The Honorable Raymond H. Reese 

DeWitt County Attorney 

307 North Gonzales Street 

Cuero, Texas 77954 

GREG ABBOTT 

August 3,2007 

Opinion No. GA-0559 

Re: Calculation of the "base year" from which to 

impose a tax freeze adopted by county voters in 

November 2005 (RQ-0575-GA) 

Dear Mr. Reese: 

You ask about implementing in DeWitt County the tax limitation authorized by Texas 

Constitution article VIII, section 1 -b(h).' This provision allows certain political subdivisions to limit 

increases in the amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on the homesteads of persons with disabilities 

or persons sixty-five years of age or older. See TEX. CONST. art. VIII, 5 1 -b(h). The constitutional 

provision reads as follows: 

(h) The governing body of a county, a city or town, or a 

junior college district by official action may provide that if a person 

who is disabled or is sixty-five (65) years of age or older receives a 

residence homestead exemption prescribed or authorized by this 

section, the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on that 

homestead by the county . . . may not be increased while it remains 

the residence homestead of that person. . . . As an alternative, on 

receipt of a petition signed by Jive percent (5%) of the registered 

voters of the county. . . , the governing body of the county. . . shall 

call an election to determine by majority vote whether to establish a 

tax limitation provided by this subsection. 

Id. (emphasis added). 

Tax Code section 11.261 sets out procedures for implementing the section I-b(h) tax 

limitation. See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. 5 1 1.26 1 (b) (Vernon Supp. 2006). The term "base year" refers 

to the first tax year in which a taxpayer qualifies a residence homestead for the tax limitation. See 

'See Letter from Honorable Raymond H. Reese, DeWitt County Attorney, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney 

General of Texas, at 1 (Mar. 2,2007) (on file with the Opinion Committee, also available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us) 

[hereinafter Request Letter]. 
The Honorable Raymond H. Reese - Page 2 (GA-0559) 

id. 5 11.261(b) (tax officials are to appraise property subject to the limitation and calculate taxes as 

on other property, but the tax may not exceed the 11.261(b) limitation); Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. 

GA-0222 (2004) at 4. The property taxes on a qualified residence homestead are limited in 

subsequent years to the amount of tax imposed in the taxpayer's base year, subject to certain 

exceptions. See TEX. CONST. art. VIII, 5 1 -b(h); TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 1 1.261 (b) (Vernon Supp. 

2006). 

DeWitt County voters adopted the tax limitation at an election held on November 8,2005. 

Request Letter, supra note 1, at 2. The ballot for the election read in part: 

Authorizing the County of DeWitt to establish a limitation ("freeze") 

on the ad valorem property taxes imposed on the residence homestead 

of a person who is disabled or is sixty-five (65) years of age or older 

and receives a residence homestead exemption . . . . 

Id. at 1 (quoting ballot for Special Election, Dewitt County, Texas). 

You state that the election results were canvassed and certified by the DeWitt County 

Commissioners Court on November 2 1,2005, but the commissioners court did not adopt a resolution 

to implement the tax freeze during 2005. See id. at 2. The DeWitt County Commissioners Court 

adopted the 2006 appraisal roll in July 2006, and the notices of appraised value were sent out in 

October 2006 without freezing the tax on any qualified homestead to the tax imposed in 2005.2 No 

formal protests about the appraisal district's failure to use 2005 as the base year were filed with the 

DeWitt County Appraisal District. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 2. The delinquency date for 

2006 property taxes was February 1,2007. See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. $ 3 1.02(a) (Vernon Supp. 

2006). 

In connection with this background, you ask the following questions: 

1. Can the DeWitt County Commissioners Court take formal 

action at this time to implement 2005 as the base year for 

the limitation causing the completed appraisal roll for 

2006 to be changed? 

2. If the answer to Question No 1 is "no," is 2006 an 

appropriate base year for the limitation based upon the 

facts? 

Request Letter, supra note 1, at 2. Your questions relate to the first year that the section 1 -b(h) tax 

limitation will be available for qualified residence homesteads in your county. 

'See Brief from Honorable Raymond H. Reese, DeWitt County Attorney, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney 

General of Texas, at 5 (Mar. 2,2007) (on file with the Opinion Committee). 
The Honorable Raymond H. Reese - Page 3 (GA-0559) 

We address your questions by considering the language of Texas Constitution article VIII, 

section 1 -b(h) and Tax Code section 1 1.26 1. When construing a statute, the courts seek to determine 

the Legislature's intent which, when possible, is discerned from the plain meaning of the words 

chosen. See State v. Shumake, 199 S.W.3d 279, 284 (Tex. 2006). An interpretation of the Texas 

Constitution also relies on its literal text and gives effect to its plain language. See Doody v. 

