Honorable G. E. Rigby 

County Audi'tor 

Uvalde Gouhty * 

Uvalde, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

. . 

Opinion' No/O-4299 

Fh: Under the facts submitted, is 

a taxpayer entitled to a remlssion of penalties and interest 

uniler House~Blll 76; Acts 47th 

Leglslatirre,I~Regular Session, 

where'euch.tqes are paid after 

November 1, 19411 

This department has received and considered your written 

request for an opinion. We quote from your request: _ 

“A taxpayer of this County went to the office 

of the tax collector to inquire about the ,amoOnt of 

her taxes. -At .that time, the tti collector told her 

that the Legislature had passed a bill remitting 

penalty and Interest, under certain conditions, providingtaxes were paid by November‘lst; that that he 

had received the law. Thereupon, the tax collector 

told the taxpayer, that upon receiving the law as 

passed by the Legtslature, he would figure the taxes 

and send her a-tax statement, and the taxpayer stated 

that she isould pay the taxes upon receipt of the 

statement. 

"The tax collector did not send this statement, 

and the taxpayer did not come in to pay the taxes until after November lst, at which time, the tax collector told the taxpayer that he would be unable to issue 

her a receipt unless she paid all penalty and interest. 

Wf'would like to know whether or not, after the 

above-conditions, the tax collector would have power 

to accept payment of this.taxpayar?& delinquent taxes, 

without collecting penalty and interest." 
Honorable G. E. Rigby, page 2 O-4299 

From the facts given in your letter we will assume 

that the taxes were delinquent and that the taxpayer desired 

to take advantage of the'provisions of House Bill 76, Acts 47th 

Legislature; Regular Session, .1941, and that yours inquiry involved the provisions of that Act. 

76 provides: 

Section.1 of said House Bill 

.eSection 1. That all interest and penalties 

that have accrued on all ad~valorem or poll taxes 

that were delinquent on or before July 1, 1940, due 

the state, any county, common school district, road 

district, levee Improvement district, water improvement distr~ict, and water control and improvement 

district, irrigation district and other defined subdivisions of.the state (and, subject to the provisions 

hereinbefore and hereinafter contained, such interest 

and penalties on delinquent ad valorem and poll taxes 

due cities, towns and villages, and special~school 

districts, and independent school districts,) shall be 

and the same are hereby released, provided said ad 

valorem'and pdll, taxes are paid on or before November 

1, 1941."., (Underscoring ours) 

It iill be seen that the above statute, providing for 

the remission of penalties and Interest, does not authorize the 

assessor and collector of taxes to change the law so‘as to extend 

the time withinwhich the taxes must be paid in order for the taxpayer to avail himself of its~provisions. 

The rule with reference to the power of public officers 

is stated in Tex. Jur. Sec. 67, pp. &o-&2, inclusive, where it 

is said: 

"Public officers and governmental and admlnistratiue~boards possess only such powers as are expressly,conferred upon them by law or are necessarily implied 

from the powers so conferred. They cannot legally perform acts not authorized by existing law, and the repeal 

of a statute authorizing an officer to do a particular 

thing, or of the statute that created the office, 

necessarily revokes and terminates its power. 

"mile publid officers are for some purposes 

agents. of the public and of the community which they 

represent, they are agents whose duty and authority 
Honorable G. E. Rigby, page 3 O-4299 

are defined and lirrited by law; not agents with 

general authority to bind the public. The rule 

that an agent can bind his principal by. acts within the apparent scope of his authority does not 

apply to them. Ordinarily they cannot bind the 

government which they represent beyond the authority 

conferred upon them, in the absence of an estoppel 

or ratification of unauthorized acts. Furthermore, 

officers are not the agents of each individual member 

of the community, and no citizen can be presumed to 

assent to their illegal or unauthorized acts. 

"Persons who deal with ~public officers are bound 

to take notice of their powers and are charged with 

knowledge that they can bind the government only as 

authority has been conferred." 

We think that the statement of the tax assessor-collector 

to the taxpayer could not and did not change the existing law with 

reference to the time within which her delinquent taxes must have 

been paid in order to avail herself of the remission of penalties 

and interest. Everyone is charged with knowledge of the law. 

Since the statute does not confer upon the assessor and collector 

authority to extend the time, 

therein, 

stated clearly and unequivocally 

within which the payment of such taxes is required,, in 

order for the taxpayer to avail herself of the remission,~ and 

since the assessor and collector, according to the authority cited 

above, was not otherwise authorized to change the law, it follows, 

therefore, that your question must be answered in the .negative and 

that, under the facts submitted by you, the tax assessor and collector would not have, the authority to accept payment of the taxpayerts delinquent taxes without collecting the penalty and interest 

due thereon. 

We trust that in.this manner we have fully answered your 

inquiry. _ 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY Harold MOCracken 

Assistant 

HM:EJ/ pam 

APPROVED JAN 30 1942 

GRGvER.SsELLERS 

RIFtST ~ASSISTART 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

APPROVED OPINION COMMITTEE 

BY BWB, CHAIRMAN