Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable P. L. Marquess Opinion No. O-806 County Auditor Re: May land annexed to a common Wharton County school district in 1931 but not Wharton, Texas entered on the records of the County Clerk until May 6, 1939, be entered upon the tax rolls of such common school district as Dear Sir: of January 1, 19391 By your letter of May 9, 1939, you submit for the opinion of this dep,artmentthe following question, which we quote from your letter: “The Liberty School District No. 45, Wharton County, Texas, was enlarged in 1.931 by action of the County Board upon a petition by four landowners of another district who tasked to be annexed to District No. 45. This was not entered on the records of the County Clerk until May 6, 1939. Can this land be entered on the rolls of District No. 45 as of Jan- uary 1, 1939, or must it wait until 1940? The tax collector does not knov just how to enter it and we would like to have an opinion from you on this matter.” Although January 1st of each year is the date fixed by stat- ute as determinative of the ownership of property and consequent liability for taxes for the ensuing year, such statutory date does not control the subsequent levy, assessment, or collection of taxes, It has been held that property owned on January 1st of any given year, in territory which is in- cluded in an independent school district thereafter created, on which is ~thereafter affixed to an existing independent school district, is chargeable with taxes subsequently le~vied by the district for that year. Cadena v. State, 185 S. W. 367; Yorktown Ind. School Dist. v. Afferbach, 12 S. W. (2d) 130; Blewitt v. Megargel County Line Ind. School Dist.. 285 S. W. 271. In Cadena vs. State, supra, it is said: *All property owned on the 1st day of January is subject to any tax authorized by law, whether sush taxes have been au- thorized theretofore or may be authorized during the year, and can be levied by the body given the power to levy at any time during the year. Laws naming the time for the levy of taxes are Hon. P. L. Mar,,,-,. a ..gc y merely directory, and legal taxes can be levied whenever the necessity arises. Laws authorizing taxes are not re- trospective so far as the year in which they are authorized is concerned.* The case of Blewitt v. Megargel County Line Ind. School Dis- trict, et al, supra, like the instant case, involves the annexation of terri- tory to an existing school district, rather than the creation of a new dis- trict, as the case discussed above, and is consequently considered more nearly in point. The Commission of Appeals in this case, after approving the holding in the case of Cadena v. State, supra. and extending it to the statute governing the annexation of territory to an existing school district, had this to say. “A consideration of the above statutory provisions in connection with all others pertaining to the subject leads to the conclusion that all taxable property situated on January ~1st. of any given year, in a territory which is subsequently, during such year, annexed to an independent school district under the provisions of article 2865 of the Statutes 1911. be- comes, by such annexation subject to the taxing power apper- taining to such district, and chargeable with such taxes for that year as are levied under proper~ authority.” Although each of the cited cases involved an independent school district instead of a common school district, as the inptit question, we do not feel that this fact wilI serve to distinguish these cases, or prevent them from being controlling, in principle. upon your question. The time and man- ner of the levy, assessment and collection of taxes in the case of an inde- pendent school district is not so fundamentally dissimilar to the levy, asSes.s- ment and collection of taxes for common school districts, as to remove the latter case from the rule of law announced in these decisions. It is our conclusion that the land or territory annexed to Liberty School District No. 45. Wharton County, Texas, is subject to maintenance taxes of such school distr~ict for the year 1939, and consequently may be entered upon the rolls of such district as of January 1, 1939. APPROVED JUN 26, 1939 Yours very truly /s/ Gerald C. Mann ATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS BY /s/ Pat M. Neff; Jr. Pat M. Neff, Jr. APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE Assistant BY B. W., Chairman PMN:N :da