## ERTTORNEYGENERAIL

lF%-EXAS

‘%UWNN 11. TkXAB PRICE DANIEL ATTORNEY

GENERAL c Femary 21, 1947

Honorable 

### WilliamN,Hensley Criminal Dlstriat Attorney SanAntonio, Texas bpfnfon Boo V-41

Dear Mr. Hensley: Re: Proper orffcer for collecting the delinquent taxes which have accrued before a Water Control and Improvement DfatrPot s pursuant to the pmvisions of Article 1066bsauthorizes the Tax Collector of the municipality within which ft fs wholly located to act fn its behalf as Tax Colleotor,

You have asked for an opinion from this Department regarding the proper officer for colleetfng the delinquent taxes due 

### aBexar County Water aontrol and Improvement DPstriot o Prior to the authorization of the Tax Collector of the City of SanAntonio, The Bounty Tax Collector had acted Pnbehalf of the Water Control and Pmprovement District o The problem maybe phrased 

### fnquestion form, as follows: Vhen the Tax Collector for the City of 

### SanAntonio is authorized by the tiexar County Water Control and Improvement Dfstriet to 

### eatfn its behalf, pursuant 

### tothe provisions of Article 

### 1066b,does the Cfty Tax Collector 

### actonly 

### concerningsuah 

### taxesasacoruefrom and after the date of suah authorization or haa he the additional duty of collecting the delinquent 

### taxeswhfdh

were due before said authorization was given?*

Prior 

### tothe enactment of Article 1066b, statutory directions for levying, assessfngSp and Bolleating taxes for aWater Gontrol and Improvement District were to be found in various Articles of Chapter 

### 3AofTitle 128, R.C.S. In 

### additiontothose provisions, by virtue of Article lOg6b certain alternative methods are provided where the Water bontrol and Improvement District is located entirely within the boundaries of another municipality orHon. William N. Hensley - 

### Page2 (V-41)

district 0 Article 1066b became effective June 18, 1945, and, as yet, has not been corntrued by the cdurts of the State. Our construction of the statute must therefore be determined from its ownterms viewed fn the light of legfslative intent to be ascertained not only from the language of the statute itself but also from the relation of the statute to other artfcles and with regard for similar statutes and decisions thereunder,

The first paragraph of Section 1of Article 1066b empowers various dfstrfcts andmunicipalities to authorize by ordinance or resolution the TaxAssessor, Board of Equalization and Tax Collector of the 

### munfcfpality in which it is located to act in its behalf. This general power fs not ;Pnquestion here as the Tax Collector for the 

### Cityof SanAntonio recognizes its ex

### istenceand questions only the extent of the duty lmposed as a resalt,

Paragraph 2 of Section 1deals with assessment and has no bearing on the present question,

The relerant parts of paragraphs 3and 4 of Section 1 are as follows:

“Whenthe ordinance or resolution is passed making available their servfoes, *said Collector shall collect the tax- &‘and assessments for, and turn over as
soon as colleoted 

### tothedepository of said munfcfpality or district or to such other authority as fs authorized to receive such taxes or moneys so co11 cted, and shall perform the duties of Tax 8ollector of said municipality or district so availing itself of his services0

“In all matters pertaining to such QD0 collections o o ethe 0

### TaxCollector shall be Da eauthorfzid’ to act as and shall perform 0bDthe duties of 0a sTAXCollector Of, and according to the ordinances and resolu

### tionsof the munfcfpalft or district so 

### avallfng itself of a D0.lzJs services, and aooordfng to law.”

First of all, therefore, there must have been an authorization by ordinance or resdlutfon by the Water control and Improvement 

### District, It will be assumed 

### thatHon. William N. Henslsy - Page 3 (V-41 1

such authorization was glvenp and that the Tax Colleator for the City of SanAntonio was fully empowered therein *to 

### aotas 00Dand perform 00othe duties of e 00 Tax Collector of 000the 000dlstrlat,”

What, then, are the duties of atax oolleetor for aWater Control and Improvement Dfstriet? SpsoffP.., tally they are provided for in Artfolea 7880-33; 7880-40; 7880-54; 7880-53; 7880-56; 7080-50; 7080-59; 7880-67; 7880-68; 7880-72; 7680-111; 7880-135; 7880-147-z Seotfon 9,

It 

### isnoteworthy that the dlstrlot maybe allowed alternatives as to whoshall act as its tax oolleotor. It mayhave its ownTax Assessor and Collector Ats2;aI;; 7880-54);, or “rnstead of prooeedfng for the asequallzat%on and oollectlon of taxes 

### inthe

manner aisewhere in thls bet provided for, the directors

or the dfstrlot nay prorfde therefor by aontracte for suoh serviaes wlth the CowlsslonersP Court of each county in which property taxable by the distriot is sltuated;w (Artiale 7880-33)., If the eltuatlon 

### isone in whioh the district is aided by a town, oity, or munlolpal corpora

### tion,the duties of levy, assessment, and oolleatlon are performed by the offlaers of the munfolpal corporation. (Article 7880-135) 0 Likewise there is a special set of 

### provisionswhere the district is wholly wlthfn one eountJr.- (Article 7880-1472) 0 Regardless of the particular

course selected or required, however> in each fnstanee the offloer chosen or in certain fnstancea his deputies, pertorms all the 

### dutiesof tax collector for the dlstrlet,

If the County Tax Collector should continue to oollect the delinquent taxes due the district while the Cfty Tax Collector aats as to present and future taxesB the district would, in effect, havs two tax collectors at the same time; whereas sas pointed out above, 

### pastleglslatlve enactments havr provided alternative methods for fflllng dn&

### officeof tax eollsotor, Clearly from ~ftti’ language~lcle 1066b la analternative and being au& it maybe deemed that the legislature intended 

### aslmllarly complete assumption. There is further support for this view fn the provlsfon previously quoted that “In all matters pertaining to sueh 0ti0eollectlons D0Qthe tax co&leetor shall be authorized to act o Q0w (emphasis added)

It is true that the various provisions relating to who shall act as tax eolleotor for aWater Control and Improvement Dfstrfet and those further ones whleh prescribe..

Hon. William N. Hensley - Page 4 (V-41)

the duties of the one so acting (previously cited) are specific and delfmlt the partfoular office they define; but there is nothing to indicate that the duties of a tax collector aotlng for and ln behalf of aWater Control and Improvement District are irrevocably attached to any
one office. Awell known example of statutory provision for transference of duties of tax collector from one offloe to another is found in Articles 7245 and 7246, R.C,S* s which provide that in counties 

### havingless than ten 

### thousand inhabitants the sheriff of such county shall be the Assessor and Collector of taxes but that each county 

### having the requlslte population shall elect its ownAssessor and Collector of taxes. Where a sheriff has been acting

as Assessor and Collector, pursuant to the above provlslons, and thereafter anAssessor and Collector of taxes is duly elected, surely no one would contend that the sheriff should oontlnue to collect the delinquent taxes of his regime after the lnstallatlon of ths tax collector. Anewcity or county tax collector assumes the duty of collecting 

### cityor county taxes that were delinquent before he took office, Various decisions in oases involving collection of taxes by cltg or county collectors for Independent School Districts have recognized that the Legfslature has the power to devolve additional duties upon a public officer without thereby oreatlng an additional offloe. In these cases the tax collector 1s sald to a& in his capacity as county or city tax collector as an offleer of the county or city (not as an officer of the dfstrfot), and that therefore thergs no infringement of Artlele 16 @140 of the Constitution of the State-of TexasD Taylor v0 Brewster Counte 144 S,W. (,2) 314; First Baptfst~ Church v,

..~ _,.~ City of Fort Worth, Teik$, Comm,Ape, 26 S.W. (2) 196- Prultt v. Glen Rose Independe’~%~~ch~ol ~Dfsti.%cfct‘Nti.~U’l”’126~ Tex. 45, 84 S.W. (2) 1004; Adamson v9State, 171 s.w,.yZV~..

121D Aft& orooer authorization and once the dutv of aetlng as Tax Cbllictor for the Water Control and Imbpvement District has become attached to the office of Tax ollector for the City of SanAntonio, it 1s difficult for the writer to see how, ln view of the foregoing analogies, a division of duties contra to the normal course could have been fntended,

The legislative purpose in enaotlng Artlole 1066b 1s clearly set out in Section 6, the emergency clause, whloh reads as follows:

“The 

### iactthat there are manyoverlapping muafeipalltles and districts 

### inthe State of Texas,eaeh with its separate assessing and 

### collectingagencies 

### Scauseshardshlp and confusion to the taxpayers and adds to the expense of assessing and collecting taxes and the fact thatHon. William N. Rensley -Page 5 k-41)

there is nownoadequate remedy provided by law for relieving said conditions, creates an emergency Do oiitc,” General and Special Lawa, 

### 49thLegislature,p0 611,

This purpose would seem to be defeated to soma
extent lf an entirely omitted proviso be read into the aet to the effect that before one collector oan aOt for the 

### WaterControl and Improvement District two collectors mu& act at the same time. True fn this ea.88there would be no reduction of existing offfeers as both the County and 

### the City Tax Collectors will continue to function despite Lh8 transference of the duCy; but it would be fllogfcaP to allow the division in th8 present Case and deny it in the

case in which 

### adistrict has had its ownassessor and oollectar. Then the difficulties in the wayof sustaining the division 

### ofduties seem insurmountable to the writer; for not only would the dfstrfet have followed two courses for choosing a tax collector when as previously pointed out the legislative provisions are clearly alternatives, but also tha district would be left with anofficer who clearly ia not the TaxAssessor and Collector as defined by ArtPePe 7880-54, whose creation must then spring from inference rather than statutory enactments, and whose exact duties and responsibflltfes could only be ascertained by eonjeoture n

ThaTax Collector of th8 City of San Antonio, by virtue of the authorization by the Bexar County Water Control and Improvement Dfstrfetkpursuant to the provisions of Article 1066b, VOA.C,SO, 1s the proper officer to collect and is charged with the duty of colleetfng the taxes due said district, faeluding th8 taxes which were delinquent before sueh authorization.

Yours very truly

ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS

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