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., 49 S.W.3d 342, 344 (Tex. 2001) (citing Stringer v. Cendant Mortgage 

Corp., 23 S.W.3d 353,355 (Tex. 2000)). 

We look carefully at the language of the constitutional provision. The first sentence allows 

the governing body of a county or certain other political subdivisions to provide for the tax freeze 

"by official action." TEX. CONST. art. VIII, § 1-b(h). The second sentence provides that "[als an 

alternative, on receipt of a petition signed by five percent (5%) of the registered voters of the county, 

. . . the governing body of the county . . . shall call an election to determine by majority vote whether 

to establish a tax limitation provided by this subsection." Id. An "alternative" is an "offer of two 

things of which either may be agreed to, but not both; permission to choose between two things." 

I OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY 368 (2d ed. 1989). Thus, the tax freeze may be established in a 

county in one of two possible ways: the commissioners court may act to establish the tax freeze, or 

a majority of voters may decide at an election whether to establish it. 

While the commissioners court generally exercises authority vested in the county, article VIII, 

section 1-b(h) provides an exception to this usual rule. See TEX. CONST. art. V, tj 18(b) ("[Tlhe 

County Commissioners Court . . . shall exercise such powers and jurisdiction over all county 

business, as is conferred by this Constitution and the laws of the State, or as may be hereafter 

prescribed."); City of Sun Antonio v. City of Boerne, 11 1 S.W.3d 22, 27 (Tex. 2003) (county 

commissioners court's primary duty is to administer the county's business affairs). Under article 

VIII, section 1 -b(h), the voters may decide to establish the tax freeze for the county as an alternative 

to action by the commissioners court. The ballot in the DeWitt County election allowed the voters 

to vote for or against "[a]uthorizing the County of DeWitt to establish a limitation ("freeze")." 

Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1 (quoting ballot for Special Election, Dewitt County, Texas). By 

a favorable vote on this proposition, the voters exercised DeWitt County's authority to establish the 

tax limitation, as an alternative to action by the commissioners court. No action by the DeWitt 

County Commissioners Court is necessary to implement the tax freeze authorized by the voters. 

A prior opinion of this office, Attorney General Opinion M- 1283 (1 972) supports our reading 

of article VIII, section 1 -b(h). This opinion addressed Texas Constitution article VIII, section 1 -b(b), 

which authorized the governing body of a county or other political subdivision to "exempt by its own 

action not less than Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) of the assessed value of residence homesteads 

of persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older" from ad valorem taxes. Tex. S.J. Res. 7, 1, 62d 

Leg., R.S., 197 1 Tex. Gen. Laws 4 126,4 126. Like section 1 b(h), section 1 -b(b) authorized voters 

to adopt the tax freeze: "[als an alternative, upon receipt of a petition" signed by a certain percent 

of the voters "the governing body of the subdivision shall call an election to determine by majority 

vote" whether certain residence homesteads should have the exemption. Id. Attorney General 

Opinion M- 1283 stated that if an election were called, "the majority vote would then be binding on 

the governing body of that political subdivision." Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. M-1283 (1 972) at 2. The 
The Honorable Raymond H. Reese - Page 4 (GA-0559) 

majority vote of the election in DeWitt County called pursuant to section 1-b(h) is binding on the 

DeWitt County Commissioners Court. The tax limitation is effective by vote of the people and the 

commissioners court has no authority to determine when or whether it will be implemented. 

Tax Code section 1 1.26 1 establishes the tax year when the limitation first becomes available 

to taxpayers with a qualified residence h~mestead.~ See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. 5 1 1.261 (b) (Vernon 

Supp. 2006). It states as follows: 

(a) This section applies only to a county, municipality, or 

junior college district that has established a limitation on the total 

amount of taxes that may be imposed by the county . . . on the 

residence homestead of a disabled individual or an individual 65 

years of age or older under Section 1-b(h), Article VIII, Texas 

Constitution. 

(b) . . . The county . . . may not increase the total annual 

amount of ad valorem taxes the county . . . imposes on the residence 

homestead of a disabled individual or an individual 65 years of age 

or older above the amount of the taxes the county . . . imposed on the 

residence homestead in the first tax year, other than a tax year 

preceding the tax year in which the county . . . established the 

limitation described by Subsection (a), in which the individual 

qualified that residence homestead for the exemption provided by 

Section 1 1.13(c) for a disabled individual or an individual 65 years of 

age or older. 

Id. $ 11.261. 

