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State Board ofEducation ofTexas Austin, Texas Opinion No. O-5879 Re: Are the Polk County 4% Road and Bridge Refunding Bonds of 1936 callable under the provisions of Articles 720 and 725 ofthe ReGentlemen: vised Statutes of 1925.

Your letter of June 12, 1944, is as follows: “At its meeting on June 5th the State Board ofEducation was advised that the County Treasurer of Polk County had issued aNotice ofCall, inaccordance with the provisions of Article 725, Revised Statutes ofTexas, 1925, ofthe following described bonds now held for theaccount ofthe State Permanent School Fund:

“POLK COUNTY 4% ROAD AND BRIDGE REFUNDING BONDS, dated October 10, 1936, bearing interest at the rate of 4% per annum, original amount ofissue $114,000, balance outstanding $84,000, maturing $5,000 ineach ofthe years October 10, 1944 to 1955, both inclusive, and $6,000 ineach ofthe years October 10, 1956 to 1959, both inclusive.

“Following the instruction ofthe Board, Idesire to request your opinion onthefollowing question:

“Are the above-described POLK COUNTY 4% ROAD AND BRIDGE REFUNDING BONDS callable under the provisions ofArticle 725, Revised Statutes of Texas, 1925?”

Investigation ofthe record onfile with the Comptroller of Public Accounts discloses that the October 10, 1936 Polk County Road and Bridge Refunding Bonds, described inyour letter, were issued by Polk County for the purpose ofrefunding, $114,000 then outstanding ofan issue

. ofroad and bridge bonds bearing 55% mterest, issued by the county under date of July 1, 1929, under the authority ofArticle 718, Revised Statutes ofTexas, 1925. The original bonds of 1929 expressly retained an option ofredemption five (5)years after their date. The refunding bonds of 1936 were issued under the authority ofArticle 725 ofthe Revised Statutes of .1925, but these bonds didnot contain an express contractual provision whereunder they might be redeemed before maturity.

follows: Article 720 ofthe Revised Statutes of Texas. 1925, reads as‘State Board ofEducation, page 2 (O-5879)

“All bonds issued under this chapter shall runnot exceeding forty years, and may be redeemable at the plea~aure oftha county at any time after five years after the issuance ofthe bonds, or after any period not exceeding ten years, which may be fixed by the commissioners court.”

This Article is contained in the same Chapter ofthe Statutes as is Article 718, under which the original bonds of 1929 were issued, andArticle 725, under which the 1936 refunding bonds were issued. The Supreme Court has construed this Article as being applicable tobonds issued under Article 725 so as to make such refunding bonds redeemable after five years from date inthe event no express contractual provision for redemption before maturity ofsuch bonds is provided for by the commissioners’ court at the time such bonds are issued. Bexar County v. Grover Sellers, Attorney General, et al, 178 S.W. (2d) 505. This decision controls the question submitted and you, therefore, are advised that the Polk County Refunding Bonds described inyour letter are subject to call at this time upon reasonable notice, pursuant to the provisions ofArticles 720 and 725 ofthe Revised Statutes ofTexas, 1925. Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

By /s/ Gay-nor Kendall Gaynor Kendall Assistant GK:EP/cm APPROVED JUN 22, 1944 /s/ Geo. G. Blaekburn Acting ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS APPROVED Opinion Committee 

# BY/s/BWB Chairman