496
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable John T. Hutchison
County Attorney, Lamar County
Paris, Texas
Dear sir:
Opinion No. O-6514
Re: Article 70/+7a, Section 15
County oaoupatlon
operated maahines.
April 19, 1945, whioh we quote,
above captioned statute:
“I wish to sub&
your department r0r an
g counties to
rated machines,
sq., vsrnon*s Annotated
State oaaupatlon tax on
ted machines” who shall
maahine as defined in
70&7a-15, Vernon*s Annotated Civil
“that all counties. . . within this
vy an ocoupation tax on ooin-operated machines
e in an amount not to eroeed one-half (l/2)
of the State tax. . .” (Acts 1936, 44th Leg-, 3rd C-3.
~1.2040,ch. 495, Art. 3, %a- 4, Subset= 13)
497
Honorable John T. Hutohison, page 2
Artioles 2354 and 7045, R:C. S., (whiah were
suspended untS1 May 1, 1945, by Chapter 256, Aots 1943,
R, S. p. 381 - Artioles 2354a and 7045b, Vernon’s AMO-
tated Civil Statutes) read as follows:
“No county tax shall be levied exoept at a
regular term of the court, and when all manbers of
said oourt are present.”
*The commissioners oourts of the several aoun-
ties, all the members thereof being present, at either
a regular or spealal session, may at any time after
the tax assessors of their respective aounties have
forwarded to the Comptroller the said oertifioate and
prior to the time when the tax aolleotor of suoh oounty
shall have begun to make out his reaeipts, oaloulate the
rate and adjust, the taxes levied in their respeative
oounties for general purposes to the taxable aalues
shown by the assessment rolls.*,
Article 7045 provides for the Commissioners to
“aaloulate the rate and adjust the taxes levied in their
respeotfve counties lor general purposes to the taxable
values shown by the assessment ro11s.v This article
applies to ad valorem taxee, not occupation taxes. It.
will be notiaeQ that the aaloulations may be done at a
*regular or special seaslonn and the authority to “adjust
the taxes levied” appears aonolusive that at that time
the taxes will have been previously levied, as the Commis-
sioners Court aan only levy taxes at a “regular term,” as
required by Art. 2354, V. A. C. S..
In Brooaks Y. State, (C.A. ) 41 S.3. (2d) 714-719,
the Court said:
qTAppellants correotly oontend, under Artiole 2354,
R. L;. 1925, that a tax levy aan be trade bjr the Cmds-
sioners’ Court only at a regular term of the Court and
when all the members of the Court are present.”
Free v. Scarborough, 70 Tex. 672, 8 S. ‘S. 490, in?Ek?
the Court said:
Honorable John T. Hutahieon, page 3
“The only question in this 0896. :. oonsidered
is the power of the oounty.osmmissioners to levy a tax
at a called session of the oourt?.
And in said oase our Supreme Court held:
“A tax levied at a aalled session of the oourt,
or without the presenoe of the full membership, is
not levied aosording to law. , . If
It Is our opinion that the ao.mrissloners aourt
may, at any bagular term thereof, a full board being present,
levy the oaoupation tax authorlaed by Article 70l+7a-15,
Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes.
Yours very truly
JOE. 8. Frnka
Assistant