being attached or coupled to em8 other vehicle iran or
;;f."gb this Stste over it8 higbwsys tar the purpose or
, rsssle or trsds,in another state, etc.
Bowl8 County sued its Tax Collector, the Bighwsy
Ccmniesion of Texss, and the Stats Highwsy Engineer to sa-
rorae payment 0r it or ritty (50%) per oent. less rees 0r
collecting the three dollar regietration ccnvoy isa for
the years 1935 an4 1936, under Article S27b, Section 2.
Vernon*s Annotated Penal Code.
Bowie County contended that the 1935 registrs-
tion convoy fee sat should be construed in sri msteris
with Article 66756, and that the fund raise rrcm the three
dollar registrsticn fees ehould be spportioned between the
county end the Stste Highway Wpsrtment in ecccrdsnce with
Section 10 of Article 6675s.
!
The court said it'did not egree with the county(s
contention and then msde this eignilicsnt observstion:
“SE ction 10 or tbs Aots Of lPP0,
se vfemwn*m
oLlapt.er/ mmoteted ststutee.
Article 667&-10) has speciilc relationa
to the division of fees authorized to be
collected by that Act, between the eever-
al counties and the stste, snd dws not
srreot another speoiric rsgirtrstion tsx
levied under the Actor 1935."
Then the court held that the ress levied under the ACt
02 1935 were not spportionsble to the oounty. Theretore, they
were payable to the State.
e.
Honorable Julian Montgomery, &?.y 23, 1939, Page 7
.
"The presumption is that all taxes
colleoted under general lsw not apportioned
era payable to the state. Only such tsxes
se are speciricslly apportioned to the
several counties csn be legally paid to
them."
Although lt wss held the Act or 1935 wee nOt in par1
msteris with Section 10 or Article 66756, still Sections 10, 11
end 12s sre all psrts or the sane ststute enacted et the sems
time ror the ssme purpose. One spirit end one policy is ccn-
trolling. Under Article 6675s the gross funds collectable sre
eubject totbeweekly deduction of the fess or the TST Collector
se prescribed in Section 10, end theresiter to apportionment
between the County Road and Bridge Fund end the Sighway Ds-
pSrt.mSnt in accordance with the provisions or Section 10.
The twenty-five cent fees collectsble under Section
12s for duplicate lioense receipts srs s part or the gross
COlleCtiOnS under the Act. They do not go to the County Tax
Collector es ress. The ACt. in Section 11, speciiicslly defines
his fees. Nor do they go direct to the Righwsy Depsrtmsnt.
The Highwsy Depsrtment only gets the balance of the net collec-
tions after the County Road and Bridge Fund has been provided for
. under Se&ion 10.
Therefore, in snswer to your question, it is our
holding that s proper construotion or Article 6675s forbids
retention of the duplicste license receipt fees provided in
SeCtiOn 12s by the County TSX Collector and also denies
Sepsrsts payment b:r him of these fess directly to the High-
way Department, but provides for tbdir payment in to the
gross collections fund with all other fees collected under
the Act. The twenty-five oent fees collected by the State
Highway Depsrtment directly sre retained by it in the sb-
sence ot any provision that it pay fees ecllected into the
gross oollections fund, whereas the ssme fees collected by
the County Tax Collector are co-mingled with other fess and
come to the Highway Dspsrtmsnt through epporticmment under
Section 10.
This opinion has the eliact of overruling the ror-
mer opinion on this matter by ASSiStSIlt Attorney General R. E.
Gray, dated November 23, 1938, and addressed to the
Honorable Cecil C. Rctsch, at thst time Assistant Criminal
District Attorney, Fort Worth, Terss.
Trusting that the above fully answers your inquiry,
we are
Yours very truly
ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
BY
Dick Stout
AeSistsnt
DS:FG
This opinion hss been oonsidered in conference, sp-
proved, and ordered recorded.
Gersld C. Mann
ATTCRNEYGENXRAL OF TEXAS