. . . . 

i, 

5 ;> 9 OFFICE OF THE A’TTORNEY BENERAL OF TEXA6 

A AUSTIN 

f 

GCRAW c. MINN 

~no.Imv O~“~UL 

822 

Uonorable Calvin C. WiYman 

Aoting C?lohnan 

Appropriations Committee 

mouse or wpreoentutives 

Austin, Texas 

ernlng the oonstltuua. The Bill is as 

SUWI Of TIl@BQy hereinereof as may be neeesout of the i3eneral 

of paying taxea due by 

t eohool dietriot naae& 

endent School Metriot for the 

ed ana Seventy Dollars and 

$270.74)) sad for the year lace, 

y Dollars and ltlmty Cente 

e total for the two (2) years 

renty-one Dollars and Slrty-four 

cents ($6521.64). 

*8lPCTLOlY 2. The fact that Article 2764l3 Of the 

m3tissd Civil Statutes or Texas, 1926, and Article 

7~0, Section 2-A and Section 3-8, Acts of the Fortyfirst Legislature, Fifth Called tiession, Chapter 4T 

and Chapter 48, pages 190 azd 191, Saotion 1 of es& 
823 

Honorable Calvin C. lifufmn - page 2 

chapter, provides that the State shaX1 pay tuea 

oreatea an canergeney aad aa tmpemttte publio 

necessity that the Constitutional Rule requiring 

bills to be read cm threto l weral days in eaoh 

House be suepemled, and said Rule is hereby mepended, and this Act shall bake effeat and be In 

force from asxl after its passage, and it is so 

enaotell.* 

It ie the opinion of thin department that the Bill 

if enaoted into lor will be oonetitutional. 

Article 27&&b oited by you is ae follewrt 

"860. 1. That friia and after the 

c 

sfmge oi 

this Aot, all laud in absrokee Oounty, exam, owned 

by the state of Texas ord PIson Qozarad~6iao of Texas, except the la& htietofore set aside fog the 

Rusk State Uospital, but focl~ the Iani% heretofore set aside to the Agrioultural t Ymhanioti Oellege for re-f'oreotration purposem, shall be #ubjeQt 

to taxation for who01 pnrpoeea where any euah land 

Is embraced within the mete8 and bounds of any independent or Go1111pOl8 och001 diatriet. 

*sec. 8. mO8'0 ooj SUOh hlld if8 0SX?Jl'~Gsd W&thin them&es anabounds of any Independent or -11 

sohool dletrict, the l'ruoteee of the Indegenhnt 

Sohool M&riot, of the Comi8sioners* Court for a 

aoIl SehOOl MSttiGt, u-6 hereby authorlsed to 

levy and oawmto be aaeemsed and ool~eutad tuem 

fdr rohool purporres for the amount and in the man-= 

ner JWGaGribsd by the BenOral Lars for thG levy of 

eGhoO1 taX80.* 

Artiole 7160, Vernon*8 i&wlsed Civil Statutee, deals 

vith the eubjeat of exemptiOna from taxation. Secrtions $a and 

3s of that Artiole oontain prorio that are pertine&. l'hsy 

are a8 foll4m38 

*Sea. 2-s. prwided that any territory tlurt 

has been aotpA.r& or may,hceafter be Mqul~Bd, 

by the State et Texas, a8 a t of any State 

prison @arm or property, sh sir 1not hereafter be 

exempt from the payment of Its pro rata part of 

any bead tax of a publio who01 dtatriot Of+ +hpoh 
824 

nonorable Calvin C. Huffman -.page S 

the said territory was a part at the time 

bonds of the said district which are now 

outstanding were issued, or which is a part 

or said district at the time of the issuance 

of bonds which may hereafter be voted; and 

the pro rata part of said tax that shall be 

paid by eaid territory &all be the proportionate part that the aeeewmd valuation of 

such territory for county prposes is of the 

total assessed valuation of the school dietrict for the year in which such taxes are 

asseseed. Provided, aleo, that the said 

bond tax shall be paidby the gwernlng 

board of management of the State Prison Systen out of any Putis appropriated therefor 

by the Legislature. It is hereby apeclfioally prorid& that the said bond tax shall be 

paid for eaoh year that has elapsed einoe aq 

such territory of a sohool dietrict was aoq#red by the State for and as a part of said 

prison ayatem, if any bonds were then outstand- 

-kc* 

'Sea. 3-a. Provided that any territoq 

that has been acquired or may hereafter be aoquired, by the State of Texas, ae a put af 

any State Prison Farm or property, shall not 

hereafter be exempt .from the payment of its 

E 

ro rata part of any maintenance tax of a pube school district of which the said territory was a part at the time tvai% maintenance 

tax of the said district whioh are now outstanding was voted, or which is a part of eald 

diotriet at the time any maintenance tax may 

hereafter be voted by sala district 5 and the 

pro rata part of said tax that shall be paid 

by said territory shall be the proportionate 

part that the asseeeecl valuation of suob territory for county purposes i63 of t&e total atvse88ed valuation of the school diptriet for 

the year in wbieh i,euah taxes are aivseeeed. 

Prwlded, also, that the aatd maintenance tax 

shall be paid by the gwernfng Board or hanagement. of the State rrfson System out of any 

funde appropriated thereby by the Legkslature. 

It is hereby epeoifioally proolded that the 

said maintenance tax &all be paid for eaeh 
825 

Ifouorable Calvin Cr Buffmau - page 4 

year that has elapsed eince any euch territory of a school dietriot was aoqufred by 

the State for and as a part of said prieon 

syetem.~ 

The queetion of the right of the Leglelature to 

subject the State to the payment of taxes &as ogler been 

dwided by our Supreole Court eo.far as re hare bean able 

to dhumrer + The subjeot, however, has been dimuseed by 

the greatest oonstitutional writer perhaps, Judge Cooley. 

At page lwt, Vol. 2, of his Constitutional Llmitationo 

(8th edition) he sayer 

"A etate may, if it sees tit, tax the 

property orned, held, srd uwd by ltoelf or 

ite nunioipalities r0r public purposes but 

this would 60 obviously be umise and inpolltia that the intent ta do EO is ILBIBC aauuaed, but public property ie always, by iapl&aatlou of law, exempt from the operation 

of the general term af tax lam.* 

Ia Opiulon 20. C-11161, by this department, under 

date December 14, 1229, it was held that preparty aom8yed 

to the Board of Regents of the State Uxlveiwity by 8eorgs 

Daggs and Mike Hogg was the pro erty of the State, and as 

6u8h, wan exempt from all taxat f on, under the Constitution 

and lam of the Nate. 

It faa noted in that opinion, however, thatr 

"If Se our opiuion that land beloggiag to 

-the State a? Texas io'exempt from taxatjion unleas there is an 4n3dua- 

&Qk.” tB;slphaais 

It msy be added that there is nothip& fx our Con- 

~t;itution forbidding the Legislature to make the State lia8le 

for taxes upon Its own proparty. T&at being true, re are~of 

the opknion that the Le@elature io the %erOise af ite broad 

power of ensating laws has the authority, if it eeea fit to 

exercise it, thus to tax the wmreign itself. 

I 

y AFx:,:;=;~.a'm 9,lD& Very truly yours 

$52 d / ~A &?w ATTOR85X f.+ItHEfUL OBTEXAS /, / -