Mr. Murphy Cole
CountyAuditor
Liberty county
liberty,Texas
Dear Sirs Opinion Nmber O-2037
Rer Authorityto collecttaxes
for the retirement of dmin-
age bonds during the year
within which said bonds were
authorized.
5% have your letterof October17, in which you outlinethe
followingfaotsr
*On June 22, 1940, P specialelectionwas held in
LibertyCountyon the questionof oreatingLibertyCounty
DrainageDistri6tHo. 33 and the issuanceof bonds. Such
electionoarriedby more than two-thirdsmajorityand
thereafterthe Commissioners' Court authorizedthe issu-
anoe of the bonds3and said Commissioners* Court levieda
tax on the propertywithinthe dietriot.
'Valuationsused by the Tax Assessorfor properties
withinthe districtare the same valueswhich were assessed
for countypurposes3namely,the values as of January1, 1940."
You requestour opinionupon the followquestions
"May taxes be oolleatedfor the year 1940 tider
and by virtue of the authorityfor creatingthe district,
the issuanaeof bonds and the subsequentlevy of a tax rate?"
Chapter7, Title 128, of Vernon*sAnnotatedCivil Statutes,
Articles8097, et seq., presoribethe manner in which drainagedistricts
may be createdand bonds issuedfor the acccanplishmentof the purposes
soughtby the establisIvnent
of the district. Article8136 reads a8
follows2
h
Mr. Murphy Cole, Page #2. (O-2837)
"Plhenbonds have been voted,the court shall anuual-
ly levy and cause to be assessedand collectedtaxes upon
all propertywithin the district,whether real, personalor
otherwise,and sufficientin amountto pay the intereston
such bonds as it falls due, and to redeem such bonds at
maturity. Such taxes when so collectedshall be placedin
the interestand sinkingfund."
It till be noted that this articlenot only providesfor the
levy of the tax but that it states it shall be collected. We think that
when bonds have been voted it becomesthe duty of the Commissioners'
Court to levy the tax, and that duty carrieswith it the duty to collect
same0 Therefore,the fact that the bondswere not authorizeduntil June
of 1940 can have no bearingupon the time of the levyingand collecting
of taxes.
The levy must be made at any time during the year that the
bondsmay be authorizedand the tax is leviedas soon as it has been
ascertainedthat the bonds have been voted, and the levy is made in a
sufficientamountto pay the whole principaland interestdividedinto
annual payments, As statedin the case of David ~8. Timon,County Judge,
et al, 183 S.W. 88, "assessmentsfor taxationare made on all property
held by the owner on January1 of each year, and tknt assessmentforms
the basis for and is essentialto the levy and collectionof taxes. All
propertyheld and owned on the first day of Januaryof each year is bound
for and subjectto the taxes levied duringthat year, whether such levy
iamads in the beginning,the middle or the last of the year."
You are, therefore,advisedthat in our opinionthe tax levied
by the Commisdoners~Court of LibertyCountypursuantto the spedal elec-
tion held on June 22, 1940, not only may be oolleotedfor the year 1940,
but, under the law, must be oolleoted.
Trustingthat the foregoingsatisfactorily
answersyour inquiry,
we *re
Very truly youra,
ATlDRNEYOEIWtALOF TMAS
ay
PI/ClaranoeE. Crow
ClarenoeE. Crowe
hsaiatant
CEC-stegn
APPROVEDOCT 25, 1940
s/Gerald C. kn
ATPORNEYGh'NERALOFTEXAS ApprovedOpinionCommittee
By BWB Chairman