Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

..-,I” i Rob. Claud aibmr, Page 2, V-161 aad declaring an lmergeaay. “Be it enacted by the Ieglslature OS the &ate of Terasi "Suc4lon 1: That Subsection 4 of Abtlclo7150 of the Revised Civil Sta- tutus of. TUMS~ 3905ir,jm and the sam Is hereby amended so as to hbreatter .read as follows t :: : ~. “Subsect¶m 1. All property, whether peal or @wsonal, belonging sxcluelvel~ to this State, or any .pollt lo al subdlvls ions tllamof, QP the Vrtitru States, sxceptkhat”~ la cabh 6 mtr. la th$s W&o, uhere the 6tata bC sibx&u had. ad .m@:aeqnlh and .oua l4w rw p*pmb of. establ.ldhlag. thb24+ :, on @eat* Pclnrs and rqM ag ttlaro.oa.~con%W labosiwu Zktate *eeount,.. tL psakteatiary -.~-- : .; ;., : .<::,.1 : aald ciountf.rad. to the tax assessoF’ dr: dach tadepaadeat sa!mol district.., In ~whlOh;.siiid.iT POpWtyj or any pa& ‘thereof, la’located; and the taxes on saaa shall be assessed and oolidoted . In the manner requlred~by’ law,? ‘f’or t4b assessrat ‘and ooll~ctlon’:.oi.:oth~r~ ,. taxes; ~oS%dad, that ~ral.&k~ee~-shall ,&ei ‘:~ assesebd and .co~leoted Sor aountf .aad’lade- Pt’school dlstrldt par hul.ld%txgaiad other lmprovoabat $yd by t&~MaW'ead sitURW$ oa fbaM !a . 1. "Bee.2. The fact that oounty taxes are dellhqwat, and unpeld agalnet various ,&ate farms oovered by this Bubseotion, and the further fact that the counties. In which aaid State tams am looatbd aPe in. dire . - HOQ. o~*,,a o-r, pys 3, v-161 .. ., need of bald taxea, In order to efflaloQtlY perform thulr goV+amsnat81 fwotlotm, .create aa euergenog . . : . (bipharrls adfled) firticle 5065, Subd. 3, now Article 7150, Subd. 4, Revlsod O&v11Statutes, as amended by OhaPtOr 159, .. “l%e 2a110u1u&JrQgbr?,*tJ aha be OxMt Prom tox8Ulbn, to wl? : II. . . Hon. Claud C+ilmm,~ Page 4,. V-161 . of operat Ierg such farm, and no debt shall be- created analnat, the general Enud of & State In case om ramm 40 pg- said tsxes sy %~venues of’-% such farrm.B provnedurther, that In a=- lng at the amount to be paid In taxes to the corntim the value .of the land shall bs considered and not thC value of the bulld- lags and other Improvements owned by the State and situated on said land. %uc .; 2. This Act shall repeai Sub- dlvlalon 3 of Article 5065 of the Revised Statutes of 1895, only in so far,as the aam IS ‘In:confllct herevith. 2. “SbC.~ 3. The ‘ract tba; the ~st& -of Taxas has acquired valuable lads .ia!;~arloh? count,ies of’ the estate -of .S&aa tu. bb :ased In ceagbct 10s with ,tla6 State pyiit&atiary. 8Jstam; thqrqby depr~\r~Ahe ‘6Wntlos~~wl.qe .3ald Uads ~am,:locatbd .of .any rtjwtiW~~fr:@n .: t&x0* therdn;. aad .&thefarther ~iact:.*tliit~: .thO mat&l&3 IWhi3r-u .Bald :f&i&hr6 ,...lOo&ed nood skld’reveaue, ,cruats ‘an’emrgency 4 i . . ‘. .~“. mlphaalb. adgyl~ < It will be ‘noted irun a .oomparlson of the emphauIesd portlona~of:.the two.acts;: that: the. import-. aat &ange. made’~ by the FoNy-&tith.:dglalaturo ~was30’: reMal that .po~tloa of ‘the.~orlgInal.:.act -.whlch,provlded that p &j& w & I&?$@&$ m &&general fund’ for t o- pa~naa o aertaln taxe&md~ lnatead specifi-. oally prooIde that au& taxes, ‘lacludlng all delinquent t,ax+s, am I?s, Q&& .a & t& d#nsral SWI. : Without dlsouaslng th6 obvious Unconatit ut lon- alit* of House.Bill Ro.. 289, Act8 49th.bgl~slature, be- aauae of Its dofeotlvs daptlon (brtIole~III~, Section 35, CcimstItutloa.of~,Texas), It is oletar that both &use Sill Ro(0112 A&a~ 31st bglalature and House Bill. Ho. .. 2891Acts 44th bgislature, are unaoastitutlonal and ~014 Insofar as either of anch acts attempt8 to amend or roped1 the. provisions of Subdlvlsloa 3 of Article 51065, (now Subdiv~sl&a 4, &tlcle 7150) siace each Is violat ivd of Article XI, ,Seutlim. 9, of .the~‘Constitution of .Texas, which reads as follows: T!&~prop4rt~ of oounties,~olt~es an4 tovns, ova04 aa4 hoi4 0aT ?or publio,pur- poma, such as pub110 buJ 4lrrgs an4:the sites themfor. Fire englass an4 the ium- lttu’i thereof, 5~9 all p$qertr used, or lnteM44 for extlr&iiibAag flr44, PUbliO Hon. cla.ud Gilmor, pago 6, V-161 . on4 pook4t f0r the purpose of putting it into 8nother -- leas-the cost of assesslug and ool- 14ctlng th4 texr dbvlotmly that proc44ur4 could never aacompZ.lsh anJthlng but “an idle oxpendlture of public ~ftinds. ? . . Situ24 tho~ameadmeots crested by both %ouae Bill No. 12 aa Etouse Bill’- No. 289 above quoted are uncoastltutlonal an4 ~014 Sor the roason stated, House Bill No. 38, .Flftlsth Legislature must be consldsred , as a asparate and dlst.lnct bill, the constltutlon~litg~ OS vhich must be determined solely from the construction of Its own pr.ovlsions under the Const ltutlon and laws .of %xaas, which existed prior to the passage of Hous Bill Ho. 12 by the Thirty-first. Legislature In 1910, ,.. Arti&III; .*0t1& 5 of the condtltutl~P oft fexall, provides ia-$8rt that. 4 L9gIslature ah.931 &we. ~ti.power to malts’a grant. QP.authorUs the tlk- ~:. Rou& Bill &!o ~j".EFl&lOth fsglslatare ~~~ecaingar the pqmsnt of certafn texoa 0; State ‘am~4:l.aan4s ta certala.counties~'dut of the &qorai Fund oft th4.8tate, la unconstltu- tlonsl and -wild as vlolatlve of the provlelone off Artiols z11, Se&ion. 5X, and Ar8lcle %I; &34tiOn 9, OOIl4t%t,Ut;iaa Of T4=8. YOu.r8VOI'Ytl'llly,