OFFICE OF 

.T~E AE~BRNEY GENERAL 

~AUSTIN. TEXAS 

PRICE DANIEL 

*TTosNsY GENeRAL : ; .c’ Mar& 31; 1948 

F*G*N DICKS 

., nEm &samvAl 

I-Ion. Fraqklin C. Williams. ,~. ,’ . ’ ” ! 

County Attorney 

Anderson County 

Palestine, Texas Opinion No.: V-530 

Re: Whether a Railroad Company should fnclude the 

roadbed which it holds by 

lease in the sworn statement of rolling,stock and 

mileage required to be 

filed by Art. 7169. V.C.S. 

‘Dear Sir: 

Your opinion request states that the T. & N. 0. Railroad’ 

Company operates in Anderson County ovex approximately six 

miles, of zoadbed which it leases from the Texas State Railr~oad. 

inaddition to.roadbed, owned by it. This sixfmiles of roadbed has 

never been included in the statement which the T. & ,N. 0. Railroad 

Company files with the tax-assessor in compliance with Art. 7169. 

V.C.S. You request our opinion as to whether the yearly statements 

filed should include the six miles of leased ioadbed. 

Section 8 of Article VIII, Texas Constitution, ieads as follows: 

“All property of railroad companies shall~ be assessed, and the taxes collected. in the several counties in which said property is’.situated. including so 

much of the roadbed and fixtures as shall be in each 

county. The rolling stock may be,assessed in gross 

in the county where the principal office of tlie company is located, and the county tax paid upon it, shall 

be apportioned by the Comptroller, in proportion to 

the distance such road may run through any such 

county, among the several counties through which 

,~,. the road passes, as a part of their tax assets.” , 

Pursuant to the above authority, the Legislature, in Art. 

7169, V.C.S.. made special provision for the ad valorem taxation of 

railroad rolling stock. This Article, in part, reads as follows: 
314 

Hon. Franklin C. Williams, Page 2 (V-530) 

*E,very railroad corporation in this State shall 

deliver a sworn statement on or before the first day 

of April of, each year, to the assessor of the county 

in which its principal office is situated, setting forth 

.the true and full value of the rolling stock of said 

railroad, together with the names of all the counties 

through which it runs, and the number of miles of 

roadbed in each of said counties; and said statement 

shall be submitted to the board of equalization of the 

county in’which its principal office is situated for review, on the first Monday in June in each year, or as 

soon thereafter as practicable; and such board shall 

certify such final valuation when made without delay 

to the Comptroller, who shall proceed at once to apportion the amount of such valuation among the said 

c,ounties in proportion to the distance such roads shall 

run through any such county, and shall certify such apportionment to the assessors of such counties, and the 

same shall constitute part of the tax assets of such 

counties: and the assessor of each of said counties 

shall list and enter the same upon the rolls for taxation as other pers,onal property situated in said counq.. * .” 

It is appar.ent that both the Constitution and the statute use 

the length of the roadbed in the counties through which it runs as th 

basis of a formula for~~apportionfng to the various. counties the ,t& 

due on rolling stock of railroads. 

., 

‘.Furthermore, Article 7173, V.CS. reads in part as follow: 

“Property held under a lease for a term of three, 

{;f;i zz;, or held under a contract for the pur: 

belonging to this estate. or tkatis exempt by law fr~om taxation in the hands of the owner 

The six miles of railroad in question belongs to the State 

of Texas’and is held by the T.. & N. 0. Railroad Company under a 

leases for a term of.mare than three years. 

It is therefore our opinion that the T. & N. 0. Railroad 

Company sheuld’include inits statement to the assessor of the 

county in which its principal office is situated the six miles of 

roadbed leased from~the Texas State Railroad. 
Hon. Franklia C. Williams, Pag.e 3 (V&530) ~ 

SUMMARY 

, : 

1 The T.; &. N. 0. kailroad Company should, include 

in its ,statement ,to,the tax-assessor of the county id 

which its principal office is situated the roadbed it 

holds under. lease from the Texas State Railroad. 

Sec. 8, hart,. VI& Texas Cons’titution;~ Arts. 7169 and 

,,7173, V.C.S. ,~ 

,. ,. ~ 

Yours very truly 

” 

‘., 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

WVG/JCP :” 

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‘315 

BY 

W. V. Geppert 

Assistant 

‘ATTORNEYGENERAL