OFFICE OF THE AlTOtiNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Shelby X. Long 

Aarirtant Dirtriat Attorney 

Beaumont, Texar 

opinion Ro. O-4 58 

Rer Whether OP $\ et an 

Dear Sir; 

independent 

rsuant to a tax deed 

e than the 8tatutox-y 

of redemption. 

U8 on 8 ntlmber: of pleoer 

Xo other tax- sge~eles 

08 to the suit and they 

owaloaing thi iian, ‘ikeoutty sbld at a Sherlff’r eale, 

*The attorney for the lndepsndent school Dietriot 

In Port Arthur 08m Into oourt and filed a mation ln tha 

ori&nal atit arkiag the Di8triQt UouTt to order the 

sheriff to 8611 thio property for the Port Arthur Independent School Dietrlct at a Sheriff’8 8ele3 ueld order 
: Honorable Shelby K. LOW, Page 2 

was delivered to the Sheriff, and the Sheriff queatloned his authority to sell the property a second 

tine under the original executions; therefore, it was 

referred to this office. I advised the Sheriff, as 

well aa the District Judge, that in my opinion the 

Sheriff has no authority to sell this property at a 

Sheriff's sale after Its havin& been parchased at a 

Sheriff's sale by tha Port Arthur Indefiendent School 

District; therefore, the District Judge directed the 

Sheriff to hold his order in abeysnce until further 

orders of the court. This question beins an lnterpretation of the statutes, I am asking for an optiion 

from your department for the proper procedure the Independent school dlatrict should follow in selling 

property alter it has been held by them aa purchasers 

of the Sheriff's sale and foreoloaure of the tax lien 

and execution thereunder znd held for a tit-e excoedlng 

the statutory requirements, to-wit: 

ilon ths." 

tvo years and six 

Article 2791 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas protides : 

' * + l provided that in the enforced collection 

of taxes the Board of Trustees shall perfom the duties vhich devolve In such cases upon the aity council 

of an Incorporated city or tovn, the president of the 

Bcmd of Trustees shall perform the duties which devolve in such cases upon the mayor of an lna6rporoted 

city or tovn, and the county attorney of the county in 

which the Independent school district is located shall 

perform the duties which In such cases devolve upon 

the city sttorney of an Incorporated city or toarj: under 

the provisions of lsw applicable thereto. l l l 

We have been unable to find any case conatru the provisions of 

the st%Wequoted above. 

Article 7337 of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas 

provides: 

"Any Incorporated city OP town or school district 

shall hsve the right to enforce the oollectlon of dellnquent taxes due it under the provlaFona of thla 

chapter." 
Honorable Shelby X. Long, page 3 

Artlole 7343 OS th6 Revised Civil Statutes provldesr 

v l s l Independent school diatrlats may collect 

thelr,delinquent taxes as above provided for oltiea 

and towns, the school board perfomlng the duties above described for the eovernlng body of oltlea, and 

the president of the school board perEomlng the duties above pprssorlbed for the mayor or’other presiding 

0friOt3r. The school board may, vhen the delinquent 

tax lists and other reoorda are properly prepared and 

ready for suits to be filed, lnetruut the county attorney to file sald sulta. Ifthe school board lnstruots 

the county attorney to file said suits and ho falls ox+ 

refuses ta do so vithln slxt$ days the school board may 

employ some other *ttorney of the county to file suit. 

Thti aouuty Bttorney, or other attorney, filing tax .aulta 

for independent school dlstriota, shall be entitled to 

the same fees as provided by lav in suita for State and 

county taxes. Ho other county officer shall receive any 

fees unless servloee are actually performed, and In t&at 

8V8nt he shall. only receive such Sees as are nov alloved 

hlx by lav for similar aervlcee In civil suits. The employment of an attorney to file suit for te;xee for oltlee, 

towns or Independent sohool dlstrlcts ahall author&e 

said-attorney to file said suits, wear to the petitions 

and perfoma suoh other acta as are necessary In the oolleotlon of said taxoe. 

‘All lt%WOf thh3 St6te for the p~~p056 Of OOil6Qting delirguent.m3tate and county taxes are by this lav 

made avtrllabls for, awl vhen Invoked shall be oRplIed 

to, the oolleatlon of delinquent tares of cities and 

towns and independent sohool districta In so afar as suoh 

lava are applloable, ’ 

From the fact8 submitted by you In your rquest, ifa aonolude that the lndep~endent school dlstrlot has proceeded up to the 

present time under the rtatutory prooedure authorizing the state 

and aounty to bring suits fox delinquent taxes, obtain judgment 

therefor and authorlzlng the sale of suoh property, all of vhleh 

1s provided in Chapter 10 of Title 122 of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas. 
'honorable Shelby IS, Long, page 4 

Chapter 10 of Title 122, I)uprfiB, epeclfloally deals vlth 

"delinquent taxes.' The statutes therein founds se8m to be ooaplete, within themselves, or by rpeclflo reference to other appllaable statutes, ooncernLng the proaedure to be folloved by the 

reepeotlve taxiag authorltioe and offlolals oharged vLth the duty 

OS aolleotlng itate and county delinquent taxes. In this same 

Uuapter is found Artlolee 7337 and 7343, a ra, vhloh, evidently 

vexw meant to oonfer the saw rlghtr, prlvi "p eges and make available 

the same prooedum for the benefit of oltles, towns and villages, 

incorporated under the general lav, as veil a6 upon independent 

eohool dlstriots, .lnsofar as the lava for suoh purpose, for the 

benefit of the state and tounty, are applicable. If the provlslons of Chapter 10 are appliuable to Independent aahool diatrlota 

and such districts oan properly avail thenselves of the procedure 

therein pyovlded, then ve think Artlole 7328 of said Chapter 10, 

supra, v1l.l ansver your question. The caae8 that have arisen in 

the.oourte might be of some help in arrlvlng at a oonulusion on 

this point. 

In Duoloa vs. Harris County, (Co& App.) 298 9. Y. 417, 

Barris County sued to reoov8F from Duolos, Dletrlot Clerk, exaess 

'sea oharged by him in tax suita flled vith th8 Clerk vhiah suite 

me fo~'taxes other than atate and oounty. The lame ‘~88 vhether 

the Distrlot Clerk aould charge larger fees in rush suits than he 

oould charge Ln regular state and county tax suita. The sourt said8 

"In 1895 th8 Legislature ensated a statute maklag provision for oolleotlon of delinquent, eto., 

et&s and cormty taxes; the statute van largely rewritten, and ita provision paada available to oities, 

tome and sohool diatriats, in 1897g It was later amended fir various pa??tlaulars, and its present fom 

;g2hapte* 10, title 122, artiolea 7X9-795, R. 8. 

IA artZole 7337 (o~iglna1l.y emoted in 18%‘) it 

Is piovlded thatr 

“*Any inoorporated oity or 

&all have the right to enforce 

llnquent taxes due fh under the 

ter. I 

tom or sohool distrlot 

tb8 oolleotlon of deprovisiona of this ahap- 

*And in artlcrle 7343 (enaoted In 1920 and amended 

ln 1923) it is provided, inter alla, that: 

“All lava of this state for the pumose of aol- 

'lsatlng delinquent state and county taxee are by this 
Honorable Shelby X. Long, page 5 

lav made a*%lable IQ& and vhen invoked shall. be 

applied to,‘the Oolleotlon of delinquent taxes of 

altlea and touns and lndepeadant sabool dlstrlota 

in 90 fau a8 suoh lava or0 applloable.’ 

‘Those provlsl~na gave thy authdtlty for t&e 

sults~ out of vhtoh this oontrov~rsp arose. The chtlp- 

~gGo~dn, bOa8me l~vallable for’ and, having been 

1 t must ba apgllad to’ the subjeot matter 

in 00 rar a8 relevant. 

298 8. W. 

IR the oaf88 of Dill va. City of Rising Star (Corn.. App,) 

41 

7321 wd 733 i 

, it vae held that in view of Article 7363, Articles 

of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas are made appllaable to oltles, 80 that ln an aotlon by the city for delinquent 

taxes the ourrent tax roll and d8U.xiquOnt tax list prepared by the 

olty Oounoll and aertlfled to as oorrect by the mayor nake a prUa 

faote 0~843 as to the Fegularlty of esse8slng and levying the taxes. 

In the 0ae.e of City of San Antonlo vs. BOrry, 92 Tex. 

119, 48 s. I?. 496, the court oonsldered the pr~vislons ore Article 

7337 (vhlah var~then Artiols 52324, R. da s., 1895, t&.x& seotlon 

11 of Lava, 1895, p. 53) and tha oourt ialdr 

*Ia our opinlan, Siotlod 11 was not intmded to 

take aitay: th0 exmmq authority given to any olty by 

apeolal charter to bring an ordSnary ault to r&aover 

its taxes. It0 purpors was merely ta authoriza altlOs, 

tovna and school dlrtrlots to aooept the bctnefitr of’ 

th16~.~8Ot, shOuld they me propefl to ~I'OOSde ia tha manller pointed Out theraln. ~+ l l 

corporated olty and the 0-t lllcmrlee dlsouesed the enoral pouer 

OS an lnoorgtorated oity, tovn, or IiuIepewlmC mhoal tl ttrlot to 

manage its tax arraira. We quota from the opl~lonc. 

n l * l obviously, this statute (Artiale 7335a) 

has speolal appllcatlon to oontraots sntmed into by 

Cormisslonerrt Court8 of countlea for aolleotion of 
morable Shelby IL. hong, page 6 

state and aounty tmsa, and has no beerIn& vhatever 

on the right8 of altlsa, towne, and school dlstrlatrr 

and other munloipalitlee, tmoept ea a oumlative provision authorized by artiole 7337, wadingr 'Any lnoorporated oltg or tovn or school dlotplot shall have 

the right to enforus the colleotloti of delinquent taxea due it uader the provZslone of this ohapter.’ Such 

art1010 rar not intended,to take avay t@e authority 

given to aitlea, tovne, and +ehools by speclalcbartera, 

or othervise, to bring au ordinary suit to reoover 

taxea and niake contraota for the asllectlon thereof. 

Cities, towns, ad aohool districts have the rfght to 

we and be sued, oontreat’and be oontraatsd vith and 

donduot and aontrol all of its affairs, particularly 

their Slmnoee and taxes.’ 

In the case of City of South Iioueton VII. Dab&w, (Corn. 

~pp.) 120 3. tl. (Sd) 436, t5e oourt held that under the provision8 

of Article 7343 the City OS 5outh Houston could contraot vlth an 

attorney to collect its delinquent taxes and that in view of the 

5pol.Plc limiting provisions of ‘the statute, relating to the comaaatlon of rruch attorney and llmltlng his componsatlon to the 

A.IQ~ Seer as alloved the oounty attornoy or dlatrlat attorney ln 

malts for colleotlon of stats and county taxes” the g&era1 oonaludlng paragraph of such statute did not authorize the exeoution 

of a oontraot for a percent of the taxes, penaltier and intere8t 

aolleoted 88 oontemplated In Artlalb 7335, Revieed Oivl.1 Sktutes 

of Tam. The oourt made this observation: 

“With referenoa to the language oontalned IR the 

conoluding clause of this Article, it may be coWeded 

for the purpose of dlaeuasion that such languag& standing alone, ia ouffloiently broad to bmbraab any.i$uthorlty provided by mme other statute for the ampl’oynent 

au6 compensation of an ‘attorney for the oolleotlm of 

state and county taxes whloh are deliuquent$ but hov- c 

ever thla may be, * l + .” 

trlot, (Cc&? A%. 

ge of Bell VU. #+mSleld lnde endent Who01 DlspQ133 Tex. 403, 129 s. Y. (26) i&3, lb MB heldthat the ruling ia the Dabmy oafid, nxpra, YES not ampl.ioable to 

oaupensatlon allowed la o&ntraots exeouted by FLU independent aehool 

dintriot tith an attorney to oolleot delioquent taxoa aad that the 

provlslons of Artlole ‘T)35-a of the Revised Civil E+QtUte8 OS Texas 

vas eppflaable to such aontraota. The oourt said, vlth reierenoe 

to Artiole 7343, suprat 
xonorable Shelby II;. Long, Fag! 7 

‘Artiole 7343, It. $5. 1925, deals speolfioally 

vlth the question before un for deolslon. l * * 

“Rttfrrrlng baok to the partlons of Artlole 7343 

above ab$Led, it vi11 be observed th+t oitler and in- 

&gend~.tes~l dlstriots are dealt*vlth separately 

Independent sohool distrlotir may lavfully o&ract to pay the fees provided by lav ln suits 

for state and county ts;nea. * l l 

’ l l * By the oonaludlng eentenoe of Artlole 

73’13, above quoted, all lavs of thle state for the purpose of collecting delinquent state and county taxes 

shall be applied te the oolleotlon of delinquent taxes 

of independent school $l)istrlots In so far as such lava 

are applicable. * l l 

Prom a oon6lderatlon of aald Articles 7337 and 7343, 

supra, and the aonstruotlcns plaoed upon them by our ocurts, ve 

have no doubt but that an independent sohoal dlstrlot may prooaed 

to oolleot its delinqtlent taxes aooordiq to the exlstlng law 

provided for the atatb and eaoaty to oolleot their delinquent taxIt follcws, therefore, that it is our opinion that the avall- 

%ie statutory prooedure provided ior the state and oounty in suoh 

suits may be adopted and lollcued by an independent sohcal dlstrlot 

lnaofar us the fwm? 1s ap lloable to its cvn oolleotlcn. Ub aed no 

valid reason v& the pnov P e&oar o? Artlole 7328 of Chapter 10 of 

Title 122, supra, are not applioable and oeuld not be ioUoved by 

the sohool distrlot ln your partloular care. The pertinent part of 

that statute provldest 

’ + at * Zf any of the land thw rold to the State 

tr not redeemed vithln the time preaoribed W this lav, 

the sheriff shall sell the saute at pub110 cutory to 

the higheat bLdde* for aash at the p~4~olpal entramoe 

to the oowt house in the oounty vhsrsln the land lies, 

after &lvlng notloe of ssle in the manner ncv prbaoribed for sale of real estate undelr exeoutlon, prcvided when nctioe 15 given by porting notl~es, one of 

the oald netloea ahall be ported in a aon8plouous place 
Honorable 8helbyiC. Long, Page 8 

upon the land to be aold. Said notioe shall oont&n a legal deaoription of the land to be sold; the 

date of its purchase by the State, the p~lcs for 

which the land vaa aold to the state; that it will 

be aold at pub110 outory to the hQheat bidder for 

cash, date and plaoe of sale. All aslea contemplated 

here- ahall be made In the manner preaaribed for the 

#ale of real estate tider exeoutlon, iind tha sheriff 

la hereby authorleed, and It Is hereby made hla duty 

to rejeot any and all bids for said land vhen in his 

judgment the amount bid la insuffioient or Inadequate, 

mid In event said bid or bids are rejeoted the land 

shall be re-advertised and offered for sale aa provided for herein, but the aooeptanoe by the sheriff 

OS the bid ahalL be oonoluaive and bindIng on the queatlon of the auffloienoy of the bid, and no aatlon shall 

be auatalned in any court of this State to set aside 

said aale on grounds of the ineufficienoy of the amount 

bid and aoaepted. * + *. The sherL.ff aball aend the 

amount received from auoh sale to the State Tr’eaauVgr 

after deduotlng the amunt of the county t8xe8, interest 

and penalty of the county tax vhioh he ahall pay to the 

county treasurer . The ahnriff, in behalf of the Stats, 

aball exeoute a deed oonvey&? title to said pro#ertp 

vhen sold and paid for. ’ 

We t.hZnk the Port Arthur &dependent sohool Dlstrlot o&u be aubatituted fop the vord. “a&ate in the applloeble part of the atatute vithout oonaequence, We believe auah proosdure was olearly 

oontemplated by the Leglalature In the emaotmmt of Artiolea 

7337 and 7343, =Prai 

Art~iole 7328, aupra, provide8 for a.aale of property bid 

ln and held by the state vhere it haa not been “redeemed vithin. 

thb time prescribed by law.” alearly under the holdlng vf the 

oourt In the aaae of Hlnlcaon ~8, Lorenao Independent School Diatriat, 109 S, W. (26) 1008 (writ of error diamiased) and In vlev 

of our Opinion Bo. o-817, Artiole 728&s, R. a. 8. of Texas, 

governs the period of time alloved for redemption In inatarmea 

au& .a8 are referred to by you in your request. 

We have not by our oonolualon, exprsaaed In this opinion, 

foIWOlO8ed the poaalbility that an lndepeadent sohool diatriot 

might, under authority of Article 2791, m&we, and under tba h+lnga 
. 

Jionorable Shelby I. hong, peg.8 g 

in the ease8 of Olty of San Anton%0 vs. Berry, aupr8, aad XcOallam vu* Olty of Rlohardaoh, supra, properly prooeed to bring tax 

aaita for delinquent taxas Ln acme other l.avM aanwr. We do 

not find It necessary to oonaidar thla phase of the la*, alnob 

under the faota submitted by you, It is evident to ua tbat the 

indbpexuJent school dintriot has rlre84 prooeeded under the provlaiotta a? the lav relating to oolleatioa~ipf state and ootmty 

delinquent taxes and that you only dealm to kmv If it la permissible, In our oplnlon, to sell the property under the statutory 

procedure provided in 5UOh cattba for the aale of property held 

W fh# state, by virtue of the school dlatrlot having bid it in 

at a tax sale and aftbr having held the same by virtue of a 

aheriff~a tax deed over and above th@ statutory rudemption period. 

We have not ntentianed Article 7345-b in tbit oplnl&~ 

It VW enaoted and became effsotive In 1937. We find nothing in 

the prcviaiona of that Act indtcatinp; that it vaa intended to apply in lnstancaa vhere f-1 ju@ent for deV.nquent taxes bad 

alrbady been obtained. We think this point cimld be said to be 

ruled by the hold.lnS in the ~888 of City of San Antonio OS. Berry, 

aupra, vhbh oourt said: 

*Aa vaa said in our or&irml statement the tramcrlpt’ does not ahov when the erlgiDa1 petltlon vaa 

filed. l + l It is alear, we tblak, that if the ault 

ma brou&t before the statute vaa paaaed, the proowdlnga .vould hot W ,affeated by Lt. Sot only is 

there nothing to ahov that it vea inthaded to abrblge 

any exiatlng renedi.ea oaaferred by lav l l + but it 

ii clear that this saWh3n tt&a to have only a fu$we 

e;$;t and uaa not intended to operate upon sxFbtl.116 

.c 

I-t la our f'urthk+r o inion, therefomi, l&&t Artiole 7345-b 1.8 not 

oontrolling nor app P icable to the pmpoaM.on submitted by you. 

In your request you have.referred ua to Artiolea 7308 

and ‘7313 of Chapter 9 of Title 122 of the Raviaed Cfvil Statutes 

of LPaxaa vhlch you LndFoate in your opiaion al t ‘be atilloable 

to the proposItion eubrpltted by you, Ue do no a” bsllevr~thoae 

statutes are applloable. They are a part of Chapter 9 of Title 

122 entitlbd %ok taxes on unmadered lands” and deal tith 
Honorable Shelby X. Long, Page lo 

instances of stmmary rale by the tax oollector. In our opinion 

EO. o-683-~, a aopy of vhiah is enclosed, we held that the Tax 

Ammssor-Colleator has no power to levy on nor sell real estate 

for delinquent taxes exaept after foreclosure of the tax lien 

by a court aa provided In Article 7328-A, R. C. S. of Texas. We 

think the aonclualon therein expressed is llkewise applicable 

to salea of real estate for delinquent taxes by an independent 

sohool district. 

We gather from the faatm stated in your letter of lnqulry 

that the procedure outlined in that part of Article 7328, not 

quoted above, vas iu all things followed and that at the aXI8 of 

the land for taxes, the sohool district beeame~ the purchaser, and 

a deed vas made to it by the sheriff in’aaoordence with the statute. 

It la made further to appear that elnce the ovner did not redea 

the land within the period of redemption, uhlch has long aiuoe expired, the district nov desires to eel1 the laud. Pour question 

is, what is the proper proaedure to be folloved in makiug the sale? 

We think this question irr-alearly ansveredSb~c~ha&art 

of Article 7328, which ve have f+ully quoted above. 

Article only refers to land sold to the State, but which ve have 

held also applicable to school districts, when lnvcaked~ by tham, 

ve believe It would be proper for the sohool board to pas6 a reoolutlon and to atate therein the pertinent feats which are required 

by the quoted portion of maid Article to be contained in the 

sheriff’s publlehed notloe, 

as the statute directs. 

and requesting him to sell said property 

A certified oopy of the resolution should 

be furnished the sheriff. Suoh a reeolutlon may not be neoeasary, 

but it Is undoubtedly not improper. The sheriff will prepare and 

publish the notloe of sale in accordmoe with the statute; sell 

the laud and, in behalf of the sahool dietriot, execute a deed 

oonveying title to Bald laud to the puroharer. 

With reference to the notice of sale required to be 

given by the sheriff, under the Artlale above oonalderqd, ve oall 

your attention to Aata 1941, 47th Leg., Reg. Qes., Oh. 303, H. B. 

193, p. 480, and especially to aubd. 4 of Article 2ga thereof. 

Ue trust that, in this manner, your Inquiry has been fully 

answered. 

Your8 very truly 

&Ire.l 

Encl. 

ATTORNEY QEWBRAL OF -8 

BYtA--Qq*~h 

Rarold l@Craoken 

Aasiatant 

%f$