Thus, article VIII, section 1 -b(h), ofthe Texas Constitution as implemented by section 1 1.26 1 

of the Tax Code limits taxes imposed on the qualified homestead to "the amount of the taxes the 

county . . . imposed on the residence homestead in the first tax year, . . . in which the individual 

qualified that residence homestead for the exemption provided by [Tax Code] Section 1 1.13(c)," 

except for a tax year before the tax year in which the county established the limitation. Id. $ 

1 1.26 1 (b). The county established the tax limitation by election in 2005. See Request Letter, supra 

note 1, at 2. The "base year" is "the first tax year . . . in which the individual qualified [his] 

residence homestead for the exemption provided by Section 1 1.13(c)," excepting a year preceding 

2005. TEX. TAX CODE ANN. $ 11.261(b) (Vernon Supp. 2006). If a DeWitt County taxpayer 

qualified his homestead for the section 1 1.13(c) residence homestead exemption in 2005, his base 

year for the section 1-b(h) tax limitation is 2005. 

3The voters' petition to the commissioners court and the ballot proposition did not identify a base year. See 

Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1-2. 
The Honorable Raymond H. Reese - Page 5 (GA-0559) 

We turn to section 11.13(c) of the Texas Tax Code, which provides that "an adult who is 

disabled or is 65 or older is entitled to an exemption from taxation by a school district of $10,000 

of the appraised value of his residence homestead." Id. 5 1 1.13(c). The tax exemption under section 

1 1.13(c) is effective as of January 1 of the tax year in which the person qualifies for it and it applies 

to the entire year. See id. 5 1 1.42(c). Accordingly, a taxpayer whose residence homestead qualified 

for the section 1 1.13(c) tax exemption in 2005 was entitled to have his homestead taxes frozen at 

the amount imposed in 2005, subject to exceptions found in section 1 1.261. The year 2005 is the 

base year for such taxpayers, and the commissioners court has no authority to establish 2006 as their 

base year. 

You argue that the DeWitt County Commissioners Court may not implement 2005 as the 

base year for the tax limitation because the 2006 tax roll has been completed and Tax Code section 

26.15(a) states that "[elxcept as provided by Chapters 41 and 42 of this code and in this section, the 

tax roll for a taxing unit may not be changed after it is completed." Id. 5 26.15(a) (Vernon 2001); 

see also id. $5 26.15(c) (authorizing changes in the tax roll to correct errors in the mathematical 

computation of a tax); 41.08-.10 (corrections by or on order of appraisal review board); 42.41 

(Vernon Supp. 2006) (correction of records to reflect final determination of an appeal to the courts). 

Whether the commissioners court may change the 2006 tax roll is irrelevant to determining 

the base year. As we have shown, the base year is established by statute, and the DeWitt County 

Commissioners Court has no authority to determine when the tax freeze will be implemented. The 

year 2005 is the base year for taxpayers whose homesteads qualified in that year for the tax freeze. 

Taxes on their homesteads will be frozen at 2005 levels as long as the homesteads qualify for the 

section 1-b(h) tax freeze. That is, 2005 will be the base year for such taxpayers in 2007,2008,2009, 

and all subsequent years as long as the homestead continues to qualify. The commissioners court's 

failure to recognize 2005 as the base year for these individuals does not permit the court to designate 

another year as the base year.4 

4We do not consider whether a taxpayer whose base year is 2005 may receive a refund of a property tax 

overpayment made in 2006. See Dallas County Cmty. Coll. Dist, v. Bolton, 185 S.W.3d 868, 876-78 (Tex. 2005) (a 

person who has paid an illegal tax may receive a refund only upon a showing that the payment resulted from fraud, 

mutual mistake of fact, or duress). 
The Honorable Raymond H. Reese - Page 6 (GA-0559) 

SUMMARY 

Texas Constitution article VIII, section 1 -b(h) authorizes 

counties to adopt a tax limitation or "freeze" applicable to the 

residence homesteads of persons who are disabled or sixty-five years 

of age or older. The property taxes on a qualified residence 

homestead are limited in subsequent years to the amount of tax 

imposed in the base year. In DeWitt County, where the voters 

adopted the tax limitation, the limitation became effective and the 

base year was established without action by the commissioners court. 

For DeWitt County taxpayers whose residence homesteads qualified 

for the tax limitation in 2005, the base year is 2005. 

Very trdy yours, 

~ttorne~weral of Texas 

KENT C. SULLIVAN 

First Assistant Attorney General 

NANCY S. FULLER 

Chair, Opinion Committee 

Susan L. Garrison 

Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee