. .
Eon. Wi.ll.iamScanl.sn
AssistantCounty Attorney
Callleron
County
Brmnsville,Texas
Dear Sir: ,:opinionBo. O-1654
Be: State and count+taxes for 1939
agaainstreel estateagqu*ed
after July 1, 1939,by the
BrownsvilleHousingAuthodty.
m your letterof lioiember. 16, 1939, you advise that the Bmmsville
HousingAuthority,organizedunder Article l269k of the RevisedCivil
Statutesof Texas, obtaj.ned by deed and by the ererciseof its power
of eminentdomain,certaiqreal estate in the City of Brownsville,Texas,
the title to which vested in the Authosity~after July 1, 1939; that all
taxes en such propertyto and.includingthe year 1938 were pai&, and
that the Authorityhas set aside sufficientmoney to pay State and
countytaxes upon the promrty for the year 1939, should it be re¶uired
to do so; that as af January1, .1939,the title to this propertywas
vested in privateindiviawd.
From this state of fects,you ask the opinionof this depsrtmentupon
the questionwhether the State and county taxes upon these properties
for the year 1939 me collectible.
Article7151, RevisedCivil Stat&es of Texas, 1925, providesin part
as follows:
"All propertiesshall be listedfor taxetionbetween
Januarylst and April 30th of each year, when reN.red
by the Assessor,with referencetathe quantityheld ~~
or owned on the first day of January in the year for
which the propertyis reQuirea.tobe listedor rendered ..."
Ey virtue of the prov.isiens
of this statute,the ownershipof propertyon
the first day of Januaryof a?ayyear createsa ~liahilityon the part
of the owner for taxes leviedupon such propertyfor that year,WLnters
vs. IndependentSchoolDistrict'd Event (Civ. App.),208 9. W. 574,and'
the sale of such propertyshortlythereafterdoes not affect the rule.
ChildressCountyvs. State, 127 Tex. 343, 92 S. W. (2d) 1011.
HOZI. scanlen,Page #2 (O-1654)
~$~.~iarn
It is true that Section22 of the Act under which the Brownsville
HousingAuthorityis organizedprovides:
?he propertyof an authorityis decleredto be public
propertyused for essentialpublicand governmental
purposesand such propertyand an authorityshall be
exemptfrom ell taxes and specialeasessmentsof the city,
the county,the State, or any politicalsubdivisionthereof;..."
However,whethera particularpiece of propertyis exempt from taxation
or not dependsupon its ownershipon the date as of which the taxes
are assessed,and if, after such date, but before the tax is paid, the
propertyis takenby eminentdomain or boughtby a body politicor
corporatethe propertyof which ia exemptfrom taxation,the tax as
originallyassessedis valid and subsisting,end the parsonwho owned
the propertyon the data as of which the tax was assessedis legally
boundto pey it. 26 R. c. L. 29%
The acquisitienoftitle tothese properties,of course,imposesno
personalresponsibility upon the HousingAuthorityfor taxes due the
State and the county,assessedagainstthe indivia~i owners thereof
as of January1, 1939,Howher, there is involvedin your -inquiry, of
necessity,tha questionwhetherthe lands taken over by the Housing
Authorityare held by it subjectto the valid liens, if any, of the
State and countyagainstsuch lands for taxes assessedagainstthe'
individualownersthereofas of Jenuary1, 1939.
In view of the provisionsof the Act under which the HousingAuthority
is created,we do not find it necessaryto discussthe doctrineof
merger,as appliedto the presentsituation.
Article 8, Section15, providesas follows:
Cur Constitution,
?he annualassessmentmade upon landedpropertyshall
be a speciallien thereon;and all property,both real
and personal,belongingto any delinquenttaxpayer
shall be liabletoseizureand sale for the paymentof
all the taxes and penaltiesdue by such delinquent,and
such propertymay be sold for the paymentof the taxes
and penaltiesdue by each delinquent,under such regulations
as the Legislaturemay~*ovide."
?l'helien of .theState, under the provisionsof the
Constitution,ariassout of the asaessmantof property,
and does not exist-untilthat assessmentis made." State
vs. Farmer (SupraW Court),59 S. W.:541.
Hon. William Scanlan,Page #3 (0-l.6654)
It appaarsthat the propertiesinvolvedin your inquirywere not acquired
by the HousingAuthorityuntil after the expirationof the time provided
by law for the making of assessmentsthereon. Applyingthe presumption
that the officersof the State have performedtheir duty in accordancewith
the law, we presumethat assessmentswere regularlymade, prior to
April 30, 1939, and prior to the acquisitionof title to these properties
by the HousingAuthority,by the proper officers,so that the tax lien
given by the Constitutioncame into existenceprior to the time the
propertieswere acquiredby the BrownsvilleHousingAuthority.
Article l269k providesin part as follows:
"Sec. 3 (1) Real propertyshall includeall lands, including
improvements and fixturesthereon,and propertyof any nature
appurtenantthereto,or used in connectiontherewith,and
every estate,interestand right, legal or equitabletherein,
includingterms for years and liens by way of judgment,mortgage,
or otherwiseand the indebtednesssecuredby such liens."
“Sec. 12. ... Propertyalreadydevotedto a publicuse may be
acquiredin like manner,providedthat no ~realproperty
belongingto the city, the county,the State, or any political
subdivisionthereofmay be acquiredwithout its consent."
Sec. 20. All real propertyof an Authorityshall'beexempt
from levy and sale by virtue of an execution,and no execution
or other judicialprocessshell issue againstthe same, nor
shalleny judgmnt againstan authoritybe a charge or lien
upon its real property;..."
“Sec. 22. The propertyof an authorityis declaredto be
publicpropertyused for essentialpublicand governmental
purposesand such propertyand authorityshall be exempt
from all taxes and specialassessmentsof the city, the
county,the State or any politicalsubdivisionthereof;
...n
The lien for taxes existingagainstsuch propertiesin favor of the
State and the county is clearly"an interestin land." SectionI2 of the
Act providesthat no real propertybelongingto the countyor the State
may be acquiredwithout its consent,and Section3 (1) definesthe term
"realproperty"in such manner as to includeevery interestin lands.
The Act in our opinionexpressly,therefore,preventsthe Housing
Authorityfrom deprivingthe State or the County of ths benefitof liens
for taxes lawfullyfixed against real propertieti for taxes due the State
and county.
- -
Hon. WilliamScanlan,Page #4 (O-1654)
We trust that the foregoingsufficientlyanswersyour inquiry.
Yours very truly
AlTORIWiCWERALOFTRXAS
s/ R. W. Fairchild
m
R. W. Fairchild
Assistant
IMF:pbp/ldw
APFmvED DEC. 13, 1939
s/ OeraldC. Mann
-oFTExAs
AlTORlTEY
APPROVED
OPllpIcN
CD
BY B. W. B.
CRAIRMAR