DAN MORALES

ATTORNEYGENERAL 

### QBffice of the 1ZIttornep Qikneral &ate ofllkxae September 24,1992

Honorable Robert Rckels Opinion No.DM-171

Committee on County Affairs Texas House ofRepresentatives P.0. Box2910 Austin, Texas 78768-2910 Re: Whether the board ofdirectors ofa county education district is authorized to adopt the discount for early payment of property taxes provided by section 31.05 of the Tax Code on taxes owed to the district, and related questions (RQ-3 11)

Dear Representative Eckels:

You have asked us to construe section 31.05of the Tax Code as it relates to county education districts and school districts. Specifically, you ask the following questions: 1. Is the board of directors of a county education district

authorized to adopt the discounts for early payment ofproperty taxes provided by Section 31.05,Tax Code, on taxes owed to the district?
2. Does the answer to the first question depend on whether one, more than one, or all of the component independent school districts that comprise the county education district have adopted the discounts for early payment ofproperty taxes ontaxes owedto an independent school district?
3. Is the board of trustees of an independent school district that is a component school district ofa county education district and collects both taxes owed to the independent school district and taxes owed to the county education district on property in the [independent school district] authorized to adopt the discounts for early payment of property taxes owed to the school district?
4. Does the answer to the third question depend on whether the board of directors of the county education district

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has adopted the discounts for early payment of property taxes owedto the county education district? Chapter 31ofthe Tax Code provides the method bywhicha taxingunit1shall collect property taxes on taxable property2 listed on the tax rolls3ofthe taxing unit. See Attorney General opinion DM-94 (1992) at l-3 (describing ammal appraisal and assessment process all taxing units must complete). Pursuant to section 31.01, each taxingunit’s assessor “shallprepare and mail a taxbillto each person in whose
name the property is listed on the tax roll or to his authorized agent.” Tax Code 031.01(a); see id. 031.01(c), (d) (spe.cifyinginformation assessor must place on tax bill). Generally, the assessor must mail out the tax bills prior to October 1of each year. Id But see id. 526.135(permitting school district to continue to collect taxes at dates other than those specified in chapter 31ifschool district had done so for at least ten years before Jamtary 1, 1989). While taxes are due upon receipt ofthe tax bill, section 31.05 permits a taxing unit to offer specified discounts on the tax to persons who submit payment within specified time periods after the date the
assessor mailed the taxbills. Section 31.05states inpertinent part as follows:

(a) The governing body ofa taxingunit that collects its own taxes may adopt the discounts provided by Subsection (b) or Subsection (c) ofthis section, orboth, in the manner required by law for official action by the body. The discounts, if adopted, apply to taxes for a taxingunit forwhichthe adopting taxingunit collects taxes if the governing body of the other unit, in the
manner required by law for official action by the body, adopts the discounts or approves oftheir application to its taxes by the collecting unit. Jf a taxing unit adopts both discounts under Subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the discounts adopted under Subsection (b) applyunless the unit mails its taxbiis after

‘The Proyty Tax Code, title 1ofthe Tax code (ofwhich chapter 31 is aPart),uses the term king unit”to denote, among other Politicalunits ofthe state, county education dktrhs and school districts Tax &de 0 1.04@2);see Educ Code 020.01(authohiq school distrh to assess and coUect annual advalorem taxes); id I 20.945(rquiriagcounty education distr& tolevy

taxes).

%ee Tax Code ch. 11 (defining taxable property and exemptions); id 0021.01, 21.02, 21.03 (regardiag taxabUityof real property, taugiile pemmal property generally, and intangible property P-w.

3seeid.026.09(e)

(dcfuliq-tax

roll”).

‘See id. 50631,6X? (pmidiq for determination ofassesor and cAlector oftaxingtit).

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September 30,inwhich case onlythe discounts under Subsection (4 wly. (b) [Providing discounts a taxing tit may adopt regardless ofthe date onwhichit mails itstaxbills] (c) fProviding discotmts a taxing unit may adopt ifit mails its taxbills after September 301
See Katz & Muller, Roced.nml Righrs& Remedies under rhe Teras Rqmfy Tar Code-A Guide to the Code, Recent Amendma and Developing Care Law, 18 ST. MARY’s L.J. 1209,1223 (1987).

Under section 31.05(a), a taxing unit may adopt the discounts specified in subsections (b) and (c) for the timely payment of taxes, but only in the presence of
one oftwo circumstances:s Either the taxingunit collects its owntaxes; or ifit does not collect its owntaxes,the unit that collects its taxes (the collecting unit) also has adopted the discounts. Section 31.05does not permit a noncollecting taxing unit to choose to adopt the discounts unless the collecting tit has adopted the discounts. See Hearings on H.B. 1282Before tbe House Subcommittee on Property Tax, 68th Leg. (Apr. 12, 1983) (statements of unidentified representative and committee counsel) (tape on filewith House Committee Coordinator).

We note that section 20.945 of the Education Code does not authorize a county education district to collect its own taxes; consequently, either the county education district must contract with one or more appraisal districts or taxing units for the collection of the county education district’s taxes, or the county education district’s component school districts must assess and collect its taxes. Bduc. Code 020945(b). As the first sentence of section 31.05(a) applies only to the governing body ofa taxingunit that collects itsowntaxes,it does not apply to county education districts. Accordingly, under the first sentence of section 31.05(a), only a school district that collects its own taxes may adopt the discounts specified in subsections

SYOU spccrticduy ask how section 20.945of the Educatioa code will impact awtioll 31.05. section20.945

rquires Utc board of trusteea of a county education dktrict to levy a tax at a rate occesary to wUect itslocal fimd SsJignmentunder se&m 162.52 ” ofthe Education Code. E&c. Code f aO.945(a). Sec!icm16252 de6ne.sacounty &cation dishi’s local fund assignment as the product of aspceificdtaxrIltc~thc~valucoftbcpopcrtyinthceountycducptiondistridf~thcprior tax ycpr as determined by the comptroller. Id. 0 16252(a). In OUT opinion, a county edumtioo dktrict may comply with section XE45 and adopt the discmu& section 31.05authorizes by adjusting the tax rate so as to compensate forthe revcme the districtmay lose due to the discounts.

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(b) or (c). Such a school district may adopt the discounts for its taxes regardless of whether any taxing unit for which it collects taxes also adopts the discounts. The second sentence. of subsection (a) applies to all county education districts and to those school districts that do not collect their own taxes. Pursuant to the second sentence, the county education district or noncollecting school district can decide whether to adopt the discounts only after the collecting unit has adopted the diswmlts.

of course, the boundaries of a county education district may encompass more than one taxingunit, and the county education district may contract with more than one ofthose taxingunits for the collection ofits taxes due on property located within the collecting unit.6 Some of the collecting units may adopt the discount, while others may not. We must consider, therefore, whether a cotmty education district may adopt the discounts section 31.05ofthe Tax Code authorize ifsome, but not all, ofthe collecting units adopt the discounts.

Prior to 1983,section 31.05 provided that, if a collecting unit adopted the discounts specified in the statute, the discounts automatically applied to all taxing units for which the collecting unit collected taxes. In 1983,the legislature amended section 31.05(a) to read as it does presently, sothat once a collecting tit adopts the diswm~ts, all of the noncollecting taxing units for which the collecting unit collects may choose whether to adopt the discounts. SeeActs 1983,68th Leg.,ch. 862,s 2, at 4875-76. We believe that the scheme the legislature devised in section 31.05(a) requires that, in respect to the territory forwhich a collecting tit collects taxes, the collecting tit must decide in the first instance whether to offer the statutory discounts. Thus, the noncollecting unit camtot offer discounts inside the boundaries ofa collecting unit that has not adopted the discounts, even ifanother unit that also collects for the noncollecting unit has adopted the discounts. Furthermore, a taxing unit camrot adopt discounts that apply to only some of the property within its jurisdiction. See Tex. Const. art. VIII, 9 1 (requiring that taxatiortbe “equal and uniform”); Attorney General Opinion JM-626 (1987) at 2 (construing article VIII, 0 1 of the Texas Constitution to require that taxes be equal and uniform within taxing jurisdictions). Consequently, we believe that a county education district camrot adopt the discouts authorized in section 31.05unless all ofthe taxing units that are collecting its taxes have adopted the discounts.

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We turn to your specific questions. In answer to your first question, we conclude that section 31.05(a) of the Tax Code, together with section 20.945(b) of the Education Code, authorizes the board ofdirectors of a county education district to adopt the discounts provided in subsections (b) and (c) if all of the taxing tits that are collecting the county education district’s taxes have adopted the discounts. In answer to your second question, we conclude that the actions of the component school districts comprising the county education district are relevant to the comsty education district’s adoption of the discotmts only if one or more of the school districts collects the county education district’staxes. In that case, all of the school districts that collect the county education district’s taxes, as well as all other taxing units that collect the county education district’s taxes, must have adopted the discouts before the county education district can adopt them. In answer to your third question, we conclude that section 31.05(a) of the Tax Code authorizes the board oftrustees ofa component school district that collects its own and the county education district’staxes to adopt the discount for taxes owed the school district. In
answer to your fourth question, the answer to the third question is independent of any action taken by the board of directors ofthe county education district ofwhich the collecting school district is apart.

SUMMARY
Under section 31.05(a) of the Tax Code, the board of trustees of a county education district may adopt the discounts provided for the timely payment oftaxes under subsections (b) and (c) of that section only if all ofthe taxing units that collect the county education district’staxes have adopted the discounts. The board oftrustees of an independent school district that is a component of a county education district and collects its own taxes as well as the county education district’s taxes may adopt the discotmts.

DAN MORALES Attorney General ofTexas

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WILLPRYOR First Assistant Attorney General

MARYKELLER Deputy Assistant Attorney General

RENEAHIcKs Special Assistant Attorney General

MADELEINE B.JOHNSON Chair, Opinion Committee Prepared by Kymberly K.Oltrogge Assistant Attorney General

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